well i needed new tie rod ends and boots and my car is lowered quite a bit so i thought i'd go all out and get the new adjustable SPL tie rod ends, z32 tie rods, boots, rod end seals, and rack bushings. i also put on new energy suspension tension rod bushings but that's a different story. i can't give much of a driving impression because i haven't gotten an alignment yet so the car handles like ****, nothing in this podunk town is open on sunday.
the good: quality is good, design is good. i like the high strength spacers that brace the rod end against the spindle. the Z32 rods are a lot thicker than the 240 rods (not that that's difficult), and the OEM quality and avaliability are a nice bonus.
the bad: a little heavy, but who cares. i would have appreciated it if they included new tie rod lock plates, or at least sold me new ones. i didn't know i would need new ones. i bent mine up getting the rods off and didn't have the time/ability to get new ones. my biggest problem was the style of nuts used on the shank. they were rediculously hard to get on because they were the lock nuts where the metal is bent in to hold them on. it would have been easier with nylock nuts or castle nuts or some other system. also, some flats on the shank would have been nice, i had to use vice grips to hold it and i tore up the shank a little. but it didn't actually matter because the part i used to grip it doesn't mate up with anything.
all in all, i like them and i would buy them again.
feel free to ask me about anything i didn't cover.
SPL parts tie rod end review
Re: SPL parts tie rod end review (cdlong)
well, i finally got the car aligned, having a car this low is a ***** sometimes.
anyway, the front end feel so much more solid. quite a bit of that is the new tension rod bushings, but the steering feels like it works smoother and is less affected by bumps.
my car is lowerd 2.2" and i have the .45" spacer on, i should probably step up the the biggest one to completely eliminate bump steer. so even on slightly lowered cars, it would help.
anyway, the front end feel so much more solid. quite a bit of that is the new tension rod bushings, but the steering feels like it works smoother and is less affected by bumps.
my car is lowerd 2.2" and i have the .45" spacer on, i should probably step up the the biggest one to completely eliminate bump steer. so even on slightly lowered cars, it would help.
Re: (SR22DET)
Im assuming he is referring to spacers on the tie rod end to keep its range of motion in spec to help bump steer. On stock suspension you dont need to worry about it. Only when you lower the car does the angle of the tierod change causing it to actually move a greater distance when the suspension is compressed. The spacers make it so that the angle of the tie rod stays close to stock even though the rest of the suspension is considerably lower.