billet input shaft test.

I still wanna buy that shaft and use it in my Junker Drag Truck. It looks like it will still work!
 
Timbeaux38 said:
............Sure got quiet all of a sudden........

*crickets*
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There are more than just the transbuilders on here that have input on this. Some of them are even on here, and they choose not to get into the finger pointing that have had problems.

The sonnax one piece input sure seems to be a good contender.

Someone should start a poll.
 
And here we go again, playing ring around the roses. Its weird how nobody on here wants to or even tries to find a cause to a problem. They just point fingers at whatever is the easiest and blames that. Every one that knows Rich's truck knows its putting down huge power and is probably at the point of needing a lenco. But, somebody please explain why he has made LOTS of passes on a home built tranny with a TCS shaft and didnt twist one. Explain how a 12.0 truck twisted the same kind of shaft on 5 passes, yet a sonnax has made over 100 passes in the same truck and 40 more in a 11.20 truck? Im not a rocket scientist, but to me this seems like a problem. I dont even use opie shafts, and never will. But its not fair that all the other consumers out there are gonna get stuck with a faulty shaft when there is a known problem. Im sure there are 100s of good opie shafts out there. But something wasnt right with these. Maybe they should look into the manufacturing procees and see if there is a flaw there. Because there were definately flaws in these two shafts.
 
Blacksdieselhp said:
And here we go again, playing ring around the roses. Its weird how nobody on here wants to or even tries to find a cause to a problem. They just point fingers at whatever is the easiest and blames that. Every one that knows Rich's truck knows its putting down huge power and is probably at the point of needing a lenco. But, somebody please explain why he has made LOTS of passes on a home built tranny with a TCS shaft and didnt twist one. Explain how a 12.0 truck twisted the same kind of shaft on 5 passes, yet a sonnax has made over 100 passes in the same truck and 40 more in a 11.20 truck? Im not a rocket scientist, but to me this seems like a problem. I dont even use opie shafts, and never will. But its not fair that all the other consumers out there are gonna get stuck with a faulty shaft when there is a known problem. Im sure there are 100s of good opie shafts out there. But something wasnt right with these. Maybe they should look into the manufacturing process and see if there is a flaw there. Because there were definately flaws in these two shafts.
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I think that is a good question, but who here can answer that question? How has the ability to test the material? I do agree that pointing the finger is a lousy way to go about this.
 
Big Blue24 said:
I still wanna buy that shaft and use it in my Junker Drag Truck. It looks like it will still work!
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If you need an billet output that has a slight twist, I will gladly sell it to you.:rockwoot:

IMG_0081.jpg
 
The sonnax shaft is a very strong piece! I sell a couple of TCS shafts per week. The TCS shafts are 300m and so is the sonnax shaft. The opie shaft holds up better in race and 4/4 high horse trucks, however Ty has hundreds of passes on a sonnax. He is very heavy 4/4 and runs 11's. I don't believe this is the case with rich, but I can set a dodge trans up with the wrong second gear band lever, and clutch clearance causing a 2-3 bind issue that will slide the rear tires while under power! A binded shift is when the transmission is in two gears at one time. the input is forced to stop while the engine is still under full power. Notice your 2-3 shift is not the same forward bump that the 1-2 is. A dodge will also bind in the 1-2 shift while manually shifting. I work hard to cure these issues in a unit that is going behind big power.
 
I know a place that has tested and found the limits to about every billet shaft available, being input, intermediate or output. But I dont think I will mention the name as that will bring on a whole other round of crying.

I dont think questioning the quality of a product that has failed under the circumstances is being too harsh. Its not like we are riding around with signs in our beds saying Opie shafts suck. It is being questioned on a forum that contains a small percentage of the diesel world, where for the most part everybody here knows who everybody is in one way or another. So you would think it could be worked out in a mature way on here and some kind of positive info given, be it from Opie or someone who has tested them. But with the history of most debates that happen here, its probably not gonna happen that way.bif
 
Jeff2 said:
The sonnax shaft is a very strong piece! I sell a couple of TCS shafts per week. The TCS shafts are 300m and so is the sonnax shaft. The opie shaft holds up better in race and 4/4 high horse trucks, however Ty has hundreds of passes on a sonnax. He is very heavy 4/4 and runs 11's. I don't believe this is the case with rich, but I can set a dodge trans up with the wrong second gear band lever, and clutch clearance causing a 2-3 bind issue that will slide the rear tires while under power! A binded shift is when the transmission is in two gears at one time. the input is forced to stop while the engine is still under full power. Notice your 2-3 shift is not the same forward bump that the 1-2 is. A dodge will also bind in the 1-2 shift while manually shifting. I work hard to cure these issues in a unit that is going behind big power.
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Thanks for the info. Finally something worth reading.
 
Blacksdieselhp said:
And here we go again, playing ring around the roses. Its weird how nobody on here wants to or even tries to find a cause to a problem. They just point fingers at whatever is the easiest and blames that. Every one that knows Rich's truck knows its putting down huge power and is probably at the point of needing a lenco. But, somebody please explain why he has made LOTS of passes on a home built tranny with a TCS shaft and didnt twist one. Explain how a 12.0 truck twisted the same kind of shaft on 5 passes, yet a sonnax has made over 100 passes in the same truck and 40 more in a 11.20 truck? Im not a rocket scientist, but to me this seems like a problem. I dont even use opie shafts, and never will. But its not fair that all the other consumers out there are gonna get stuck with a faulty shaft when there is a known problem. Im sure there are 100s of good opie shafts out there. But something wasnt right with these. Maybe they should look into the manufacturing procees and see if there is a flaw there. Because there were definately flaws in these two shafts.
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I have seen every shaft out there bust in just about every application..... I have seen billets break in 400 hp street trucks.... Point is, 2 isolated incidents, one being in a race truck where we have conflicting stories about what was going on when ore before a shaft twisted is not enough to warrant a witch hunt.

