KurtRardin

iTrader: (11)

I like a firm ride, but more like BMW firm... not Marine Corps Amtrak firm. I think I'll like the locker life, but I'd like to avoid having my car ride like a 3/4 ton strait axle 4x4 truck (which ironically would be more likely to have a dana 60 and a detroit locker ).

I'd also like to be able to drive over paint strips in the street without it sounding like I've got a ladder rack full of aluminum extension ladders driving up a dry creekbed at 45 miles per hour.

In other words, I think I can live with the locker, but I think all rod-ends would be a bit extreme. But, having not ever been around an Fbody with all rod-ended suspension I can't say for sure. I think I'll buy one piece at a time and take baby steps.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

Good idea...FWIW, I've tried about every combination of LCAs and panhard rods there are. Rod/rod, poly/rod, rubber/rubber, poly/poly, and soon to be poly/roto joint. I'm currently running rubber/rubber LCAs (BMR), and they are pretty nice, but I want a little more firm feel to the axle while maintaining articulation, but noise won't work for me. I'm willing to give the poly/roto joint combo a try just for giggles, hoping it will stay quiet for a long time.

Every single rod-ended component I've had has eventually made noise that I didn't like, but poly/poly was NOT the answer for either the panhard rod or the LCAs. Thankfully, there are more options out there now than ever.

EchoMirage

iTrader: (3)

i never saw he was getting a locker. in that case, like meent said, it really doesnt matter what ends you get. a locker is not for handling, its for drag racing. he'll find that out the hard way if you ever do an autox or track day.

v7guy

iTrader: (1)

I had all poly and I currently have all rod ends. Can't say I notice a big difference. there is a difference, but it's not substantial... from my perspective. Rod end choice seems to make a significant difference though. Some rod ends stay quieter than others for longer periods of time. I have some "old" QA1s, supposedly the new ones aren't what they used to be. I believe a lot of guys are switching to aurora.

KurtRardin

iTrader: (11)

Yeah I'm beginning to sweat the whole locker life. At least the surgury involved in swapping over to a different carrier isnt bad at all. A little stupid to be thinking about the driveability of a diff unit after the purchase, but at least I'm starting out with the strongest and most expensive carrier for resale and that its handling characteristics will only get better if I change it out. There is always the chance that I'll get in it and freakin love the feel of a strait-line car ...which would still greatly benefit from LCAs... but something tells me that if I think that locker haters are weaklings then I'll most likely end up with all rod ended stuff.

Either way, I think I'm gonna give the new stuff from UMI a chance to get some real-world feedback.

How many of you guys just said "F#*k it" and just think the noise (even in a DD) is just a compromise for good track characteristics?

How many of you would say that all rod-ended components, while harsh, are predictable and thus worth the extra noise?

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

I tried to on many different occassions - even with it not being my daily driver, the rattling just made the car feel cheap. Granted, it is a cheap car, but I don't necessarily want to be reminded of that every time I go over a little bump.

This might be a little more up my alley - I wouldn't necessarily say that they are more predictable, but they are more precise.

That reason alone is why I'm willing to give the UMI roto-joints a whirl to see if there is some middle ground that wasn't previously available.

A good quality rod end won't make noise right away, but those rod ends are expensive, and their tolerances determine how long they will stay that way. QA1 rod ends used to be the gold standard, then something changed with their manufacturing, and the tolerances weren't as tightly controlled anymore, so it became a crapshoot with them. That's why you see people leaning more towards Aurora and FK rod ends.

KurtRardin

iTrader: (11)

Well, things for my car will be different than I had originaly planned: I was just informed that my S60 was being built with a Truetrac instead of a locker. Something got mixed up and my order was delayed so they could get another problem taken care of and when I found out about it I was informed that it was also built with a truetrac. I said "Perfect! Best mixup ever." I'll be getting a refund for the difference the locker cost me and it should hopefully ship out tomorrow. Just as I was starting to sweat the locker I find out that its not going to have one anyway. Looks like I'll be able to still enjoy my car in the rain and mabye make an autox car out of it too. I originally thought that truetracs are worthless, but I think the 35 spline dana 60 application is an exception to the normal perfomance people have with them.

