for some reason i cant keep a tie-rod end on my car for more than 2 years of daily driving, loads of autocross (every weekend) and about 2 hpde a year. is this about right or should i be looking for a cause of pre-mature tie-rod end wear?

-spenc

 

what do your alingment angles look like?

i mean 2 years is pretty good for abuse but a tie rod dosent see as much abuse as the other parts on the suspension..

what part of the tie rod is wearing? inner? outer?

 

yeah, is it inner or outer tie rod?

I'm sure the auto X and HPDE contribute to some abnormal abuse and wear...but every 2 years does seem fast.

What brand parts are you using? MOOG and other aftermarket chassis components will not outlast and OEM tie rod. The OE ones aren't designed with long life in their future. Race components might provide a more precise movement, but, will wear faster than OEM.

 

i agree...

they are kind of "wear items" especially if you drive real hard real often... but 2 years is still pretty darn often.

i'm thinking the ones you are getting are a cheap brand... if not, something must be putting extra stress on them.

 

my alignment is zero toe with as much camber as i got lowering the car.(gotta love 4th gen civics...) and i am using whatever tie-rod ends i get from the local parts house or autozone. and its the outers in wearing through.
-spenc

 

well i'm guessing those tierods aren't particularily expensive, combined with hard driving and the camber, that probably accounts for the rapid wear.

the tie rod ends you get from generic auto parts stores are pretty crappy, i've sold them and most people got between 2-5 years out of them, max. they are made of fairly soft metal, and not very precisely machined.

 

get OEM ones.

 

I agree get OEM ones.

Me thinks as soon as you start getting seriously into autocrossing with R-Compounds all sorts of suspension parts need a good looking after. Tie-rod ends are no exception.

dave, who also had to replace the inner tie-rod after two years of serious autocrossing and track days.

 

How do you know when the tie-rods are going (or have gone) out?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How do you know when the tie-rods are going (or have gone) out?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I want to know too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How do you know when the tie-rods are going (or have gone) out?</TD></TR></TABLE>

vibrations at speed, vibrations when turning, alignement is out of whack, odd tire wear, vibration in the steering wheel/imprecise steering.

those are the usual signs. just because you have them doesn't mean it's the tie rods though...

 

one way to check the tie rod ends both inner and outer is to jack up the front of the car and go to each wheel/tire and shake it smoothly back and forth side to side and see if there is any play. ie clunking notchiness anything other then perfect.
at that point if you feel anything grab the outer tie rod end at the ball joint and do the same thing (helps with a friend) if the play is coming from there then thats bad if not move on and repeat on the inner by grabing the bellows boot (boot that covers the inner tie rod end) and feeling for the ball type joint and see if there is any play there. if still none then inspect rack mount bushings and wheel bearings etc...

hope that helps
misha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by emwavey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I agree get OEM ones.

Me thinks as soon as you start getting seriously into autocrossing with R-Compounds all sorts of suspension parts need a good looking after. .</TD></TR></TABLE>
lol, thats pritty funny. me...get serious about autocross.......
i actually have changed inner tie-rod end on the passanger side, lower control arm buchings, and a few other front end parts to freshen it up/make turn-in better.

 

if your using autozone parts thats yor problem because those are the lowest of the low, along with advance auto parts and any other cheapie parts store.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by emwavey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I agree get OEM ones.

Me thinks as soon as you start getting seriously into autocrossing with R-Compounds all sorts of suspension parts need a good looking after. Tie-rod ends are no exception.

dave, who also had to replace the inner tie-rod after two years of serious autocrossing and track days.</TD></TR></TABLE>


R-SPEED
EF-EG parts
DanGSR Motorsports
NYRSCCA tech & announcer &lt;-----------------------------------LOL<U></U>
Daiyama suspension from Festive Garage
AUTOX4U TEAMIAC RACE-SPORT RACING BRAKE

 

so its part failure due to its cheapness, not a suspension issue. good stuff. ill pick up a set from honda and see what becomes of them.
spenc

 

The problem just isn't with the quality of parts... the problem is in using tires designed to adhere to the road surface with a greater ability then your/our cars were originally designed to handle. Therefore anything that is under stress or could be considered a wear item will definitely wear sooner.

R-compounds = greater stress on all suspension parts, brakes, and driveline.

-dave, whos looking to go road racing so he won't have to replace his tie-rods ends as often.

 

Maybe the heat of HPDEs is killing them? I remember seeing a pic of Willards suspension a while ago and he had some heat wrap on the tie rod ends to protect against radiant brake heat. I know 2 HPDEs a year isnt much, but if you are going very fast there is a TON of heat in that whole knuckle area. Just a thought...*shrug*

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by emwavey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anything that is under stress or could be considered a wear item will definitely wear sooner</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

A competative ITA or H4 car will go have to change outer tie rod ends at least twice a season ( roughly every 4-5 double race weekend) and inner tie rod ends are changed at least once per season This is using factory Honda parts.

 

Spence uses the Falken street tire and not R-compound tires.