[ThangCu35]

I designed and produced this for my own since no vendor makes these. It involves tapering and boring out the stock ball joint hole for the new "low friction" ball joint.

So I bit the bullet.

Still in testing phase. I will get a sway bar tab from twosrus and custom make my own endlinks. Just got an alignment today, but ran into a small issue with a defective rod end. Setting camber and caster was a BREEZE. Front end feels solid as it can be

More pictures to come after I replace the defective rod and realign it.

 

[nocoolname]

Looks like the ball joints would be easily replaceable if needed as well.

 

[OldMan]

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[ThangCu35]

OM - I used the factory mounting locations.

 

[OldMan]

Post Deleted

 

[Jahnathon]

Very interesting. Just out of curiosity, is there any real weight difference between your set-up and the stock LCA?

 

[Chuck01]

Looks good, curious how you plan to connect the sway bar with both links to keep the load equal to both.

 

[dev]

I will reserve judgement but for now it looks dangerous. I would only use something like this on a track.

 

[ThangCu35]

Very interesting. Just out of curiosity, is there any real weight difference between your set-up and the stock LCA?

I believe mine is on a lighter scale, I did not weigh them.

Looks good, curious how you plan to connect the sway bar with both links to keep the load equal to both.

I will be using this from twosrus.com. It's meant for MK1 MR2 that do not come with a sway bar tab on some earlier models. This will put the load on the strut housing.

 

[SuperWhiteGT4]

When you use those, you should analyze how that affects the sway bars effect on the roll rate.

Also, Manatee racing Japan sells a similar product, but the installed another arm between the two to help with the flex.

 

[ThangCu35]

I will reserve judgement but for now it looks dangerous. I would only use something like this on a track.

I understand your thoughts and you are absolutely correct - this should be used on track. I did a lot of research before I took on this project. The ball joint and assembly were meant for older muscle cars and the rod ends I use are for moderate to high horse power applications.

I expected it to be stiff with more vibration since I eliminated the bushings altogether. To my surprise, it rides almost like the oem LCA; however it does have some more noises when going over bumps and rough roads. With the low friction ball joint and rod ends, there is less suspension rigidity which allows shock and spring to have more precise wheel control. Little adjustments with my coilovers can really be felt going through bumps and curves. This will take some time for me to test its reliability and how worthwhile it can be for all the trouble I went through.

 

[SDSUsnowboards]

This is exactly what I need for various reasons. Very, very cool.
Spyderchat hasn't seen something like this since... since before I became a member.

PS any plan to commercialize this?

 

[nocoolname]

Factory Five uses a similar setup on their 33 hot rod kit. Their rod ends and clevises have a 3/4" shank though.

 

[ThangCu35]

Factory Five uses a similar setup on their 33 hot rod kit. Their rod ends and clevises have a 3/4" shank though.

I use 5/8" shank but I believe that's more than enough for a 2400 lbs car. Most important is the rod ends.. cheap ones will fail and seize up in no time.

This is exactly what I need for various reasons. Very, very cool.
Spyderchat hasn't seen something like this since... since before I became a member.

PS any plan to commercialize this?

I must go through the testing phase first. I really don't know how much people are willing to chip out for a piece like this. Since I use high quality materials (for reliability reasons), it already costs $300+ in parts alone.

 

[nocoolname]

I use 5/8" shank but I believe that's more than enough for a 2400 lbs car. Most important is the rod ends.. cheap ones will fail and seize up in no time.

For the rod ends alone, the typical maximum radial load is around 18,000 lbs so I'd say you're good. Looks like you were able to use regular misalignment spacers in combination with regular spacers? Have you thought about using a rebuildable style heim like a Johnny joint? Although I'm unsure on the width for the the mouting to the chassis.

 

[akomsr1]

Nice straight forward design. The only funny part is the one circled in red. I would have just welded this part onto the ball joint housing. Not sure why you chose to bolt it there, especially with only one bolt.

 

[ThangCu35]

For the rod ends alone, the typical maximum radial load is around 18,000 lbs so I'd say you're good. Looks like you were able to use regular misalignment spacers in combination with regular spacers? Have you thought about using a rebuildable style heim like a Johnny joint? Although I'm unsure on the width for the the mouting to the chassis.

I looked into some of those rebuildable heims, as well as rod ends with bushings (add some comfort for street). The sizes just don't match up. The thing that made this work is the collar ring ball joint assembly, which uses 5/8" - 18 and 3/8" hole for the clevis.

akomsr1
Nice straight forward design. The only funny part is the one circled in red. I would have just welded this part onto the ball joint housing. Not sure why you chose to bolt it there, especially with only one bolt.

I thought the same. But my flux core welder will make a big mess there I may consider having a nice tig to go in place of the bolt.

 

[akomsr1]

I thought the same. But my flux core welder will make a big mess there I may consider having a nice tig to go in place of the bolt.

Ah so I'm assuming the ball joint housing came with that tab welded on already?

 

[nocoolname]

Nice straight forward design. The only funny part is the one circled in red. I would have just welded this part onto the ball joint housing. Not sure why you chose to bolt it there, especially with only one bolt.

The bolt is in double shear and is a grade 8. Plus with that being able to rotate around the bolt there is less binding when making adjustments.