Chromoly Front Control Arms - how doable is it?

Anyone know how hard it would be to come up with the parts to do something like this? This pic is from an early 240/260/280Z

http://www.arizonazcar.com/farm7.jpg

With this setup, you could easily have adjustable TC rods, and you could even make the control arm adjustable for length.

and it would probably make things easier to replace,.. like if you say.. bent a control arm by sliding into a curb :oops:

edit: would this be alot stronger than the stock piece and be able to survive something like the above mentioned of running into a curb?

well, it's just a matter of fabricating the pieces right?

any fab shop could do it...dunno how much labour they'd charge tho.

I wouldn't run a setup like that one the street. A large pothole or curb would break that control arm. Racetracks are usually very smooth and the only way control arms are broken is to run into a wall or another car. I was thinking about making tubular control arms, but I think it would be better to make a true A-arm arrangement for the front of the car.

spooled

I think you Jordan's friend? if so send me a PM I have these parts in the work right now at the shop.

I wouldn't run a setup like that one the street. A large pothole or curb would break that control arm. Racetracks are usually very smooth and the only way control arms are broken is to run into a wall or another car. I was thinking about making tubular control arms, but I think it would be better to make a true A-arm arrangement for the front of the car.

The weakest links in this set up are the tab that is welded to the lower arm and the bracket bolted to the car. If you make this from 4130 with good hardware you would break/bend your wheel or bend break the front OEM braket before breaking this.

The only draw back to driving it on the steet is you will feel every crack and pebble on the road

How about these?
http://www.garage-13.com/controlarms1a.jpg
SHEPPO3930, When are these available? :)
I would love to get these.
Can my shop get wholesale prices? Do we have to buy in?
thanks

I think the weakest link would be the rod ends. The ones in the picture appear to be fairly small. I would want that on my street car. If they were made out of some larger parts, say 3/4" rod ends and a 1 1/4" shaft, then I could see them being durable enough. But there wouldn't be a lot of point on a street car. You wouldn't have sticky enough tires or stiff enough shocks/springs to take advantage of them anyway. I think that a boxed stock control arm is satisfactory for most of the people on this board.

Yea. You might be right. I think the stock arms are a joke in my eyes. It needs to have a plate welded on the under side. to box it in and give it more strength. I have bent 5 arms last year. The stock arms bend like a bananna! To the untrained eye it looks good. I have seen this on s12's, s13's, and s14's. On the streets, and the junk yards. The easiest way to tell is that the the tention rod bracket will be good but your castor will be off.

I think the weakest link would be the rod ends. The ones in the picture appear to be fairly small. I would want that on my street car. If they were made out of some larger parts, say 3/4" rod ends and a 1 1/4" shaft, then I could see them being durable enough. But there wouldn't be a lot of point on a street car. You wouldn't have sticky enough tires or stiff enough shocks/springs to take advantage of them anyway. I think that a boxed stock control arm is satisfactory for most of the people on this board.

I build traction bars and suspension componets for many FWD and RWD cars and on the FWD I use 1/2 4130 ends to date not one has ever broke (thats including 11 second all motor daily driver with 24 x 9 13 slicks launching @ 8500 RPM) they attatch exactly as pictured, Also 400+Hp CRX use the exact style set up FWD without major breaking issues usually other things break cuasing the failure.

If you look close the rear mount appears to be a solid chromoly joint not a heim joint rod end and the other are at least 1/2 inch the inner looking more like 5/8 this is also the same setup many S13 run

Also spooled (if you are who I think you are) is a pretty Kick A*s auto X guy and could take advantage of these! zero flex and deflection under hard braking less bump steer etc....

All I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't run that on my street car. For a track car, yes. But a setup like that has to survive hard daily driving day in and day out on a street car, at least if I'm driving. A race car, especially a drag car has much less time on its parts and much better maintance. If you are going to run that setup on the street, beef it up. There is a lot of liability in messing with suspension components.

Myself and my group of friends are autocrossers as well (SM and SM2) and the cars that run setups like that are to fast for us to run with anyway.

There is a lot of liability in messing with suspension components.

Fair enough I totally agree. That is why on every suspension part that gets sold by me or who ever it says "For Off-Road use only" Not becuase its not strong cuz I don't wanna get sued.

I just don't like it when people say

I wouldn't run a setup like that one the street. A large pothole or curb would break that control arm.

This is how bad info gets started

When the facts are a well built / designed set-up like this is FAR stronger then a stock control arm sometimes to strong if over built, in a impact they will break the next weakest link.

NISSAN and other manufacters design these parts and the ones they attatch to, to bend and or break so the frame, or other components don't! They are the weakest link they are designed to be!

True, perhaps I should say could. At first glance the rod end looks small, like a 3/8". It may be a 1/2" or larger. I would hope so. Someone on here has broken a stock tension rod, so I wouldn't rule anything out.

Someone on here has broken a stock tension rod, so I wouldn't rule anything out. That would be me. lol