Here is a look at the finished product.
Chris is a certified car guy who enjoys taking his 'Stang out on the road and "getting after it" whenever time permits. We asked him for his impressions on the RST twin-disc: "With this clutch, the pedal pressure is lighter than stock. The grab/release is perfect, and there is no clutch chatter whatsoever."
With the new lightweight clutch and flywheel installed, we figured adding a one-piece aluminum driveshaft by Coast Driveline & Gear of Ventura, California, would also be a great way to enhance the zing in our test 'Stang's drivetrain.
Coast Driveline's S197 shaft (PN CD-60350; $575) is made from T6061 aluminum and weighs 17 pounds. That's roughly half the weight of the two-piece steel units '05-'07 'Stangs receive at the factory.
Saul "The Surgeon" Gutierrez and Coast Driveline's Mark Chuhaloff installed the driveshaft in no time, and after a few weeks of road testing, car-owner Chris McCollum reports that the new aluminum unit has been flawless. "I haven't had any clearance issues with the floor or transmission tunnel, and the car revs up much quicker without any sign of vibration," Chris says.
Each S197 driveshaft kit includes this adapter hub for the pinion flange that allows perfect-fit installation of the shaft using factory bolts.
Moving the emergency brake cable slightly and a few taps of the hammer on the floor near the back of the car to knock down a high spot are the only necessary chassis mods for installing the new driveshaft. When we say "taps of the hammer," we mean it. There's absolutely no need to wail on the tunnel or floor.
Mark Chuhaloff (left) gives The Surgeon a hand putting the new one-piece shaft in place.