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Might want to try setting the PPF height via the factory method. I can't find a how-to worth a crap thanks to dead images and my employer blocking the wayback machine, but this might be a good link if that is open to you.
got the DS back this afternoon. It did need balancing, wasn’t horrible to start but “not good enough for your driveshaft rpm’s”
ended up with a little weight on both ends of the shaft, and the higher tolerance u joint on the diff side.
He didn’t give me much more information than what I posted above re: grease-able vs non. Just that the greaseable ones are built with more tolerance and it is not appropriate for high rpm operation. Perhaps just this shop’s experience, but they do it as a matter of policy. It does feel nice and tight/even, better than before.
i had enough time to get it into the car, but can’t test drive until tomorrow.
Hahaha a sacrifice to the drivetrain gods to ensure NVH abatement!
Great news man, that’s rad. I didn’t expect the new one to be that far out of balance. What’s the name of your shop? Maybe I’ll have them make me one if my Getrag kit driveshaft is garbage lol.
@OptionXIII I believe I’m good on PPF adjustment. I just tweaked it until my pinion angle matched my trans output angle. 2.1* +/-0.1* currently.
OK so, with the hard top on, I am def still getting some NVH at those max speed/rpms
Calling it good enough for now. I can cruise up to 80-90 on the highway with nothing weird going on (these cars are already just...loud in every way). I'm still not satisfied, but we're pretty dang close.
I am going to make a custom PPF, started mapping that project out this morning. I think for ease of fabrication I will just make an adapter that picks up on the GS6, and bolts to a modified stock PPF, as others have done.
I made one of these for an RX-7 like 15 years ago that was a full tubular steel replacement. It was a bit of a pain to get the diff side right with stock hardware. def possible just the longer route.
These transmissions have a lot of annoying "gear rattle", which gets worse once you get heat into the box. Same sound as my Mazda 6speed with super light clutch/FW combo, but higher in magnitude. The metal clutch fork pivot pin is also very annoying for a street car. Just documenting this for others that want to do this swap.
Yesterday, I beat the **** out of the car for the first time since last fall. No real issues with the drivetrain outside of the noise mentioned, just the rusty nut behind the wheel.
"Thats the first we've heard of that problem. We didn't see it during testing. However, here is a solution for you can pay us for"
Quoted for emphasis. Have heard this multiple times through Gridlife friends.
Not intending to drag anyone at KPI through the mud though as my initial teething issues on my swap were fairly minor and my car continues to do well after 3 years of it being together, but I am also not going to be first in line for anything new they offer without seeing second hand real world experiences on the product.
i bet if you put a softer trans mount in there it’d magically fix a bunch of your vibes, especially if you have soft engine mounts.
@zak I’ll order another soft mount and try. Can’t hurt and should swap right in. Might actually make my pinion angle match a bit better too!
fighting some starting issues but expecting to have the same driveline issues when I start driving. What’s the soft trans mount you speak of? Is there any way to see if there is a giubo we can adapt to fit? That seems like it’d dampen vibrations between a solidly mounted tranny and a solidly mounted diff.
Substantial improvement over the supplied poly mount in regards to NVH.
AFAIK, nobody has run a giubo on this setup just yet. I think Rich made a good point too. Packaging a 2-piece driveshaft with a center support bearing might prove to be pretty tight under our cars.
I’ve gotten a lot of miles on the car now, and I’m still only experiencing the nvh at high speed/high rpm. For whatever reason this BP is pretty rough up top (high compression 2618 pistons? Something out of balance?) but it could also be NVH im not used to having from the trans mount.
tempted to pull the trigger as I think I’m over the 4:10 ratio. Which are you going with?
I’ve gotten a lot of miles on the car now, and I’m still only experiencing the nvh at high speed/high rpm. For whatever reason this BP is pretty rough up top (high compression 2618 pistons? Something out of balance?) but it could also be NVH im not used to having from the trans mount.
tempted to pull the trigger as I think I’m over the 4:10 ratio. Which are you going with?
