LoneStarV

Who has the Banski trailing arm and camber rod kit on their vette? Impressions? Handling? Ride quality better or harsher?

http://banskimotorsports.com/C4_Rear_Suspensioin.html

c4cruiser

I have the Banski camber rods and toe rods on my '87. They made a huge difference in handling (both autocross and track days) and my alignment guy said these pieces made the setting of the rear alignment extremely easy and very accurate.

I don't have the trailing arms but the stock dog bones were updated with poly bushings from Doug Rippie.

I don't notice any sort of additional ride harshness with the Banski pieces but the car is set up primarily for autocross use so between the shocks, sway bars, and bushings, the ride was firm even before I added the Banski components.

Al in all, the Banski pieces are well worth the money. Installing the camber and toe rods only took an afternoon to do.

LoneStarV

Thanks for the input. Anyone else have the whole package that drives on the street?

Sidney004

I don't have the Banski version(I know his are better quality than the ones I got) but I agree with C4cruiser; its money well spent. I use mine mostly for track events but the improvements are real. I lube mine with dry lubricant spray to prevent the accumulation of dirt that happens if you use grease. Mine are the uncovered type.

Klyde

I have the complete package and only street drive. I think they made a big difference in the ride quality. My car no longer does the side hop thing when going over rough roads. They don't add any noise and let the rear do what it is supposed to do. I also added QA-1 single adjustable shocks. My car now rides better than when it was new.

LoneStarV

That's what i was hoping to hear. Thanks.

Kubs

They made a HUGE improvement in ride before my car was track only. They were the only change to the suspension (no coil overs, other bushing, etc) and it made both ride and handling much better. I do alignments myself and like mentioned earlier it s breeze with these instead of the stock bolts.

aboatguy

I'm still using FX3 shocks and added both sets of DRM brackets IOT improve the camber and antisquat.

Car rides much better than when it had stockdogbones with poly bushings.


And if your every driving on Louisiana Highways you would know that it really makes a difference.


Mike

astock165

Well I have to say that I'm very happy to hear and see that there are those who are willing to speak well of my product(s). I do my best and am glad that people are happy with their purchases.

It would also appear that there is at least a start to disproving the old myth that rod ends make a street ride harsh. Not when you use the correct rod ends!

Tom400CFI

Not arguing, but curious, what characteristics do you look for in rod ends that helps with ride quality?

aboatguy

Tom
Are you going to get into the front suspension business?

Mike

bogus

oooh... I have'm...

Read all about it... Banski Story from Corvette Enthusiast

I wrote that a couple of years ago now. The system has been very durable. No issues.

I would make sure the rear fuel lines are well clear, they can stick out and rub one of the lateral arms.

Oh, it will download a PDF, no virus... very clean, I promise.

astock165

The first thing is good quality American made rod end. We use all Aurora parts with our kits and luckily I can get them reasonably priced when buying in bulk.

The second thing I think makes a huge difference is the Teflon lining. This lining is between the rod end body and the ball and helps to tighten up the fit between the two to remove any "clanking" of the suspension. There are other rod ends that have a Kevlar & Teflon lining and although very durable they are very expensive comparatively speaking.

I've actually never used anything but Teflon lined rod ends on my own car and have never felt the harsh ride so many people claim. Granted that using unlined rod ends may result in that harsh ride but I feel that only goes to support my theory that anything worth doing is worth doing right, so lined rod ends it is.

astock165

I've played with that idea a number of times. I actually have a prototype system on my own car that uses Delrin lined Aluminum bushings in the stock A-arms and a custom upper spindle rod that I think makes assembly much simpler and allows for an adjustment of how tight the end clamps are on the bushings. This adjustment would be able to be locked in place and allow you to remove any binding of the upper A-arm while removing nearly any axial play.

Keep in mind that binding can be an issue in the front suspension as well. Picture the stock upper A-arm with the bushings in place and the nuts on either end tightened. If you tighten those nuts too much you'll start to bend the two legs of the A-arm together (think of pushing on the ends of the legs of a wishbone). This causes the bushings to lose their co-axial characteristic and can impart a bind on the spindle.

I removed the spring and shocks for my front suspension leaving the poly bushings and stock spindle rod and nuts in place. With just a little bit of torque on the nuts the suspension would drop VERY slowly from full bump to full droop under its own weight. Then I installed the Delrin/Aluminum bushings and adjusted the clamps as described above. Now the front A-arms would move freely up and down and had minimal axial play. Just like in the rear suspension this allows the spring and the shocks to do all the work and removes any inconsistency of an unknown binding rate.

Global West makes their Del-A-lum bushings and since the ones I made were pretty much the same I figured there was no reason to duplicate an already excellent effort there. I was hoping to partner with them on the C4 bushings, offering there bushings as part of my kit that would offer all the bushings and both upper spindle rods with clamps for each side. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make that happen despite being in contact with them a couple of times. I don't want to get into IP issues over the Del-A-lum bushings and frankly can't as cost effective as GW given the small size of my business.

Tom400CFI

Great posts! Thanks for giving us your thoughts!