Polaris Slingshot Angle Drive Brace by DDMWorks

    Super happy to finally release these after a long development, the DDMWorks Angle Drive Brace - $179


    Kits start shipping October 27th.


    https://www.ddmworks.com/Polar…October-27th-_p_2940.html


    The strongest bolt-on angle drive brace available. Designed to strengthen and support the weakest point in the Polaris Slingshot drivetrain, the angle drive. Manufactured from laser cut 1/4" thick steel, solid billet aluminum and secures with Class 10.9 metric hardware. Powdercoated in your choice of various colors.




    Why is a brace needed? - In 2016 we started to get reports that some Slingshot owners were having issues with angle drives breaking. The angle drive is in the back of the Slingshot and has the driveshaft from the transmission on one side and the sprocket for the belt on the other side and is similar to a differential in a regular automobile. After talking to these owners, we learned that cracks were forming in the angle drive and sometimes causing the neck of the angle drive to break completely. We started looking into ways to make an affordable, yet strong brace that could help support the neck of the angle drive to prevent these failures. First we looked into the design of the angle drive and how some of the failures happened, it became obvious that the pinion was trying to move during shock loading in 3 different directions. These 3 forces on the neck of the stock angle drive were in places not fully supported stock, which was causing the cracks or failures to happen. One force tries to push the pinion to the side, another force tries to push the pinion up and the last force tries to push the pinion forward. When these forces were getting high enough, a failure of the angle drive neck was occurring. When the drivetrain of the Slingshot was loaded quickly or shocked, like during tire bouncing while power is applied (wheel hop) or even just during rapid accelerations these forces would spike and that was when failures typically occurred. Once we knew what was causing the failures, we set out to design something to help. After working on the brace for more than a year, we developed the DDMWorks angle drive brace, the strongest bolt-on brace available for the stock angle drive. The brace kit uses massive 1.5" thick collars to secure the neck of the angle drive. Those collars then bolt to a 1/4" steel bracket spanning the entire width of the angle drive, supporting the collars on two sides. Together this brace helps support the neck from all 3 forces and helps prevent the failure of the neck of the angle drive.


    o•ver•kill /'ov?r?kil/ noun : the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary.


    Our goal when designing this brace was to offer a bolt on solution that some people might think is overkill. We carried this goal even into the production of the separate pieces. The steel bracket is made from CNC laser cut HPR&O steel. What is "HPR&O"? It is hot rolled steel that is then dipped into an acid bath [ie: pickled] to remove the scale. After that, a layer or oil is applied to surface to prevent oxidation or rust formation. That surface finish by itself is sufficient to prevent surface corrosion, but we go one step further and apply powder coat for more protection and an aesthetic piece. That extra layer of powdercoat protection will help the brace against the elements, salt, road debris etc. to keep it looking great for years to come. The billet aluminum collar is machined from solid 1.5" thick aluminum, thicker than anything else out there. We then sandblast those aluminum parts to give a nice smooth appearance and finish with clear anodize for protection. To bolt the brace together, we chose Grade 10.9 with a tensile strength of 150,000 psi, overkill for sure.


    https://www.ddmworks.com/Polar…October-27th-_p_2940.html





    Quote from SlingSC

    Dave@DDMWorks have you had the time to verify if this brace will work with the 2.5” welter exhaust?

    We did have a chance to verify on the Slingshots that we have here the brace will fit with the Welter 2.5" exhaust. We do not think it is going to fit all Welter 2.5" exhausts though, as there was a lot of variance in production and also installation. As for your particular Slingshot though, it should fit no problem.

    I’ve been waiting on this race for awhile, glad to see it’s a reality.


    I’m sure others are in this same situation, looking for advice. I have the Welter 2.5” and it’s installed with Permatex sealed joints. How difficult is it to remove the rear section of the exhaust with that sealant on there? How is that done, use a torch to heat it up? If it’s a real PITA then maybe I’ll skip the brace. Thanks!

    Quote from ACarl84

    I’ve been waiting on this race for awhile, glad to see it’s a reality.


    I’m sure others are in this same situation, looking for advice. I have the Welter 2.5” and it’s installed with Permatex sealed joints. How difficult is it to remove the rear section of the exhaust with that sealant on there? How is that done, use a torch to heat it up? If it’s a real PITA then maybe I’ll skip the brace. Thanks!


    I'll tell you from experience that it's a pain to remove. I didn't have to heat, thought I was going to have to though, it took a LOT of twisting and moving back and forth to get it out.


    Slopoke can attest me working on mine to get it out, and me doing a lot of cussing.

    Quote from wokka

    I'll tell you from experience that it's a pain to remove. I didn't have to heat, thought I was going to have to though, it took a LOT of twisting and moving back and forth to get it out.


    Slopoke can attest me working on mine to get it out, and me doing a lot of cussing.

    Yeap, there are a lot of new words that come out of the mouth trying to get exhaust tubes apart that have the sealant in them. Fortunately, it is the one in the back, which does give a little hope.

    Quote from Dave@DDMWorks

    Yeap, there are a lot of new words that come out of the mouth trying to get exhaust tubes apart that have the sealant in them. Fortunately, it is the one in the back, which does give a little hope.

    thanks guys, I’ll give it a go. Since putting the SC on earlier this year I’d like a little insurance on the angle drive.

    Quote from ACarl84

    thanks guys, I’ll give it a go. Since putting the SC on earlier this year I’d like a little insurance on the angle drive.

    When you get a chance, you can text (864-907-6004) or email - dave@ddmworks.com - over a picture of what your exhaust looks like by the angle brace and we can take a look at it also. I have a couple more Slingshots I am installing the brace on this week and 2 of those have the Welter 2.5" on them. I am hoping to get some better pictures then to show what has to be moved and how close the exhaust can be to the angle drive brace to help.

    Quote from Dave@DDMWorks

    When you get a chance, you can text (864-907-6004) or email - dave@ddmworks.com - over a picture of what your exhaust looks like by the angle brace and we can take a look at it also. I have a couple more Slingshots I am installing the brace on this week and 2 of those have the Welter 2.5" on them. I am hoping to get some better pictures then to show what has to be moved and how close the exhaust can be to the angle drive brace to help.

    Sure, I’ll send some photos of before and after install and I’ll let you know if I need to move anything else

    I got the angle drive brace installed last night and happy with how it turned out. At first I didn’t think it would fit without some grinding of the brace in order to clear the welter 2.5’’ exhaust but it worked out well. I found that I had not fully seated the middle joint so I was able to shift the pipe near the angle drive forward just a little bit to give enough clearance. I ended up removing 2 sections of the exhaust and it was fairly easy. Very happy that I put the Permatex between the pipe and the clamp rather than inside the pipe joint. A lot fewer colorful words were needed than I expected!

    Forgive the orientation of the pics but I got it installed. Not super hard but some parts are aggravating since you're working in a tight space. Product is solid and customer service at ddm is top notch.