Aftermarket Heavy Duty Drop Links

[Icer006]

Hello all. Being a new owner and after doing much research, I've read so many threads where the OEM drop links always break and always require replacement.

I have a 996 C4S and there's a company in San Diego that specializes in heavy duty adjustable drop links for Porsches (race cars, street/track cars, etc). The company is called Tarett Enginerering (www.tarett.com)

I spoke with the owner (Ira) today with the prospect of making a heavy duty droplink with teflon-lined rodends instead of the OEM plasic/rubber bushings for my 4.8is.

This is what it looks like for the 996/997 Porsche:



I realize the cost is much more than the OEM droplinks. The advantage is that these are much heavier duty (track duty, actually, for Porsches) than OEM droplinks and won't bind and pop like the OEM droplinks.

I'm posting this information for those who are looking for a better solution than replacing the OEM droplinks every x months. Obviously, we don't need the adjustability of these drop links but they will be produced as adjustable drop links anyway.

He will be charging $275 for droplinks if there is enough interest. Otherwise, I'll have to have my set custom made from his shop as a one-off item.

What are your thoughts?

Here is what his site says about the droplinks:

Upgrade your stock front swaybar with this simple bolt in replacement for the factory drop links.

Left & right hand threaded rodends allow for simple length adjustment to eliminate swaybar preload.

Correctly sized, precision, Teflon-lined rod-ends for smooth and quiet operation, long life, and high reliability.

No wear and rattling problems, like those seen with other designs, due to undersized or low quality rod ends.

Eliminates the factory compliant plastic drop link bushings that deflect under loading and quickly wear out.

High misalignment, stainless steel spacers allow for superior bind free operation and corrosion resistance.

Precisely connects the stock or adjustable swaybar to the front strut assembly for improved feedback and swaybar response.

Overall length is adjustable to accommodate either stock or adjustable swaybar requirements.

[LI-X5]

i've had my 4.6 for 3 yrs now and i drive it hard , i have never had one of these things break on me !!

is there any performance advantage ??

[steed77]

I would be down for a set.

I have used this type of set up in many cars. less flex

[Icer006]

Originally Posted by LI-X5

i've had my 4.6 for 3 yrs now and i drive it hard , i have never had one of these things break on me !!

is there any performance advantage ??

Performance advantages...

- Less "give" between the swaybar and shock mount. You will feel the road better.

- If you lower the car, you can eliminate preload on the swaybars with the adjustability of these droplinks.

- If you have aftermarket adjustable sways (i.e. Eibachs), you can eliminate preload whenever you change the setting on the sways.

[Icer006]

Originally Posted by steed77

I would be down for a set.

I have used this type of set up in many cars. less flex

Good stuff. It doesn't look like there's much of an interest. I'll ask him how much he can lower the price if there's just the two of us wanting a set.

I suppose these are more for the hardcore enthusiast.

I plan to get these for my 996 for the front and rear sways amongst other things (motor mounts, monoball toe-link, etc).

[supersteve]

Make sure the ends are going to be rod ends (as shown) and not ball joint. I had a disconnectable set for my 1998 Jeep Wrangler. It used a ball joint on the end. Long story short getting off the highway on to the off ramp I heard and felt a loud pop followed by the jeep driving off into the weeds as it leaned over.

After getting the seat cover out of my rectal vault, I got out of the Jeep and found the ball joint failed and the sway bar disconnected itself.

Design flaw. Ball joints are the weakest when being pulled apart. They are the strongest when being push together. They last the longest when they have a sheer load (side to side). Because it had a load pulling it apart, it came apart.

End result, the manufacture sent me the newly re-designed version and I had to buy new seat covers.

[steed77]

Originally Posted by Icer006

Good stuff. It doesn't look like there's much of an interest. I'll ask him how much he can lower the price if there's just the two of us wanting a set.

I suppose these are more for the hardcore enthusiast.

I plan to get these for my 996 for the front and rear sways amongst other things (motor mounts, monoball toe-link, etc).

SWEET! Does he want to make a set for my R32? I need to have a custom-made set for the rear. I can send an OEM one.

[captx5]

Originally Posted by Icer006

Performance advantages...

- Less "give" between the swaybar and shock mount. You will feel the road better.

- If you lower the car, you can eliminate preload on the swaybars with the adjustability of these droplinks.

- If you have aftermarket adjustable sways (i.e. Eibachs), you can eliminate preload whenever you change the setting on the sways.

Does this setup bring any advantage for rough roads (bumps and potholes) driving?

The roads are quite rough where I drive and I've been meaning to do some research on heavier duty suspension components for the X5. I've run into potholes at 120Km/h that have caused the shocks to bottom out!

[Icer006]

Supersteve - yes they'll have rod ends like pictured, much like ones for the Porsche

Steed - Give him a call. Ira (owner) is pretty good at answering phone calls and will take time to talk to you. I'm sending him the OEM links for the X5 so he can take measurements.

captx5 - You will feel more of the road.

[LI-X5]

Originally Posted by Icer006

Performance advantages...

- Less "give" between the swaybar and shock mount. You will feel the road better.

- If you lower the car, you can eliminate preload on the swaybars with the adjustability of these droplinks.

- If you have aftermarket adjustable sways (i.e. Eibachs), you can eliminate preload whenever you change the setting on the sways.

ok you talked me into it !! i'll take a set !!

just lemme know where / when / how !!