tension rod install. tighten front bolt with car suspended?

[nep]

installing some tension rods with spherical endlinks. was wondering if its necessary to tighten the front bolt with the car on the ground, or if its acceptable to tighten it when the car is suspended. below is a picture of the actual arms



http://www.yamatogarage.com/Picture_046_rot_90_rot_270_rot_180.jpg

[undesiredshoe]

Aint matter but its easier with the car off the ground.

[nep]

Aint matter but its easier with the car off the ground.

only reason im asking is because this dude:

s13 Tension Control Rod Install – NICO Club (http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/s13-tension-control-rod-install.html)

made it an issue. wasnt sure if that was because he had the stock rubber mounts and they were somehow more affected

[om3ga]

Tighten any pillow ball item with the car in the air and you'll be fine. The reason why you tighten a rubber bushing on the ground is because it has a tendency to rip when the suspension compresses and weight is put on it since it cannot make much movement.

I have poly bushings in all of my suspension arms that do not have pillow balls and i do all tightening with the car in the air, i make sure to lube the hell out of the bushing and metal sleeve which definitely is a good idea.

Great way to be cautious though!

[nep]

Tighten any pillow ball item with the car in the air and you'll be fine. The reason why you tighten a rubber bushing on the ground is because it has a tendency to rip when the suspension compresses and weight is put on it since it cannot make much movement.

I have poly bushings in all of my suspension arms that do not have pillow balls and i do all tightening with the car in the air, i make sure to lube the hell out of the bushing and metal sleeve which definitely is a good idea.

Great way to be cautious though!

Aint matter but its easier with the car off the ground.


thank you sirs :bow:

[undesiredshoe]

I would be more cautious about having the heim joint centered after adjusting everything

[Def]

It's for preloading a rubber bushing, which acts like a spring. Tighten it up while in the air, and the constant preload will tear it apart. A rod end has no need for this since it can spin and spin.


I'd be more concerned with the crappy China rod ends on those arms than anything else....

[homeslicej2]

^agreed. That's why I have SPL arms. Cost more $$, but worth it in the long run.

[nep]

It's for preloading a rubber bushing, which acts like a spring. Tighten it up while in the air, and the constant preload will tear it apart. A rod end has no need for this since it can spin and spin.


I'd be more concerned with the crappy China rod ends on those arms than anything else....

the site claims qa1 rod ends. was i mislead?

[Def]

the site claims qa1 rod ends. was i mislead?

Those look like cheap cast Chinese rod ends. Never seen a QA1 rod end that looked that nasty on the outside.

If it's a QA1 you'll be able to easily rotate the rod end by hand.

[JKL1031]

what are the purpose of these? Mines are pretty torn, and I want to replace as many important bushings as I can before coilovers. Would godspeed be any good?

[Q.Smooth127]

dont use any egay brands.
stick with high quality shit...even though high quality shit do break in the end too, but what doesnt? Point being, high quality name brands will break less often vs e-gay shit.
do yourself a favor, if u want to mod a car, use the big baller shit and not cheap out. Only time you could cheap out is wit a fart can, cause thats just a muffler. Hell people just go a straight exhaust pipe wit no muffler but the car gets too insanely loud and well isnt the best of friends to the donut eaters.

[MidwestMyriad]

what are the purpose of these? Mines are pretty torn, and I want to replace as many important bushings as I can before coilovers. Would godspeed be any good?

Tension rods keep the front of the car stable, if you have tension rod bushings that are leaking fluid, or just tore up period, the front of you car will feel floaty while driving, they are also used to adjust caster, which can change camber settings, as well as make the car steer itself faster (when going from a turn back to straight line)

http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Knowledgebase/Image/caster.gif

http://image.superstreetonline.com/f/26840090+w750+st0/sstp_1004_03_o+wheel_alignment+caster.jpg

[JKL1031]

Ok thanks. I'll try oem since they can change castor. And I also learned Godspeed is an eBay brands.