Im toying with the idea of building myself a proper midy and want to start drawing up some initial designs but I was wondering...
If I were to fit rose joints for the wishbones (so three rose joints per wishbone) How reliable are they compared to conventional bushes and crush
tubes?
Obviously they are expensive and allow seriously accurate suspension setup and are lighter than bushes etc...But how long should I expect them to
last...especially in the UK...
And the other question, What size rose joints are people using on kit cars for their wishbones?
cant tell you about life as i havent used them but ive heard it can be bad!
as for size, its a matter of choice. Most people seem to regard 3/8ths as too small and 3/4 as overkill. That leaves half inch in the middle! Dont
forget its best to have a left handed one in there somewhere for more precise adjustment.
1/2" is apparently regarded as the minimum size thread for racing. they look too small for me though,
i'm using rose joints all round on mine. on my ex race chassis i've got:
front wishbones-
5/8" thread with 1/2" bolt hole - 2 for each wishbone, and all right hand threaded.
rear link bars-
5/8" thread by 1/2" bolt, each of the 4 bars has 2 joints, one left hand thread, one right hand thread. the same for the 2 watts link
bars.
i haven't finished this car yet, so don't know what the life of the joints will be like, but if you buy them from mcgill motorsports on
ebay, if they last 6 months, they're cheap enough to replace.
also, you can get rubber boots that go over the ends. helps prevent some of the grit getting in and the grease getting out. you can get them from
rally design cheap enough
quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
cant tell you about life as i havent used them but ive heard it can be bad!
as for size, its a matter of choice. Most people seem to regard 3/8ths as too small and 3/4 as overkill. That leaves half inch in the middle!
I use (as i'm living in EU) metric ones.
For the rear uprights I use one M16 on top and 2 M12 on the lower wishbone.
I'm looking now for some rubber hoses which fits to prevent rust.
I use SKF the expensive ones 
http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/products?maincatalogue=1&lang=en&newlink=3_3_21
My front suspension has rose joints on the top wishbone and they don't last long on the road.
You can get National Rod End TSMX8T for £22.50 ea or for the ultimate in durability NMB ART8ECR would be £56ea - either way they will probably only
last a few K miles at best.
Next time I am designing in poly bushes - much cheaper and more reliable in the long term.
I'm on M12 for the top front wishbones.
1000 miles, 3 trackdays and they're still going strong.
Oh, and only cost me £5 each.
http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?action=attachment&tid=35371&pid=292337
Pat...
quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Next time I am designing in poly bushes - much cheaper and more reliable in the long term.