Tension Rods for an S13. Opinions?

[BadMojo]

The bushings in the Tension Rods on my S13 are completely ****ed (I think that's the technical term), so I'm looking at this as an opportunity to upgrade.

I was wondering if anyone had first hand experience with the following:

- SPL V2 Tension Rods - The rod itself looks super beefy, I'm just not sure about the quality of the rod ends.

- Battle Version - Again, thick looking rod (heh, heh) but doesn't seem to be any kind of seal on the end. Maybe I'm just not understanding how the bearing on these works, but it seems like it would be prone to damage from road debris.

- Peak Performance - A bit more expensive, but looks really nice. Again, seems like there's no seal on the bearings themselves.

- Kazama - I'm leaning towards these right now, but I'm still curious if anyone has used Kazama Tension Rods.

Cusco is too rich for my blood and I don't have a lot of confidence in the Megan Racing ones. I suppose the Tein tension rods would be OK, but the ones I listed above just look to be of higher quality.

Thanks, guys!

[naed240sx]

SPL's are the best by far and should be the obvious choice for anyone looking for tension rods. I don't know why you are doubting their rod ends. They are super beefy, and have seals-it rod end seals. In addition, the shank itself has a huge 32 mm diameter, and is made of aluminum for light weight. They also have a HUGE amount of adjustability, allowing you to run up to around 10 degrees of castor if you so desire (enough to move your wheel so far forward in the wheel well that you have to cut your bumper to even be able to turn ).

Cliffs: SPL links are the best, end of story.

[240DRFT]

ya, id go with spl out of the ones u mentioned.

and i have teins and they are nice

[BLACKHILLS13]

SPL is probably the best. I have JIC on my hatch & Battle Version on my coupe. I honestly can't tell a difference in the two, but I haven't gotten into caster adjustment yet.

[JNM240]

Wow, 10 degrees??

I have JIC Magic and only got about 4-6 degrees IIRC. They are nice, but i probably still need another degree or 2 to get caster within spec. SPL sounds like your best bet (coming from a JIC Magic person too!!).

[naed240sx]

Wow, 10 degrees??

I have JIC Magic and only got about 4-6 degrees IIRC. They are nice, but i probably still need another degree or 2 to get caster within spec. SPL sounds like your best bet (coming from a JIC Magic person too!!).

If you only have about 4-6 degrees of castor, there is something seriously wrong with your car. Stock castor is around 6.5-7 degrees, and after lowering with coilovers, it ends up increasing to around 7-7.4. At that point, after getting SPLs, you end up with a castor adjustability range of around 6.5 to 10 degrees.

[JNM240]

NONONO i meant 4-6 degrees of adjustment. And im guessing you DIDNT mean 10 degrees of adjustment. You mean 10 degrees of caster total at max.

[naed240sx]

You mean 10 degrees of caster total at max.

Which is exactly what I wrote.

"allowing you to run up to around 10 degrees of castor"