Funny you’d ask! I’ve received all of my bits aside from the driveshaft now. KP told me my shaft should be shipping from their supplier next week. I really hope it’s not the same company as the last one because I’ll likely just have to get another one made Hopefully I’ll be able to install it next weekend or the following though!
I wanted to get a 3.73 ratio but those are basically impossible to find in a Getrag G80 LSD variant. I’m currently on a 3.6 torsen and not complaining but the general consensus seems to be that a 3.9 in one of these cars is faster on most of my local tracks. I ended up grabbing a 3.91 LSD out of a Pontiac Solstice for my project. I’ll swap to a 3.42 LSD if I end up adding enough power to my car eventually to need more top speed (KPower gearing calculator says this combo will have my car maxed out at 142mph).
Driveshaft is here! But… it’s got spicer flanges on both sides. Pretty sure there’s no spicer to G80 adapter in the kit I got but I’ll double check. Pretty sure I’m gonna have to have a local shop swap the rear flange out.
Geez, I’m hoping so lol. It’s marked “Indianapolis Rack and Axle”. Is that the same or different from yours? Jamie just told me what I received is the new “upgraded” driveshaft.
So the shaft is correct. KPower was supposed to send me a diff adapter but there was a mixup and it was believed that I had bought my ZF swap and Getrag kits at the same time, and already had the adapter with my trans kit. Anyway, it should be here Wednesday. I’m gonna be out of town most of the weekend but will maybe see if any of my welding buddies can come over Sunday to help complete the install.
So the shaft is correct. KPower was supposed to send me a diff adapter but there was a mixup and it was believed that I had bought my ZF swap and Getrag kits at the same time, and already had the adapter with my trans kit. Anyway, it should be here Wednesday. I’m gonna be out of town most of the weekend but will maybe see if any of my welding buddies can come over Sunday to help complete the install.
Man I'm getting psyched for you. Hope this is the golden ticket and your drivetrain swap is everything it should be. The only problem is once you get this in, your puny 300whp is going to need looking at (plusar GTX time?)
Thanks dude! I'm so amped to get my car back on track, regardless of how much scope creep has occurred in the last few months hahaha.
I've deliberated about this for quite a bit. I really really wanna throw an EFR (although that PSR 2860 is an insane bargain...) on this thing and make a 400+whp kill tune for the street.
Really though, I haven't even completed a full season running 270whp on track, and I do want to see how my car stacks up in NASA TT3 class at my car's in-class power cap of 291whp. I think I'm gonna go Xidas next and sleep soundly knowing my current drivetrain is safe from my cute little 2560r for now.
I'm fully aware that I may have to come back and edit/redact the above statement in a few months though
Got the Getrag Diff in today. Install went smoothly, mostly devoid of drama.
Got another bum driveshaft, though. Problem not solved. I’m gonna have to contact KPower tomorrow and see what they can do. Probably just gonna have to get my own shaft made (again).
You've got no manner of luck at all. Like seriously, I opened the email alert for this thread, read the result, and laughed. I can't believe you're having this terrible of an experience.
I'd want to return the shaft and get a refund on that. Get one made local where you can make eye contact with someone when you pick it up. Seems like that is the only way you'll be able to have trust in the driveshaft.
Yeah man, I'm at the point of laughter with this situation as well. I drove off when we finished fully expecting to still have a driveline vibration, and I did. I really don't want to badmouth anyone involved but c'mon this is ridiculous. The supplier should be cut off for not even eyeballing the shafts before sending them out, and KPower should be shunned for continuing to use them despite all the issues customers are having (5 total warped/garbage shafts between RichBobby and I alone at this point?).
I'll definitely be talking to KPower about a refund for the driveshaft tomorrow. On the last go around, I had an esteemed local driveshaft shop make me a shaft, and KPower gave me a refund on the original shaft in the form of a discount on the Getrag swap kit. This time, though, I don't have anything else I need from them. Hopefully I can just get refunded outright.
On the flip side, despite the vibration coming on at a lower speed than ever before, it did feel to be less severe than the first time around (ZF swap, Miata diff, poly diff bushings). I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that this means the vibration is gone once I get this driveshaft situation sorted out.