Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi all, I need some more negative camber in the front of the R34 and got some adjustable upper control arms and radius rods:

2001549910102364341S425x425Q85.jpg

The control arms are eBay brand (nice eh) and the radius rods are SRI from Just Jap.

I'd like to know the following before I start pulling the front end apart:

1. I think the OEM upper control arm is just one part whereas the replacement is in two parts. The straight bits have this 'diagonal cut' on the side - any idea which one goes on which side of the car?

2. I understand that the radius rods are the ones right next to the front swaybar, correct (see pic below)? It looks like the OEM rod has this massive rubber bush whereas the SRI pillow ball looks very small in comparison. Is this going to cause any issues?

3. Lastly, what's the best way to keep the original alignment? Just measure the original arms and rods & try to adjust the new parts as close as possible?

Thanks guys!

Here's some photos of the stock suspension:

2849122030102364341S425x425Q85.jpg

2852212460102364341S425x425Q85.jpg

  • Replies 42
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

You can eyeball it and get it close but you will need an alignment...

The caster rods are correct, you fit them up and they work fine, one again will need adjusting when aligned...

Not sure about the camber arms as I used the bushes!

Nice BC's by the way ;) how u find them?

Nice BC's by the way ;) how u find them?

Thanks! Yeah very happy with them. I ended up going lower-than-normal spring rates (F:6 and R:5, they come in F:8 and R:6 as standard) together with larger sway bars and they work great. Good control yet very compliant ride. Oh yeah and it's a 4 door GTT.

Yeah I kept 8/6 but have the same set ready to go in :) I'll check back in soon and hopefully someone sheds some light on the camber arms, I haven't don't them before so I can't help

With that part... The caster rods are pretty easy :) they are solid so you'll notice a bit of harshness compared to the rubber ones but it's nothing major....

Curved part of arm goes on sides towards front of car. But when you take stock out youll see one side is curvy other is more straight so you essily figure it out.

Thanks boostn. Any idea which way the 'cut outs' on the straight bits go?

Thanks boostn. Any idea which way the 'cut outs' on the straight bits go?

Cut out part should be facing on the inside, its cut out to give some clearance for the arm from the wishbone as it can get pretty close.

Edited by boostn0199
  • 7 months later...

Finally got around to installing these, wasn't too bad. Cracking the nuts and measuring the original arms/rods & setting up the new parts to match were the hardest parts. Good long breaker bar is your friend.

One tip for anyone doing this is to keep in mind that the LCA and wishbone drop really far down without the front coilover in place. Therefore only tighten the top front bolt properly after the coilover's back in. Otherwise the original rubber bush will be under a lot of tension when the car is dropped down.

Here's how the arms look installed:

Adjustable front upper camber arms (from this skylineowner.com thread):

DSC_7779.jpg

Adjustable front radius rods/tension rods (from this skylineowners.com thread):

IMG_0391.jpg

Adjustable rear camber arms (from this skylineowner.com thread):

DSC_7784.jpg

Hope this helps.

Edited by V28VX37
  • 2 weeks later...

Quick question - since installing these (together with 20mm spacers) I am experiencing slight knocking/jarring at full lock e.g. when shuffling around to park.

I have done a quick check of clearances, the tyres don't appear to touch and I can't see any marks anywhere ... Has anyone else had similar, I wonder what it could be?

  • 1 month later...

I ended up zip-tieing the plastic inner guard lining in front of the wheels and it's much better now, no more jarring. There's also a little plastic 'ridge' on the rear side that you just push in for a tiny bit more clearance.

I'm still getting a slight knock/clunk from the front, typically when maneuvering at slow speeds (stop/start). I'm guessing this might be the radius rod ball joint, which has close to no bushing compared to the massive rubber bush in the OEM rod, does this sound right? I knew that aftermarket arms & rods are meant to be noisier, but how noisy is too noisy?

Another question too: The bolts connecting the aftermarket radius rods to the LCAs are maybe 1mm smaller than the holes in the LCAs, so they're not snug. The bolts came with the kit and fit the holes in the radius rods snugly though, so they're the right part. Could this cause some additional NVH?

Did you get a wheel alignment? Presumably you don't want the stock alignment. Too much negative camber will chew out your tyres pretty quickly. More castor is good - anything up to 6 - 7 deg.

The pillowball joints are not ideal for road cars as they will not last as long as the stockers.

Did you get a wheel alignment? Presumably you don't want the stock alignment. Too much negative camber will chew out your tyres pretty quickly. More castor is good - anything up to 6 - 7 deg.

The pillowball joints are not ideal for road cars as they will not last as long as the stockers.

Yeah mate full alignment, castor in the 6.5-7 range and neg camber about -1.25 rear/-1.6 front. I'm happy with the settings.

I've heard that ball joints won't last as long but are they meant to be fairly noisy brand new, too?

Yeah mate full alignment, castor in the 6.5-7 range and neg camber about -1.25 rear/-1.6 front. I'm happy with the settings.

I've heard that ball joints won't last as long but are they meant to be fairly noisy brand new, too?

No. Noisy means they are generally loose! Check to see if the adjustment part is locked up tight?

No. Noisy means they are generally loose! Check to see if the adjustment part is locked up tight?

Ok thanks. I have gone through everything previously (cos it was noisy) and made sure everything was super tight, but will check once more.

  • 2 weeks later...

