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i've been looking into getting a 360 composite rear spring from vansteel and thought about getting some adjustable strut rods at the same time. Are there any ones in particular that are recommended? I have a 68 with a 350, bilstein HD shocks and 460 front springs. Vansteel suggested the smart struts. Any input between going with the smart struts ($245) and the adjustable strut rods ($153)? My car is only street driven, no autocross, no hard cornering etc.
I would just go with the adjustable with rubber bushings. These bushings move in two planes and poly bushings will be destroyed within a few years or shorter with aggressive driving.
I would just go with the adjustable with rubber bushings. These bushings move in two planes and poly bushings will be destroyed within a few years or shorter with aggressive driving.
yeah I was reading through some threads and I saw that the poly bushings were problematic. I saw that the smart struts help with side loading or something to do with the wheel bearings. Is this a major concern? I do have 18x11 American racing wheels on falken azenis tires.
It makes a big difference in handling, but I also replaced my worn trailing arm bushings and rear spring at the same time, so I can't say which improved things more.
Last edited by Bikespace; Mar 16, 2021 at 09:09 PM.
It makes a big difference in handling, but I also replaced my worn trailing arm bushings and rear spring at the same time, so I can't say which improved things more.
I understand you get what you pay for. My concern is whether I need to be buying something in the $400 range which I’m sure is a good option but is it overkill for my application.
Kind of like upgrading to oversized half shafts if your motor is bone stock. Is it a good investment, sure. But is it even needed in that application?
With your wide rear wheels, camber change is likely an even bigger issue. The adjustable rubber bushing rods that @Factoid recommended solve two of the big issues: Your bushings are probably shot, and the stock camber adjusting bolt can sometimes lose position. The heim-jointed ends make sure that you don't have any camber change due to bushing deflection in the strut rods. Do you need that third issue solved? I don't know.
So, don't take my word for it! There are lots of similar threads on this Forum. Decide how much you want to spend, and find a solution that works for you.
I went with the Van Steele smart strut with hiem joints , the advantage is your camber doesn't change much throughout the suspension travel , the smart struts have 3 basic settings , 1 autocross , 2 is aggressive street , 3 drag strip and easy street driving , in your case you would want easy driving / drag strip setting that can keep the tires camber setting 0 degrees and it won't change much regardless of hitting a dip at speed when compressing the suspension and this setting is "easiest " on the rear wheel bearings too . Setting 2 is aggressive street that adds some negative camber for corner carving and as you can guess the 1 auto cross setting allows maximum negative camber for hard cornering and is also the hardest on the rear wheel bearings
I went with the Van Steele smart strut with hiem joints , the advantage is your camber doesn't change much throughout the suspension travel , the smart struts have 3 basic settings , 1 autocross , 2 is aggressive street , 3 drag strip and easy street driving , in your case you would want easy driving / drag strip setting that can keep the tires camber setting 0 degrees and it won't change much regardless of hitting a dip at speed when compressing the suspension and this setting is "easiest " on the rear wheel bearings too . Setting 2 is aggressive street that adds some negative camber for corner carving and as you can guess the 1 auto cross setting allows maximum negative camber for hard cornering and is also the hardest on the rear wheel bearings
You could go this route. You will need to use the steel tubes from the poly bushings to make spacers to center the rod ends. Total cost about $250 Buy a set of smart rods Replace rod ends with these
I bought/made my own- think I was all in for $160 - about $20 less if you go with steel ends
I ended up with greasable moly heim joints- I used staggered sizes- 5/8" to 1/2" hole for the bracket-just like OE. No misalignment spacers needed- just cone spacers and a couple of thick washers- and it's a nice tight fit.
Used 3/8" flat steel to keep them centered. 4" grade 8 bolt and a nyloc.
5/8"X16tpi 1/2" heim only 1/2id X 1/2" width spacers are needed for bolting up.
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
You an also go aluminum rods with hiem joints. I made my own and they work great. Coleman racing has the aluminum rods, mine are red. The car is so much more planted when they are adjusted correctly and they stay adjusted.
Sorry , I got off site and didn*t get back on still now . To answer your question on how my car handled , after installing the adjustable rods from MID AMERICA , car handled better then before installation of rods , but then old set up were worn out . DO NOT waste your money , if you are only using your car for pleasure and not racing around plus in the kit you get instructions on how to set up and adjust camber without taking to have it aligned , and once camber was set it stays set .
Lots of good ideas above. If you decide to go with OEM , install quality rubber bushings / new bolts-nuts and definately new serrated washers to hold the strut rods in place.
I just bought the rods and Qa1 heim joints and spacers from summit. I had to make the square steel pieces myself. The 2 grade 8 bolts and nuts I got at Fastenal were rather expensive since they don't sell them individually I had to buy a bag of 4 I think about $25. I was under $200 for everything.
I saw these on Midwest Control Products website when following a link from an earlier post. I ordered 2 of the MXTTL-10 and 2 of the MXTT-10. The trunnion is 1.720 inches wide. I believe that works for the strut rod bracket from a width perspective. I will need to open up the 1/2" hole to 5/8" to accept them. On the strut rod attaching point on the hub, I will need to take a little material off of the trunnion sides to be able to slide into place. These are going into the adjustable rods I already have with the deteriorating poly bushings. Bearings, Spherical Rod End Male 5/8-18 LH (midwestcontrol.com) Bearings, Spherical Rod End Male 5/8-18 RH (midwestcontrol.com)
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strut rods
