Ok, so I feel like this is a really amateur question but asking is the only way I'll really learn. What do tie rod sleeves do and or purpose? I have been browsing around at different suspension and chassis companies (mainly Hotchkis) and come across tie rod sleeves which I am not at all familiar with.

 

They adjust the tie rods in or out.

 

I have the QA1 sleeves on my car, they are a heavier duty, easier to adjust (even though most people rarely adjust them other than when getting an alignment) replacement option for your tie rod adjuster sleeves.

 

And They Lock Them In Place.

 

They are the actual "tie rod"... the "ends" are really just the joints that connect to the other parts.

Stock ones, and stock replacement such as Moog, are just a piece of sheet metal curled up into a tube. Very weak. Very easy to bend, break, strip out, etc. in severe usage. Adequate for a commuter but not much more.

Also very easy to make something better and more durable. Which is what the aftermarket ones are.

 

the originals are easy to adjust, but u need a special wrench. I did not had one, so tried a vicegrip... by the time u reach for a vicegrip u just know its time for a kitkat.
I have ordered spohn's;-)

 

 

Coulda fooled me. I have never used a "special wrench" to do an alignment on any vehicle.

If you have to ask what a tie rod sleeve is then you don't need to upgrade them. People always talk about how terrible the stockers are (and they are pretty wimpy) but I have never seen one fail outside of a wrecked car or a wheeler.

That said, I run Coleman's on my car, so do with that what you will.

 

the aftermarket ones are just a really cool way to get you to remove cash from your wallet and exchange it for something that serves no real purpose other than to look cool. once you get the alignment set, you don't need to adjust them any more so the hex shape of the aftermarket parts that allow you to easily use a wrench is just a useless feature..

i've never seen the stock style adjusters bend, but i have replaced a few tie rods that bent from smacking curbs and potholes..

 

So Nova a solid chrome moly jam nut adjuster is no different than a stock clamp style adjuster, just the looks?? I find that hard to believe..Since the Spohns are a whole $10 more than moog stock replacements I went with the Spohns. Each is to their own...

 

I put the UMIs on my car and it took away some of the "tire shake push" the car was exhibiting at autocrosses.

 

I didn't see him say there "is not different".

Functionally they are identical. Both serve the same purpose. It is silly to suggest the stockers will fail with heavy performance use. I am sure they have a ridiculous safety factor on them. It would be negligent to design them any other way.

Stockers:
-functional
-Ugly
-Cheap
-hard to adjust
-light

Aftermarket:
-functional
-pretty
-cheap
-easy to adjust
-heavy

 

I am aware that he didn't say that word for word. But the whole point of his post was how it is a useless modification that serves no purpose over the stock adjusters. Basically saying there is no difference between the two. Yes it would be pointless for the guy that drives his car to and from work to replace the stockers with these. But in a racing (road racing and circle track) application the solid adjusters are the only way to go. Yes they do weigh more but it is low to the ground and isn't that much to begin with.


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Again, but why? There is no functional reason to go away from the stockers.

 

been useing stock on my car for ever...road racing(hill climbs) for 8 years no problems

 

Solid adjusters are just more heavy duty than a clamp style. They can take more of a beating and help stiffen the steering . Thats it! In a REAL racing situation, meaning door to door with someone where contact may be a factor either with another car, wall, or anything else. Not your average AutoX event where all you have to worry about is hitting a cone (not knocking autoX or other non contact racing just trying to get my point across...). I have seen them fail during a race due to some light contact because I had to fix the issue on one of our cars after the race. They are a lot easier to adjust in the pits. Grab two wrenches toe plates, tape and your grease plates and go. Dont need to mess around with vice grips or special tools. GCrites seems to like them over stock. Says it stiffened up the steering for him. Makes sense to me!

 

Why; because it's worth a couple extra $$ on stronger tie rods when everything else in the steering gets replaced,......... & they sure are easier to adjust !