Oh well the clunking/knocking in the front is really starting to s__t me now. I have checked everything again and it's all tight.

It's noisy at slow speeds when braking and accelerating, a very clear knock when changing from one to the other. It's not noisy at bumps. All I can think of is that the radius rod pillowball joints are somehow stuffed.

Is there any way to work out whether it's the camber arms OR the radius rods, without starting to pull stuff out??

I think I may have found the culprit ... pulled out one of the rods last night and turns out the front bolt is tapered, a bit thinner at the other end. This means that it wasn't sitting tight through the ball joint.

As a temporary fix I put some electrical tape around the thin end of the bolt and it finally silent. I'll post some photos later.

Has anyone else had this problem with aftermarket radius rods? Where should I look for straight (non-tapered) replacement bolts?

Have you thought about the original bolts?

Yep I'm using original bolts, that's the issue. The original bolts are thinner at the other end (with a respective narrowing inside the bushing of the OEM radius rod), however the hole through the aftermarket joint is straight so the bolt is not snug at the other end. The rear bolts were supplied with the new rods but not the fronts.

I'm using the original bolts with Tein caster rods. So it should all be the same same as what you have. Yes the bolts are slightly tapered just before teh thread, but they are the correct diameter through 90+% of the crush tube of the rose joint, and as such they don't make any noise. I'm very surprised to hear that you can pack yours out with tape, still get them back together and have it silence the noise. Perhaps you should put up a picture of one of the bolts. It may turn out that the ones you have are not original after all.

Ok, here's some photos. You can see that the second part of the crush tube is unsupported by the bolt about 1/3 of its length, and some play is quite clearly evident.

You can also see my electrical tape hack job in the last photo (no issue sliding those in) - unfortunately it seems that it didn't fix the noise issue fully either :(

Next up I'm going to try to find some new bolts, however this may be tough as the OEM bolts are different diameter at each end - I wonder if the bolt holes are different sizes too..?

9284022854_ee9bec0de6.jpg

9284022572_23f306eff8.jpg

9284022212_3b60fb5a6f.jpg

9281241029_a94e20a631.jpg

9284021452_0d850e0797.jpg

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • For these last 7 years of ownership, I've always had to use a small scissor jack under one of the front tow hooks to raise the front just enough so my low-profile jack fits under to reach my subframe jack point. I'm beginning to get annoyed of always having to do this. Are there any lower low-profile jacks that fit under the gtr lip on a dropped car?
    • Seat of the pants assessment of the new intake: The car is way less "doughy" when hitting the loud pedal, especially off idle when stopped or in traffic, I did use a cheapo lazer thermal thingo to measure the temp around where the pod filter got its air, it was between 55 - 60°C, in saying this the car was shut off and not moving, so the OEM intake pipe was not supplying any fresh air to where the pod was when the car was at least moving A weird bonus was induction noise on the throttle in the cabin increased a bit,  I was worried that I was actually going to lose some of that induction noise I love so much, outside though, when I got the daughter to do a WOT drive by pass for me, the induction noise has increased alot when on the throttle, not quite ITB doort, but well up there I'm extremely happy with the results and have been exploring the country roads in the region  As for house mods: 1.New front fence is up and is awesome, it really upgraded how the joint looks from the street, and the added security is nice 2. Electricians have replace some interior lights, and with more lighting in the garage, a few new motion detecting lights out the front above the garage, front room, and at the front door, which I have already found heaps helpful coming and going, also now has fancy pants CCTV all round the house The only hold point for power though is the solar and batteries due to supply issues, although this will happen over the next few weeks 3. I have done a heap of landscaping out the front and I'm almost ready to do a new small retaining wall with some nice blocks to replace the brick and cemented in rocks around the raised garden beds cemented in river stone "was the fashion at the time" the house was built. I currently have a pallet of retaining wall blocks and 2 bulka bags of 20mm blue metal to replace the wood chip that is in the raised garden beds around the house 4. I now have 3 big raised garden beds for out the back to grow some vegetables, about 70cm high, 200cm long and 100cm wide 5. My 2 compost bins are already pretty full with brown, green and kitchen waste from the landscaping I'vedone so far, but they will probably take a few months to break down, so anything else that gets chopped, trimmed, and kitchen waste will just start filling the base of the raised garden beds to about 30cm before I start throwing 40cm of good compost, and stuff, for the vegetables to grow in, I'll need a few ton of compost and soil, but the local supplier can sent me bulka bags of the stuff Basically the logs, wood chips and a few strategically placed rocks for drainage, will give the beds some good organic materials down low to break down over time, and they will hold moisture during the warmer months to save the water in my big arse water tank if we don't get alot of rain So, all in all, the car and house mods are going well, and I'm really enjoying being retired, I sleep in too 0700 and slowly plod around inside until I feel like actually doing anything, and only work in the yard for as long as want, which has actually been alot over the last few weeks,  although when you look at it, it seems that not a huge amount of work has been done,  until I look at the before I started the work pics Happy days and good times indeed 
    • hahaha yeah. Plan is to get side skirts and probably just rear pods. But going to do them one-by-one. I've got a set that I really like from RHDJapen, but that one isn't shipped to AU. So need to find someone who can get it for me
    • Here's an idea, answer the questions I asked you as they are trying to work out WHY the LSD will be binding up in a straight line.
×
×
  • Create New...