Elephant Racing Strut Top Rubber Bushings

[CHILI]

Anybody running these? Good.... bad?

I will have Elephant's poly bronze front and rear, with 22-29 hollow T-bars. I just feel their monoballs will be too stiff for the street, but stock might be too soft.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=ERMP-2290001&catalog_description=Elephant%20Racing%20Strut%20To p%20Camber%20Plate%20Bushing%20Kit%2C%20One%20Kit% 20Per%20Car%2C%20%39%31%31%2F%39%31%31%20Turbo%20% 28%31%39%36%38%2D%38%39%29%2C%20%39%31%34%20all

Thanks for the advice!
Chad

[Elombard]

Hmm I did not find the mono balls added much noise or harshness. I would say on your hot rod go for the mono ball, and then back down? Good market for the used stuff at most you might lose $50?

[911st]

Chad,

I am thinking that everything you have done so far points toward keeping the tires at the best angle to the track as possible for better traction and faster track times.

If the 911 has a weakness it is getting enough neg camber in the front wheels. Adding a front monoball / strut plate will reduce your camber loss due to bushing distortion to a small degree but can get you about another .5 deg due to the design of the new plate. ER has a really cool quick change camber plate that might be worth looking at. I really like the Camber King by Smart racing as it has a built in strut brace that can pull the towers togeather for a bit more neg camber.

I do not think I would spend the effort on the monoball replacement cartridge that goes in the stock strut top unless you have done something else to improve your ability to obtain neg camber up front.

If this is really more of a street car only car, then getting neg camber up front is not an important goal and may actually work against you in terms of increased tire ware and if possibly high-speed stability.

The best.

[Britain Smith]

I disagree a little bit. If you are going through the effort of installing the Poly Bronze and the larger torsion bars, why not go ahead and install the monoballs on both the banana arms in the rear and the strut tops in the front? This will give you the maximum return on your efforts and eliminate the rubber in all the suspension components.

I actually just install this exact set-up in an '84 Carrera about 2 weeks ago. It complete transformed the car. Much better high speed stabilty and turn-in! With the alignment and corner balance done I believe that we got -1.5degs of camber all around which is a good amount for an aggressive street set-up.

BTW, I have the Camber King on my car...awesome product. However, it is manufactured by WEVO. It is the upper end of the price range but if you consider that it combines a strut tube and monoball, the price is actually reasonable.



-Britain

[911st]

Brian, looks to me like we are in agreement.

[Britain Smith]

It is Britain, but no biggy. Glad we agree.

On the strut bars, do you like to induce a bit of pre-load by spreading the towers apart or pulling them together?

-Britain

[Flieger]

Is the improved front-end turning response with the monoball bearings mainly noticable in high speed (larger radius) turns? How does it feel through tighter ~45 mph corners like a twisty canyon road?

[911st]

Just a thought, looks like the mono balls install included an new alignment and corner balance. Turn in might be a function of both factors. ie toe out and an increase in neg camber may increase turn in response. Mono ball front struts and rear inner bushings make for less toe change and sharper turn in. Per Chuck at ER there dose not seem to be very much deflection with the stock front upper bushing. Might be a different case as to the rear as there is a lot more load on them and the angles may be more susceptible to inducing tow change.

Just my guess.

The best.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by 911st

Just a thought, looks like the mono balls install included an new alignment and corner balance. Turn in might be a function of both factors. ie toe out and an increase in neg camber may increase turn in response. Mono ball front struts and rear inner bushings make for less toe change and sharper turn in. Per Chuck at ER there dose not seem to be very much deflection with the stock front upper bushing. Might be a different case as to the rear as there is a lot more load on them and the angles may be more susceptible to inducing tow change.

Just my guess.

The best.

I see what you are saying. I will be getting an alignment and corner balance after refreshing my suspension. I do not want to have to lube the suspension and the car is used for short weekend blasts through the curves of a tight canyon road.

I plan on rubber bushings for the A-arm and spring plate and monoball top strut mount and inner trailing arm bearings, all from Chuck.

I was more wondering if the forces from a tight chicane would cause different types of deflection from a high speed turn on a track. The bearing design and material could respond differently to these different forces, if that is the case.

I do not have first-hand experience.

[CHILI]

All very good advice! I guess I have some thankin' to do.

thanks guys!