ok i see what your saying. i really dont want to use the stock strut rod as part of this. this is something that if it works out well we will probly make a couple of them to sell. i dont like the idea of a butt weld on the front of the mount of the strut rod. that would have to be strong enough to take the shock loads of hiting pot holes and other things.
I was researching this awhile back for my budget got to small even for this but I found some brackets from Competition Engineering here although I would have prefered to find a machined piece instead but they are alot more expensive. Try this link, http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/adjustable
One thing I had been concerned about with that type of design is how there is no pivot on the end that connects to the LCA... think about it by adjusting the strut rod your pulling/pushing one end of the LCA while the other end is a semi-fixed pivot point, geometry would indicate that by pivoting the LCA the strut-rod to frame mount should move in/out of the centerline of the car. With the rubber bushings thats no big deal sents they can compress on the sides as well but with a hard mount will cause either some bend in the strut rod or cause the LCA bushing area to slide on the camber adjusting bolt... my plan was to use a threaded clevis to connect the adjusting sleeve to the LCA mount to allow for proper geometry and eliminate unnecessary lateral load... I created a whole parts list but don't have the funds to get them... I think it's at about $100-$200 or so but then again I was also thinking of making the LCA's roller w/ screw in ball joints as well...
Hope it all works OK but I am curious to see how this works on the street. I would think its going to be very harsh with no rubber on the strut rods. I could see it for a race only car. HAve to wait and see how it rides I guess??
A Friend of mine has these: http://www.streetortrack.com/Street-or-Track-Adjustable-Strut-Rods-pr-16135.html He says they made a difference.
i have thought about there only being one pivit. first thought is that sence the stock ones only pivit in the front then why not the aftermarket ones. seeing that all the aftermarket ones only put the pivit in the front reafirms that it should work. im sure the lower control arm is forced to twist at the bushing some as the assembly travels through its arch. if it does prove to be a problem then we just get two more hiem joints and put mounts for them coming off the control arm. i am a little worried about the harshness of the solid mount. if it proves to harsh the we will put some sort of bushing in where the front mount is.
After switching to polyurethane bushings the suspension felt more solid. On a harder bump the suspension in the front can feel a little more clunky. I think one option would be to cut discs out of the current polyurethane bushings and place them between the frame and strut rod mount.
Dont forget that the strut rods are hard mounted to the lower controll arm because,(they are cheaper to mass produce this way) and the strut rods are used to adjust the caster angle of the front suspension.That said, (keep it in mind when you make your new ones). Good luck!!! Heck mustang guys have em on their cars with no ill effects.
It works with one joint obviously, it's just when I was thinking of making these I was trying to consider all engineering aspects involved, hate to mension it but I've seen these for *coff* early model imports and they have the two pivots (as well as the one pivot variation), and they use the same type of LCA and strut-rod setup as our cars. just some food for thought. As far as ride goes I was talking to a machinest awhile back who made some for his pick-up and he said that there is abit more noise but sents he knows what it is it doesn't bother him.
Thanks alot for that link (info) Dave:Handshake. I really like the looks of those and they are $100.00 Less than the ones I was looking at,and I think they are every bit as strong ,and will work just as well. I just ordered a set $380.55 shipped to my door.
THose look nice but I would like it if they were made to use the stock style bushings where it goes through the frame to keep the road vibrations from transferring through the frame. Would be good on a drag car though, let the front end lift a little easier to transfer weight.
I guess they would allow you to stiffen up the front without this happening. Interested to see how they will work.
I rebuilt my front end with all PST Poly Graphite stuff back in `92 When all of the car mags were raving about how great polygraphite stuff was. Later on "Internet" happened and I started hearing about how it was not good to have the stiff bushings in the strut rods. I`ve seen alot of people have the rods break like in the picture Darren posted, and Its always in the back of my mind "What if I launch at the track ,and when my front end settles back down one of my strut rods breaks?" Into the wall or another guys car I go! I`m tired of worrying about it so I went ahead and ordered them....SO....One less thing to worry about.
The guy that makes them, usually has a booth in Columbus, I'm tempted to buy a set this time, for my project car...
