[owensR]

I was running the Tki heavy duty racing endlinks, which i was very pleased with the overall handling improvement they gave me over stock links on factory sway bars. The car handled much better and the car seemed to have far less body roll which is to be expected with these large diameter links. However im sure as many of you have heard, these joint are prone make noise, but mine were making more noise than what i believe they should have been.

So i sent Josh an email and told him the problem i was experiencing. He asked me to try several different things to try to isolate the noise or possibly remmedy the problem. All of which were unsuccessful.

So I got the chance to test out the newest product from Tki, the adjustable street endlinks. First impression was slightly dissapointing due to the fact that the bar is the exact same diameter as the stock bar. However the joints seem to be a significant upgrade.

I have had them istalled for over a week now and everything is still quiet, i have them adjusted 3 turns over the stock lenght, so i got a little bit stifer. Overall i am happy with the new links. only time will tell if they will last longer than stock.

 

[soupandspoons]

I have had them istalled for over a week now and everything is still quiet, i have them adjusted 3 turns over the stock lenght, so i got a little bit stifer. Overall i am happy with the new links. only time will tell if they will last longer than stock.

Shortening the endlinks does not make anything stiffer, it just changes the angle of the swaybar relative to the ground. Since I don't see springs listed in your mod list, I assume you're at the stock ride height. The length of the stock endlinks places the ends of the swaybar parallel tot he ground when the car is at rest, which is optimum. What you've accomplished by shortening the adjustable links is mimicing what happens when someone uses the stock endlinks on a lowered car, i.e. pull the swaybar slightly above parallel when at rest, which is one of the reasons that people choose to use adjustable endlinks on lowered cars, i.e. so that they can make the endlinks longer to get back to the neutral position.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how the zinc-coated mild steel shaft holds up over the long term. Up here, where they like to dump salt all over the roads in the winter, I don't think these endlinks would remain adjustable for more than one summer.

 

[owensR]

I adjusted my driverside to add a little more tension on the bar. 3 turns longer.

 

[soupandspoons]

I adjusted my driverside to add a little more tension on the bar. 3 turns longer.

LOL @ me. Sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion!

 

[owensR]

NO no, i posted wrong, but it will still clear things up for those who dont know!!

 

[Jpandes]

Shortening the endlinks does not make anything stiffer, it just changes the angle of the swaybar relative to the ground. Since I don't see springs listed in your mod list, I assume you're at the stock ride height. The length of the stock endlinks places the ends of the swaybar parallel tot he ground when the car is at rest, which is optimum. What you've accomplished by shortening the adjustable links is mimicing what happens when someone uses the stock endlinks on a lowered car, i.e. pull the swaybar slightly above parallel when at rest, which is one of the reasons that people choose to use adjustable endlinks on lowered cars, i.e. so that they can make the endlinks longer to get back to the neutral position.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how the zinc-coated mild steel shaft holds up over the long term. Up here, where they like to dump salt all over the roads in the winter, I don't think these endlinks would remain adjustable for more than one summer.

Soup,

Thanks for posting this^ Now, I know why adjustable endlinks are "adjustable" and why I might want to adjust them. I need to crawl under my car and take a look at my sway bars

John

 

[RxOxBx]

Would it be wise to say that packing the boots w/ some high temp grease to keep them free from gunk, water, dirt, dust & debris. But still making sure to clean them & repack them w/ grease every other oil change. Shouldn't that help to maintain/prolong the life of the tki end-links & possibly eliminate the chance of any noise from occurring???

 

[RBbugBITme]

OP, I don't think it works as you've suggested. You've preloaded the bar for left turns only. When making a right turn you're going to pass through the neutral point first at some roll angle before the bar starts to load again. You're actually messing with your weight distribution and have tuned your left/right turning Volvo like a left only NASCAR.

 

[Jballou]

Finally someone understands what preloading a bar does! Thanks for the information, as I was reading this post, I was shaking my head, all wrong. Then RBbugBitme redeemed the thread.