tension rod donor: godspeed version?

[Spoolin6er]

I need to buy tension rods soon, and I'd like to use a cheap china model with upgraded rod ends. The question is which version to go with.

http://www.godspeedproject.com/shop/...14+tension+rod

Shows 3 generations. All of them can be had on ebay for $60-100. I've been trying to get information out of them as to the rod end thread pitch for 2 weeks now with no success.

Any opinions of which to get? One of my main concerns is because the s14 uses a longer tension rod than an s13 (and these are "universal") that I will end up with very little threads supporting the tension load. (which is basically all the braking force of the front wheels)

Thanks for any insight!

[Gigapunk]

I tried asking through pms on zilvia, and they honestly don't know.

[Z28ricer]

Wait, you want to buy ****ty arms, with questionable qc, questionable materials, attempt to stop-gap upgrade them by replacing the rod ends with something thats still more of a headache to get and cost more than standard rod ends that spl arms use, to save what ? $60 initially ?

[Spoolin6er]

In short, yes.
Do you know how many members here have been running godspeed LCA's with QA1 hardware?

Do you know for a fact that the Godspeed arms require odd rod ends?

The SPL tension rods are $210, godspeed - $60 + say $30 for good rodends. That's $120 difference, maybe that's not much to you but it is too me. Now if I do the same for a full arm kit: SPL: $950, Godspeed: $245 + rodends. That's a huge difference, I don't care who you are.

[Z28ricer]

In short, yes.
Do you know how many members here have been running godspeed LCA's with QA1 hardware?

Do you know for a fact that the Godspeed arms require odd rod ends?

The SPL tension rods are $210, godspeed - $60 + say $30 for good rodends. That's $120 difference, maybe that's not much to you but it is too me. Now if I do the same for a full arm kit: SPL: $950, Godspeed: $245 + rodends. That's a huge difference, I don't care who you are.

You do realize that everyone running those, for the most part is doing so because a good reasonable alternative is not available, and generally do so inspecting them regularly because the possibility of them failing is quite real.

$120 difference in the cost is well worth it to protect my bumper that cost far more than that, my fenders that cost far more than that, my safety, or the safety of the other people near me driving.

Sweet $700 saved over the course of the whole car, dont forget to get megan coilovers and an isis turbo to go with the rest of your knockoff mobile.

[Z28ricer]

Teflon lined QA1 rod ends from summit $29.95 each (in metric, your choices get limited here)

You're at $90 saved for your tension rods.

You're also at $500 saved over the whole car going with junk parts instead of quality.

Now replace your rod ends at the end of a year, you spend $240, 5/8" and 3/4 standard ends ? Much cheaper choices available that are going to last just as long, replacing these at the end of the year costs $120 instead.

So in 4 years the rod end difference pays for the arm cost difference, if you can guarantee that you wont find cracks on one of the cheapie arms and have to replace them, if you catch it before it causes a crash and more damage to pay for.

[Def]

Teflon lined QA1 rod ends from summit $29.95 each (in metric, your choices get limited here)

You're at $90 saved for your tension rods.

You're also at $500 saved over the whole car going with junk parts instead of quality.

Now replace your rod ends at the end of a year, you spend $240, 5/8" and 3/4 standard ends ? Much cheaper choices available that are going to last just as long, replacing these at the end of the year costs $120 instead.

So in 4 years the rod end difference pays for the arm cost difference, if you can guarantee that you wont find cracks on one of the cheapie arms and have to replace them, if you catch it before it causes a crash and more damage to pay for.

Who replaces the rod ends on a tension rod every year? It's not exactly a hugely stressed component for the size.


IMO, I'd skip the whole Godspeed thing and just get some eBay knockoffs if you want to go that route.

I run SPL's, and the brake cooling deflectors are worth it if you see any track time.

My knockoff arms do just fine in the rear with different rod ends.

[Z28ricer]

Who replaces the rod ends on a tension rod every year? It's not exactly a hugely stressed component for the size.


IMO, I'd skip the whole Godspeed thing and just get some eBay knockoffs if you want to go that route.

I run SPL's, and the brake cooling deflectors are worth it if you see any track time.

My knockoff arms do just fine in the rear with different rod ends.

No matter how often you replace, its still added cost, and additional headache, the metric ends right now are a week and a half out on summits site, for the small price difference to get a quality part, its certainly worth it, i've seen supposed "decent" circuit sports arms cracked after a week of street driving, (i wasnt convinced they were quality when they came out of the box), it just seems ignorant and stupid to completely disregard everyones safety around you on the street and bolt on junk thats made to pisspoor standards, if any at all, in order to save a negligible amount of money.

Hell i've got some pics of pbm rucas with the threaded section of the arm welded on backwards so the threads face the inside of the car instead of the upright.... yeah... those ARENT made with child labor, and definetly have awesome QC

[Spoolin6er]

Sweet $700 saved over the course of the whole car, dont forget to get megan coilovers and an isis turbo to go with the rest of your knockoff mobile.

One step ahead if ya But I have the ISIS coilovers (cheaper), and a junkyard turbo (wayy cheaper).

I think we're just on two different levels here. You obviously have a much nicer car and a lot more money to throw at it. I am an engineering student that doesn't use AC/heat in my apartment to save money. I have a $500 s14 that doesn't have a clean panel on it. But I enjoy building and driving my car. The tension rods don't even have any welds to break. If the threads are good, they're pretty hard to screw up.

