.

 

I'm curious, what do you like better about them then the GW bushings?

they look like they'd be more durable WRT to the fact that many people mess up the annodized aluminum shells of the GW ones pressing them in, but I'd imagine that they wouldn't tolerate road grunge as well and the actual bearing would wear out faster.

GW claims that you can back off the crossbolts on their bushings to go to no resistance (for dragstrip tuning), but I've never tinkered with a set to test it (thinking about it if they're that sensitive to the torque that you tighten them to I'd be a bit worried about preloading the suspension with them by getting the bolts tightened slightly differently)

 

I have 2 sets of control arms sitting on the floor in the garage, if i remember I'll get out there and measure the bushings...

 

.

 

Leave it to the oval track guys, how 'bout it Dean...

 

I'd have a hard time believing that the del alums bind. If i'm able to rotate them between my two fingers (lets say 10lbs of force), then the higher loads that are being input into the suspension during body roll, hitting a bump in the road, etc are going to pivot the del alum without any hesitation whatsoever. I realize the strut will be counteracting a lot of the inputs, but I still think the forces are high enough to overcome any binding.

The allstars are very cool though.

 

just more parts to wear out and break, and roller bearings don't like dirt or grit at all..

 

The bushing has a large side load while installed in the car. Those bolts are what capture the spring. The forces those springs impart on the ctrl arms under compressrion are transferred to the bushings. Nevermind the huge loads under braking and cornering. The bushings arent frictionless and that friction increases with load. So the amount of friction you feel in your hand is nothing like what it is while in the car under load.
The amount of movement in this joint is small so they would probably last forever. Nevermind that they are greasable so any contaminants can be flushed out every so often and the large longitudinally positioned bearings are where the loads are mostly transferred.
I think these things are very cool.

 

As the info seems interesting, please keep to topic or I'll lock the thread.

JamesC

 

I hadn't thought of it that way. So you think there is binding through suspension travel with the del alums?

 

Out of curiosity, how much of a difference would they make? Do you (Pablo or Dean) think it would be a noticeable difference in feel over the GW bushings or make any difference in measurable performance, or would it be more along the lines of the "every-little-bit-counts" philosophy used in weight reduction? Very cool design though, thanks for sharing.

 

I don't know that the difference between the two (GW or allstar) is significant at all. I was just pointing out that the amount of friction in a persons hand is not the same as when it's installed. It could be a lot more or it might be an insignificant difference. You'd have to figure out a way to test it to know for sure.
I like the roller bearing setup more (assuming they are well designed and constructed) and if the price is comparable (I'm not quite clear on the pricing of the allstar parts) I would rather go that route. If there is a difference in friction, the bearing setup is going to have less.

That said, unless you are running blown out stock units, I don't think bushings are going to make or break you. I have poly in the front and do pretty well. So I would put this pretty far down on the bang for the buck list.

 

MSRP is ~$43

 

...Anyone care to share what this thread is about? OP was deleted.

 

Dean was telling everyone about these control arm bearings:
http://www.allstarperformance.com/am....htm?prod=1356

and how they would offer less resistance to motion than the Global West del-alums which were formerly considered the absolute best on the market.

 

Problem I see, for street use, would be corrosion of the needles if they are not kept greased. Cool stuff though.

 

I just ordered a set. They were 187.?? total with shipping, tax, etc. Slightly more than the Del-a-lums. It was either the proven Del-a-lums or these. An all steel roller bearing is a very proven piece also so i will give them a try.

 

UPDATE!!! The allstar performance roller bearing A-arm bushings ARE NOT A DIRECT FIT APPLICATION TO OUR CARS. The bolt hole (as their website does say but i didn't pay close enough attention) is 1/2" or 13.01mm according to my digital caliper. Our a-arm bolts and the holes on the kmember are 12mm. so unless you want to enlarge your a-arm bolt holes on your kmember to run these pieces, do not buy them. I'm returning them for a full refund and have already ordered del-a-lums. The cost of the bearings will cover next day shipping to help make up lost time.

The All star performance roller bearing bushings are nice pieces and i would have been glad to use them but I refused to enlarge the bolt holes on the kmember. Thought of being stuck with 13mm holes when everything but these bearings are 12mm didn't sound smart to me. I'm not too disappointed as del-a-lums are very proven pieces for our cars.

 

1/2" = 25.4/2mm = 12.7 not 13.

This would have easily been solved with some of those split reducer sleeves (mercedes cars have those on a lot of suspension components where they use roto type joints)

anyway, these



https://sdp-si.com/eStore/PartDetail...71&GroupID=273

 

Inside diameter of bearing/bushing


Inside diameter of bolt holes on Kmember


Stock bolts diameter

This is the basis on my conclusion. Let me assure you that even with my brand new bolts i bought for my a-arms there is excessive play around the bolt in the allstar roller bearing/busing. The sleeves/shims I'm sure would have worked but i've never seen them and don't know where to get them. Like i said i'm not disappointed to use the Del-a-lums as they are a very well proven product.

 

The original bolts have a shank with a larger diameter than the threads. Are you using oem style boots?

 

The bolts in the picture are the original bolts. I am replacing them with new zinc plated 12mm grade 10.9 bolts.

 

oops, only the rear susp bolts have that, the fronts don't ... ignore my comment LOL