Aurora rod ends for VD's - which type?

[Speed Sport Engineering]

Anyone have a reference for which style Aurora rods ends are used and where on VD's?

XA, RA, RXA, HXA, PR, PRX?

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Check with Primus. They sell kits and have all the specs on their website.

[Speed Sport Engineering]

Check with Primus. They sell kits and have all the specs on their website.

That was my first thought - but it's not clear which ones are recommended. Primus has all of them available, without much clue as to which ones should be used.

I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the differences and why one type would be used over the other. The Aurora catalog lists them all as the same tensile strength.

[BrianT1]

Mike,

Just sent you a text.

Brian

[Bob Wright]

Call Brad- he has all that in his head from years of dealing with the VD cars.

[Daryl DeArman]

It's my recollection that all the Aurora rod ends with a "X" in the series are those with an oversized shank (shank size larger than bore size).

The "H" signifies a high misalignment rod end.

The "PR" series have a stainless race vs. 4130.


I can't help with what would be recommended for which particular application, but those are the most basic differences between the series.

Some locations are going to mandate X series because of the hardware required. Some locations are going to require an H or HX simply because of the range required.

As to strength requirements, it comes down to what you would prefer fail first in a shunt, the rod end or the parts attached to said rod end. Tie rods are really cheap compared to a rod end. Uprights, not so much.

[Hardingfv32]

Are there any PTFE lined rod ends that are low stick, easy to rotate when new?

Brian

[kea]

We had a local Van Diemen dealer a number of years ago and both of us decided to go with the PRM - PRXM series. This was because of the components used in their construction and the lower break-away torque they exhibit.

[Daryl DeArman]

Are there any PTFE lined rod ends that are low stick, easy to rotate when new?

Brian

Yes, but only when under load and relative to a non-PTFE lined rod end.

[TimH]

As to strength requirements, it comes down to what you would prefer fail first in a shunt, the rod end or the parts attached to said rod end. Tie rods are really cheap compared to a rod end. Uprights, not so much.

And chassis mount points, OUCH!

[Rick Kirchner]

A while back I worked a deal with Aurora to test all the different variants on my car. Had a little of everything. I've noticed no differences in wear characteristics across their catalog. Obviously, the stainless ones held up to the constant humidity of the south better, but they have an elongated head that can make it difficult to get a setup right if you need an adjustment to be at the far end.

Those things are bulletproof, I re-did e'm all in 07, have more than 37 weekends on 'em, and only four of 'em have me thinking I should consider replacing them next year.

[Speed Sport Engineering]

As to strength requirements, it comes down to what you would prefer fail first in a shunt, the rod end or the parts attached to said rod end. Tie rods are really cheap compared to a rod end. Uprights, not so much.

That's what I figured and why I was wondering what the suggest series was for each location. I didn't know if there were some locations a weaker joint would be preferred.

Rick Kirchner

A while back I worked a deal with Aurora to test all the different variants on my car. Had a little of everything. I've noticed no differences in wear characteristics across their catalog. Obviously, the stainless ones held up to the constant humidity of the south better, but they have an elongated head that can make it difficult to get a setup right if you need an adjustment to be at the far end.

Those things are bulletproof, I re-did e'm all in 07, have more than 37 weekends on 'em, and only four of 'em have me thinking I should consider replacing them next year

Thanks - that's good to know.

[problemchild]

Without disparaging any vendors, any good parts supplier is influenced by many factors beyond what is best for an application.
Such as ..... what the customer can afford, what is in stock, how fast the customer is, what the markup is on the part, how abusive the customer is (on track) (off track), how long the part is in inventory, does the customer like buying whizzy parts regardless of cost, is the customer cheap, how long will it take different options to arrive, the terms of payment with different suppliers, etc.
Cross referencing with non-vendors is never a bad idea.

[Robins Ken]

Anyone have a reference for which style Aurora rods ends are used and where on VD's?

XA, RA, RXA, HXA, PR, PRX?

Elongation (stretch) of the thread is the usual culprit. Over tightening of the jam nut. Or a car with replacement parts. I made replacement 91 VD rear ,upper, camber barrels too short by maybe .060 to the wishbone tube. Failed on the pace lap at Trois Rivieres. The car was on pole. They should have been 005-010 less than flush.

KR

[DanW]

Without disparaging any vendors, any good parts supplier is influenced by many factors beyond what is best for an application.
Such as ..... what the customer can afford, what is in stock, how fast the customer is, what the markup is on the part, how abusive the customer is (on track) (off track), how long the part is in inventory, does the customer like buying whizzy parts regardless of cost, is the customer cheap, how long will it take different options to arrive, the terms of payment with different suppliers, etc.
Cross referencing with non-vendors is never a bad idea.

And, prices are always subject to change according to customer's attitude.

[DaveW]

Elongation (stretch) of the thread is the usual culprit. Over tightening of the jam nut...

If there is room, I always use full nuts as jam nuts on rodends. That allows proper tightening with less probability of deforming the threads on lower-strength rodends. And on the Citation, I always use the lower-strength rodends (except in a few critical locations) to save the suspension arms and the pickups in case of an accident.