1 Piece Aluminum DCT Driveshaft Install

[akamal92]

Hi Everyone,

So I got this driveshaft setup from Seems Legit Garage. The kit includes 2 adapters with hardware to install and 1 single piece driveshaft with hardware to install. The adapters are for the DCT trans and the differential. They come gold in color which look pretty cool when installed and high quality hardware. They allow you to bolt the new 4 bolt flange driveshaft into the car. These adapters eliminate the front guibo and the rear CV joint. The driveshaft itself is made out of high grade aluminum and high grade replaceable u-joints. The drive shaft also has one end that slips in and out but under very tight clearances so it doesn't slip or fail under high torque situations. The drive shaft is 3.5 inches. And weighs around 10lbs and the adapters weigh around 3lbs total for both. So there is some weight savings and also solidifies the driveline getting rid of all the rubber and multiple pieces that can fail. Mine already failed giving that distinctive cowbell and mouse squeak on decel or gear in engagement. My car currently has Poly subframe and poly diff mounts. The reason I went with this route is the Mfactory carbon shaft still uses the guibo I didn't want any more and the wait for them or Vacs motorsports was unbearable I needed something today and I got this setup in the mail in under 2 weeks it saves weight and upgrades the driveline for $1k shipped. A rebuild is almost $500 and then put the same thing back in for no performance mods so I saw the best bet was go this route $500 and the car will never have this issue again and be better at the same time

The install is pretty straight forward
Remove Mid-pipe
Remove Heat Shields
Remove old broken driveshaft with guibo
Install adapter on DCT trans side
Install adapter on Differential side
Bolt driveshaft side without slip fit up on DCT side
Extend driveshaft to correct length a little force it required reason you bolt to DCT first for strength to hold in place.
Before bolting up to the differential the ebrake cables that run above the driveshaft need to be pushed up 3-5MM for optimal clearance so it doesn't rub
Then bolt driveshaft up to differential
Heat shield on driveshaft tunnel will not go back due to driveshaft being 3.5 inches.

Pictures are of the driveshaft compared OEM and aluminum. Then mounted on the trans side and then mounted on the diff side. Then one of the car after a spirited drive and wash to test it out.

My suspension and setup is EDC with HR race springs poly diff and subframe bushing and dinan rear toe arms. Front is HR sway bars on Apex EC-7 19x10 up front 275/30R19 and 19x10.5 295/30R19 rear.

My first reaction was gear engagement was normal sounding regular clunk noise. And then I started to reverse and the squeaky mouse noise was gone immediate excitement. As I started to drive around neighborhood to see if regular drive function had any issues and I saw none and heard nothing. Now I put it in M mode DSC off and exited the neighborhood safely. The first slight acceleration pull through the gears I could feel its way more connected to the rear and the shifts are I would say crisp in a sense. Now my first full throttle pull 1st to 3rd it broke traction on first and spun into second and each shift was great immediate power transfer to the wheels. And the car gets through the revs of 8300 a lot faster. But my overall happiness of the product quality price and performance is a 10 outta 10 outta 10

Here's a link to the product and any questions you have the guys at seems legit garage can answer them all great customer service and great knowledge of the product

Here is a link to the product I purchased

https://www.seemslegitgarage.com/pro...ece-driveshaft

[///Mobbin]

Really interesting, will consider this when I go to replace my driveshaft, thanks for sharing!

[bravehart38]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

Really interesting, will consider this when I go to replace my driveshaft, thanks for sharing!

Same here. People have been waiting for almost a year for their MFactory CF driveshaft. This might be a viable alternative.

[DukeofAlexandria]

This is the same company that sells the 8.8 ford rear end replacement and multiple peopel reported back horrible vibration issues lol...

Pass.

[Throatpunch]

Nice! I posted this item before and got blasted for doing so. I'm glad to see a real review.

Can you share any NVH with it?

[akamal92]

Originally Posted by Throatpunch

Nice! I posted this item before and got blasted for doing so. I'm glad to see a real review.

Can you share any NVH with it?

So far I only drove the car once as it is a weekend warrior if the weather permits in Florida. But as far as NVH
Noise- Gear engagement is normal noise for a DCT E9x M3 driving sounds like any other driveshaft quite can’t tell it’s there

Vibration- It actually eliminated my highway speed vibration due to my old shaft bad the cabin had a vibration. The new one is no vibration on hard or light acceleration and at highway speed nothing seems like a good factory shaft is in there.

Harshness- I would say very little change here. it engages gear quicker in a sense of going from neutral to drive gear and reverse gear with normal clunk. And shifts are more crisp not a harsh loud bang or shifting noise and even when I launched in launch control it grabs an goes no crazy loud noise or metal feelings in the car. It’s an over all win win with this.

[Mog-10]

Originally Posted by DukeofAlexandria

This is the same company that sells the 8.8 ford rear end replacement and multiple peopel reported back horrible vibration issues lol...

Pass.

The vibration issue is because they have to drop the diff in order to install it with a bolt in adapters and that throws off the pinon angle.

[Mog-10]

Op did you notice how tight the tolerances were on the adapters?

[akamal92]

Originally Posted by Mog-10

Op did you notice how tight the tolerances were on the adapters?

The adapter for the DCT output flange side uses the same centering pin the oem driveshaft does. It fit nice and snug with no play and has raised mounting points the sit it flush to the flange no play.

