Rack Spacers For More Lock

[Dean_HR31]

Hi Guys,

Bought a pair of GK Tech rack end spacers for more lock. Went to get them installed by a performance mechanic that has a few drift cars in his shop and he didnt want to fit em?

He said he doesnt like putting them in because u lose too much thread the same way you do when fitting slip on spacers to your hub with standard studs.

Is this true? Or does the guy not really know what he's talking about? He said he'd use them for track only work but not street driving?

Let me know guys, cos if they are dangerous, im not going to bother with em...

Dean

Edited July 11, 2009 by Dean_HR31

[White GTS-T]

As long as they're not bigger than 5mm it will be fine. Anything over 5mm is pushing it; the same goes with slip on spacers. I have had my spacers in for > 12 months driving on the street and track and I can report no adverse effects.

[Dean_HR31]

hmm... i really hope these rack spacers arnt on the same page of safety as hub slip on spacers cos i really dont like slip on spacers.

Can i have some more opinions/knowledge on this topic...

By the way, love your signature dude

Edited July 11, 2009 by Dean_HR31

[funkymonkey]

why is it ok for track, but not for street? shouldn't it be the other way around if its as harsh as he's makin it out to be?

[Basti]

probably cos if they let go on a track, less people might die

[Dean_HR31]

.............? surely someone knows a decent amount about the safety of these

[mid life crisis]

the reason he dosent want too fit them is if there not adr approved and they fail and you die the blame will go back on him for fitting them for road use . if they fail on track use not his prob . i dont know if there safe or not but ya mechanic is covering his own arse and in these lets sue happy times who can blame him

[Skyspeed33]

I wouldnt put them on my car! Insurance usually wont cover things like this either.

[Dean_HR31]

im really not satisfied with this thread so far... havnt gotten my answer yet.

Can someone who KNOWS about these, please advise. Would greatly appreciate it.

[bcozican]

what are you not satisfied with... pure fact is as you have been told by such mechanic that they reduce the thread on the end of tie rod end, hence less contact thread for the tie rod to secure onto, hence theortically they are 'dangerous' more so than standard because there is an increased risk off a busted tie rod do to introducing a weakness into the suspension links

and, you have already been told that he said to use em on the track not the street because he is not liable on the track, also there is potentially less bumps etc on the track compared to average street

thats the theory

the practise is alot of people use them most dont have problems some do. the choice is urs to take the potential risk or not

[_Ryan_]

so get longer tie rods????

[White GTS-T]

Surely you can take solace in the fact that both the Tein and Ikeya Formula tie rods come with spacers.

[_Ryan_]

Surely you can take solace in the fact that both the Tein and Ikeya Formula tie rods come with spacers.

surely they are longer and hardened?

in my datto i had longer tie rods, custom LCA's, adjustable radius rods etc. but that was a macpherson strut setup(S13/r31 style)

[Mandingo]

Do you know who does Ikeya Formula in Australia?

Cheers

[_Ryan_]

Do you know who does Ikeya Formula in Australia?

Cheers

www.justjap.com normally have stock.

otherwise www.rhdjapan.com

[nato_wp]

Spacers are fine in my (and close mates') experience, for the street. As an added measure, to compensate for less thread surface, always use an appropriate thread-locker (choose the right loctite product for your needs). I haven't had ANY disadvantages to installing them. In fact, I think they are the best value-for-money change I have ever made on my car.

[Sydneykid]

How do they give you more lock when standard the hub hits on the lower control arm? That's the travel limitation, not the effective length of the rack. Plus they move the pivot point of the steering arm further outwards, changing its alignment with the lower control arm pivot point and hence introducing bump steer.

Cheers

Gary

[Russman]

They are the same diametre as the rack itself so it goes 'into' the rack further. Obviously tie rod ends will need to be wound in for allignment.

Just put em in yourself and you can see how much thread you miss out on. It's not that much. Just make sure it's done right.

Then get an allignment.

[achoo]

i have them in my track car and street car... they are fine... at the moment anyway, i'll let you know if something happens to me!

[drf76]

...

Edited July 24, 2009 by drf76