Adjustable control arm conversions by RT

Started by G-E, 12:18:40 AM / 22-May-14

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G-E

The trailing arm rodend conversion kit will be ready for consumption the first week of june if all goes well... price TBD

Each pivot will be able to adjust 2cm in length and slide up/down for a total of 1cm movement, the subframe tabs can be slotted vertically for rollcenter adjustment :)



And not to forget the front, a more universal conversion kit will be available at the same time (should work with s13 arms as well)

Still waiting on the double threaded adjuster sleeves to arrive...





Basic

interesting concept - I have been looking at the S/A inner arm adjustment kit but I like this as well. What's involved in install? I assume that plate gets welded back to the subframe and the rod ends take the place of the bushings on the trailing arm?
Hey, truck engine + truck turbo - why not?


DjayS12

#3
Basic: I believe you weld the big bar on the trailing arms and you then bolt the plates with the rod ends on it. Moving the plates up and down change the camber/roll center and bolting in and out the rod end adjust the toe.

Any idea when these will be available? If fast enough, I might buy them instead of making my own to save some times. Both the rear and front setup.

see my build thread!

G-E

Djay you are correct, you can always weld the whole plate at an angle to already move everything somewhat, and you can slot the tabs on the subframe vertically for more adjustment...

Yea I am behind on a couple of small components, but I should have everything ready first week of june...

I may offer a plate with multiple stud positions as a second revision later, to make life easier for the super slammed :)

DjayS12

Will the rod ends be included? Or it's the buyer to buy is own rod ends?

see my build thread!

G-E

Depends on pricing I get, but that's the plan...

G-E

So I have almost everything nailed down for costs...  I am just working with a new revision of the backing plate for the rears

Installation will be very very simple, as it requires a straight cut, and some welding... if you're good with a tape measure, a square, a sawzall, and a handfile, you can do all the prep work for someone else to do the welding

The FRONT kit will be $170-180+ship

The double adjusters should allow >1" of safe length adjustment, the recommended install is to split the difference, allowing for longer and shorter total length

Keep in mind the tension rod holes will have to be slotted in the opposite direction of the length adjustment to avoid binding

_____________________________

The REAR kit will be $280-300+ship

The rear kit should allow >3* of camber correction using alternative stud positions for coarse adjustment, fine tuned with the slotted plates from there

The outer plate will be installed to slide horizontally, the inner plate to slide vertically, track width adjustment will be possible with flipping the rodend spacers around, and/or cutting the spacers, then using washer stacks to take up the difference where needed

Toe and wheel position will be adjustable by extending the rodends from the turnbuckles, each side should allow 20mm of safe extension from it's fully wound in position... again when measuring to cut, bias your cut to allow maximum travel in the direction you want, or split the difference, using a combination of extending and retracting the two pivots

** rodends and some other hardware is arriving early next week, once I have a final decision on the backing plate design, I will have 20 made, should take about a week from there

DjayS12

As soon you have a front and rear set ready for shipment let me know. I have PayPal ready and i'm willing to take pictures of the install and provide feedback.

see my build thread!

D-sport S12

Jesse R

Keichi Tsuchiya: "I'm afraid if I raced you on the street I'd push you to your death."


G-E

Current backing plate design:



Should help stiffen the whole trailing arm if you leave the braces connected, otherwise it can be cut out to save weight

G-E

All the studs and nuts and things arrived... still no rodend hardware blah... I hate waiting

DjayS12

Getting there! I hate waiting after you waiting for bits but hey what can i do!

Keep us updated.

see my build thread!

G-E

#13
Assembled with backing plate...  the studs I sourced are too long, but I don't have much choice besides ordering specialty studs through a specialty supplier at triple the cost...  cutting is free though!

So if you see each side has several positions for the adjuster plate, this is because the same plate is used for left and right side installation, the location of the studs is what determines which is which... this leaves 3 possible base positions for camber, 1 for more negative, 2 for more positive, the adjusters then move the camber positive or negative from there.

The clamping plates are held by locknuts and washers, the plates will move with as little as 1/4 turn of the nuts, 1/2 turn would be fully loose, and because the turnbuckle has a flange that overlaps the nut area, there is little risk of misaligning the plate.




DjayS12

#14
Pretty! I just notice that the bolted plates don't sit agains the backing plates.. I guess it is from the rod adjuster that stick out past the plate a little bit so it won't be like that once installed?

*EDIT* Just re-read the last post properly. So the blue plate just clamp the  adjuster agains the backing plate so it is meant that way. Any idea of the torque that should be applied to the nuts to make sure it doesn't slide on the slots?

I really dig that kit! Best way to get rid of bushing binding and camber issue at the same time.

see my build thread!

D-sport S12

Jesse R

Keichi Tsuchiya: "I'm afraid if I raced you on the street I'd push you to your death."


G-E

Quote from: DjayS12
Pretty! I just notice that the bolted plates don't sit agains the backing plates.. I guess it is from the rod adjuster that stick out past the plate a little bit so it won't be like that once installed?
Yea the clamping plate pushes entirely on the turnbuckle, the plate has a recess so all the clamping force is applied to the turnbuckle, this also means that there's room to tack weld the studs; better still, wear will not cause a loss of clamping ability by bottoming out, ever :)

Quote from: DjayS12
*EDIT* Just re-read the last post properly. So the blue plate just clamp the  adjuster agains the backing plate so it is meant that way. Any idea of the torque that should be applied to the nuts to make sure it doesn't slide on the slots?
Very little force required, you can go from full tight to loose enough to tap with a mallet in 1/4 turn, I'd say 25-30ft-lbs is all they need... they should be tightened in sequence like a wheel, but if you just go in stages it will probably be fine (you'd have to crank one really tight before touching the others to misalign the plate)

PS. the plate is 10mm aluminum, both the tolerance to the turnbuckle and distance to the studs are small, there's no chance of deflection within those distances


DjayS12

So pretty much everything is ready except for the rod ends that you are waiting for?

see my build thread!


D-sport S12

So happy about this, can't say it enough.
When do you figure these will be ready for sale?
Jesse R

Keichi Tsuchiya: "I'm afraid if I raced you on the street I'd push you to your death."