Rod ends. Lots of choices; teflon lined,aluminum,chrome moly....

[MadMaxedAtom]

I have been shopping for replacement rod ends and have found there are quite a few to choose from!

The top of the line chromemoly units are reasonably priced at  around $30 bucks,but I am very tempted to try the aluminum ones.

Anyone up on rod end technology and the pros/cons of Teflon lined vs. metal to metal?

I would think the metal to metal would feel more precise and probably wear faster,but don't really know.


link--->  http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch ... o=10#rstop

Hit the "prev" button to see all the choices.

[Terry Kennedy]

[quote="MadMaxedAtom"]
I have been shopping for replacement rod ends and have found there are quite a few to choose from!

The top of the line chromemoly units are reasonably priced at  around $30 bucks,but I am very tempted to try the aluminum ones.

Anyone up on rod end technology and the pros/cons of Teflon lined vs. metal to metal?[/quote]

I debated about responding to this for quite some time. I'm not going to give any recommendations for parts. But I do encourage you to look at the specifications of the components you're looking at and compare them to the specs of the parts on the car. You'll need parts with similar dimensions and equal or better load ratings.

You can find the catalog for the QA1 parts you're looking at here: http://www.qa1.net/pdf_files/rod_ends_s ... arings.pdf

For reference, the factory-spec Aurora AM/AB data sheet is here and the PRM/PRB enhanced parts are here.

[MadMaxedAtom]

Terry,I checked on the load ratings and they are all over 8k lbs. They are designed for cars weighing twice what the Atom does.

I talked to a  guy in CT. and am going with the HP aluminum Teflon lined.He says he has been selling

them for years and has never seen one break (other than hitting a wall) and they wear well. 

Most serious racers get one to two seasons out of a set.

  Four HP aluminum rod ends,with alu jam nuts, $75 delivered.   :tu:

Tough to beat those prices

[DarthChicken]

You saw the damage to Terry's car when his failed... right?  Just making sure you understand.

Straw houses are easy and cheaper to build than brick houses, but....

[MadMaxedAtom]

I talked to QA-1 and they assured me NFW will these alu break in the application I am using them for.

The guy laughed when I told him the Atom weighs about 1800lbs with me in it.

They may wear,but are NOT going to break.

Barring defective materials,of course.

[wisp]

I posted here, a year ago, about QA1 rod ends as an alternative.

I have had a couple of them on the rear of the car since then and covered some pretty arduous ground since. So far so good. 

The original Aurora rod ends were the AM6T - 3/8 Bore, 3/8 24 UNF Thread x 1.25" long, 9544Lbs Radial Static Load Capacity, 12 degree angular movement. "AM" = Right Hand, "T" = Teflon liner.

QA1s equivalent is the XMR6. Like the Aurora, the XMR rod ends are constructed from chrome moly steel that has been heat treated.

If you are worried about the aluminum AM rod ends only having a static load rating of 3457Lbs, then stick with the XR ones that have the same rating as the Aurora of 9544Lbs.

Our local supplier of the QA1 product sells stuff for what we call speedway, where they race on dirt ovals that would give any suspension parts a good pounding.

[MadMaxedAtom]

The alu ones I got say they are rated at 8600lbs.

I'm still not worried

[wisp]

That's better than the 3457lbs quoted in the catalogue.

[bolus]

I wonder how much force goes though the suspension...  2 g's in turns is 3600 pounds + acceleration and deceleration from hitting bumps.  that's a lot of force

[MadMaxedAtom]

There is no way the load at the rod end will ever be more than 2000 lbs, ever.

The car does not weigh enough and traction is too limited.

Only if you hit something solid,and then It does not matter what the rod ends are made of, the suspension arm or vertical link will collapse first.

[bolus]

how about wear?  Terry's could not take the NJ pot holes.

[Karl]

I must say that aluminum isn't the best choice for a cyclically loaded part, and in particular, for the pushrod rod ends.  It has a nasty way of developing fatigue cracks that, if unchecked, result in eventual catastrophic failure.  While steel isn't immune to fatigue, it is orders of magnitude better than aluminum.

That said, based on the link MadMax posted, it looks like he got the larger suspension arm rod ends in aluminum, rather than the pushrod ends.  For the pushrod ends, I would not skimp on materials.  Get the highest strength steel you can afford.  The suspension arm rod ends will be experiencing much smaller loads and are physically larger, so if you keep a careful (x-ray) eye on them and replace them regularly, aluminum is ok for that application.

[MadMaxedAtom]

I was not considering the pushrod ends for alu replacement as I feel they are scary small now.

[Karl]

[quote="MadMaxedAtom"]
I was not considering the pushrod ends for alu replacement as I feel they are scary small now.
[/quote]

's all good then.

[bolus]

[quote="MadMaxedAtom"]
I was not considering the pushrod ends for alu replacement as I feel they are scary small now.
[/quote]

ahhh, that's good.  Being at Atomfest and seeing multiple cars need pushrod rodends replaced (right after I had to replace mine) was scary