gfacter

Hey everyone,

I bought a C5 Z06 a month ago and will be doing some AutoX events and some track days later this year once I get a oil cooler on the car.

I am instaling some Pfadt Johnny O'Connell shocks and bars, when adjusting the links and doing the final bolt torquing I had to adjust one link quite a bit to get the link to line up with no bind. I did shim the bar clamps to free up the bars a bit also.


The front lined up much better.

I have built a few other cars with adjustable end links and don't recall them being that far off.

Pfadt should have provided a turn buckle.

Thoughts?

Right side



Left Side

MySR71

Is the suspension at normal ride height when you are adjusting the endlinks for no bind? The picture of the right side looks to be with the suspension at full droop. Maybe that is just for the purposes of taking a picture.

The endlinks adjusted for no bind when the suspension is in full droop does not equate to no bind when the car is at isn't normal ride height.

gfacter

I think it's just the camera angle.

I am using lift and lowered the car on a set of ramps to load the suspension.

I think I will drop the car to the floor and check again to make double sure.

JDIllon

Also be sure to roll the car back and forth before hooking up the links. So that the suspension relaxes out to normal stance. JD

Solofast

Also make sure the surface you are doing it on is flat or the ramps are shimmed to be square and flat. Most garage floors aren't level at all, that's so they can drain well.

sperkins

No - no they shouldn't. That's just crazy. They sent you the high quality end links that you paid for.
You don't even have the car on a set of scales.

froggy47

Should not be off that much. Something is out of alignment. Ck that mounting bushings are "equal" if that's ok, I would pull the bar off & measure it & inspect for bent/damage/etc.



Also ck your ride height is good with bar disconnected both ends.

el es tu

if you are installing the links at different lengths just to get them into the holes, you are going to throw the car's balance off

you need to get the car on a totally level surface and then install the links.

to start them off, measure one of the originals, then set all of the new ones at the same length (center of balljoint to center of balljoint). Later on you can adjust individual ones to help in balancing the car out (done with scales).

good luck!

gfacter

What's wrong with a Turn Buckle link?

I do not own scales or have access to a set. I could pay some one to corner weight the car, but would rather not at this time.

I will be paying for a alignment so maybe when it;s on the alignment rack I can take a look at the links again.

I just want to free up the suspension with the limited tools I have.

Don't you want to corner weight the car w/o the sway bars attached and then attach them without any preload? That's what I was attempting to do here.

This is the 4th track car I have built with adjustable end links so it's not my first time.

sperkins

That's completely wrong. You'll have preload on the bar by doing it that way. That would be no different than using stock end links. He's doing the right thing by adjusting them for zero preload, but it's all a bit pointless without doing a complete setup and simulating the drivers weight as well.

sperkins

Nothing, but you shouldn't come out and say that Pfadt should have supplied turn buckles just because your car isn't setup right.

gfacter

It was nothing against Pfadt, it's just nice to be able to adjust out the preload without removing the ends every time.

I did just drop some cash on their stuff, so I can comment as I wish.

sperkins

It's one bolt.

el es tu

thats correct but the reason why I suggested starting with the stock length is because if he has the car unlevel and has to use different lengths to get the bolts through, then he would end up preloading the bar in that situtation as well

imagine a 3 inch link on the left and a 3.5 on the right because the car was at an angle...

Z06ness03

I literally just did this mod and looking at the way you have them adjusted i would unbolt both bottom links from the control arms and make both end links meet in the middle of wear they are set now. In other words average out there pre-load and center them. My car is exactly the same and with a 1/2 drop on stock leafs i have the endlinks almost completely threaded in (about 2-3 threads from being all the way shortened). Took me about 2-3 adjustments to get them just right so the rear didn't feel like it was dragging on turn in or floaty at corner exit so keep playing with them. One things for sure though they should be almost even in adjustment as the bar will settle itself due to you not probably getting it in there perfectly even. Set them in the middle of what both sides are now and drive it with decent aggression then go back if needed. Goodluck.

sperkins

Huh? End link adjustment is based on your ride height settings. You can't just make them equal and force them into the control arm without introducing preload in the bar.
If you're truly trying to eliminate preload on the bar (without doing a proper chassis setup), it doesn't if one link is threaded all the way out and the other is threaded all the way in. Zero preload is zero preload - there is no 'averaging' it out.

Z06ness03

I'm aware of this but considering he adjusted his endlinks with the suspension preloaded on ramps his bar is probably cocked to one side slightly. If he averages them out and drives it for a day then goes back and checks the pre-load it will be much less extreme. Did you look at his pictures? Just trying to give him a tip that worked for me.

SoDiezl350

Can someone answer the following question for me?

With adjustable end links on both sides of the swaybar, the orientation of the swaybar is quite variable. Is there an optimal orientation? What I mean by this is, by adjusting the length of the end links, you are rotating the swaybar along the axis of the bushings that hold it in place. Does it matter if the end links are set to a longer length thus causing the swaybar arms to rotate more? I would imagine you want to put as little angle as possible on the spherical bearings of the end links. Is this a correct assumption?

When I switched to adjustable end links I set both end links to approximately the same length, however I was unsure if there was a more optimal setup.

froggy47

It doesn't really matter THAT much so long as you CLEAR all suspension parts static & dynamic motion. Many guys leave a stock link on one end & put ONE adjustable link on the other to just zero any preload. The adjustable is simply set to wherever it needs to be so you can slide the final bolt in without effort. The overall lengths of the two should be very close (say withing 3/8 inch or so. If NOT then SOMETHING ELSE is wrong (as I think I posted before). Maybe your bar is not centered in the bushings or one of the corners has been damaged previously. MEASURE.



I think some posters on the thread are overthinking this.

Scooter70

I agree. Set one link close to the length of the stock link. Put car on ramps/4-post lift. Install other endlink so that the second bolt slides in easily. Torque to spec. Repeat at the other end of the car.