Ojustracing

iTrader: (4)

Now I will chime on this one. Guys I guess you can class my car as a daily driver. But in just 10 day time frame the car had 7600 miles put on it. In just 3 wk the car had just under 10,000 miles put on it. Car saw many different roads across the country, 7 different race track which covered Road course racing, Heads-up Drag, Bracket Race, and a wet/dry skid pad. So Im very well aware of noises the car makes.

I had what I think were Slp Poly/Poly rear lca's and a Lakewood Phb. These were all poly and were greasable. Car was confident to speeds of 150+mph. Car handled fine, no noise more than normal car noise. After I got back from One Lap Of America with the above mileage, I decided to replace my LCA and PHB with Rod end parts. As soon as I went down the road 1000 ft I could feel the difference. The rear suspension Now Worked. Getting on the gas now caused the rear of the car to transfer very noticeable and not just WOT, driving just 3,000 rpm everyday driving shifts. The rod ends took so much bind out of the rear that I had to turn up my rear shock 1/4 turn to equal the same ride. I had the car back on the track in late Nov and the car handled awsome. Rear end felt planted much better and the Phb held the rear end much more securely.

But now here comes the bad part. On smooth roads there is just no telling the difference between the poly or rod ends. Once you start hitting some bumps is when things have changed. Car is harsh over expansion(The bigger the Harsher) joints enough to where I can actually see the dash board shake when hitting bumps. Also its to a point where I can see a bump and say ohh this is going to be harsh. It never did this before the rod ended stuff. With that said I would never go back to poly again for my race stuff. If I had a street driven only car I would not put the rod ended stuff on it. Rod stuff has it place, and Poly has its place. You have to make a decission on what you want. This is my opinion. I hope describes to you what you are looking for. John

Ps I just saw this and forgot about this too. Yes my car now Skips the cd after a rod ended lca install.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

thanks john, vey informative and thats the kind of comparsion in looking for. This isnt just for my own gain but for a possible on site sticky that might help others when considering a suspension upgrade.

The more i read the more im steered away for an all out rod end rear suspension. I love the fact that the car will drive much better but i wouldnt want to put myself and my passengers through hell just cruising around with the top down.

hey, did you have squeaks with your poly setup?

How about this, a rod PHB and a poly/rod LCA? Or a Rod PHB and all poly LCA?

Anyone?
Thanks in advance to everyone who has contributed to this thread...

Mybluey

On my car which has rod ended LCA's and PHB it's a really harsh ride. The interior rattles, squeeks, bangs over the smallest of bumbs. Listening to the CD player is almost impossible, due to constant skipping. I don't know if it's all the rod ends fault, but ever since they went on the interior noises have gotten progressively worse.

I'll post up after my Poly/Rod LCA's and Poly/Rod PHB goes in, but I have a feeling it's not going to change very much, Rod ends are Rod ends and you can't hide the fact that it's metal on metal. Oh well, I'll be happy if the ride is less harsh, I could give a rats *** about noises.

Bob

Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

I have a rod-end PHB and I HATE it. The performance that it handles is great, awesome in fact, and thats the only reason that I still have it. Any bump, big or small, a really loud banging sound comes from the rear like something is loose. It really pisses me off but I don't think I could like without the performance of the solid mounts. I might go with a poly/poly one instead.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

has anyone else had this problem? That would be interesting to know before swapping to an all rod PHB....

Question, in theory, could i swap out the poly bushings for as set of 1LE harden rubber bushings? Or possibly have a LCA made with a Harden rubber/rod end setup? That might be a good compromise.

Or how about lining the inside of a rodend with a sleeve of rubber that is attached by some sort of adhesive? That might help with the transmission of vibrations and possible noises produced by the metal on metal setup.

Ojustracing

iTrader: (4)

Hey which Brand of LCA are you using. They might be harsh, but shouldnt Bang. Usually the banging nosie is a Loose Rod End. Sphon had some early issue with Crapy Rod ends the Looseend up very quickly. I would check that. I made my own LCA for about 160 a pair. Were very easy to do. Later John

white01ss

iTrader: (37)

I've driven around on Spohn rod/poly LCAs for about a year and watched as they got noisier over time. Like everyone else has said - on a low speed bumpy roads you can hear stuff buzzing and rattling around in the car. When I took people for rides in my car they would say stuff like "what's that rattling? Is something loose?" This was especially noticable with the windows down on low-speed roads and parking lots. On a nice smooth highway I couldn't even tell they where there.

