A Safer Way To The Checkered
Carbon Fiber Driveshafts

by Stacy Barnett
Short Track Racing - March 1995

A major concern or most racers is driveshaft failure, but the tendency for these whirling missiles to break, stick in the dirt and send the race car flipping end-over-end down the track.

Another particularly treacherous result of a broken driveshaft is the likelihood that it will penetrate the cockpit area, maiming or even killing the driver. This is a constant fear and an all-too-real possibility.

Fortunately, science has produced something to alleviate racers fears: Carbon fiber driveshafts, which are available from Advanced Composite Products & Technology (ACPT) for both racing and heavy-duty truck applications.

"Carbon fiber driveshafts are not made to withstand high-impact damage'" says ACPT's Bruce Blank. "If you hit one very hard with a hammer, you'll break it. So, in a racing situation, if a composite driveshaft comes apart and hits a driveshaft loop, it will destroy the driveshaft upon impact. With composite driveshafts, gone are the days when the driveshaft whirls around underneath the car, destroying everything in sight." (Not to mention some things just out of sight.)

Blank explains that at some point in the RPM range a driveshaft will reach "critical speed," a technical term for how fast a driveshaft can spin without breaking in two at the center. Critical speed is determined by the type of material a shaft is made of and its length and diameter. When a driveshaft rotates, there is a natural harmonic whip phenomenon once the RPM limits are reached. When harmonic whip starts to occur, the center of the driveshaft will begin to move away from the center of the shaft, eventually shearing at the center. The carbon driveshaft has a much higher critical speed that allows racers some peace of mind-even if it does break in two.

Blank concedes that the composite driveshafts cost more than steel driveshafts, but that the safety features and improved performance more than make up for the increased cost.

Increased performance? I thought we were talking safety here! But the incomparable and legendary Late Model racer Freddy Smith is convinced: "When we started running the ACPT Carbon Driveshaft, we gained a 200 RPM advantage," said the four-time Dirt Track World Champion. "It allowed us to run a taller gear at less RPM and has proven to be trouble free. It also weighs two pounds less than our aluminum driveshafts."

There are may products available to increase a racer's performance; it is, after all, the mature of the market. But what's exceptional in today's market is a product that will, first and foremost, increase a driver's safety and boost performance.

Dick Anderson of Dick Anderson Racing is a recent convert to carbon fiber driveshafts: "We were racing at Thunder Ridge (Ky.) Speedway one night and after about 12 laps we encountered a problem, a brace that attaches to the torque arm broke free. Now this has happened to us before with both steel and aluminum driveshafts, and it just cuts them in half. On this night, we had a carbon-fiber driveshaft in our car, and it just turned to powder! Our driver that night once had an aluminum driveshaft come out, and it broke his leg. Another time, we had a driver that had a driveshaft break loose, and it ended up behind his head! I'm convinced that this is one of the safest products on the market."

The technology is available to lower the risk of driver injury and to increase performance. Sure, it may cost a little m ore, but it only takes one driveshaft failure to make you a believer. Maybe.

For more information, please...

Contact Information:
Email us at: info@acpt.com
Call us toll free at: (800) 799-7893
or Call us at (714) 895-5544
International +01-714-895-5544
Fax us at (714) 895-7766

Advanced Composite Products and Technology, Inc.
15602 Chemical Lane
Huntington Beach, CA 92649 - USA

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