Alternative rear ARB droplinks
Discussion
Hi guys anyone out there made there own rear droplinks?.I got rid of the originals a few years back and fitted rose jointed ones. Unfortunatly my car had the early weaker ARB tie in plates on the wishbones and these have now split.
I am welding in the new and stonger plates but as i dont track the car would like the best of both worlds. I would like a rose joint fix to the ARB but as per originals 2 no rubber bushes at the tie point to the plate.
Now i know exactly what im after is identical to the latest leven ones, but they are pretty expensive, and a pretty basic design, so hence my first question.
Anyone know what size rose joint, total length of the drop link and dia of the rod etc, etc. I have access to a lathe at work and with the right diameter stainless bar, and correct size rose joint i want to have a go at making my own. The rubbers and washers are readily available.
Anyone out there that can help please, thanks Tom.
I am welding in the new and stonger plates but as i dont track the car would like the best of both worlds. I would like a rose joint fix to the ARB but as per originals 2 no rubber bushes at the tie point to the plate.
Now i know exactly what im after is identical to the latest leven ones, but they are pretty expensive, and a pretty basic design, so hence my first question.
Anyone know what size rose joint, total length of the drop link and dia of the rod etc, etc. I have access to a lathe at work and with the right diameter stainless bar, and correct size rose joint i want to have a go at making my own. The rubbers and washers are readily available.
Anyone out there that can help please, thanks Tom.
These fit ,infact loads of drop links fit just need to measure from the plate to the centre of the anti roll bar.Loads on fleabay
First picture shows a pair ofdrop links which are rose jointed with rubbers covers..
Its around 100mm and there is some adjustment.You have the best of both worlds ,rose jointed with rubber dampers each side of the plate.Worth picking some up to try ,only about £5.
First picture shows a pair ofdrop links which are rose jointed with rubbers covers..
Its around 100mm and there is some adjustment.You have the best of both worlds ,rose jointed with rubber dampers each side of the plate.Worth picking some up to try ,only about £5.
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 16th November 20:43
Anyone else that might want to make their own will find this website very usefull.
http://mcgillmotorsports.co.uk/
http://mcgillmotorsports.co.uk/
SILICONEKID340HP said:
I know what you mean but the OE ones are rubbish and the aftermarket one`s bend the supporting bracket..So an alternative is an upgrade..
Partly true Daz.Yes the originals are rubbish, they are the same design fitted to the Triumph TR6 in the 1970's.
They never had a very long service life on a TR6 before they became horribly worn, so in my opinion they have no place on a 150mph TVR.
True, my rear Leven drop links did break one of the wishbone brackets, but the original feeble design breaks the bracket too.
TVR themselves acknowledged the problem when they fitted later cars with beefed up brackets.
My advice would be to upgrade to the beefier brackets even if you are running the standard links.
If you move to a rose jointed link the stronger brackets are absolutely essential.
The bottom line is my Leven links made a genuine improvement to the way my car handles.
Call me extravagant but I just bought mine direct from Leven.
Ok so I wouldn't call them cheap but they are fantastic quality & I knew they would fit first time.
Easily bolted on in a hour or so for an instant improvement, 4,000 miles later they are a good as new.
900T-R said:
That's why some of us replace some parts with ones that were properly designed for the job in the first place.
What lengths people will go in order to save a measly few tenners...
I would not say the S/H ones have been properly designed ,only in a back street garage ! and they wreck the cross bracket with out a warning from the supplier..What lengths people will go in order to save a measly few tenners...
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Friday 25th November 11:32
SILICONEKID340HP said:
and they wreck the croos bracket with out a warning from the supplier..
The bracket above was 'wrecked' by a std droplink - replacing the rotten original with a fully functional SH one just speeded up the process (but we knew that all along; we just decided to leave it until the next MOT because the bill hadbeen running up high enough as it was, and it was still 'OK'ish' at the time...). 900T-R said:
That's why some of us replace some parts with ones that were properly designed for the job in the first place.
What lengths people will go in order to save a measly few tenners...
You have missed the point. Some owners , myself included have a "hands on" approach to improving and maintaining their cars[ hence the full bodyoff resto i did 2 years ago]What lengths people will go in order to save a measly few tenners...
Some also try to improve on TVR"S original design. If you wish to buy yours "off the shelf" then go ahead no problem, but i guarantee the drop links i am making myself will be as good if not better than anything out there at the moment. Its not just about cost.
The leven ones are the best design there is I.M.O and my own design is almost identical but for a total cost of about £20. By making my own at this price i can check them on a regular basis and replace them if needed. Much more sense to me to replace at £20 a go then £90.
Edited by TJC46 on Friday 25th November 12:39
TJC46 said:
You have missed the point......... Its not just about cost.
the satisfaction of making something yourself that's as good, if not better than commercially available item and maybe saving a few bob.(my cars are my hobby, I don't count time as money, hobbies are meant to occupy spare time)
I think you should be looking at the brackets and articulation transfering wishbone arc to the rollbar. The horizontal plane of the bracket isn't really suitable IMHO. Either plating it up with sandwich material (like 6mm ally) above and below with a spherical rod end to clamp it together or making a complete new bracket in the vertical plane would seem a sensible alternative IMHO.
Punching the fixing hole through the wishbone bracket and then allowing forces to continually try to wiggle / break it out seems completely flawed to me. As does the need to make a right angle in the link rather than a direct connection articulated at both ends?
The stronger replacement brackets are made to suit all the standard fitment components, if you are going to make your own then your solution does not have to fit the same constraints.
Punching the fixing hole through the wishbone bracket and then allowing forces to continually try to wiggle / break it out seems completely flawed to me. As does the need to make a right angle in the link rather than a direct connection articulated at both ends?
The stronger replacement brackets are made to suit all the standard fitment components, if you are going to make your own then your solution does not have to fit the same constraints.
haircutmike said:
I run the Leven ones, purely out of choice as they were S/Steel.
I believe both the leven and the S/H ones are fine if set up properly.
The trouble comes when ill fitted and the hinge angles, (on the S/H ones) are wrong which exacerbates a weak mounting bracket. All imho!
Not quite true as the plate was breaking with the original design because of the way the top is bolted to it. Years before I even brought out the drop links. I believe both the leven and the S/H ones are fine if set up properly.
The trouble comes when ill fitted and the hinge angles, (on the S/H ones) are wrong which exacerbates a weak mounting bracket. All imho!
The top has to move to provide the arcs and so it twists the plate. It's that force that breaks the original plate. If the bush is softer then there is less twist but then the drop link spends time moving the bush rather than applying the correction force which is why there the result is not progressive at all. Ideally it should be solid but that will damage the plate or even bend the drop link - something else that I have seen! So the bushes have to be softer to allow the movement which compromises the design.
The original/leven design is easier and cheaper to make but I didn't follow this route because I didn't like the twist and from an engineering point of view, that top needs some articulation because of the arcs that the suspension creates - hence the two joints.
The leven design is easier to make but from an engineering view it still has the flawed design at the top that the original has.
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