GKTECH V3 KNUCKLES

[GUWOP]

GKTECH V3 KNUCKLES

G'day lads. At the moment I'm putting together an R32 street/tdori machine and am up to the knuckle part. Let me say I'm a fan of GKTech and the quality/price balance they work with, but on top of that the options for the R chassis are slim, so these seems like the top pick.

I already have Silk Road camber arms set at 35mm shorter than stock, will be running R33 LCA's with a customised flat adjustable lock stop, Strongflex poly bushes and have extended tie rods and non-offset spacers to go in. Will be moving the rack forward 25mm as well. Currently rolling on +30 R33 GTR wheels but will be going to something in the +15 to +20 range soon. 

So, the question is - are they worth the extra cost? Obviously they're an upgrade compared to a modded stock knuckle. The unsprung weight advantage sounds great as well as the claimed linear feel, but considering I should be saving for Japan later this year they're hard to justify at something like twice the price of getting some modded locally. Can anyone comment on the driving feel? 

 

[iruvyouskyrine]

I have never personally used them and i actually haven't even heard of anyone using them. The pick of the bunch for modded 32 knuckles is JDI fabrication in melbourne. All the people from vicdrift use them and swear by them.

Next question, why do you need different knuckles? Personally i don't believe they are needed until you are able to outdrive the standard ones and they become the limiting factor.

[bcozican]

I can half comment on this I have a r32 gtst and got the V2

I actually just put a pair of these in my car 2 weeks ago and drove on them last night... all be it grip driving but I have drifted for a long time etc and know the difference in feel

1) they are fabbed up really nice, except one thing we noticed immediately was that they obviously got the bearing case machined and then welded all the other bits on etc - great quality except the heat has obviously put the bearing case out of round by the tiniest bit and had hell of a job getting new bearing case in there

2) I cant comment using your suspension arms and ride height etc but we had to do some adjustments to get everything to fit up, I have full tote odds suspension setup etc (everything) and Tein extra length tie rods etc etc ... I ran out of tie rod length so had to get rack extenders. Then running 18 x 9.5 +12 with a 255 semi tyre on it the tyre then hit the upright, we had to space that out 10mm which gave us bees d*ck clearance to the upright - need more, then came trying to make the tyre fit into the guard and wheel well in its new postion. Not uncommon when you change the ride height etc but do bare it in minid that things like this might have to be addressed

3) they have a sh*t load of lock - when I drifted I had some albeit mild 3up cut and shut knuckles from Japan, these had way more lock. You wanna run wheel small thin and really wide to take full advantage of the lock aka: what they do with wisefab

4) they have approx. 20mm drop built into the knuckle - so on a lower car like mine where the arms where just slightly starting to push the correct characteristics geometry it bought it back to spot on and everything looks and works great

I am grip driving now and bought them for the 20mm drop to correct my geometry. Are they good yes, are they a hassle and cause a few probs putting them in - sort of ( I also don't believe many tings are just 100% bolt in so expected some small probs). Are they necessary for you that's a decision only you can make but Id say from my previous drifting experience (did ADGP for 3 years) no you don't absolutely need them and the above mentioned JDI ones that everyone runs will be more than suffice.

My 2c

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by bcozican

[Leroy Peterson]

Topstage composites S14 snapped one of GKtech's front knuckles clean in half at WTAC 2016 (I cant find the photo, but I do have one). Obviously a lot more pressure at high speeds and with Advan semi slicks, but apparently most of GKtechs stuff is made in China. (not saying they make bad quality products, just mentioning for anyone who thinks knuckles at that price range are made in Aus)

[GUWOP]

Cool, thanks for the info guys. I know they aren't essential but considering the benefits and my like for messing around and upgrading setups it's hard to ignore that they exist. JDI do seem to have a longstanding rep, too, and good pricing, though I was going to give Kays Fab a shot as he seems to do good work and is local so no shipping.

Bit scary that Topstage broke some, but then again shit does and can happen. You'd think that they might spec machining on the bearing case post-weld considering that heat always causes some distortion, but it must be a price point factor. Maybe even some heat treating too, but again would drive the cost up if it's not entirely necessary. GKTech do a lot of FEA testing though so at least there is that going for them. 

For now I think I'm going to leave it at non-offset rack spacers, solid rack bushes, solid steering spacer, wind the camber back a degree and if necessary do a bit of grinding on the lock stop on the knuckle. Then move on up from there so I can say I've tried it all from sloppy 26 year old stock to the good stuff. 

Cheers to everyone for the help!! 

[GTSBoy]

Just for clarity......FEA is not testing.