AORoads

OK, forget I asked the question. Just post up in a new thread when you do put on new shocks----and wear a kevlar suit.

mikeci

JRLedFoot

I you have the base suspension like I do,I recommend you consider the Hotchkis sway bar kit,they're supposedly 20% stiffer,lighter than Z51 & the rear bar is adjustable (not taking anything away from the Z51,I've driven it & it's great!) & you loose nothing in terms of ride quality,other than,the noise. So my LG quiet links are on their way.
BTW, my car now handles like the Z51(with the Hotchkis bars) on the windy roads & High speed turns in & out of the freeways were the Gs,understeer etc.,can be felt,but retains the confort of the base suspension.Responsiveness can only improve with the removal of the squishy links. Hope this helps.

respectfuly,

ledfoot

Cobra4B

Just a word... the stock links aren't "squishy". Yes heim-jointed links are an upgrade but really only for the ability to set bar pre-load. Back in the C5 days the pre-2001 cars came with plastic endlinks. In '02 they upgraded to the aluminum ones that come standard on C6s. These were an upgrade over the plastic ones and are far from "squishy".

///DarkSide\\\

You seem to be, again harping, on the word "squishy". Relatively speaking that word can be used to describe many things. I originally chose that word to emphasize the point that, as an additional benefit to what the OP said, heim joints remove the rubber isolators out of a suspension link, that are there in the first place, to reduce N/V/H.

In the picture above, do you not see rubber isolators in the OEM endlinks?

Cobra4B

^ Those are dust boots to keep the joint greased. It's a solid joint. Heim-joints technically need to be greased periodically. Cut that boot open and tell me what you find.

My point is that very few people need to buy endlinks like these... the majority are buying them for the wrong reasons. Just trying to help the average vette guy be fully informed.

So often you see something like this and all of a sudden everyone thinks they must have this item for the magic handling improvements. If you want to spend $300 on endlinks then by all means go for it. But to the majority of owners that money would be better spent on 10 tanks of gas and driving or an HPDE weekend.

mikeci

ok since I added "poly bushings" to my sway bars would the LG's reduce the road noise/vibration back to the level of the rubber type bushings?
Mike

Cobra4B

No... the noise is coming from the poly bushing itself most likely... this is why street cars don't come w/ poly bushings. I have VB&P polys in my entire car. Back when I only had them on the swaybars I had to drop the bar down once a year and re-grease w/ teflon-grease. After about a year the squeeking would come back. Now that I have polys in the control arms it squeeks a tad bit all the time, so I don't even bother anymore, just turn up the stereo.

Which swaybars do you have? Which endlniks do you currently have? LG developed these for guys who wanted to run GM's T1 bars on the street w/o the clanking. T1 bars come w/ heim-jointed links from GM, but they make lots of noise.

///DarkSide\\\

On a track the ability of a stock Vette is higher then the average driving ability.

mikeci

I have Z51's bars & they are not squeeking after they warm up but I have noted an increase in road noise all the time.

Mikelly

Bringing this back from the dead because:

A: I broke an endlink on the rear of my new-to-me 2012 GS

B: I read bad info repeatedly in this thread...

There is no SQUISH in the OEM metal endlinks. Matter of fact, where mine cracked, at the very TOP of the joint, is solid metal. some of you guys kept referencing some form of rubber used in the construction of that piece. The ONLY rubber is in the BOOT that holds grease. Yea, like Brian, I'm trying to impart some wisdom here. There is ZERO deflection on those parts. However, they apparently don't like cold weather and steep driveway entries... I'll post a pic of my destroyed endlink later to drill this point home even more.

Edit: started my own thread to discuss my break...

Mike Kelly