Angle of half Shaft with transaxle

[Gourav]

I have this strange feeling that the half shafts should be absolutely horizontal i.e. with zero static angular articulation but found a few opposing points from here & there.
Also many pics of cars in previous competition show half shafts at an angle other than 90 degrees with transaxle.

Would someone care to explain, with reasons, what is the ideal scenario??

[Gourav]

I have this strange feeling that the half shafts should be absolutely horizontal i.e. with zero static angular articulation but found a few opposing points from here & there.
Also many pics of cars in previous competition show half shafts at an angle other than 90 degrees with transaxle.

Would someone care to explain, with reasons, what is the ideal scenario??

[Hector]

Why do you think there are shafts at different angles? It's not that hard to reason through.

First, near-zero angles are ideal. You don't want exactly zero, however. A little articulation forces the joints to move through their range of motion and keeps the bearings lubricated.

Secondly, Taylor Race Engineering, the company the makes the majority of FSAE joints (at least in the US) will tell you what their maximum recommended angle is.

Lastly, while extreme angles are less efficient and more prone to failure, packaging is a concern on any car. We recently went from running near-zero angle to the maximum recommended angle. Why? Because we saved a lot of weight at very little cost.

The surprising (or not) thing about this is that each and every one of these points has been discussed at length on the forum. You guys can do better at researching! I don't think I've ever actually asked a question here because I found the answer first by searching the forums, in a textbook, a publication, a technical paper, from an experienced professional, or on Google.