Came across this the other day while looking at Spohn suspension parts:

http://www.spohn.net/shop/Del-Sphere...d-Threads.html

Its a curiosity to me. It sounds good, but quite a few people that I've talked to are a bit skeptical of it. What do you all think?

 

I posted a thread about this a few weeks ago and didn't get any good responses. In any case, I'm going with del-sphere joints when I start ordering suspension components this fall. They seem like a great design, and I have confidence that Spohn wouldn't offer these if they weren't any good. Maybe call Spohn and see what they have to say?

 

there good joint we have been installing them for years there very strong joints and easy to take apart and rebuild. The only down side of them you need to keep them greased very well as they have a tendency of rustin and locking up.

 

You sure you're talking about the right thing? These are not the same as all metal heim joints. And they just came out. Check the link.

 

There will be maintenance!
They have just minimized it. If you install it, it is best to check it every so often.

 

Look s similar to J &M Eng. LCA joints...

 

Agreed J91, the J&M poly ball was probably their inspiration. However I think these should work a little better since its a metal ball on delrin instead of poly on poly. Should be much less bind. Also the Spohn arms are adjustable, and the del-sphere ends are replaceable and rebuildable. Also, you can get these ends on LCA, Pandard Rod, Torque Arm, A-arms.

 

Not hardly, The original joint like this was the Johnny Joint by Currie Enterprizes (you know- Currie 9" rearends).

I spoke to Steve Spohn over the phone about these a few years ago and he was asking me what I knew about delrin and its durability as well as maintinance/noise, etc. He was getting some to try and experiment machining with to develop his own version of the Johnny joint for performance use, not offraod articulation Currie uses then in rock crawling competition.

These are great joints, I highly recommend them

 

I know what a heim joint is trust me they arnt new i build rock crawlers for a living along with building suspention systems rock crawlers have benn using these kind of joints for a long time.

 

Yeah, they come out with these after I get neck deep the Johnny Joint mess lol. I think I may order these and just write the Johnny Joints off as an $80 loss.

 

Relax Pew, just trying to make sure you didn't make a simple mistake. I never said you didn't know what a heim joint is.

So how have you been installing Spohn Del-Sphere joints for years when they just came out? Or have you been using similar joints? Like Johnny joints? While they are similar they are not the same. Johnny joints allow for greater articulation than Spohn's joints, which of course doesn't matter for us. Also I believe Johnny joints use a urethane bushing while Spohn uses delrin. Delrin should require less frequent lubrication than urethane.

 

this is a great idea.
delrin is one of those materials that should be used a lot more often than it is
you can do nearly anything with it and it has such great properties.

 

Hey, if any of you guys are looking to buy the Spohn Del Sphere stuff, be sure to get in on the Hawks Group Purchase on the Group Purchases forum.

 

nope same joint spohn did not create these joint there metal ball delrin surrounds same joint rock krawler suspentions and full throttle suspentions have been using them for years. You need to keep them greased so the inner ball dosent rust because then it chews up the delrin and causes premature joint wear and you have to rebuild them more frequently.

 

What happened?

 

the ball is not going to rust if it is made of stainless steel...

 

I bought one and it didn't fit because I have 1/2 bolts and not 7/16 (which are the stardard sized bolt centers with the 2" ends), so I ordered the 1/2 bolt centers. It was about $80 all together with shipping. Might just get the Spohn joints since I can't find the right sized joints with the 1/2 bolt centers.

 

The ball is forged 4140 chrome moly. However, the surface of the ball is so smooth that there are no sites for nucleation to take place.

 

Cool. Thanks for the info.

 

They don't look like they have a huge amount of surface area on the bushings but the fact that they are adjustable for preload on the bushing as well as serviceable is really nice. I may have to pick up a set after the rod ends on my LCA's and PHB get worn out.

Somebody is making rear shock mounts for corvettes this way too, I really hope this tread continues to the point that you can buy universal parts to put in your own housing.

 

Kind of like: A 1" round del-rin bushing will fit all these parts 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9 on these cars 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

I'd like to hear a little bit more about these, as compared to polyurethane, polygraphite and solid metal to metal contacts. What each would be best suited for (Auto-X, Drift, Track, Drag, Street) and so on and so forth...

Thanks guys.

 

the only place metal to metal is typically used is in the a-arm "bushings" in a circle track type car.
rubber gives lots of deflection and vibration damping, steel/delrin give none.
polyurethane and polygraphite bearings are essentially the same thing and give some but not as much as rubber and are more forgiving than metal to metal.
rod ends are used when zero deflection is desired on a part that articulates in more than one axis.
the poly ball is basically a rebuildable rod end with a few very important tweaks

 

^^Nice, thanks, well said.