Axle shafts -- How important for a dual purpose car?

[BackInBlack]

So the donor car for my BOSS 302 "chassis swap" came with a bent axle shaft. The housing was fine but we had to replace the passenger side axle. I love my mechanic but one of the things he did that I didn't like was he went ahead and replaced it without consulting me. So I have a Dorman OEM replacement axle shaft on my passenger side. So far I don't have any problems with it but I've been concerned about it since we finished the build. Had I been consulted I probably would have went with Strange or Moser (and replaced both). But since then, having done more research, it seems to me that most of the aftermarket axle shafts for our cars are more geared toward drag racing. I wonder if the extra hardness in most of these aftermarket axle shafts results in a reduction in ductility.

Here are a couple of really great articles on axle shafts that I found for reference:
Axle Essentials for Racing and Performance
Steel Under Pressure: Axleshaft Theory 101

How many of you guys have actually broken or bent an axle shaft on the track outside of accident happening? It seems to me that most of you guys are running the original axle shafts that came with these cars, so I'd think that they can't be all that bad for the track. If you guys knew you had a Dorman axle shaft under your car, would you feel a need to replace/upgrade it?

I will say that while I was initially very concerned about that Dorman axle shaft, it certainly appears to be very similar to the OEM one. I've come to believe that it's probably pretty close. But I, like a lot of you guys I'm sure have had pretty bad experiences with Dorman products. I'd like to think that an axle shaft is something that they wouldn't mess up too bad but... would like to hear you guys' opinions.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Normally when they get bent it is because they have slid sideways into some immovable object and bent the area where the flange meets the shaft. As far as "twisting" I'm sure it could become an issue on a drag car, but us, not so much. The first sign of a bent flange will be the brakes squeaking while you push it around the pits.

 

[BackInBlack]

Normally when they get bent it is because they have slid sideways into some immovable object and bent the area where the flange meets the shaft.

That's what happened to my donor car from what I can tell.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Thread 'diff straightening' https://trackmustangsonline.com/threads/diff-straightening.17210/

 

[blacksheep-1]

The way the trick guys do it, is to install pieces that mimic the bearings, and slide a ground bar through the whole diff,noting where it doesn't fit. They then put the whole thing in a press, or heat render it to straighten it.