Rear Toe Arm Question

[Dave Angel]

Thought I would post this here as I did'nt get any response in the motorsport section so far:

So during some fettling I've found some play in the above on one side - ball joint quite slack so was looking at replacing.

Conundrum is that for the price of one new one I could get a complete set of adjustable ones...

So worth replacing with aftermarket or sticking with OEM? Do the aftermarket ones last well?? Any recommendations if I go this route?? Can imagine that will probably toy with set ups in the future so may be worth upgrading if they don't need changing every 5 mins cause they made of chocolate!

Any advice/experiences gratefully received!

[Call the midlife!]

I've got Hardrace on mine, only niggle I've found is the adjustment lock nuts have a tendency to vibrate loose and they're a pain in the arse to get a spanner on (which is probably a reason for them working loose, not fully tightened in the first place).
I've no experience of the cheaper, Fleabay sets other than some hearsay that they're not particularly well made but I have looked at them myself previously for the same, economical reason as yourself.

[Alex Knight]

You probably haven't had much response because you haven't indicated what your usage case will be.

Is it a race car?
Is it a track car?
Is it a road car?

Do you have any other complimenting/supporting suspension mods?

A little context goes a long way.

[Dave Angel]

You probably haven't had much response because you haven't indicated what your usage case will be.

Is it a race car?
Is it a track car?
Is it a road car?

Do you have any other complimenting/supporting suspension mods?

A little context goes a long way.

Good point - my apologies, should have considered that....

Will be for mostly track work (and some occasional road) so would like them to be robust enough to cope. Was not sure if I would need the adjustable feature given that it is on standard suspension at the moment though I may upgrade to coilovers in the future if funds allow....

Just seemed no brainer to get the aftermarket at the same price but possibly not if they were going to be prone to failure?

[shnazzle]

Good point - my apologies, should have considered that....

Will be for mostly track work (and some occasional road) so would like them to be robust enough to cope. Was not sure if I would need the adjustable feature given that it is on standard suspension at the moment though I may upgrade to coilovers in the future if funds allow....

Just seemed no brainer to get the aftermarket at the same price but possibly not if they were going to be prone to failure?

The arms do allow for adjustability but they can also be done via other means. Cruder they may be but equally effective (eccentric "camber" bolts, arm spacers, etc).

The key thing really for the stock setup is to assess the state of the arms. 
Now I've only seen this happen twice, but within the club we have seen a strut bar link and a rear trailing arm snap at the mount. 
Both would result in a rather spectacular effect on track where loads on those arms would be stressed heavily.

Give them a good check for cracks underneath any rust and replace when you want to tinker with lowering and/or camber adjustment.

We've also got plenty examples on here of people doing years of track work on damn near stock cars. 

[AJRFulton]

I've had a OEM trailing arm snap on track - in good condition to. It made for an exciting few seconds until the gravel stopped me.

Although most of my track work is at Knockhill and it's a circuit you have to pound the kerbs on to gain lap time.

Hardrace all round now.

[Dave Angel]

I've had a OEM trailing arm snap on track - in good condition to. It made for an exciting few seconds until the gravel stopped me.

Although most of my track work is at Knockhill and it's a circuit you have to pound the kerbs on to gain lap time.

Hardrace all round now.

Thanks for the reply - have heard the same with the Lotus guys who upgrade the standard ones when doing track work - combination of poor design and quality of the original not helpful!

Are the Hardrace ones the go to for you guys? Any other recommendations?

[Alex Knight]

If you can afford it, I'd go Cusco.

I don't have a high opinion of Hardrace. Seen too many people have too many failures.

[Dave Angel]

If you can afford it, I'd go Cusco.

I don't have a high opinion of Hardrace. Seen too many people have too many failures.

Are these supplied anywhere in the UK?Can only find US suppliers at present....

[Beachbum957]

Many of the aftermarket toe arms are basically the same and sourced from China.  The Hardrace appear to be the same as sold by Megan Racing and others in the US. They sometimes show up on eBay as well.

We bought the Megan Racing just because it is easier to set the rear toe.  But almost all have the same issue with the inner spherical joint having no protection from the elements.  That joint has seized for some owners resulting in a broken arm.  They also are probably no stronger than OEM.

There are a couple companies in the US making stronger toe arms mostly for racing, such as TechnoToy and BattleVersion.

You best bet might be OEM.

[Dave Angel]

Many of the aftermarket toe arms are basically the same and sourced from China.  The Hardrace appear to be the same as sold by Megan Racing and others in the US. They sometimes show up on eBay as well.

We bought the Megan Racing just because it is easier to set the rear toe.  But almost all have the same issue with the inner spherical joint having no protection from the elements.  That joint has seized for some owners resulting in a broken arm.  They also are probably no stronger than OEM.

There are a couple companies in the US making stronger toe arms mostly for racing, such as TechnoToy and BattleVersion.

You best bet might be OEM.

Thanks for the links - some of that stuff look amazing!

[Alex Knight]

Are these supplied anywhere in the UK?Can only find US suppliers at present....

Plenty of UK dealers for Cusco, Tegiwa for one:

https://www.tegiwaimports.com/brands/cusco.html

[Dev]

If you can afford it, I'd go Cusco.

I don't have a high opinion of Hardrace. Seen too many people have too many failures.

Interesting. I did some research and they look like the same Chinese tow arms I purchased under a different name. It appears Hardrace is made in China. Before I installed them I come to find out two failures from other owners so I sold them in the box with full disclosure.
I have been happy with no issues from the OEM control arms.