Prothane end link 19-408 (rears I believe) Prothane rear sway bar bushings 19-1121
Energy Suspension end link 9.8117R (I reused original bolts because the length of new ones were longer but otherwise everything bolted right in.) Energy Suspension sway bar bushings (front) 9.5130R
I'm pretty sure all items were bought from FIero Store.
I am using the RD zero-lash links in the rear, but rubber bushings up front; The basic idea is that the rear bar starts working immediately causing a bit of oversteer (Quicker turn-in) but as the "G"s build tilting the car more the front bar works thru the rubber and backs off the oversteer so you can apply some power coming out of the turn...
I also tilted both of my stabilizer bars up at their ends....A stabilizer bar is at it's softest (vs vertical deflection) when the arms are horizontal.....If you take a bar and tilt it up at 30* then when you deflect the ends 1" it will twist the bar slightly more = stiffer.
I have it so that during acceleration nose-lift the front bar becomes softer while the rear bar becomes stiffer, countering the typical power-on understeer (And improving turn-in)
Under braking, the rear bar becomes slightly softer while the front bar becomes stiffer- helping to eliminate the drop-throttle oversteer (DTO) (Also called snap-oversteer)
The first time I drove my car after the mods, it felt like someone else was turning the wheel before me because it turned in so much quicker....and the DTO is now very mild (and safer)
I've removed a few sets of the ' Zero lash end links' as they were worn out and clunking. End links are one of the highest wear point in a suspension, making it solid doesn't solve that issue.
I've removed a few sets of the ' Zero lash end links' as they were worn out and clunking. End links are one of the highest wear point in a suspension, making it solid doesn't solve that issue.
That's not specifically a Rodney Dickman issue; spherical joint endlinks in general wear out quickly on many cars.
Going to spherical joints is to improve feeling (when the endlink hasn't yet degraded), not durability.
I tried fitting RD zero-lash endlinks on my Fiero, but they didn't fit; the ball-and-sockets lacked the articulation range for my car. Perhaps my modified suspension was a factor.
If you do install these links, check that they don't bind.
I ended up installing rubber endlinks.
Between rubber and polyurethane, I think I prefer rubber, because there is less of a prying effect on the metal of the control arm around the endlink mounting hole.
jelly2m8: I've removed a few sets of the ' Zero lash end links' as they were worn out and clunking. End links are one of the highest wear point in a suspension, making it solid doesn't solve that issue.
As with anything, nothing will last 'forever'.
I believe we're really talking about boils down to three things: Performance, Cost and Time.
Also, everybody has different priorities..........
Basically, rubber will decompose over time, either on the road or in storage and provides a smooth ride. Polyurethane last much longer than rubber, but they deform and bind on the sway bar ends.
I believe Rodney's links won't decompose; they're not binding on my stock '88 plus my Fiero will not see a lot of miles so I want more 'feel' than durability.....
Of course, the cost to replace rubber or polyurethane are cheaper than Rodney's links.
