BMW 1M YCW Dry-Carbon Driveshaft from MFactory review

[martymil]

I got the notification from UPS that the driveshaft was on its way and was going to be delivered tomorrow, 5 min later the door bell rings.

Hello sir we have a package for you,

Signed for this long box and upon opening it presto the driveshaft arrived 1 day early.

Packaging was aweome, very well packed.

Slowly opened the box

This driveshaft is so well made is an understatement and hiding this piece of art under the car should be a criminal offence.

Will be testing this over the next coming weeks/months.

Keep you guys updated.

 

[martymil]

The weight saving is absolutely astounding almost half the weight.

Check it out people.

Stock 21.6 pounds (9.8kg)
Carbon Fibre 12.1 pounds (5.5kg)

 

[gmagnus7]

That thing makes me hard

 

[doublespaces]

Oh wow, glad to see this finally come full circle. If I recall, there was proprietary or special sauce related to the binding of the carbon to the core or the end joints? Am I getting any of that right?

 

[Mikejones1208]

Yeah the weights cool and all but I'm more impressed with how you made a 2 piece driveshaft sit straight up and down without tipping over like that on a scale!!!

 

[martymil]

Oh wow, glad to see this finally come full circle. If I recall, there was proprietary or special sauce related to the binding of the carbon to the core or the end joints? Am I getting any of that right?

Not sure @MFactory will have to answer that one.

Yeah the weights cool and all but I'm more impressed with how you made a 2 piece driveshaft sit straight up and down without tipping over like that on a scale!!!

I was a trapeze artist in my former life lol, nah the shaft is like new and the bearings are still nice and tight.

The shaft is in, had to drop the two front diff bolts and hang the diff of the top bolt to get the shaft in with absolutely minimal clearance.

But once everything is bolted back up, it all fits nicely with just the right amount of clearence.

The metal cover was a real pain, had to panel beat this to clear the shaft and maybe had it in and out 10x as I just didn't want to beat the hell out of it, the exhaust has to clear this too.

Everything went in nicely and looks great, what you can see which is not much.

Time to go for a spirited drive.

 

[martymil]

First impressions,

The clutch takeup is as smooth as stock, its like silky smooth.

The car feels a lot more responsive and you can actually feel there's a lot more power down low.

NVH in 5th and 6th is gone, mine was already quiet and now I have none.

Gear changes are a lot smoother and more forgiving, I don't run a full rubber guibo but the metal one with rubber inserts.

It might be me but the clutch chatter is gone, mine was always quiet and only occasionally I would get a rattle or two for a split second.
Report on this later

The difference is like night and day, I only have two issues I can hear all the noises the car makes lol and where the recesses
are around the bolt holes that bolt to the guibo, you can't use a ring spanner or socket to hold the bolt in place and you have to use an open end spanner.

I never use open end spanners unless they are the last resort, either change the bolts to Allen head or make the recesses a little bigger to accommodate
the proper tools for the job. But that's just me being anal about things.

Overall was it worth it, no doubt about it and then some.

@MFactory you have a killer product.

 

[LoBoost]

@martymil No driveline vibrations of any kind?

I once had a B5 S4 that I put a one piece carbon drive shaft into and driveline vibrations increased with the one piece shaft.

Maybe the Mfactory shaft is extremely well balanced if you don't feel anything, which is really good!

Does this driveshaft have a horsepower / torque rating?

 

[Traf]

Shit this is dope ! How much was it ?

 

[martymil]

No vibrations of any kind and no nvh with the twin plate clutch, there is a little whirr but I think its just the gearbox making some sounds but a mate of mine which I took for a spin said the difference was dramatic and he knows my car very well.

You can hear a slight whirr in 5th but the turbos are louder than it lol.

According to @MFactory the shaft is balanced to 12000rpm and stress tested to over 1000 ft-lb

Normal price will be 1495 plus 150 usd shipping

Preorder price is 1300 plus 150 usd shipping but not for long.

 

[gmagnus7]

YCW also has it posted for the 1m on ECS/Turner now too I believe.

 

[martymil]

According to that website its rated to 4000ft-lb

 

[Panzerfaust]

That's a beautiful piece and the feedback you've provided makes me very interested. I have a lot of stuff planned already that needs to be done still but I'm glad we finally have another solid driveline option without having to resort to domestic parts! Now if only Mfactory would make a higher stall torque converter too

 

[Seaneezy]

stock axles?

 

[screaminfast]

omg i must have this

 

[martymil]

stock axles?

1m/m3 axles

 

[fmorelli]

Awesome to hear that works out that well. I would be interested but unfortunately the Z4 is a unicorn. 140 mm less length, and it completely different connection to the diff, since the E89 runs an E46 rear assembly. Looks great!

Filippo

 

[martymil]

You could always make a single piece metal one, mate had one made for his 135 auto with m3 rear end and the difference was huge, not as big as a carbon shaft but better than 2 piece.

 

[martymil]

Just an update, so I took the car out for a nice 200 mile drive through the Twisties and gave it some.

I can report that the drive shaft survived anything and everything I threw at it while making around 550 to 600 hp.

Putting the car back on the jack stands the shaft looked pristine as the day I put it in.

As i'm running a twin plate this puts extra stresses on the driveshaft and it just such a pleasure to drive with it
as a the shaft absorbs even more nvh, where I use to have a little bit in 5th because of the smfw its now totally gone.

I can say the car drives almost like stock now and was the final piece of the puzzle.

Even the shimmering from the thrust bearing which was still there but not much after 10k is now virtually gone.

Looks like the shimmering is amplified by the metal drive shaft as when running the carbon its still slightly there but
its more like a muffled engine humming, hard to explain but I like it.

 

[fmorelli]

Carbon fiber will soak vibration. It is ostensibly a fabric in suspension. It's one of the reasons for cyclists, in particular, to use it for seat posts, front stem, and handlebars - helps reduce NVH and in the case of a cyclist, nerve impingement in the wrist. With that said, not surprised that you are getting some NVH dampening from the driveshaft.

Filippo