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ball joint spacers

1676 Views 25 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  verboten1
hey guys i knwo a few of you have seen my ball joint spacers, and some have expressed interest, well the time has come, i plan on having some made up if i can get some interest..
cost is going to be right around $100 a pair (my orginal set cost more)
what these do is help restore some of the stock height suspesnion geometry to a lowered A1, therefore reducing soem bump steer and other abnormalities of a lowered car
please express your interest to me if you want a set
thanks
Jason

p.s. if someone wanst to host the pic i can e-mail it to them tonight
J
1 - 20 of 26 Posts
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

How much does it 'space' the car (1", 1.5", ?). Also, what are they made out of (mild steel, CrMo, ?). Do they need to be welded to the knuckle?
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

I'd be all over this, but it's not allowed in my class. Great idea for the street, though.
Re: ball joint spacers (millerwj)

it lowers teh A-arm approx 1", will be made from cold rolled probably 4340


[Modified by verboten, 8:27 AM 2-6-2002]
Re: ball joint spacers (BFDeihl)

it shoul dbe in your inbox ...........right.............about.............NOW!!!b
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Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)


this is what they will look like when finished, i will most likely do a heat treatment on them also, just to have more strength


[Modified by verboten, 9:16 AM 2-6-2002]
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Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

this will also work on roccos, jettas etc.
anyoen know if teh A2 ball joint is the same shaft dia.??
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

Interested! Sent you an email.
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

quote:[HR][/HR]this will also work on roccos, jettas etc.
anyoen know if teh A2 ball joint is the same shaft dia.??[HR][/HR]​
I know the 10.1 brakes and up are different on the MK2s.
Re: ball joint spacers (Patrick Schmidt)

right, but do the ball joints have the same shaft dia?
quote:[HR][/HR]I know the 10.1 brakes and up are different on the MK2s.[HR][/HR]​
Re: ball joint spacers (millerwj)

quote:[HR][/HR]How much does it 'space' the car (1", 1.5", ?). Also, what are they made out of (mild steel, CrMo, ?). Do they need to be welded to the knuckle?[HR][/HR]​
they will be made from some cold rolled steel, 1045, or 4340 probably, there is no welding involved, they slip on the ball joint, you tighten 3 set screws (1/4"-20) into teh ball joint, then the extension goes into the hub/spindle just like the original ball joint, i have not experienced any problems on the street, and i know of a racer who used them for a few races (before they were outlawed) and had no problems
thanks
J
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

Definitely interested in a couple of sets.
As for the Mk2 question, The will fit th early (85-87) cars with 9.4's. They will not fit any of the bigger brake cars, or the 88 and up base models, as they all updated to the larger ball joints.
Jason - still have those Bonrath strut bearings?
Re: ball joint spacers (splitmeister)

quote:[HR][/HR]Definitely interested in a couple of sets.
As for the Mk2 question, The will fit th early (85-87) cars with 9.4's. They will not fit any of the bigger brake cars, or the 88 and up base models, as they all updated to the larger ball joints.
Jason - still have those Bonrath strut bearings?[HR][/HR]​
thanks for teh info, and sorry but teh bearings have been sold,
J
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

Geez, I've made a couple of posts asking about this sort of remedy for lowered cars and I got no replies. I've been looking for something like this to solve the bump steer situation.
When do you expect to have them produced?
Will I have to deal with more than the usual whining about "lowered cars" when I get my alignment done after they are installed?
Re: ball joint spacers (Diamond Dave)

quote:[HR][/HR]When do you expect to have them produced?
Will I have to deal with more than the usual whining about "lowered cars" when I get my alignment done after they are installed?[HR][/HR]​
i doubt that the alignment guys would even recognize the fact that they were there,
i am getting them produced as soon as possible, just need to work out teh details with the fabricator
thanks
Jason
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

The look real good, my only concern is the set screws backing out. I guess a little Blue Locktite will fix that

I may have a few other racers that might be interested in sets. Shoot me an email w/ a quantity price.
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Re: ball joint spacers (millerwj)

I would like a set too
Let me know when they will be ready
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2
Re: ball joint spacers (verboten)

In order to alleviate the more difficult bump steer issues I believe you also need to change the hieght of the mounting of the tie rod to the steering arm. Bump steer is caused more as a result of the angle of the tie rods and the angular change as the suspension moves through its range of motion.
The parts you have and intend to make are only part of the answer to correcting bump steer. They do bring the relationship of the lower a-arm back to a more normal angle relative to the body. Such that as the suspension goes through the new motion caused by lowering the a arm ball joint mount will be describing a flatter part of the arc, causing less change in the distance variation the tie rod sees. Since the variation is lessened the steering will go through a lesser toe in/toe out cycle (or what is commonly refered to as bump steer).
In order to further minimize the variation and change it is neccessary to also change the mounting hieght of the tie rod end relative to the steering knuckle mounting by an amount that either ensures that the tie rod follows the same angle that the a arm is at each suspension position. This may entail the tie rod being mounted to the opposite side of the knuckle (to the bottom for instance instead of the top surface).
Have you done a bump steer graph with your suspension to determine the geometry change over the whole range of motion (this is done without a spring installed and the body held in the correct relationship to the '0' position of the body relative to the suspension). This will allow you to create the correct parts to correct the suspension geometry faults.
They look like nice parts. Have you considered using a later model larger ball joint as the basis for this as you are introducing considerabley larger forces into the ball joint and lower a arm (what reinforcements are you looking at there?) ? You definitely might sell them with a considerable disclaimer as to their use and possible side effects.
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Re: ball joint spacers (kmead)

If that ball joint spacer is to be used between the "hub" and the lower ball joint then it will raise the roll-point to the front suspension by lowering the lower arms angle. This will have some effect on the bump steer like “kmead” said, but it will foremost change the height of the roll-point and camber angle change trough bump and rebound movement.
Re: ball joint spacers (kmead)

Karl is correct about the bump steer situation. The "ball joint" spacers restore the front roll center, allowing the control arms to be level and lowering the car about 1 to 1.5 inches. Unfortunately the bump steer becomes worse as the hub carrier is raised, and as Karl implied, the steering tie rod ball joint looks like it should be on the bottom side of the steering arm on the hub carrier. However without doing a "bump steer" test, it is difficult to say exactly where the tie rod ball joint should be located.
The installation of any spacer will require the car to be realigned for "toe" due to the above bump steer situation. Regards, WWR.
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