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A theoretical question here.

Will unequal length axles on an IRS cause handling issues?

I know all about torque steer in a FWD car but I've never explored the results of having a significantly longer rear axle on one side.

Not something I have personally witnessed but a friend of mine ran a drag car called Metronome , this used a landrover rear axle that has the diff offset to one side. It was because of this he used to stage it slightly to one side on launch to compensate, so yes although this is with more traction/power than a road car it does very slightly affect straight line stability on and off the throttle.

Bob

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Mancave http://s1116.photobucket.com/user/mypic ... ow/mancave

my car uses different length shafts but not by much, it doesn't seem to affect anything.

interesting picture of Santa Pod in the early 70's, i was probably there somewhere.

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My car (mazdaspeed3) has the passenger half shaft substantially thicker than the shorter driver's side shaft to compensate for the length difference. In stock form it's not enough to tame the torque steer but with the much more solid polyurethane mounts I currently have in the car it will track a nearly straight line while putting 375 ft-lbs to the ground.

As far as handling in ways other than straight line acceleration I can't say. CV axles won't rely on pivot point locations like the control arms. There will be a slight weight difference but it shouldn't be enough to make a noticeable difference in handling.

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