I gather one of the best ways to improve VL steering and handling is to increase the caster. There seem to be a couple of ways of doing it, with different pluses and minuses: 1. replacement radius rods Whiteline used to do these but apparently they tended to break... They're working on a new version. I notice that Commsport in Penrith do new rods that give an extra 2 degrees; any experience with these? How difficult are these to fit? 2. replacement strut tops Plus: finer adjustment and more caster. Minus: expensive Local suspension specialist prefers these to third part radius rods. Quotes c. $445 for K-mac kit. Again I note that Commsport does a kit for c. $365. Any experience on either? Is it worth going to the strut tops just so I can get to VR-type 6-7 degrees caster? Ta muchly! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

strut tops are good, coz u can change settings any time and get the camber u want. You wont be able to get 7 deg caster with tops alone, you will need diff / adj. radius rods as well, 5 deg max is all you need for street / club driving.

Interesting to read that the Caster Rods were breaking, Ive recently been involved in great deal of conversation with Whiteline trying to purchase various bits and pieces one area i ran into trouble with was the Caster Rods. They refused to tell me why they were discontinued, i assumed there must have been some liability issue with rods failing and them not wanting to take the fall for damages. Interestingly they list new ones on the website, yet they are still under development, so i gave them a bit of stick about that. Some pieces of the correspondance between me and them. Quote: To Whiteline Tech Support, Ive emailed you firstly before i go through your sale department. I would like to know if the below part numbers come with all associated bushings? If not could you supply me with the extra part numbers for the poly bushes so i can add them to the order. Thanks in advance. Michael The parts are BHF16AX R / 30 / B / COMMODORE VB - VP 30MM W/ POLY BHR16 R / 20 / A / COMMODORE REAR 20MM KRR201A Radius rod 2Deg -caster adjusted Lastly can you confirm if the KRR201A is most suitable option, does the KRR207 part offer any real handling benifits. Cheers Quote: Hi Michael, The swaybars you mention are replacement bars which means they replace the original bars but come with polyurethane "D" bushes that fit into the original mounting equipment but are a larger inner dia. to accommodate the heavy duty swaybar. "R" in the description stands for replacement. The KRR201A (fixed) are no longer available. They have been replaced by the KRR207's (adjustable). If you require 2 rods with bushes you should order the KRR207X. This part number is still under development so we actually do not have it available at this time but it is not too far off. Regards Jackie Holmes [email removed] Quote: Hi Jackie, thankyou for your prompt return email, I must also confirm a few more things before i place an order. The KRR207X kit is not available yet, is it possible to supply 2x KRR207 and suitable bushes or do you not have any of these Radius Rods in house at all? Was there any particular reason as to why the KRR201 were discontinued, if there is a problem should i revert to OEM Radius Rods and bushes? I guess i need to know are you able to supply any performance Radius Rods to suit my application at all? Are any of these parts still available as a kit, possibly KCOM01H? I ask this as a possible alternative If you can shed any more light on the above, it is much appreciated. I have heard great things of your products, but you make it hard if they are not available. Look forward to return mail, Thankyou Michael Quote: Hi Michael, We are sorry that the parts you require are unavailable at this time, the actual rods are under development so we can not supply at the moment. The KRR201A are no longer available as they have been replaced by the KRR207 and KRR207X. I have also sent a copy of this email to our Technician who is involved in the development of the KRR207 as he may be able to answer any more technical questions you may have. Regards Jackie Holmes [email removed] Bloody less then helpfull they were :roll: And yeah the KMAC adjustable strut tops are good value for money, ive been running them ever since i had my VL. Even replacing the OEM rods with new H/Duty ones will make a small improvement, as the original ones were made out of small diameter soft material which fatigues and straightens out all together of the years. Ive also spoken to Pedders on the issue, they only offer a heavy duty replacement with standard caster, they told me your asking for trouble with the adjustable rods, which they reckon are a prick to setup sucessfully. They couldnt give me any valid reason why though... :roll: These other kits you talk about sound interesting, wonder how sucessfull they are? Cheers Mick

Thats a big post Mick

ok my experiences. Kmac strut tops $311 delivered to my door direct from Kmac. A lot of other companys make adjustable strut tops - one to note is noltec who do a very well priced version. Not sure on exact $$$ , anyone have the noltec ones to give us an idea on price??????. Radius rods. I purchased a whiteline works kit which had the KRR201A rods which are +2 degrees. they pulled the front wheels so far forward in the wheel arches they hit the front bumper bar on even slight compression of the suspension. Rang whiteline who recommended fitting std rods since i had the strut tops. Purchased a new set of radius rods from holden (off a VS, apparantly stronger) which has solved my scrubbing problem and i can still run my 4.5 degrees castor with my strut tops. so now im happy, bumps which my car used to scrub heavily on, even at about 1kph :roll: now dont scrub at all, and she turns in to corners beautifully. If you want to run bigger castor, use adjustable strut tops , stick with standard (NEW) radius rods. Cheers

If you want to run 6 - 7 degress like you say, you need both, Tyre rubbing on bumper will depend on tyre diameter and car height, I have chopped the corner section off my bumper on both sides, you cant tell.

