George A

That's exactly what I do. If one goes out, you know the other is not far behind.

BTW, I attribute this to both the drop link mount to the shock and the TRG sway bar on my car. I think the TRG rear bar needs to be a little wider (longer from left to right), plus you have to make sure you have it perfectly centered since the collars aren't welded. On one occasion, the drop link broke in the same exact manner when the drop link holder on the shock got loose and twisted around, like you mention.

George

kev

Greg,

Thats good to hear, makes me feel better about the link design, have heard about these things failing (pic from Robin's site):

ceboyd

I have the TRG sway bars and custom H&R/ROOCK (or is it ROOK?) coilovers with -3 camber in front and rear.

Yes, my sway bars have room to move up and down.

Yes, my left rear support got loose and is probably what caused it in my case as we tightened it back up at the track.

I'd prefer NOT to have another set of these RS since they have an obvious weakness with that stupid plastic and would rather have the befier ones with really ball joint (much like the spherical bearings).


I will wait to see if I must buy a pair or not and if I have to spend more just to get through the weekend or if Eric *(my eric) can custom make me some in time for next weekend or not (he custom made some for his race sentra that are darn nice with the realy bearings instead of that pressed in plastic crap on the RS one)

Ultimately I'm hoping I don't have to invest in more RS links but I'm in a bit of a time crunch needing something for my 2 day weekend... after that I have time on my hands since I won't have another event until May 20th after next weekend.

Thanks guys for the insight.

If I were to stick with RS end links for sure, I will (of course) buy a pair and keep the old one for a spare back up!

George A

Bob,

If you do make some, please let me know. I will definitely need a set.

George

ceboyd

yes, If Eric says he can't make me a set, I'll come knocking for the set Bob will have ready in a few weeks as well!

TheOtherEric

I may be wrong, but from a distance it sounds like you didn't have the drop link mount pointed perfectly axially. Sounds conceivable since you had to set it at the track. I can imagine how that might cause the monoball to pop out of the plastic due to the side loading it would cause. If that's the case, I wouldn't be so quick to condemn the RS drop links. But it sounds like they can certainly be accused of being sensitive to installation.

ceboyd

I can assure you that installation was NOT an issue. Eric knows what he is doing with suspension installation.

Eric, I think you missed the post about how in my case I believe it was due to the loosening of the mount on the strut and 2 other people confirmed that this indeed can cause this to happen.

Nevertheless, it is still a weak point (come on, PLASTIC?) that I don't want to trust in the future!

I got 2 years and 40+ track days out of them so I guess in that respect I should be happy...

maurice97C2S

Sorry, but if the mount loosened, installation is an issue ... you perhaps might consider that the plastic was perhaps better giving way than the suspension control arm which your loose drop link may have broken .. better a 'moment' than an out of control catastrophe ..

ceboyd

It basicly means another thing to check after every track event... bolts loosen and in this case, somehow the mount loosened on the strut itself.. it wasn't loose when installed.. and it wasn't loose when the alignment was checked just a month earlier..


vibration and track use can cause loosening.. it doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with installation IMHO


and FWIW: I would have rather it BROKE and have to be rewelded (as there was a weld shop on site at the track) (broke like in the photo showing the weld).... which I believe is what would have happened if the plastic didn't break... thus I have little faith in a plastic part on something that endures so much stress like suspension...

maurice97C2S

Several issues really ...
>>
I have the TRG sway bars and custom H&R/ROOCK (or is it ROOK?) coilovers with -3 camber in front and rear.
>>
So you are well off the design envelope for the drop links ... stiffer bars = greater load on drop links ..

If they are installed tight, but with load angles trying to loosen the mount, you will be in trouble sooner ot later.

The situation I was attempting to highlight was the mount moving far enough that the drop link made contact with one or other control arms. If you had a really beefy drop link you might end up breaking one of the control arms under suspension movements, instead of the plastic bits.

Which would you prefer ?

Anyway, you're OK, so reflect and get back out there !!

cheers, Maurice

ceboyd

how much stronger are the TRG sway bars from the RS bars anyway on the loosest setting? (which is what I had them set at).... does anyone know?

TheOtherEric

Sounds like we're saying the same thing: the drop link mount somehow got rotated, causing a side load on the drop link, which tore it apart. That alone wouldn't deter me from buying RS drop links. In fact, it's a good thing that your link broke before your mount did (which I understand is what often happens when the mount gets rotated). FWIW, my rear mounts started rotating last summer too, just due to loosening over time. I totally agree that the vibration and shock has a way of loosening these so we all need to be aware.

ceboyd

alrighty then.. curious though cause I guess I made a false assumption that the TRG bars are the same as the RS sway bars... just cheaper... IIRC the RS Sway bars will set you back over $1g where as the TRG sway bars only set you back around $650 (or did I remember it wrong?)

TheOtherEric

One more thing on this topic: most people don't realize that the PSS9/TRG setup (and probably many other setups) cause the rear drop link to put a load on the drop link mount that is not purely up/down. Thus, the load isn't perpendicular to the threads on the shock body, but instead has a side-to-side component in the direction of the threads, which often causes the mounts to loosen up, then rotate. That's why I put a nut both above & below my drop link mount.

TheOtherEric

TRG bars are 25.4/ 22.2 mm (F/R) while the RS are 23/20mm. I assume the geometry is basically the same otherwise, so yes, TRG bars are stiffer than RS bars.

p.s. doesn't your car push a lot with the rears on the loosest setting??