TeamSwift

Unsure why you are so dead set on poly bushings... road noise blaa blaa. The intent here is to stop the traditional flex and be able to apply some adjustment..non?

If you have em already... use em... I guess thats the answer...
as for replacing bolts... enter stage left.... DATTMAN..... go on Derek, explain the install to those less informed....

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Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.HP is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how much you push the wall out.

Trying half-heartedly to stay SCCA legal. In FSP I can substitute material from rubber to poly but not to metal and not from flex-type bushing to spherical. There's a bit of grey area for this substitution on control links for safety related reasons associated with RWD cars, but it doesn't really apply. On the other hand, locals I asked about this basically thought suspension was "open" in FSP as long as the original attachment points are used. Not true, but obviously not a lot of scrutiny. I may just go with some decent Heims after all--guess I better get the boots too.

The spacers I made from the existing metric bolts to 5/8 are also not much material so the whole business should still be pretty stiff. 1/2" is even closer, almost to the point of simply wrapping the bolt with teflon tape or something. But others have swapped out to 5/8 or 1/2 bolts? That seems way more difficult on the knuckle side.

Here are the pieces I finally got from Speedway Motors, in case anyone is following:



And on the car:



Item#

Item Description

Qty

Unit Price

Ext. Price
91008051-STR Stainless Steel RH Rod End 2 $14.99 $29.98
91008052 Stainless Steel 4-Bar Rod End - Straight Shank/LH Thread2 $17.99 $35.98
106362131 Afco Swaged Aluminu m Tube - 13.5" 2 $12.99 $25.98
91001156 Stainless Jam Nut, 5/8" RH 2 $2.99 $5.98
91001056 Stainless Jam Nut, 5/8" LH 2 $2.99 $5.98

Total with NA shipping was $120.

I went ahead and included the part numbers for everyone because the rod ends were actually very hard to find--heim joints are fine, but I actually think these are better because they don't need to handle misalignment and are actually stiffer as a result. The nylon bushings are also much stiffer than poly while remaining SCCA legal in my class (I think...) if anybody else is in the same predicament.

I should probably replace with 1/2 inch bolts but the original hardware was close enough and I haven't had any problems simply ignoring the slight tolerance mismatch in mounting hardware for now. The rod ends are miraculously so close the the width of the original that it is like they were made to fit. No weird clunking, no binding, just less tendency for rod flex to trigger snap oversteer on corner exit. Hooray!



Note: One of the aluminum swedge tubes had bad threads when it arrived. Speedway sent me another one, no questions asked, but remember to slather your bar ends with anti-sieze as a precaution regardless. Removing the bar end from the bad tube was a minor struggle.

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Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

Nice! shame you had to do the toe bars twice but at least you won't ever need to do these ones again

That looks way better than some other ones that someone posted in here last year, they were for a farming application, but they didnt have any kind of lasting bushing setup on each side.....these look like they have a good rubber / neoprene bushing..I ended up throwing the others away from the farming place after I saw them in person. I wish I could find the link.

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2001 Swift 4/5, 3.52 trans, AC, Power Steering, 16580r13s
1993 Mitsubishi Galant 2.0 16 valve auto
1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 2nd Gen 2.4 DOHC 4G64 10.5:1 pistons, 2.25 catback, 160CHP

I started out with the tractor links too--it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the Heim joint (sherical metal bushing) wore so quickly that the clunking quickly became unbearable, a common experience documented on here by others that have also tried them.

The bushing in the ones I got from Speedway is actually nylon hard plastic. For reasons I can't yet explain the one on the left side makes a creaking noise when the suspension is compressed through its motions, but it functions without binding and these are doing what I need them to do on autocross days, namely making oversteer a controllable phenomenon rather than a sudden one-way trip to facing the wrong direction (do not pass go, do not collect $200). They are not supposed to need lubrication, but I've thought about trying to grease the creaky one. So, these are a bit noisy and stiff but are continuing to work great for me--I've put about 6,000 miles and 13 autocross runs on them at this point. A much better solution.

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Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

Nice thread. Are these bushings still working/wearing well? I am torn about hyme wear for a daily driver.

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1998 3/5, GR2 KYBs new mounts all around, Spring rubber spacers for that nice handling and rally look, MB x 7 wheels, Drilled and Slotted front discs, ceramic pads, New Lower control arms, New inner outer tie rods, Urethane bushings and zerk fittings, Urethane sway bar endlinks and bushings. new half shafts, New front bearings, Dark tinted windows, New 2 core radiator, 195 thermostat, Push button start. Silicone hoses (blue) installed CS 130 (105 amp) alternator conversion.

Yes, they still work great.

I ended up shimming out the small space between the 12mm bolt and 1/2" hole with strips I cut from a beer can. They didn't shift at all during normal driving, but I would sometimes find that my alignment had shifted a mm or so after racing.

They can also make some creaking noises unless you lube them every so often (even though they are not supposed to need it), but they don't bind, and it's nothing like the clunk you get from worn heim joints. I am very happy with the way these work, and while I've recently retired this car to mostly "toy car" status so it gets fewer miles, I've put well over 10,000 miles on this setup at this point with no problems.

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Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

Just ordered a set

Thanks for the numbers Teeth

Another quick tip for those that decide to build a set of these:

While I wrestled them into place a couple of times without it, I eventually filed a tiny bit off the bottom of the inboard "box" that they bolt up to so they'd slide easily into place with less drama. When you install them it will be quickly obvious where to file.

3 year old topic, but this is Exactly what I was looking for!

These are the exact SpeedWay parts that I picked out.



Was just agonizing over the 1/2 vs 12mm size. Since I do not use the stock eccentric bolt, for the center mount, going to a 1/2" bolt will not be a problem.



I'll shim the knuckle side the same as Teeth did.

I too am tired of the rattle, rattle, that heim joints make over time.
Bonus is when the nylon wears out, the inserts are replaceable. Thanks Teeth!

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.........I'll be back in a bit........


Extreme Make Over....SnowFish Addiction

1991 Metro Xfi Sport, Crower F12142 Cam, +2 degrees on adjustable sprocket, .020 Over, Balanced & Blue Printed, 3.79 final drive, WhiteLine Bushings Everywhere, 185/60R14's, TBI Bridge Delete, Edelbrock Air Cleaner, Stainless Header, 2 Inch Exhaust, Magnaflow GlassPack, Swift Twin Exit Muffler.

A quick update on dealing with the hardware mismatch: They are pretty simple so I got a local machine shop to make replacement inserts for the nylon that fit the metric bolts exactly.

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Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

Good advise. I'll do the same.
How's the Nylon holding up to all the pounding?

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.........I'll be back in a bit........


Extreme Make Over....SnowFish Addiction

1991 Metro Xfi Sport, Crower F12142 Cam, +2 degrees on adjustable sprocket, .020 Over, Balanced & Blue Printed, 3.79 final drive, WhiteLine Bushings Everywhere, 185/60R14's, TBI Bridge Delete, Edelbrock Air Cleaner, Stainless Header, 2 Inch Exhaust, Magnaflow GlassPack, Swift Twin Exit Muffler.

Great! No problems, no clunk, just work

_________________

Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

You can use Mazda 323f (BG) rear control arms One bushing must be shortened.


Mazda use bigger bolts. Some spacers or bushing replacement needed

My control arms with new poli bushings:

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Swift S1300 in progress