The adapter for the differential goes in snug. has small lip that slips into the output flange of the diff with no play and all bolt hole line up perfect no playing with it to make it work or unbolting bolts to line it up properly

[Mog-10]

I was impressed with how tight every thing was. I am using slg 6mt adapter.

[Throatpunch]

I guess my only worry is that with no heat shields the exhaust could damage the driveshaft? Isn't that rubber covering a joint

[Mog-10]

The rubber is covering the slip spline. It helps keep Grease in and and foreign objects out. It may or may not be able to withstand the heat that is back there next to the exhaust. I know the factory exhaust has a heat shield right underneath the axle CV boots , they felt it was needed on the composition of rubber in which they used.

I would wrap the exhaust at a few points to keep the degrading of objects around it with its current position.

He may be able to flip the drive shaft so the slip is at the front as in it will be a few inches farther away from the drive shaft but closer to the engine and more heat in the exhaust.

[pbonsalb]

The heat is far enough away not to cause a problem. Does not cause a problem with CF shaft either. Still, I would skip the shaft that needs adapters and weighs close to stock unless you have no other options. I would wait for the one piece CF shaft that fits to become available again. I had one for a few years and liked it, but eventually sold the car (with the shaft).

[Mog-10]

We are not taking wheel adapters off eBay. These adapters have a better fit and finish then factory. Just as the guibo could be seen as adapter. Yes m factory shafts are cool but. Everything has its cost and everything has a trade off . what are you willing to pay for it or wait for it or what are you willing to put up with.

I like the op decision to go this route he has his diff in stock location so he shouldn't have to worry about any driveline issues, he has serviceable u-joints and he can go to any driveshaft shop or him self replace the joints with off the shelf parts for pennies on the dollar of an m factory or bmw shaft.

[Throatpunch]

Originally Posted by Mog-10

We are not taking wheel adapters off eBay. These adapters have a better fit and finish then factory. Just as the guibo could be seen as adapter. Yes m factory shafts are cool but. Everything has its cost and everything has a trade off . what are you willing to pay for it or wait for it or what are you willing to put up with.

I like the op decision to go this route he has his diff in stock location so he shouldn't have to worry about any driveline issues, he has serviceable u-joints and he can go to any driveshaft shop or him self replace the joints with off the shelf parts for pennies on the dollar of an m factory or bmw shaft.

Plus I am big on after purchase support and I don't think MFactory has.enough supply to support issues if.i bought one

[pbonsalb]

It is true MFactory recently let down a buyer who had problems and appears to have done everything right to determine the source of the problems. When MFactory screwed the group buy guy out of the group buy he put together and then came into the forums touting how great its product was, I figured it would stand behind the product. I had no trouble with my original version MFactory shaft, but would not want to be the guy who did. A US based company selling a product that could be serviced or rebuilt locally has its advantages. I do like the direct fit fancy carbon fiber shaft, though.

[Kisenwether]

You might be able to flip it and put the slip joint on the transmission side. On my 1M conversion that uses SLG 1p aluminum driveshaft I have the slip on the transmission side and was able to still put the heat shield back on. Granted the e92 m3 might not allow for it but I was able to get the 1p shaft and heat shield on. I did have to "hammer"/"bend" the heatshield somewhat but it still fits and does not rub.

Also will also agree at first I was concerned on the adapters and fitment but they do fit really well. They almost "click" into place and have no play. They align up well and had no issues was a simple bolt in and tighten.

*My setup is on my 1M conversion not m3 but don't see it being a major difference.

[irokwrx]

Originally Posted by akamal92

The adapter for the DCT output flange side uses the same centering pin the oem driveshaft does. It fit nice and snug with no play and has raised mounting points the sit it flush to the flange no play.

The adapter for the differential goes in snug. has small lip that slips into the output flange of the diff with no play and all bolt hole line up perfect no playing with it to make it work or unbolting bolts to line it up properly

OP Thanks for posting this!

It's good to get feedback from someone the actually bought the part, installed the part VS someone looking at a photo and other parts on-site, and bash!

I brought a pan from them last year and had "ZERO" issues with it, when the preferred pan was not available. I am considering pulling the trigger on this due to again the "Preferred" part not being available. I just spoke with a member that's been waiting a solid year for his MPDS.

AGAIN thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback!

[roastbeef]

i'd really consider even wrapping the exhaust, and/or finding a way to reinstall the heat shield. i don't think that rubber cover on the driveshaft is going to last very long with the heat cycles it sees.
also, if you're idling through traffic, you'll likely melt the grease out of the ujoint and wear those out prematurely. not the end of the world, but keep an eye on them.

[Throatpunch]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'd really consider even wrapping the exhaust, and/or finding a way to reinstall the heat shield. i don't think that rubber cover on the driveshaft is going to last very long with the heat cycles it sees.
also, if you're idling through traffic, you'll likely melt the grease out of the ujoint and wear those out prematurely. not the end of the world, but keep an eye on them.

Agreed but wrapping an exhaust that is subject to water and salt will breakdown the exhaust. A smaller diameter driveshaft would be the best option. I wonder if the 3.5 in diameter is really necessary but i dont know about tensile strength or metals to make that call

[patroklai]

In the market for one of these. Thanks for your post.

[Adriano917]

Originally Posted by patroklai

In the market for one of these. Thanks for your post.

So am I but unfortunately they are out of stock and wont be for a few months.