Skyline R34 Suspension Drama

[drifter17a]

I have replaced everything on my r34 including suspension to Miester R, all rear subframe bushes to poly, all arms to metal adjustable and same in front.

 

only thing I haven't touched is the front lower control arm. Should I? what improvement can i expect ? I mean the one on the link below?

 

Car drives perfectly, it is just me thinking everything is either puly bush or hard bearing type so should also do lower control arm front but do I really need it ?

https://www.japspeed.co.uk/product/suspension/adjustable-arms/nissan-200sx-s13-s14-s15-skyline-r32-r33-r34-adjustable-suspension-front-lower-control-arms/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAo5u6BhDJARIsAAVoDWs5V_PauQPf0kx3zFCaA4tOC9Q7JSIsfJWma_jAPN2f1sJA686djOwaAidgEALw_wcB

[Kinkstaah]

Did you need anything else you've already done?

If you had it before... and liked the changes after, then supposedly it'd be more of the same. The idea about most suspension arms is to tune geometry that the OEM arms max out at/can't handle because they weren't designed to have the car setup in such a way that 'looks good'.

[GTSBoy]

What drama? The only drama you're going to have is the near constant work to maintain all those sphericals. I only have sphericals in my front caster rods and front upper CAs (because both of these are near compulsory in an R32). I have had the front arms out of my car 34 times already this month, and if the new replacements arrive today, I will have them out and apart again tomorrow. Chasing clicking and clunking that comes from sphericals being a.....poor choice for a road car. Moisture and dirt are not their friends.

I have been contemplating a change to my rear subframe that would require me to use sphericals in my lower CAs. And.....I don't want to have them that close to the road.

[drifter17a]

38 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

What drama? The only drama you're going to have is the near constant work to maintain all those sphericals. I only have sphericals in my front caster rods and front upper CAs (because both of these are near compulsory in an R32). I have had the front arms out of my car 34 times already this month, and if the new replacements arrive today, I will have them out and apart again tomorrow. Chasing clicking and clunking that comes from sphericals being a.....poor choice for a road car. Moisture and dirt are not their friends.

I have been contemplating a change to my rear subframe that would require me to use sphericals in my lower CAs. And.....I don't want to have them that close to the road.

I guess i have not done much miles on mine. Do they fail / squeking sound coming from them after a bit of use?

[GTSBoy]

They have all sorts of "failure" modes.

When they are brand new, the can either be very very tight, or reasonably mobile. If they are reasonably mobile, you'll probably have a good start. If they are very tight, then they can catch/grab at every little motion, and they mark the ball or the outer race, tearing off whatever teflon lining is in the outer race, then they can rapidly degenerate from there.

If they get wet, they can just rust. They are just steel and will turn red pretty quickly. Water can get in behind them and sit and cause them to become crunchy and then proceed to tear themselves up, as above.

Same with grit and dirt.

Manufacturers and OEMs of the arms that use them will tell you that because they are teflon lined (well, the good ones, anyway), you shouldn't grease them. If you do grease them, then the grease will catch any passing grit and dirt and hold it in place where it can cause damage.

Race teams that have them will lubricate them thoroughly. They will also inspect them every 5 minutes and replace them every 10 minutes, if need be.

Some manufacturers of arms will provide dust boots. These can help, but they are seldom perfect, and sometime just make the situation worse, being a place where crap can collect. I have made nappies for some of mine with PVC sheet and race tape, to try to minimise the access of crap.

When they wear, you can get a tiny tiny amount of movement between the ball and the outer race. This will make clicking noises. It will also make the arm have "slop" in that the tiny amount of movement available at the inner end of an arm can cause a lot of movement out at the outer end. 0.05mm at 5mm from the pivot becomes 4mm 400mm away from the pivot.

If they are too tight and binding, they impede the proper motion of the suspension arm and put loads into it and the rest of the suspension that are not supposed to be there, and can cause failure. Think broken welds, broken threaded sections on the adjustable parts, mounts ripped off the chassis, etc. All of these are possible, which is the main reason why they are essentially illegal on the road in Australia.