If Joe Webb were still around, he would hurt some feelings on folks asking for warranties on race parts....... You guys have it lucky LOL

As far as Rich's situation, he could break a freaking anvil. Nobody can build a damned converter to handle his spool up, so it is silly to expect other tranny parts to work as if he has 350 hp....



My point here is that we are talking about a race truck..... I have seen lots of racers break and bend shafts. I bet Matt Stuckey broke more shafts in 05 than some builders install in a year. Granted, we did not have quite the same material back then, but you get my point.
 
You said you know a place that tested all the shafts but you won't say who...then chastise people for not giving info in the same breath.
Hypocritical IMHO.
 
Timbeaux38 said:
I have seen every shaft out there bust in just about every application..... I have seen billets break in 400 hp street trucks.... Point is, 2 isolated incidents, one being in a race truck where we have conflicting stories about what was going on when ore before a shaft twisted is not enough to warrant a witch hunt.

If Joe Webb were still around, he would hurt some feelings on folks asking for warranties on race parts....... You guys have it lucky LOL

As far as Rich's situation, he could break a freaking anvil. Nobody can build a damned converter to handle his spool up, so it is silly to expect other tranny parts to work as if he has 350 hp....



My point here is that we are talking about a race truck..... I have seen lots of racers break and bend shafts. I bet Matt Stuckey broke more shafts in 05 than some builders install in a year. Granted, we did not have quite the same material back then, but you get my point.
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These are not the only two incidents. Just the only two that have made it here, for now. I am in no way asking for a warranty on this shaft. Its not mine to ask for warranty on. I would just like to know why these shafts are so soft, as Im sure a lot of other guys would too. And yes I am aware of how the warranty works in western florida. I broke a 2 week old TC hub in a 400hp 2wd truck and was told to shove it when i asked for warranty. Thats why I use who i use now. He fixed and lifetime warrantied it for $100. Now I dont have to ask, I just tell them what broke and they fix it.
 
UNBROKEN said:
You said you know a place that tested all the shafts but you won't say who...then chastise people for not giving info in the same breath.
Hypocritical IMHO.
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I think its safe to say that most people reading this thread know what place Im talking about. ISB probably doesnt, but he's not here for good info, he just wants to argue aparently.

If someone doesnt know, then like you guys tell everyone, use the search button. Im sure you can figure it out that way.
 
nothing tech... just $.02 As Jeff said, I've done very well with the Sonnax shafts I have. I never had a need to launch at anymore than 15psi which may have contributed to their longevity... I don't know, maybe I don't have enough power? I manually lock it in second on every pass with the boost at close to 60psi. With 8100lbs on 37's I have no complaint.

When they do break though and if I can afford it, I have full intention of switching to Opie shafts. We see many stories of broken shafts but, 9 times out of 10 they aren't Opie's.

If anyone knows a transmission and their parts it's thee Jeff Garmon. He knows the abuse they receive and if he sells Opie's shafts... it's for a good reason.
 
triton said:
nothing tech... just $.02 As Jeff said, I've done very well with the Sonnax shafts I have. I never had a need to launch at anymore than 15psi which may have contributed to their longevity... I don't know, maybe I don't have enough power? I manually lock it in second on every pass with the boost at close to 60psi. With 8100lbs on 37's I have no complaint.

When they do break though and if I can afford it, I have full intention of switching to Opie shafts. We see many stories of broken shafts but, 9 times out of 10 they aren't Opie's.

If anyone knows a transmission and their parts it's thee Jeff Garmon. He knows the abuse they receive and if he sells Opie's shafts... it's for a good reason.
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I think for the number of shafts out there Sonnax has the lowest percentage of failure rates.

One other factor that might skew the results if lots of high HP trucks were using the opie shafts, you might see a slightly higher failure rate of the opit shafts..
 
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BlackDiesel... your problem is you want to find out what is wrong with Opies shafts, not what caused the shaft to twist.. Until you figure out the difference between the two, you'll catch ****.
 
Lucky Jeff said:
BlackDiesel... your problem is you want to find out what is wrong with Opies shafts, not what caused the shaft to twist.. Until you figure out the difference between the two, you'll catch ****.
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What is interesting is I have seen an OPIE shaft twist on a common rail that was well under 600HP on the dyno. So maybe there was something wrong with the shaft, as nobody is perfect.
 
Lucky Jeff said:
BlackDiesel... your problem is you want to find out what is wrong with Opies shafts, not what caused the shaft to twist.. Until you figure out the difference between the two, you'll catch ****.
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Im gonna catch **** regardless. Anytime you look for answers to subpar parts on here, your gonna catch ****. Unless of course it happened to the select few on here that is in the right "click". But if this thread saved at least one person from throwing their hard earned money away on faulty overpriced parts, then it was worth it. I can ask valid questions until Im blue in the face, but its just gonna keep going around in circles. So whats the point. I unintentially proved that the shaft was weak to all the people that watched the truck make the 5 passes. And then Rich proved the shaft couldnt hold up to even one spoolup and make a pass. Him and I both have made 100s of passes on other brand shafts. So we really have nothing else to prove.
 
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