As an experiment I got some poly/poly LCAs and they are much quieter. I hate to replace expensive parts when nothing's wrong with them, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I'll keep the poly/rod LCAs around for when I go to the track. It only takes a half-hour or so to swap them out. I might even buy some rod/rod to use for racing and sell these. Don't know yet.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

^^ Were these the old spohn LCA'z or the new issues with the QA-1 rod ends?

Is there sucha thing as a tubular LCA with Rubber ends?

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

FWIW, my advice would be something like this:

Option 1) I want a slight improvement, but I don't want to compromise daily driver capability at all.
====> Factory 1LE parts with their higher durometer rubber bushings

Option 2) I spend a lot of time autox/RR and want the best. Don't daily drive the car.
====> High quality rod-ended parts such as trackbird, LG, etc. (LG's poly/rod are just fine too).

Option 3) I don't drive the car much and/or have a tolerance for some additional noise.
====> See Option 2

Option 4) I'm not sure what I want, but I want something different than stock.
====> Don't do anything until you figure out what it is you are looking to gain by making the mods. Although, option 1 is really without consequence (IMO) if you're looking to burn some money.

HTH

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

thanks, but how stronger are the 1LE parts compared to stock?

Also, i think the best thing is to have a tubular LCA wth the 1LE rubber bushings. HAs anyone tried to remove the poly bushings from a LCA or had falled out?

My opinion is that i want a race oriented ride but not all out. A compromise of some sort. I want to stay away from poly, but a rod end sleeved with rubber, if possible, would be awesome.....

white01ss

iTrader: (37)

Yes they are the new QA-1 rod ends.

And they do "loosen up" a bit after you get some miles on them. They first 1000 miles or so I didn't hear much out of them and believe me because I don't have a radio in the car. They would still transmit road bumps and such but very little noise. After 2500 miles rattles can be heard during low speed bumps (parking lots, stop and go, etc.) It's not real bad with the poly/rod, but there is a difference. Not to slam anyone, but people who say that they put rod/rod on their car and can't tell a difference must be smoking a doobie before they drive their cars. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

ok, from a design aspect, Wat exact part of the rod end gets loose enough to start rattling?

Is it the mounting point to the LCA or the spherical part?

FAST LS1

iTrader: (2)

A rod end is a metal ball looking rod in a female ball type receiver.
I think once they start rattling it's because the metal has worn and
the ball has gotten smaller, receiver larger, and now there's too much
clearance and they rattle.
The QA1's have a teflon coating or lining that helps, and my rod PHB
never makes any noise with those rod ends.

white01ss

iTrader: (37)

Like the above post says, it's the spherical part. It's a lot like the ball of your thigh bone (femur) in your hip socket. There has to be some clearance between the ball and the receiver or it wouldn't move freely. The Teflon bushing is there to act as a cushion much like cartilage does for the hip joint but the steel socket receiver handles the extreme forces placed on the LCA. I'm guessing that over time the Teflon bushing compresses and looses it's small cushioning effect which creates more play and noise.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

That is exactly it.

It compresses/wears (from dirt/grit) and opens the clearances. With increased clearance comes noise. Replace the ends, all is well....until you wear out set #2. Mileage depends on use and driving conditions. Some guys get a year, some get several.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

wat do you mean, "until the you wear out set #2"?

Are you being humorous man or serious...........

Viper

iTrader: (6)

He's serious; it's a replaceable part.

It's not like you buy rod ends and say 'I'm done with the car now'.

They require maintenance. Like NAPA graphite spray lube, and replace them once in a while depending on application.

Racehead

Think of rod ends as a wear item like brake pads or something. Like some have said, replace them every 1-2 years depending on severity of use and your own "pickyness" about noise. And ONLY use top quality QA1 rod ends. Poly should never be used on an LCA unless accompanied by a rod end on the other end. Don't like the noise that rod ends make ? Then use rubber. Poly simply doesn't allow the necessary rear suspension movement to keep the rear end planted.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

thanks, i knew that even the good rod ends need to be kept but i was wondering wat trackbird meant by "until you wear out set #2"

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

Not to speak for Kevin, but he meant that you'll be good to go until the replacement set wears out, at which point you'll have to install set #3, etc. You can't just install and forget. Make sense?