Thread: Tubular front control arms

More pics, this is on a B14.

I will have all 5 sets built by the end of the week next week if all goes as planned. Pics of progress will be posted later on.

Mark

Got the machineded parts coming in next week. So its only about a weeks out now.

Mark

Man, I just replaced my LCA with a Nissan OEM part...dammit.

**didnt read the thread, but was interested when idea introduced

now those pics look great, how do they manage with the poly inserts? and what balljoint would be needed? and if included how much?

YOur in cassleberry, about 15min away. Why dont you stop by and you can see them on a car?

Mark

mark lmk if the 5th spot is still available and i'll paypal the deposit.

PM sent

wats the difference in using that solid ball joint vs a regular ball joint?

The spherical rod end is generally only used in racing applications, due to its non-isolated design from dirt and other debris. It will need to be periodically checked and replaced, not a set it and forget it thing.

Basically it is similar to a conventional passenger car balljoint, in the fact that it is a circular ball that rotates in a housing fixtured to the control arm.

This rod end, since it is threaded would allow for the rod end to be moved in and out in relation to the control arm end to hypothetically adjust camber. Camber is conventionally adjusted from the top via camber plates.

That said, I would highly suggest not adjusting these out, since rod ends are not designed to be loaded in bending. The rod end sticking out of the control arm is a single shear part loaded in bending and tension/compression, not what I would call typical engineering practice. I would caution that the rod end should be screwed in as far as possible to reduce bending moment and shear on that rod end shaft. I should also note the higher the hub is spaced upward from the rod end the larger the bending moment becomes on that bolt. Care should be used when spacing these as typical bolts are only designed for tension.

That said best of luck to those who use these, I am very interested to see how these hold up. It should be made clear to anyone who purchases these that those rod ends should be inspected very frequently, as should the bolts parallel to the hub. Check the rod end threads for shear/bending fatigue, and the eyelet for deformation, which can lead to seizure and failure of the rod end, resulting in the bottom of the hub parting from the control arm. Also as I have mentioned before, bending moments are largest under braking, arguably the worst point for the wheel to become disconnected from the vehicle.

Dudeman