Alright, i got my camera back and snapped some pics to update the status of some of the multi-link arms.
for anyone who owns or is thinking of owning these arms please read this post in its entirety.
firstly, let me remind everyone that there are many many people who have been running bings multi-link on thier cars for upwards of 2 years now.
over the course of that time i’ve been taking feedback and constantly trying to improve the products in areas where users thought they were lacking or in areas i thought they were lacking.
there have been major changes to the Toe and Traction arms in recent months.
they now look like this:
http://bings.ca/images/brackets%204.JPG
http://bings.ca/images/brackets%203.JPG
The sleeves are 6061 aluminum, anodized in gold. It was getting too difficult and expensive to continue with the powder coated steel arms.
I am sure everyone will agree that these arms are far more attractive, less weight and easier to use what with being swedged in the centre and having milled flats at the ends.
An even more important change is the bracket end that bolts on to the hub.
Instead of powder coated chromoly steel we have gone with T-304 stainless brackets that are hand polished to a nice finish.
Obviously i am trying to get away from powder coating because i have not been happy with the inconveniences it has caused. what’s more is that the polished stainless is just way more attractive as well as being stronger.
to date, we have had only one single non-accident related failure with the prevous generation of bracket ends. Haig Kanadjain, one of Canada’s top drivers in Drift Mania noticed that the powder coated brackets on his traction rods were beginning to show signs of fatigue after hundreds of hours on the track.
fortunately we had already developed the new version and we upgraded Haig’s bracket ends to the new stainless ones at the DM event in Ontario a few weeks back.
There have not been any issues reported by anyone else, but that isnt really an excuse.
As a result, I will be extending the warranty on the powder coated bracket ends beyond the ONE YEAR warranty i currently offer. The warranty will continue indefinately on these particular parts.
i encourage anyone who has these arms to give a quick inspection every now and again and if they notice anything strange to please contact me so we can work out the upgrade.
many people will find that they do not require the upgrade, particularly people that dont drive extremely aggressively. However, if you have been using these arms for a full year already and at some point next year you notice that the powder coated bracket appears to show signs of fatigue, you will still be able to warranty them even though the one year warranty period as elapsed.
Of course, as mentioned in the warranty policy here:
http://www.bings.ca/index.php?page=subsection&parent=1&child=3
warranties are not transferrable to subsequent owners and warranties are voided due to accident.
however, there have been people who have been involved in accidents who have come to me wanting to replace just the pieces of their arms that were damaged. I am happy to accomodate.
Should you find yourself in this scenerio i will provide you with the necessary components and a price that is superior to retail. by that i mean i will sell the individual components of the arms at prices that add up to much less than the retail price of the arms.
i believe the last person to upgrade paid only $25 per bracket end following an accident that damaged their arms.
This of course is preferrable compared to owning other brands of arms and having to buy whole new arms after you break on piece.
here are more pics of the new bracket ends:
http://bings.ca/images/brackets%201.JPG
and one final pics that was the best i could get today.
please remember these components are 100% fabricated in Canada by professional race-fabrication facilities.
INSTALL:
apparently there is some variability in the thickness of the factory bushings that are hugged by the bracket end of the toe and traction arms.
Chris (canadiandrifter240sx) installed his toe and traction arms and they were almost too snug where as others reported no issues and others have stated that the bracket ends were too wide.
obviously i wont be asking you to take a measurement of the bushings on your spindle but i ask that if you find that your bracket ends are too wide, please do not bolt them in and bend the bracket in. Instead, use a washer to take up the gap, if any.
the brackets are pre-bent, all to the same spec by the same machine.
