what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

A while back i took some steel piping and put them inside my LCAs welded them in and made them much stronger than the stockers- So i was thinking what else can I weld up to make just as strong as some aftermarket performance parts. I know with the LCAs the bushing need to be replaced, I assume all the others would benefit as well. I thought about making my own subframes out of some squared or tubed steel from the local store and getting under there and welding them up. I also thought about re-enforcing both those panard bars by boxing them in-not sure since the bottom looks like it might sometimes enter inside the top, and not sure if I'l notice any difference from the boxing. Is there anything else I might be missing that I can weld? In case anyone is wondering I just refuse to spend money on new parts if I can make the old ones just as good.

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

ok... so you made the LCA's stronger by adding 3-5 pounds of weight?

Were your LCA's stretching? :confused: That's the only dimention they control the axle... although you may have just increased suspension bind I guess by preventing them from twisting.




If you want to put that welder to go use try installing some LCA lowering brackets, some sub-frame connectors, or reinforcing the Pan-Hard Rod and Pan-Hard Rod brace.

Personally I'd just go with a sturdy rod-ended aluminum PHR, but that wouldn't involve any fun welding projects.

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

The LCA's are usually in compression. Also why would it increase suspension bind. The only thing that adds to that are the bushing type/material. Since that is stock, I don't see how he did that. And that only occurs when the car is hard in the corners. (for that suspension component)

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

compression under accelleration, extension under braking... "unusually" it's nothing though as there's little involved in crusing.

For the peak forces involved, remember that any car out there can generate WAY more negative g's under braking than it can in acceleration.... therefore it's more likely to "stretch" the LCA's than compress them. That's one of the reasons the rubber bushings tend to wear/break on the outter ends than on the inner ones.

As for bind... bushings are only compliant to a point, having flexible LCA's allows for less concerns that bind will creep-up on you in those long sweepers. For ultimate axle location you can use stiff boxed/tubular LCA's but you'll definitely want to go to rod-ends as your connections now have even more torque motion to accomodate (as the LCA won't be flexing either).

It's a minor issue and probably makes no difference for anyone but the most hard core road racers... which just beggs the question:

Why add more weight anyway?

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

OK I'm no expert here, but if making the LCAs stronger is bad giving suspension bindm then why do people even bother with aftermarket ones, which would have too give the same affect.

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

i thought poly rear LCA bushings were a bad thing because of the way the fbody suspension is setup? I thought the rear lca bushings had to have some room to move left/right because of the way the suspension was designed? I read an article once stating that LCA poly bushings was a very bad thing because it did not allow for any right/left movement of the control arm and could eventually become dangerous?

forgot the link to the article... hope someone knows what im talking about lol

Re: what suspension parts can I weld to make stronger instead of buying new
 

Its not a matter of providing for right to left movement. Its the ability or lack thereof for the axis of rotation of the front/body end of the LCA to move out of parallel with the axis of rotation of the rear/axle end of the LCA. When the body rolls, the bolt on the rear axle will stay parallel to the ground " _ ", while the bolt on the body will twist away from horizontal with the body " / " .

If you look at the stock rubber LCA bushings, they are hollow on the top and bottom, to allow for this angular displacement of the two axes of rotation. When you use a poly bushing, in addition to the material being harder and less flexible than the factory rubber, they also lack the "hollows" that give the factory bushing compliance to accomodate the angular displacment as the body "rolls".

Whether you would ever notice this depends on how hard you push the car and how well the rest of your suspension controls the body roll.