Aftermarket Heavy Duty Drop Links
 

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:

http://www.tarett.com/images/996FDLNK_l.JPG

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:

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 !! :dunno:

is there any performance advantage ??

I would be down for a set. :thumbup:

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

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.

:thumbup: 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).

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.

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.

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! :yikes:

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.

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

just lemme know where / when / how !!

OK once Ira gets the stuff from me and designs the droplinks, I'll ask him how he wants to organize everything.

BTW I have no interest with his company or any sort of profit. He/his company is very reputable in the Porsche club racing/racing/DE world with the quality of parts that he produces, which is the reason why I approached him in the first place. He did ask me if there is some sort of market in the BMW world for his parts and this is the beginning of getting into the market.

UPDATE: I've sent my OEM links to Tarett Engineering. I will get in touch with him next week for details.

UPDATE: I recieved an e-mail with Ira and he says that there will be no problem with producing these. They will be the the same length as OEM, will have rod-ends like ones pictured on page one, and will cost $275 if a couple more people aside from myself gets a set.

For those interested, please send me a PM or e-mail: araquino01 "a t" sbcglobal "d o t" net

Are these only for the 4.8??

Does anyone know if this would be ok for the 3.0L as well? If so I'm in. Thanks.

The droplinks for all E53 X5's (years 00 to 06) are all the same.

For those interested

Contact the owner of the shop directly. His name is Ira. He will be making more than one pair.

Website: www.tarett.com
Tel: (858) 674-5573 Fax: (858) 675-0241
E-mail: [email protected]


These will fit any E53 X5. These are the same length as the OEM links though they will have adjustable collars. These are a straighforward install, like the OEM pieces.

I don't think there are any other details that need to be mentioned. It's a pretty straightforward item... a heavy duty pair of droplinks for our E53 X5 with teflon-lined rod-ends... same setup that are used by many on their 911/996/997's... you can do a search on Rennlist.com regarding feedback on their quality.

Just got them in... These won't be clunking or breaking on me anytime soon! :D You can see how beefy the bodies are and by looking at it in person, the teflon-lined rod ends are very beefy, tight, and very well made.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/...9edc3ae5ce.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/...de1b5b946f.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/...8c15711db6.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...6e7f371d82.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/...4ef529932a.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/...baf9b64bf8.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/...4ef529932a.jpg

Does this work well with Eibach Sways?

Not sure what you mean by "work well" but ... it works with aftermarket sways because they're adjustable.

I mean if I were to put the Eibachs on, would these be recommended or does the Kit provide them?

Thnx