Ams tention rods

[SeanR32GtSt]

I was cleaning out the boot of my r32 looking for any tools or supplies that might’ve fell into the  spare tire well. I found these that the previous owner might’ve left there? Lol. Anyways don’t know what they do or are worth but I found their website and apparently they are a Canadian product. 

[GTSBoy]

Likely made in Taiwan, like all the others.  They do appear to be at least semi-decent, having boots on the rod ends and overall good finish.  He probably took them off because the rod ends are rattly though.  Fit them up and find out.

[SeanR32GtSt]

I mean what’s the use in using them though? Like performance wise?

[GTSBoy]

The caster rods control the fore-aft movement of the front lower control arm.  Without them, the lower control arm would be able to move forward and backwards in the wheel well enough to crash into the guard liner, because the bushes at the chassis end of the arm aren't designed to take loads applied in that direction.

The stock caster rods are fixed length.  No adjusting them.  The stock amount of caster in these Nissans is a bit low - only a few degrees.  More (positive) caster provides an increase in the amount of dynamic camber (camber that appears in the wheel angle as the wheel is turned in the steering axis).

The stock caster rods also feature huge rubber/hydrogooshy bushes that provide a metric shit tonne of slop.

These aftermarket caster rods provide the ability to adjust the length to get the amount of caster that you want*.  They also usually use rod end joints in place of squishy bushes, thereby completely eradicating any deflection under load.  In my experience, this is f**king Excellent (TM), as it drastically improves the behaviour of the front end.

* R32s in particular do not like having lots of caster wound into them.  You can wind more into R33s because the upper control arm design is superior.  The more you wind into an R32 the worse the twisting/binding that occurs in the upper arm and shit starts to get real with them, much worse/faster.  Therefore the limit for caster on R32s is probably 6°.  I think I'm running ~5.5°, even with tricky upper arms.

[SeanR32GtSt]

8 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

The caster rods control the fore-aft movement of the front lower control arm.  Without them, the lower control arm would be able to move forward and backwards in the wheel well enough to crash into the guard liner, because the bushes at the chassis end of the arm aren't designed to take loads applied in that direction.

The stock caster rods are fixed length.  No adjusting them.  The stock amount of caster in these Nissans is a bit low - only a few degrees.  More (positive) caster provides an increase in the amount of dynamic camber (camber that appears in the wheel angle as the wheel is turned in the steering axis).

The stock caster rods also feature huge rubber/hydrogooshy bushes that provide a metric shit tonne of slop.

These aftermarket caster rods provide the ability to adjust the length to get the amount of caster that you want*.  They also usually use rod end joints in place of squishy bushes, thereby completely eradicating any deflection under load.  In my experience, this is f**king Excellent (TM), as it drastically improves the behaviour of the front end.

* R32s in particular do not like having lots of caster wound into them.  You can wind more into R33s because the upper control arm design is superior.  The more you wind into an R32 the worse the twisting/binding that occurs in the upper arm and shit starts to get real with them, much worse/faster.  Therefore the limit for caster on R32s is probably 6°.  I think I'm running ~5.5°, even with tricky upper arms.

Hmm so these are for thE fronts eh? I would’ve assumed for the rears. 

[GTSBoy]

Definitely the front.  The equivalents on the rears are called "tension rods" in these cars.  You do not want to f**k about with those.  I have written many words on that subject lately, if you want a read.

[SeanR32GtSt]

2 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

Definitely the front.  The equivalents on the rears are called "tension rods" in these cars.  You do not want to f**k about with those.  I have written many words on that subject lately, if you want a read.

And would obviously require an alignment after install yes?  Also with my new coilovers when they come in after I install them even though I’m matching the ore existing ride height do I need a re alignment?

[ERO54N]

Nice find, Sean ?

[GTSBoy]

5 minutes ago, SeanR32GtSt said:

And would obviously require an alignment after install yes?  Also with my new coilovers when they come in after I install them even though I’m matching the ore existing ride height do I need a re alignment?

If you set the length of the AMS rods to exactly the length of the stockers (to the centreline of the bolt hole through the front joint) then you won't need an alignment afterwards.  The paranoid would at least get the alignment checked, but the confident would expect the alignment to be unchanged.  Doing so would buy the benefits of reduced slop, but not the potential benefit of winding in a little more caster.  Shortening the rods would best be done AT the wheel aligners, to get the measurement you want.  If you don't know what you want, don't f**k with it.  There is plenty of reading on here to inform you though.

Changing suspension units, even with a small height change, will not require a wheel alignment.  Again, the paranoid would check, the confident would just run with it.

[SeanR32GtSt]

Is there anything missing from these that would need replacing like a bush inside the endlinks before attempting to install?  And do they actually make a rattling noise?

[lidz]

AMS from canada were pretty big with z32 300zx parts a few years back now, every single part they sell is a knock off out of china. Some shocking quality parts.

That said these were free essentially so no harm in trying them out.

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, SeanR32GtSt said:

Is there anything missing from these that would need replacing like a bush inside the endlinks before attempting to install?  And do they actually make a rattling noise?

Now that you mention it....yes, the pair of spacers that goes in the rod end on each one is missing.

Perhaps you should check to see if you have stock arm on the car, or another set of these.

And yes, when rod ends wear, you get metal to metal knocking noises.

[SeanR32GtSt]

36 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

Now that you mention it....yes, the pair of spacers that goes in the rod end on each one is missing.

Perhaps you should check to see if you have stock arm on the car, or another set of these.

And yes, when rod ends wear, you get metal to metal knocking noises.

I’ll be getting under it in a few days to check. 

[SeanR32GtSt]

A quick update. Being swapped with school I finally had the chance to go check if my current rods are stock. They appear to be.