When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Yeah, looking at the Progress end links, they're basically just a Heim joint with a turnbuckle for adjustment. Not very hard to make.
Buuuut, from experience, I know that those Heim joints aren't cheap (well, for precision ones, not sloppy ones you'd use on a fence gate or something) and that the $150 Progress is asking is more than fair.
Eyeballing the stock endlinks and the Progress links; they appear roughly the same size connecting shaft. The only thing I can see different is the spherical bearing vs. ??? the stock bit uses.
Yeah, looking at the Progress end links, they're basically just a Heim joint with a turnbuckle for adjustment. Not very hard to make.
Buuuut, from experience, I know that those Heim joints aren't cheap (well, for precision ones, not sloppy ones you'd use on a fence gate or something) and that the $150 Progress is asking is more than fair.
Eyeballing the stock endlinks and the Progress links; they appear roughly the same size connecting shaft. The only thing I can see different is the spherical bearing vs. ??? the stock bit uses.
good eye.
so, the progress endlinks wont bind as easily as stock...
Good to know. Only reason I asked is because I've read in the 8th gen forums people with failing end links on a thicker RSB via track usage. I'm not disagreeing with anyone here. Merely just trying to get insights/comments/experiences. I 100% agree if anything, the mounting bracket/plate area will break before anything else.
so, the progress endlinks wont bind as easily as stock...
Dunno
Someone who has actually taken a stock one off can answer better than I, but from this image I ganked off the interwebs, it looks to me like the end of the link is fixed in place more or less (what do they call that, like a CV joint type linkage?):
And the Progress link joint *would seemingly* offer a bit more, um, "conical rotation" if that makes sense:
If the stock is what I think it is, then the Progress will have less compliance and more rigidity. To some small extent, it will make the rear end a little bit rougher since the heim joint offers absolutely no damping to vibration from the road.
right they wont BIND allowing the suspension to work\ more articulation.
stainless steel so they will not rot like the oem.
i didnt say they were NEEDED....all I am saying is they are better than OEM and I noticed an IMPROVEMENT especially when in turns and bumps are encountered.
then I also said that if you never tried them HOW THE FARK can you say there is no gain.....you never tried them
el camino, el el camino.
the front is like a car, the back is like a truck.
el camino. el el camino
the front is where you drive, the back is where you.......
El camino, el el camino!
Hey Rob, since you're one of the few here right now that's done it, you can clear this up for me...
On the stock sway bar bushing mount hole (the one that gets enlarged for the Progress) is it tapped on the chassis bracket or is it a bolt/nut?
The parts diagram implies, to me, that it's tapped since it doesn't list a nut in addition to the M8x10 bolt but looking at the pictures of the Progress installation instructions, I find it hard to believe that such a thin piece of bracket would sufficiently hold.
Yeah, I could go crawl under the car and look but, "reasons".
And thanks for your inputs. FWIW, if (who am I kidding, I mean when) I were to add a sway bar, I'd go with the Progress links as well, just as cheap insurance.
Hey Rob, since you're one of the few here right now that's done it, you can clear this up for me...
On the stock sway bar bushing mount hole (the one that gets enlarged for the Progress) is it tapped on the chassis bracket or is it a bolt/nut?
The parts diagram implies, to me, that it's tapped since it doesn't list a nut in addition to the M8x10 bolt but looking at the pictures of the Progress installation instructions, I find it hard to believe that such a thin piece of bracket would sufficiently hold.
Yeah, I could go crawl under the car and look but, "reasons".
Aaaaand, not able to leave well enough alone to let Rob see and reply, I've gone and crawled under the car to answer the question...
So, the stock RSB bracket has a welded nut on the underside and the M8x20 bolt goes from the top of the chassis bracket and threads into the RSB bracket nut. So when the RSB is in torsion down, the stress is transmitted into the head of the bolt against the chassis bracket. I previously thought the chassis bracket was tapped and the mounting bolt went from under the RSB bracket into the chassis. I was 180-degrees wrong.
That sort of brings me back around to my original question of why not just use a higher strength bolt instead of enlarging the hole. One could still use a backer plate to get some additional stress distribution on the back side as a margin of safety, and intuitively I would think that staying with the slightly smaller stock hole gives you more material on the chassis bracket side and would be *less* prone to failure than a larger hole.
I suspect the answer comes down to cost... Going to a stronger bolt probably adds a non-insignificant cost to the assembly.
In either case, I'm not sure it really matters. I need to think about this one some more and maybe do a couple calculations. I'm stumped right now as to whether I think the Progress approach of opening up the hole from an M8 to M10 clearance is better or worse than just going to a high strength M8 bolt.
I have powerstop cross drilled and slotted with over 70 thousand problem free miles on them.. Glazing is starting to show more now with all the miles but they still bite well.. Powertop pads that came with the rotors in the kit are not complete shit but go with something a lil better.. Been running hawk HPS for almost 40k of those miles, a little dirtier, but have a better initial bite and smoother braking... Powerstop pads glazed up the rotors bad. Bought the kit from rockauto...
Edit... Didn't even realize you were looking to do hawk pads with the powerstop rotors lmao.. Just clicked on the links after the post... Anyways I like the setup very much.. The pads are pretty dirty and squeak at times (reversing, after hard driving, right at the end of braking etc) but nothing horrible.. Wayyyyy better than our stock "akebono-shit wear quickly" pads IMO
Last edited by Jaheri_cbp; 04-02-2015 at 10:40 PM.
I started with the kit for all four rotors and included evolution pads.. Was like 250 bucks or so if I remember correctly.. First maintenance/mod I ever did to the car.
Centric blanks (company that makes stoptech performance parts) with hawk hps pads wouldn't be a bad setup either and would perform just as well.. But slotted and drilled looks waaaaay cooler lol.. And still subtle
k i think ima just do powerstop. Doing a whole centric kit is only $30 less than doing a whole powerstop thing, and the powerstops should be a bit better than the Centric ones it looks like.
k i think ima just do powerstop. Doing a whole centric kit is only $30 less than doing a whole powerstop thing, and the powerstops should be a bit better than the Centric ones it looks like.
Lol This was my exact reasoning for going powerstop instead of blanks
I did stop-tech dirlled rotors with Hawk performance pads. I love them! brake dust sucks, and still get some noise but the braking is significantly improved over OEM.
I did stop-tech dirlled rotors with Hawk performance pads. I love them! brake dust sucks, and still get some noise but the braking is significantly improved over OEM.
Where'd you get the stoptechs? and did you do all 4? On tire rack they are $100 per rotor
Where'd you get the stoptechs? and did you do all 4? On tire rack they are $100 per rotor
I ordered directly from stop-tech, and yeah I did all 4 rotors. I think it's on like page 4 or 5 of my build thread. Just be sure to do the bed in process.
I kinda wish I had BBK that is offered from stop tech now, but it would only be for looks.. the brake assembly I have now is really good already.
I did stop tech slotted with posi quiet pads I think? Idk, I did that deal through one of the vendors on here.... They've been great so far with minimal brake dust. Only thing I don't like is how there is a small part on the rotor where the pad doesn't touch so it gets rusted after a while... and rust build up inside of the slots as well.
04-02-2015, 10:03 AM
