just seeing what you guys thought of these. i went down to our local smileys and bought these tubes which are tapped 3/4 on both ends with a right hand thread on one end and a left hand on the other. i bought around the same size as our stock lca's so i could adjust them longer or shorter. i also got the qa1 rod ends to put in them. spent less than $100 for them. the tubes are steel. and still really light weight. i plan on going back when i get the money and getting one for my panhard. just thought it was a great upgrade and super cheap for some adjustable lca's.

<img src="http://www.smileysracing.com/pimages/545_1_2.gif">

 

good thinking

 

JR Motorsports has the same. Lengths from like 8" up to like 30 in 1" increments. Cheap too. I'm planning on running them on the drag car we're working on - 3 link drag car. I like my torque arm...

 

What type of steel are those made of? Are they hollow or solid? Would the threads be able to handle the force of the rearend pushing the car without stripping? Basically those are are the only things keeping the rearend attached to the chassis other then the panhard rod.

 

they are hollow. as to whether they will hold up. i think so, i was told so, but i guess i wont know until the car is finished. but they are pretty heavy duty so i dont forsee any problems, but then again i could be wrong.

 

I wasn't trying to put them down. From the picture they don't look very heavy duty........but it's just a pic and I havn't held them. If they work for under $100 that's cool keep us posted how they work out.

 

I'm from So. California and we don't have a 'smileys' here. Where do you think I could find something like this. Does Smileys ship stuff? Would McMaster Carr sell something like that?
I know my local Ace hardware doesn't sell anything like that. Any info is appreciated.

 

im pretty sure you can order stuff off their website. heres the link. i looked at the mcmaster carr i found tubing on their but none that was made like the one i bought.

http://www.smileysracing.com/

 

- as for bending them...What's ya think the bars off of 4-links and ladder bar suspensions are? I'll give ya a hint, they aint solid! - I've seen those bars used many times on drag-race 4-links, no problems, so if you bend them on a street car, stay off of curbs/quit hauling so many fat chicks!

disclaimer: just a joke, not intended towards anyone

 

i can stay off the curbs, but i cant give up my fat girls. these will be on a drag car as well.

 

The aftermarket tubular and boxed ones are hollow, and I've heard of them holding plenty of times with 1.3 second 60' cars.

 

Do the Qa1 rad ends or any other fit in the 'stock' location.
It seems like most the rod ends I've seen are thinner than the bushings on my rear lca or PHR.
Can you get the rod ends in different thicknesses or do you use something to get rid of the space. Thx.

 

Some people just cut extra tubing off of something else to take up the space. There isn't a QA1 end that fits perfectly in the stock wide bolt area.

 

Are you mostly drag race or mostly autox? Street tires or strip? Autox/strip tires, just use regular rod-ends(like QA1) and cut off some pipe or the like to make some bushings. If you're drag race/street tires, look into the urethane rod ends. You'll find a more traction softening the blow to the tires w/ the urethane. - most street rod shops have them. Just like a regular rod-end, just urethane lined. - there's a post on here about them.

 

Colemans is less expensive and very quick service.

You can buy rod end spacers and reducers from them also to fill the voids between the rod ends and the axle/frame mount tabs- check under rod ends on the side link. Call them directly to get the specs. You'll need 3/4-58 reducers as well as spacers. The rodends ball swivel is .875" wide so subtract that from your mount tabs gap and divide by 2 for each side spacer width.
They also have aluminum trailing arms that are plenty strong for street use- just slightly more expensive.
http://www.colemanracing.com/catalog...p?cPath=49_725

Best rod ends you can buy are from Qa1. They are the HMR12HCPT (r is for right hand/T is for teflon lined). These will last forever unlike all others- trust me.

 

The rodends ball swivel is .875" wide so subtract that from your mount tabs gap and divide by 2 for each side spacer width.

That was gonna be my next question.
Any disadvantage to using washers. I might end buying some spacers and needing to modify the clearance later. Would you put them next to the rod end or the mounting tab? Hope that amkes sense.

Ben

 

for the application, washers will work. - If you needed the spherical part of the joint, you'd need appropriate spacers/bushings so that travel woudn't be limited.