wire drives verse flex drives

[bonewar]

ok what is the difference,which one is the stronger , more suited to a twin drive cat, Ive got both but not shaw on which one to use, also is the Teflon really needed in the stuffing tube. thanks guys.

[bonewar]

ok what is the difference,which one is the stronger , more suited to a twin drive cat, Ive got both but not shaw on which one to use, also is the Teflon really needed in the stuffing tube. thanks guys.

any comments would be appreciated.

[andym]

I only use flex shafts, mostly because I have not had a boat that would seem to suit a wire drive. I have found them reliable and cost effective. I do not use teflon.

[blastoff]

I thought teflon was the hot ticket ??? Now I am confused ???
Please explain I have a set of flex drives on order and need to know ASAP

[Jeepers]

I used both and they performed extremely well, I do not use teflon, drive line feels smoother with out it.

[Simon.O.]

I will throw in my limited knowledge, it may help, who knows.

I have only used flex in an OB, that was sucessfull.

I have 3 of my own wire-drives running well in my homebuilt hulls.
I have chosen WD as it is much cheaper for me to fabricate the whole drive line.
WD if set up well has a lower drag in the tunnel for cats and hydros too.
A twin set-up for a cat is out of my game............at the moment.
There are some very qualified people here on that subject.

The one thing I do KNOW about WD setups is what eveyone else will tell you.
They can not take the bends that flex will.
A relaxed drive line angle will work wonders for releasing energy down the shaft.

I am having a ball playing with WD systems and here is why. I can outfit 4 or more hulls with a WD setup for the price of one motor-to-flex coupler and cable.

I would love to play with flex cable setups to allow for more choice in motor placement, and to make a more informed opinion. However at this time I will stick to wire drives, as a recent convert from solid shafts with universal joints that is.

FD vs WD is a debate that will possibly never be completed.

Cheers, Simon.

[Jeff Wohlt]

Wire drives are superior in several ways.

Less resistance,

Easier to maintain. (wipe off and oil and put away)

Wire drives are smaller dia, .062 wire can run with no teflon in 1/8" KS brass so smaller stuffing tube.

Wiredrives do not have the wind up and whip a cable does.

Wire does not shorten under load as cable does.

They work very well in monos, riggers and Cats but even better in cats when the motor is in the tunnel.

I use .078 (2mm) for larger power.

They can take a decent bend with no problems. Teflon is optional. I always say that metal to metal will create heat and wear but teflon keeps the heat down and is slick with little lbe. Many do not run teflon and that is ok as well.

[robby76]

so JW, you seem to offer a good selection of wire drives. question is, what do you reccomend for a cat set up running 33,000 rpms?

and what size brass tubing to use for stuffing tube

what about teflon sleeve in stuffing tube?

you offer .064, .078, and .093 in 3/16th shaft.

next question, is the wire all the way thru the shaft and shaft notched to let drive dog set screw bite into the wire drive and glued in with retaining compound?

i know your web site has a document explaining the use of wire drives and i have read it and these are the questions needing answers.

[Steven Vaccaro]

i know your web site has a document explaining the use of wire drives and i have read it and these are the questions needing answers.

The first guys running wire drives built them that way. Andy Kunz has helped many of us with wire drives, he's always pushed for any connected piece to have both a glued and mechanical bond. IE, for a battery connector, he didnt like deans, because there is a glued bond(the solder) but no mechanical bond. For a wire drive the drive dog set screw on the home made shafts makes a mechanical bond and the loctite is the glue. But on commercially available shafts its not economically feasible to drill a perfectly straight hole in 2 1/4" shaft. So there is only a glued bond. So far the glued shafts have been doing very well. It takes a good cleaned and sanded joint.

[Eyekandyboats]

i love wire dives :).l i only use wire drives now.
i have my whiplash going faster now with one. i saw a 1.5 mph difference between a .150 flex and a .062 wire.

[robby76]

thank you gentlemen, sure appreciate the response.

[Eggo83]

so if you gained 1.5mph difference, why so? if you dont mind me asking? just trying to determine difference.

And in reference to main point, i read on here somewhere once, put a .98 flex drive into the appropriate sized Brass tube and spin it, then do the same in the teflon tube, the difference is noticeably less friction in the brass tube. And i assume this works the same for wire drives. And anything metallic and round really otherwise piston motors would have teflon liners in the cylinders.

Correct me if my logic is ill aimed??

[Eggo83]

poor example seeing pistons dont spin rotation wise, ignore me. better example may have been an axle in a diff??

[Eyekandyboats]

eggo.
i have no idea i was just stating the fact.
i guess because there is less resistance and rotating mass

[Eggo83]

cheers, just curious. wondered why.