Ok so I bought a crash car and it needs sway bar mounts/end links, my question is Mazda Trix has "upgraded" adjustable heim joint end links for $70.00 a pair, or the OEM's for $80.00 EACH. Seeing as I'm on a budget, the adjustable's are looking good especially if they are indeed some kind of an upgrade over OEM. My car isn't really a "track car" so to speak, so I'm sure some of you are going to say "no way" or "only for track cars" to these but I just wanted to hear your thoughts.

 

Oh and a link to the end links: http://www.mazdatrix.com/h93-95b.htm

 

They are just a male rod end sticks into a female rod end with a jam nut. You can have the whole setup for $30-$40 if you buy the rod ends yourself.

Just got to either baker precision or mcmaster and buy those rod ends.

Good luck!

Chuck Huang

 

...actually the correct rodends to fit the stock swaybar have 10mm bores to slide onto the bar and the bolt in the a-arm. The metric rodends are much more expensive than the plain 'ole American kind. I sourced the exact same parts before Mazdatrix started selling and I payed exactly what they sell for on the website now. Mazdatrix makes their profit in the quantity discount I am sure.

Start calling rodend places and ask for a male and female both with 10mm bores... They are not common.

 

I second that. I called around trying to do my own set up, and the prices were all within $3-5 of Mazdatrix's set.

I'd get the Mazdatrix ones black99. They're perfectly fine for a street car, and far cheaper than stock. I honestly couldn't feel a real performance difference, but they don't really have a downside.

 

You use metal bushing if that's case. Same kind of setup for the toe links and trailng arms.

Chuck Huang

 

... back from the dead...


Last week I discovered that my swaybar mounts were bent. I had a Racing Beat swaybar, Mazda Competition swaybar mounts, and a set of Mazdatrix endlinks installed to replace the parts that had bent. The suspension is otherwise stock. '94 Base model, 63k miles.


Now I'm hearing a lot of clunking over bumps in the road. When I hear the clunk, I don't feel anything in the steering wheel or pedals. The car feels much better than with the bent components: steering response has improved, and body roll is noticeably decreased. It used to pull to the left slightly, especially under braking, but that seems to be gone now also.


After two days of clunking, I got under the car and checked that all the bolts were torqued down properly, and they were. However, when the suspension is bounced (by pushing down on shock towers with body weight), there seems to be about 1/8" of play in the driver side end link, and it's clunking when the suspension is bounced. I can't tell if the play is due to the metal joint (heim joint?), or if the endlinks simply need to be readjusted. My mechanic adjusted the new end links to about the same length as the stock ones.



Any input would be appreciated,
-s-

 

some heims have a teflon or plastic liner that can get pounded out.

make sure the bar is centered, and there is no binding at the link. Look for signs of rubbing at a-arms. could jack up front end, remove right link, and carefully stroke the left a-arm with a floor jack, making sure link was not binding. If properly installed, MT should replace the endlink.

IMHO, a solid 32mm RB sway bar, with stock springs, is way too stiff, and will punish all it is attached to, on all but very smooth roads. It basically ruins an elegant independent front suspension. sell it to a track guy that has some stiff springs too, and buy an addco front bar, that is same 28.5 mm dia as oem but is solid for 40% more stiffness, and will use stock rubber pivots. MT endlinks should do better with this set-up, but stocks will stay knock free longer.

 

Thanks a ton, Kevin. I'll look into all of those things.

-s-

 

Sorry to bring up a topic from the dead, however i have been doing some research on the Mazdatrix end links aka the adjustable heim links and want to hear some testimony. How are they holding up? Are they noisey? THey are considerably cheaper then stock but i dont want them if they are really clanky and noisy. Feedback is appreciated. thanks