Back on topic:
Does anyone have any comments on which version appears to be a better design?

*EDIT* - Def, any reason to skip Godspeed? They are basically the same price as the ebay parts, I was just referencing their website for convenience

[Def]

No matter how often you replace, its still added cost, and additional headache, the metric ends right now are a week and a half out on summits site, for the small price difference to get a quality part, its certainly worth it, i've seen supposed "decent" circuit sports arms cracked after a week of street driving, (i wasnt convinced they were quality when they came out of the box), it just seems ignorant and stupid to completely disregard everyones safety around you on the street and bolt on junk thats made to pisspoor standards, if any at all, in order to save a negligible amount of money.

Hell i've got some pics of pbm rucas with the threaded section of the arm welded on backwards so the threads face the inside of the car instead of the upright.... yeah... those ARENT made with child labor, and definetly have awesome QC

And SPL never has QC issues? They built a ton of arms out of some cheap materials that ended up having an immediately failure in usage. Or the v1 SPL Tension rods that rusted all to hell and had undersized rod ends...


Just saying, it's not all rainbows and unicorn farts because you spend lots of money on some "high end" arms.

And why would you be replacing rod ends on one arm, and not on another?

[Z28ricer]

One step ahead if ya But I have the ISIS coilovers (cheaper), and a junkyard turbo (wayy cheaper).

I think we're just on two different levels here. You obviously have a much nicer car and a lot more money to throw at it. I am an engineering student that doesn't use AC/heat in my apartment to save money. I have a $500 s14 that doesn't have a clean panel on it. But I enjoy building and driving my car. The tension rods don't even have any welds to break. If the threads are good, they're pretty hard to screw up.

Back on topic:
Does anyone have any comments on which version appears to be a better design?

*EDIT* - Def, any reason to skip Godspeed? They are basically the same price as the ebay parts, I was just referencing their website for convenience

I'm an engineering student just the same, i've just got enough experience with this stuff to know better than to blindly ignore the facts that these knockoff parts are cheap for a reason, i'd rather have my car safely go down the road, or sit on jackstands before I bolt on parts that are made with substandard materials, workmanship, and design, in order to save a dollar and claim I upgraded something.

Maybe you'll understand a bit when you start engineering things and china starts selling cheap copies of what you've designed for less after having children start duplicating them.

[Def]

One step ahead if ya But I have the ISIS coilovers (cheaper), and a junkyard turbo (wayy cheaper).

I think we're just on two different levels here. You obviously have a much nicer car and a lot more money to throw at it. I am an engineering student that doesn't use AC/heat in my apartment to save money. I have a $500 s14 that doesn't have a clean panel on it. But I enjoy building and driving my car. The tension rods don't even have any welds to break. If the threads are good, they're pretty hard to screw up.

Back on topic:
Does anyone have any comments on which version appears to be a better design?

*EDIT* - Def, any reason to skip Godspeed? They are basically the same price as the ebay parts, I was just referencing their website for convenience

They looked more expensive than the cheaper eBay stuff with a quick search. They are the same thing as anything else cheap - might as well not pay for what little name recognition Godspeed has IMO.

[Z28ricer]

And SPL never has QC issues? They built a ton of arms out of some cheap materials that ended up having an immediately failure in usage. Or the v1 SPL Tension rods that rusted all to hell and had undersized rod ends...


Just saying, it's not all rainbows and unicorn farts because you spend lots of money on some "high end" arms.

And why would you be replacing rod ends on one arm, and not on another?

Yes indeed they did end up with a bad batch of materials, found the problem, replaced the parts and compensated the customers for the issues, knockoff junk just goes out the door and thats the end, it would be a cold day in hell before any of those guys started recalling stuff when there is an issue and taking care of it.

Big difference between getting a bad batch of materials and consistently buying bad materials because its cheaper.

[Def]

Yes indeed they did end up with a bad batch of materials, found the problem, replaced the parts and compensated the customers for the issues, knockoff junk just goes out the door and thats the end, it would be a cold day in hell before any of those guys started recalling stuff when there is an issue and taking care of it.

Big difference between getting a bad batch of materials and consistently buying bad materials because its cheaper.

Did you just completely ignore the comments about how the v1 tension rods from SPL rusted like hell?

Or how some of their earlier tie rods had a nasty habit of breaking the shank.


Yea, they generally do a decent job of standing up for their product, but I think your hypothetical example of running a knockoff arm with a decent rod end is pretty far off the mark. It's a piece of welded or threaded steel/aluminum that isn't really highly stressed.

[Z28ricer]

Did you just completely ignore the comments about how the v1 tension rods from SPL rusted like hell?

Or how some of their earlier tie rods had a nasty habit of breaking the shank.


Yea, they generally do a decent job of standing up for their product, but I think your hypothetical example of running a knockoff arm with a decent rod end is pretty far off the mark. It's a piece of welded or threaded steel/aluminum that isn't really highly stressed.

Yes, when were the v1 arms ? 2007 ?

You saw some pics of some that someone dunked in saltwater and let sit ? I've owned a set, they are still under a friends car, rust free.

Yes an arm is a pretty simple piece, however plenty have cracked, and broken, guess its not quite that simple. Got to have good welds and good material to really last, realistically we arent talking the difference between saving $1000-$2000, just the cost of a set of tires, not even good tires, over the entire budget of the whole car.