Whose rod endss do you use?

I need to replace a few of the rod ends on the rear suspension on this MB project in my shop. There are a couple different styles on it now and I'm not sure which will work best.

I'd like opinions on what brand of rod ends you are using on your rear suspensions. I'm not looking for the latest and greatest super gizmo lite weight titanium-moly-infused pieces that will save 50HP and make you the best looking guy on the podium. I'm looking for info on the "Joe Lunchbox" pieces... good for the Saturday Night Specials most of us poor boys run.

Favorite brand? Style? Material? Self-lube?

Thanks in advance.

When I put my car together I used the cheaper QA-1 chrome molly one's. After about 15 races they were pretty hammered up. I didn't measure the slop, but I'd bet there was 1/8" of toe (in or out, or both depending on the direction of the load) from all the slop in the ends. I did clean and lube them (silicone spray) weekly.

Last season I put FK Rodends teflon lined heims, I sadly only got 12 races on them last season, but they are still fairly tight and have the new feeling the teflon lined one's have (sort of tough to move with your fingers). And I was on some terrible tracks last season fwiw.

The FK rod ends were a bit more expensive, but honestly not all that much more. From the shopping around that I did, I found Speedway Motors to have the best pricing on them.

When I went to the race wise school Mark mentioned a driver tests them with a bit of load on them (in a shock/spring checker). Of course they promote FK so I took it with a grain of salt. When I got home I threw an old tie rod in my checker and put a few hundred lbs on it, with a small crecent on the tube I could barely move the thing, it bound up mighty quick! I tried it with the new FK rod ends and it took a heck of a lot more lbs to get it so it was hard to turn. I wish I recorded the numbers, or even remembered them... but that made me a believer in them.

For the money, the FK teflons are the best. But if youre looking for ones that will last the longest and dont bind under load, then buy the Aurora heims. They cost twice as much, but last twice as long. Best heim on the market in my opinion.

I see a lot of guy using smaller than needed rod ends. 5/8 to save weight....a 3/4 or 1" will bear the loads much better and last longer at a small weight penalty. You can still keep the 5/8s bolts with bronze liners/reducers/whatever people are calling them these days.

I use FK 2 piece with Teflon.

Another vote for the Teflon-lined ones by FK. No more lubing heims, just keep them clean and check them for wear regularly.

I use the Aurora. I have never used the FK Teflon but I have heard nothing but good things out of them

Regardless of what rodend you use, they will need to be changed on an average of 800 to 1000 laps (your mileage will vary some depending on brand and circumstance) to stay at optimal function. I have found that as long as it's a decent quality rod end, there isn't a ton of difference between them in this regard as they all start binding (with load) around that same time frame.

If you take the time to actually load them with the actual amount of force that they see and check how free they are with the load, you will see around that time frame they start to bind. How big a difference does this actually make? That is the question and is it this binding so small in performance that is doesn't make that big a difference? That is completely debatable and probably can't be answered 100%, you have to make your own decision based on cost of replacing them vs the loss in perceived performance.

I'm also taking mainly the 4-link rod ends here.

My 2 cents worth.

We use the Teflon lined QA1 rod ends and have great results as well. Any time you buy a cheap rod end, well, you get what you pay for there. There are several good rod ends on the market today, QA1, FK and Aurora. We choose to use the QA1 because theyre great pieces and because of relationships with great people!

FK Teflon rod ends with the seals it boots. Get more life out of them by keeping the dirt out.

FK Teflon for all my 5/8 hardware, but I have used All Star Teflon lined in a pinch and they seemed to be the same end.

Good idea about using the boots.

ENVY... I would have to agree with you about the QA1 folks... Really good to do business with.