JaGsC5

I've noticed some play in my rear wheels. The bearings are brand new. All the play is coming from the tie rods. Can you replace the ball joints on the tie rod or do you just purchase the entire tie rod end?. Is there any stronger tie rod or end to purchase since the car is used hard at the track?

Thanks in advance!

0Robert@SPEEDSOUTH

We use the Baer Trackers, front and rear, zero play and easy to bumpsteer.

http://www.baer.com/products/tie-rods/index.php

We sell them. Let me know if you have any questions.

Lancer033

davidfarmer

those look great, but you can use OEM and extend their life by wrapping them with reflective tape, or header wrap. They are so close to the rotors, that the heat really breaks them down quickly at the track.

JaGsC5

I have to admit that I had no idea what bump steer was so I did a little reading. My guess would be that most poeple don't have a clue either.

Definition;

When designing a car, if the centerline of the outer tie rod lines up with the centerline of the lower ball joint, and the inter tie rod lines up with the lower pivot point then the length and angle of the tie rod and suspension will be the same resulting in zero bump.

So, in order to properly adjust bump steer into or out of your car, one would need to have a bump steer guage and would have to know how to use it properly to get the result you desire.

Checkout this page.

http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=13


So I find my self asking, is it worth spending more than $500.00 for tie rods that look cool since I don't have the proper tools to set them up the way they were designed to function? My conclusion would be that a lot of people are buying expensive rods and installing them thinking they are magicaly solving bump steer issues and actually nothing has changed. Am I missing something? Is there advanced instructions that come with these bump steer bars to set them up properly for the Vette?


I'm liking this suggestion so far. Listening

0Robert@SPEEDSOUTH

If you're interested in going the Baer route and then having them properly adjusted, ask around and see if there is a race shop that is in your area that can properly adjust them. If not, or if you're wanting to save some bucks, iow, this failure isn't nec. a time to upgrade, then David's rec on wrapping the joint is entirely nec. and will greatly extend the life of the joint, use safety wire not a zip ties to secure it of course.

Let me know if you have any questions.

kflee

Any issues with your spring touching the tie rod?

Jason

Header tape is my new best friend this year. I wrapped everything.

Lancer033

only street and autoX with this setup so far, but no issues yet. They're LG Coilovers

Cobra4B

VB&P makes a nice upgraded rod end that's actually cheaper than oem replacements. It has no plastic internals and uses a zerk (sp?) fitting on the bottom. It still has a rubber boot so you'll need to wrap it w/ something like DEI cool tape.

gkmccready

I've heard VBP heavy duty part is a bit bigger, so if you're running inverted coilovers you need to be careful with them rubbing the spring...

Cobra4B

It's a little bit bigger... but nothing like the ones in the pics above.