Broken Downlink Revisited

[J P Stein]

Tho I was planning to veg-out all day & recover from yesterday's
chaos, I went out to work on the car.

Installed the other arm and got to lookin' for the stuff to bolt the Sway arm back on. Figured I'd better take a good look at the
downlinks in light of a post from a week or so back.

OOP's!.....what's this?...we got pics, of course. First a general view:.......

Note the position of the downlink on the sway bar lever arm.
That makes its setting fairly soft. Were it closer to the Sway bar (firmer) I wouldn't have this problem.

Here's the problem......note arrow. ........

The ball end has been binding on the U tab and has worn a notch in the ball end. The down link shaft itself is OK, not bent or cracked, but....that would tend to put a side load on the shaft and, at some point, somethin' is gonna give. The spacers/washers & all have been removed for clarity.

There is a fix. Brad had em' here and I didn't know bout MY problem so he got away with them.....rats!

[echocanyons]

JP

So whats the fix?

I still havent removed the old link from the U-tab but it sure makes sense as to what happened to mine.

[Bleyseng]

I saw that beautiful 27mm sway bar set up that Brad brought but I didn't look at how it connected to the a-arm. I was too busy talking and eatin.......You mean that wasn't a gift to you?? He took it home with him? ***hole
How is it different from the Weltmeister sway's?
Geoff

[korijo]

TOP SECRET If we tell'ya, we gotta ki.............. you know the rest
Brad brought sumthin' REAL purdy. Set us back 6 bills (those who saw it) Dont know how to tell the wifey.
Ask B about the killer bar set up he had. Hope Im not outta the circle of trust (LOL) FOCKER!!!

[J P Stein]

He showed me a piece that clamps to the A Arm cross bar (See pic 1).
This widget is movable (by loosing he clamp) and puts the down link about vertical to the direction of load (in the fore & aft direction). The U tab would only be used (as I see it) when the position on the lever arm puts the shaft verticle to it (within a degree or 2).

So, as the down link is moved along the lever arm, the attach point at the A arm can be moved with it to prevent this bind. It also keeps the down link in compression/tension rather than shear caused by the angularity.

Nothing to bind on when moving in & out. The cross peice angles in towards the centerline of the car, but the ball end can handle that. Angularity (in & out) still could be a problem, but it is cut in half. The angle is worst when the bar is set softest....less load.

I didn't get a price for em' . Prolly will stop my heart for a beat or 2. The price for adjustability, I guess.

[Bruce Allert]

I didn't get a price for em' . Prolly will stop my heart for a beat or 2. The price for adjustability, I guess.

Now don't let that happen till you give me a ride, OK?
bruce

[J P Stein]

Originally posted by Bleyseng
I saw that beautiful 27mm sway bar set up that Brad brought but I didn't look at how it connected to the a-arm. I was too busy talking and eatin.......You mean that wasn't a gift to you?? He took it home with him? ***hole
How is it different from the Weltmeister sway's?
Geoff

Way different. Looks like someone actually engineered it.

No, he didn't leave it
Dumb sh** that I am, just before he left I reminded him that it wuz out in the shop......do I get this weeks chump award?

It was a 27mm bar. Had it been a 22-24 mm, I would have snuck out while he was sleeping and "disappeared" it......"Yup, sorry , Brad, one of them Seattle guys musta' got it."

[campbellcj]

It was most likely a Smart-Racing bar. $675.

[chrisreale]

They are made by Smart Racing. They are F'in beautiful. They are around $600, they make a 23mm bar, and Im gunna get one someday. Every little piece of hardware looks like a jewel. Brad told me that if you need an extra piece they will sell you one. I also think all the bars can be interchanged. So, when I go to the track with my puny 23mm bar, I could have one of my servants swap in a 30mm bar and drive off into the sunset....

[chrisreale]

Damn, Campbell beat me to it.

[HarryD]

Originally posted by J P Stein
Tho I was planning to veg-out all day & recover from yesterday's
chaos, I went out to work on the car.

..snip..

Note the position of the downlink on the sway bar lever arm.
That makes its setting fairly soft. Were it closer to the Sway bar (firmer) I wouldn't have this problem.

JP,

I am confused (aren't I always anyway?)

I looked on the sheets that weltmeister sends with the bars and they state that moving the slider closer to the end induces more understeer and closer to the bar induces more oversteer. This seems to be opposite of what you are saying.

At the last AutoX, after 3 runs I moved the slide out a bit and noticed in the loop, my car did not turn as quickly as expected. I think I was seeing more understeer. Me thinks weltmeister may be right?

BTW, great party. It will be great to see Ulf in her shoes again tho'.

[J P Stein]

Originally posted by HarryD
JP,

I am confused (aren't I always anyway?)

I looked on the sheets that weltmeister sends with the bars and they state that moving the slider closer to the end induces more understeer and closer to the bar induces more oversteer. This seems to be opposite of what you are saying.

At the last AutoX, after 3 runs I moved the slide out a bit and noticed in the loop, my car did not turn as quickly as expected. I think I was seeing more understeer. Me thinks weltmeister may be right?

BTW, great party. It will be great to see Ulf in her shoes again tho'.

Harry:

I lost my instruction book

Brad, Dave & I were discussing this after everyone left.
Moving the link closer to the bar increases the roll stiffness at the front (in this case). What that does for your car is only a WAG.

Brad has more experience with this than anyone I've ever had a chance to "really" talk with. How my car reacts may not be the same as yours, regardless of what the book says. If you ask me what to do, I can only give you my experience with my car. Less roll stiffness at the front makes mine trend towards oversteer, but my t-bars, springs (you ain't got any), weight distribution, tire sizes, etc are all different than yours.
The *only* way to find out, is to try it on your car and see what happens. If it don't work, go the other way.....whut could be simpler?

As Brad said, there are too many variables to get locked into any moves as a surefire cure to what ails ya. You may (and he does) go against "conventional wisdom"....specially if it makes you go fast.

BTW, that gizmo on the end of the drop link on the upper bar in Chris' pic is the bit I was talking about. My car ain't goin' back together without one ....well, 2 actually.

[HarryD]

Originally posted by J P Stein
Harry:

.. SNIP ..

BTW, that gizmo on the end of the drop link on the upper bar in Chris' pic is the bit I was talking about. My car ain't goin' back together without one ....well, 2 actually.

JP,
I dunno, a clever guy like you could prolly make a bit like what you saw. Ya could fashion a primitive one from a U bolt and a block to create the attachment to the drop link.