Guaging interest in Custom rear control armsFEEDBACK WELCOME

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ALLensTRAC

New member
I am getting ready to disassemble the rear of my car and have decided to build custom heim jointed fully adjustable toe,camber,and caster arms for my car. I thought if there was enough interest I could look into building sets for everyone else. I just talked to a friend about it and he said he would make me the U brackets with integrated 5/8 threaded stud to mount to the adj. sleeve. What materials would you guys be interested in everything being made in? What would you guys like in these? Just looking for all the feedback I can get from the community. Obviously I will build mine first and mount them in my chassis to make sure everything looks good. I plan to model them after Martins arms on his old race car. He welded plate into the subframe mounting area to be safe, which I plan to do too, but I could have those plates cut out and included with the arms.
So what do you guys think?
Allen
 
CMS-GT4

CMS-GT4

Active member
I am somewhat interested but it's taking time for me to breathe some life back into my budget.
 
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ALLensTRAC

New member
I am in the same boat Josh. BTW Congrats on your first child!!! :D Nothing more rewarding than being a father!!! I will make sure these are as affordable as I can make them without compromising safety. No ChinaBay crap. I would like your feedback though as this is in the planning phase. Would you guys want 5/8 or 3/4( Martins were 3/4 rod)? I think 5/8 is plenty but you never know. There will be no set date,no minimum of people, none of that. I plan to make a set for myself and thought it would be nice to include everyone else. Here is Martins setup for a visual example:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2723/445 ... 2462_o.jpg
 
CMS-GT4

CMS-GT4

Active member
Thanks. I will have to read more before deciding on diameter. I need this to be strong for street and race. If I do this it will likely be next year as there are a few other priorities I have to deal with for now.
 
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rallygarage

Member
That is exactly as I have it on my rally car. Works well. There is some company in UK that makes only these to customers specs. I didn't get my set directly so I dont know who they are.
 
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ALLensTRAC

New member
I will update this as I delve into it. I plan to take all the measurements tonight once I get the rear up on stands. I am honestly not trying to make money on this I just figured why not? :shrug:
Rallygarage: What materials are your's made out of? I assume steel due to rally. I don't know if I trust aluminum especially with them on other people's cars.

What do you guys think is an affordable budget for this? I want to make this available for everyone in our community as its something that is not available like every VIP car out there.
 
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k.beaty

New member
I have full custom rear arms in the rear of my ST184. Mine are made out of aluminum suspension tube, available from Allstar Performance. I've been daily driving and racing on them for 2 years now and haven't had an issue to speak of. Make sure you use good quality rod ends, and you'll be fine. For what it's worth, mine are all 5/8"
 
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ALLensTRAC

New member
Thanks for the feedback guys!! What I had originally planned on paper was stainless heim joints, powdercoated U brackets, Aluminum adj. rod, stainless jam nuts in 5/8ths. I was thinking that would be more than safe and we wouldn't run into corrosion issues with anything. Also the reinforcing plates for the frame would be 1/8 mild steel uncoated that way they can be welded to the subframe. Obviously this would require welding. Could a plate just be mounted and tightened up using the mounting hardware at the frame? I know most on here have access to a welder but just in case maybe it would be easier to be a bolt in solution? Thoughts?
Allen
 
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ALLensTRAC

New member
Well I am ordering the tubes today for the 3 arms. Also I ordered a set of trailing arm knuckle bushings from whiteline. I should have the rear out today and exact bushing width measurements so I can work on getting the heims. One question though, I was looking at AFCO heim ends with rod end spacers but it does not give me the spec for the width overall. How do you space the heim inside the frame mounting point which allows proper movement of the ball? I looked at cone spacers but they don't look wide enough to take up the space inside the mounting point. Any suggestions or links for companies that provide all the measurements?
Allen
 
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ALLensTRAC

New member
I have not made any dimensional drawings or CAD mockups as I don't have the exact measurements for everything. I plan to get the pieces in my hands and take the fine measurements from there. Honestly this may turn into a DIY how-to with exact measurements and links for all the pieces. Considering this forum is dominated by very mechanically inclined people with relatively small budgets I think this would be the best route.
I've figured out how I'm going to space the heims so now its on to getting the materials to make the 5/8 all thread integrated U-brackets. I can't wait to build these(takes my brain off horrible body work for awhile LOL).
Allen
 
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