I talked to Eric at Mid West Chassis and I think I will source him when I am ready to get more suspension components. He mentioned that he uses the teflon lined rod ends and has good performance and life from them. Great guy to deal with. He really took care of me as far as getting my rear end order expedited and making sure that I was aware of everything.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

If I'm not mistaken, even QA1 rod ends use a teflon lining (at least in their more expensive offerings), but as soon as the tolerances open up (which has happened to me in as little as 2,000 miles), they will rattle. It helps initially, but all rod ends that I've ever experienced have had the same fate at some point or other.

Also, do yourself a favor and check the gear pattern before you install your S60. I'm not sure if they ship those filled with oil or not (my Strange 12-bolt was shipped filled with oil and ready to go). I didn't, and my gears were loud as ****. Here's why:



I'm guessing the guy that set mine up was the same guy that filled the tag out that was attached to the housing when I opened the box, and he just so happend to mis-spell my first name (he spelled Steve "Steev"). I was impatient, and went ahead and broke the gears in, so when it comes time to have the gears reset on the spring, I'll need to buy a new ring and pinion. I hoped the setup would be dead nuts on, and it wasn't.

98LS1Kid

iTrader: (2)

Dammit. Well after reading this it seems I just wasted my money buying poly/poly LCAs. I guess they will be here tomorrow so I will give them a try and see how they do.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

In straight lines, they are just fine. You might not even notice them binding when going around tight turns, but if you were to put rod-ended ones on and swap them back and forth a few times like I have, you'd end up noticing the bind that poly creates.

KurtRardin

iTrader: (11)

Okay, I've installed my double-rod-ended PHB and I have to say that I can't even notice it's there... that's not exactly right... I can't hear it, but I can definitely feel the difference it made.

My synopsis: Street car + double rod-ended panhard bar = ... not

If anything I hear less noise now when I hit bumps in the road that are big enougn to toss the rear end around... like the right hand lane on I59.

kc533

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, the rod-ends do make more "noise." My comparison however is going from stock to adj torque arm, adj phb, and adj lca's, all of which have rod ends and are from Midwest Chassis. I have no complaints and couldn't be happier w/ the products.

BlueBird346

iTrader: (13)

Reading this thread makes me think I should have bought the rod ended PHB. I got the poly/poly. Either way, the car felt more stable in the rear.

I guess im going with the poly/roto combo with my LCAs. Seems like the best compromise for a DD.

Good luck with the S60 swap.

KurtRardin

iTrader: (11)

Ah the S60 is done! She's a monster... or a beast, rather, becase the clutch is a monster Seriously though, it's quiet, it opperates smoothly, and I swear it's quicker than my 10bolt with the same gear ratio. Still no track times

I think I want to get some SFCs and some drag radials on another set of rims first.

Striker

iTrader: (1)

Sorry but can someone post a pic of a poly and rod end LCA? The new roto joint from UMI is catching my attention but I'm real curious as to how it would compare with the rest of them as far as noise and harshness goes? The noise doesn't bother me as much as the harshness part does.

Anyone care to enlighten me? Thanks.

DropTopBird

iTrader: (17)

I had double adj rod ended lcas and phb. Im switching to single adj poly/roto for both. The dual rod ends were ok for a while, but even though I made sure the bolts were tight it just sounded like the rear was falling out. Hopefully the switch will have a little better road manners.

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

Hello
Thanks for considering UMI Performance! Our single adjustable LCA is the best bang for the $ when it comes to a Street and Strip Combo. By still giving you a poly bushing on the chassis side (therefore giving you a good ride) and still maintaining the rod end on the rear side (eliminating any binding issues that may occur). Below is a link to show you what I am explaining.

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...i04ucq3mrrj381

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will be more than glad to help.
Thanks
Brad

Striker

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the link Brad. I'm still going to wait around and see how the new roto joints are and what people have to say about them. I will be getting new suspension components come spring time for sure. As I previously mentioned I'm all for the new roto design but my car is 100% street car and don't want anything that will kill me in ride quality. I dont mind a lil harshness but nothing thats overkill.

Ed 2001 SS

While my poly/rod LCA's weren't terrible (until the rods wore out), I swapped to poly/poly because of the noise. I don't race the car anymore, so I didn't need them.