Hi guys. Question are all solid endlinks noisy? Is there a way to adjust them to be quieter? My rear sway bar has 3 different mounting holes. What are the difference ? I will be lowering the rear this weekend any adjustment required to the end links?

 

oh boy....

 

Ok....... That was helpful.

 

Most aftermarket adjustable end links are noisy. It isn't just the links, if you don't carefully install them they will bind and then get really noisy. That said some of us who track our cars have found some that aren't as noisy and gotten them to be very livable.

Here is a link to a page in the autocross and road race page where the subject has been pretty much beaten to death. Post 11 gives you the part numbers if you want to build up a set from the QA-1 parts bins. You'll need to make the spacers and buy the appropriate bolts. The spacers can be cut from tube stock. It just takes some time and inclination to do it. This is what I have had on my car and they are quiet and have been quiet for about 5 years.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-question.html

Sam Strano sells a set of end links that are adjustable and are sealed ball joint ends, These are more quiet than conventional rod ends and are a pretty good value.

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=31&ModelID=11

For the amount of work and cost these are a good deal.

As to the rear sway bar adjustment, the shorter you make the arms the stiffer the bar is and the more oversteer you will get. You didn't mention what brand of bars you have so I can't suggest a starting point. Given that you should start with the softest rear bar setting (hole furthest from the bar) that is the longest arm. If you have bigger tires on the back or other setup changes you may want more rear bar stiffness, but most often the proper setup is going to be the softest or next to the softest rear bar setting.

One mistake that folks make who don't have a lot of suspension setup experience is that they tend to set the car up with a lot more oversteer than is fast or prudent. The reason is that a lot of oversteer makes the driver feel like the car is turning and that "feels" good. The reality is that too much oversteer is slow because you can't get on the power on corner exit because the back end won't hold the power without the back end coming around. The other thing is that with a very small amount of understeer you can "stick" the front end with a bit of a lift on corner entry and then power out of the corner with a lot more throttle than if the car is loose.

Lastly there's a wealth of suspension setup information that is particular to these cars on the aurocross and road racing page in the general section of the forum. This is where the track rats hang out and if you want to learn suspension setup start there.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain. I've just had the car a week. The PO installed T1 sway bars and shocks front and rear. Not sure about springs. Other than that and brakes the car is stock. The stance was kinda strange. He had the front at its lowest and the rear set as high as it would go. I changed the brakes today ( rotors were shot) and finally got under the car. I raised the front and lowered the rear. The front driver side end link was loose at the top and where it went into the a arm the nut was gone. Put a new nut and tightened it all up. That may have been the noise I was hearing. On a side note the front lowering bolts do not have nuts on the top of the spring. I assume without that nut the bolt will be able to spin and change the adjustment?

 

After

 

Before.

 

No there are no nuts on the top of the lowering bolts. They don't seem to spin, although they do bind up over time.

The factory T1 end links do tend to be noisy. The thread that I referenced is titled "T1 end link noise" so that should be a hint. If you have the T1 end links you have the spacers you need and you can buy the QA-1 parts and solve the problem. If the end links haven't been in there for a long time and aren't binding, then they're not too bad, but they do tend to make noise after a while just like any metal on metal rod end does.

Ride height looks a lot better now too.

 

Thanks. Appreciate it he help. I have no plans on tracking the car would I be better off just installing factory sway bars and shocks or maybe c6 shocks for a better ride on the street? I've heard a lot of good things about the c6 shocks.

 

I'll help....I said "OH BOY" b/c I knew this would be opening pandora's box lol!

If you have stock sized bars try moog endlinks - same part # front or rear, they are greaseable so can be kept running smooth or quiet etc

Sounds like you have larger/adjustable bar in front - can try 3 piece heim links some vendors sell them like steinjager or any vendors. Usually can adjust the length quite a bit to accomodate different sway bar variations....but they're all metal and not greased so over time can get squeaky. Can also try lubricating the sway bar bushings if they're poly aftermarket or replacing if they're old stock rubber,

 

Thanks man. Sorry I assumed you were being a dick. I jump to conclusions somtimes. The endlinks on it now are hemi type adjustable. I know less than nothing about setting up a suspension for taking corners. I've been having 4th gen fbodies for the last 12yrs so I was only concerned about traction in a straight line lol. I'll read up and get it figured out this site is a wealth of knowledge. But most of the suspension threads on here are way out of my wheelhouse.

 

Dave,,,

You're doing it right, just ask and learn and you'll be fine, there's tons of knowledge on here, just suck it all in, and then ask questions. There's plenty of help when you get that far.

You've got a car with T1 bars and yes these are definitely on the harsh side for street duty. If you have the stock bars then going back to the stock Z bars would improve the ride and if you aren't going to do any track events or autocross the T1 bars might be a bit much. Same for the shocks, the T1 shocks are pretty brutal on the street.

It also depends on how rough the roads are in your neck of the woods. If you live in lower Michigan or someplace where the roads suck you're going to want the stock bars. If you live in south Florida or Texas, then it's not a big a deal.

The reason the T1 bars use Heim joints is so that the length of the end links can be adjusted when the car is corner weighted for racing. The procedure is to corner weight the car on scales, then adjust the end links so that that there is no preload on the bars.

If you aren't going racing, just get a set of the stock end links and put them on. It might change the corner weights by a few pounds but that isn't important if you aren't racing anyway. The stock end links are quiet and work just fine, so for what you're doing that's an easy fix.

Hope that helps.

 

It helps a lot man thanks. I live in south Louisiana the roads are some of the worst I've ever driven on. I bought the car in Tampa. As low as the front was I never drug the front and I test drove the car for about an hour and a half. They have some great roads over there. I might see if someone on here would like to swap bars and shocks for a set of stock ones.