iHeartTouge Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I searched but did not find anything regarding this. http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt73726/pd1827536/IMSA__ROD_END_TIE_RODS_ Just looking for some reviews or opinions on this from anyone who has some experience with them or building adjustable tie rods. these dont look too beefy in my opinion. I really wanna figure out how to utilize SPL tie rod ends on the Z but I dont have the skill to fabricate anything and would rather buy a tried and true aftermarket tie rod. these are the SPL suspension parts. http://www.splparts.com/main4/index.htm I have a pair of SPL's outer tie rods on my S13 and absolutely love them! They are tough as nails and I have never found a thread anywhere with someone complaining about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I have them and will be installing them on my little low budget mild zcar build. You can see pics of it in the S30 projects build under my user name... It really is tame for this crowd, but it's all I can do. I bought these to be able to adjust for bumpsteer on my car since the ride height isn't stock. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Looks to me like the JCCJDM stuff uses a regular 5/8" rod end. The thing you have to look out for is the rod end bottoming out. That's why the SPL parts have the high misalignment ends, which would allow a lot more movement before binding. I have regular rod ends on my car which has a lot less droop travel than your run of the mill Z, and mine ALMOST ran out of travel at full droop. I have a hard time thinking that a setup with a regular rod end wouldn't run out of travel without a high misalignment rod end. It would be a good thing to double check before driving the car, that's for sure. Several of us have made our own ends. I know bjhines and I did, using essentially the same method, which was to cut the threaded end off of the stock tie rod and weld it to a 5/8" circle track style tie rod. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=111435 Ride height has nothing to do with bump steer. Ride height will change what part of the curve the car is driving around in, but bump steer is created by an unequal angle between the LCA and the tie rod. I wrote up an article on it in the FAQs here: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103886 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I can't find them on the SPL website, how much are they? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Noone? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 $229 for the 240SX. Look under suspension/front multi-link arms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks Jon. Though, are those ones the same as the S30 threads? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks Jon. Though, are those ones the same as the S30 threads? Your guess is as good as mine. Also want to check the length of the tie rod end, because the turnbuckle is apparently 14 x 1.5 on one end and 5/8 - 18 on the other. If the turbuckle is too short you're kinda screwed. Another possibility is to make your own turnbuckles as discussed before and just use those super high misalignment rod ends on the end. That's really all this part is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) So on this, http://mdmetric.com/prod/widell/LH.tap.die.htm has the M14x1.5 LH tap for USD18.22. And I already have the RH tap. So here is my plan: 3/4" steel hex bar from midwest control with 1/2" thread. Drill tap one end to metric, drill and tap other end out to 5/8, bolt on QA1 high mis-alignment rod ends, done. I'm a little concerned about wall thickness being reduced. Although, its steel instead of alu that SPL use, and the wall thickness will still be 0.125" (>3mm). That would seem to be strong enough to me? Thoughts? The reason I wanna do it this way is the already drilled/tapped hex bar will mean the new drill/tap is perfectly straight, as I don't have a lathe; and I already have most of the tools needed. Dave Edited May 4, 2009 by thehelix112 Typo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 So on this, http://mdmetric.com/prod/widell/LH.tap.die.htm has the M14x1.5 LH tap for USD18.22. And I already have the RH tap. So here is my plan: 3/4" steel hex bar from midwest control with 1/2" thread. Drill tap one end to metric, drill and tap other end out to 5/8, bolt on QA1 high mis-alignment rod ends, done. I still have a 3' stick of 1" hex aluminum I bought to do the same thing. I'm a little concerned about wall thickness being reduced. Although, its steel instead of alu that SPL use, and the wall thickness will still be 0.125" (>3mm). That would seem to be strong enough to me? Thoughts? For a tie rod this is fine. Actually I'm going to be running .120 wall tubing from Coleman for my TC rod as well, and that has a lot more stress on it than the tie rod. The reason I wanna do it this way is the already drilled/tapped hex bar will mean the new drill/tap is perfectly straight, as I don't have a lathe; and I already have most of the tools needed. The difficulty in drilling and tapping the aluminum is why I ended up making some tie rods from the stock tie rods and a swaged generic 5/8" Coleman Racing tie rod. With yours predrilled I think you're a little better off, but it will still be a PITA, I'm sure. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Thanks Jon. I'll post progress when I get to it. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglist Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I spoke with Gabe at TechnoToyTuning about making some S30 Outer Tie Rods. This was a couple weeks ago and he said he would definitely put it on his list of new parts to make, so you could try e-mailing him. He makes some MR-2 tie-rods that look nice, which is what prompted me to ask him about S30 ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeleriousZ Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 For the drilling and tapping of aluminum, I can't imagine a 'cash only' style machine shop that everyone so reveres would charge that much to turn aluminum bar stock. I have found that WD-40 is a great help for any sort of 'home machining' of aluminum, especially carbide bits for removing material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 WD-40 is a BAD cutting fluid, ask any machinist. If you want something cheap that you can find around the house, use bacon grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeleriousZ Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 From what I've experienced it does a great job at keeping bits clear of aluminum chunkies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You can buy cutting compound for $nothing. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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