Quote: Originally Posted by RB30-POWER Interesting to read that the Caster Rods were breaking, Ive recently been involved in great deal of conversation with Whiteline trying to purchase various bits and pieces one area i ran into trouble with was the Caster Rods. They refused to tell me why they were discontinued, i assumed there must have been some liability issue with rods failing and them not wanting to take the fall for damages. You're 100% on the mark from what I've heard; rumour has it there is legal action going ahead on behalf of some clients whose caster/radius rods broke :!: (Source to remain anonymous , but not working for Whiteline). Thanks for the other info; strut tops plus stronger standard radius rods seem to be the way to go. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

std Z bars are strong as unless u start hitting curbs all day. its the bushes that deflect heaps.

Hmm, all interesting information in this thread. 87Calais, so you had to get rid of the Adjustable Rods altogether with 17" wheels... Thats it then, ive personally concluded that H'Duty Standard Caster Rods are the way to go, with the adjustable strut tops, and poly bushes on the rods, stop any compliance/movement. Which is what i am running anyway... Didnt realise the caster rods could cause so much trouble. Cheers Mick

Quote: Originally Posted by RB30-POWER Ive also spoken to Pedders on the issue, they only offer a heavy duty replacement with standard caster, they told me your asking for trouble with the adjustable rods, which they reckon are a prick to setup sucessfully. They couldnt give me any valid reason why though... :roll: True story about Pedders... Took my VL to a Pedders outlet for their $14 28-point safety check, just to get a view on the state of the suspension. Knew at that stage that the Panhard rod bushes were fscked. After they'd finished the bloke said that *the car shouldn't be on the road* and that it needed c. $1,500 worth of suspension work to get it roadworthy!!! I got him to itemise the bushes which themselves came to over $1k! Later that day I was having a new exhaust fitted, and while the car was on the hoist had my own look at the bushes. Didn't look too bad from what I could see... Even since have been replacing bushes myself. Cheapest were the Panhard rod bushes, which cost me $10 vs $40 quoted by Pedders; most others are considerably cheaper even though I'm using urethane now and Pedders was quoting rubber. I've so far replaced Panhard rod, sway bar f/r and front radius rod bushes (yes, you can do it yourself even though Gregory's says you can't...) and already the car is utterly transformed and steers better than my old Alfa for an all-up outlay of under $200. Pedders: based on my experience you are load of crooks and I wouldn't trust you to do suspension work on a lawnmower. :twisted:

Quote: Originally Posted by 87calais ok my experiences. Kmac strut tops $311 delivered to my door direct from Kmac. A place called Justin's Suspension Warehouse advertises the Kmac camber/caster kit for $232 on page 172 of the latest Just Parts Peddler. Anyone dealt with this business? (I'm slightly suspicious that the only contact is a mobile phone number). :? Quote: If you want to run bigger castor, use adjustable strut tops , stick with standard (NEW) radius rods. Been quoted $22 per side for VS rods from a local wrecker. Thanks for the info! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Pedders would have quoted you on nolathane bushes rather than rubber which i think is better.......Besides....don't get me started on that Pedders safety check, dumb pricks didnt even realise i had a rooted ball joint

They do the best wheel alignments without a doubt though.... Atleast my local one does... Mick

The same one I USED to go to.....Might try Bowers next time.....they have a new shop at Wickham

Bowers have huge range of brands available and arent bias towards one brand or another just give you their experiences. But have been told by a bloke, who deals with them daily for wholesale suspension parts, that they are rough ****s and have a "dont give a **** attitude", so..... :? Mick

Bit like my last two experiences at Pedders ,They didnt even lift my bonnet to adjust my castor/camber kit.....so i thought FARQ to them.. This was my experience http://ozperformance.net/viewtopic.php?t=11851

Quote: Originally Posted by 87calais ok my experiences. Kmac strut tops $311 delivered to my door direct from Kmac. A lot of other companys make adjustable strut tops - one to note is noltec who do a very well priced version. Not sure on exact $$$ , anyone have the noltec ones to give us an idea on price??????. Noltech Holden bits: http://www.noltec.com.au/gmh.htm No prices, tho!

i have kmac adjustable strut tops and can still apparently only adust to 0.5+ castor. this is what bob jane told me after spending an hour trying to get more. would this be correct. :roll: I was looking into adjustable or fixed increase radius rods but maybe i should take car somewhere else to look at. Fulcrum maybe?? car wants to wander a bit when on highway :?

I have some adjustable strut tops but I'm not sure what brand they are. They are red, does anyone know what they are?? Cheers!!

with my kmac strut tops im running 4.5 degrees castor. if buying radius rods from a wrecker, triple check that they aernt bent . That joint selling the kits for cheap seems sus since kmac dont even sell them that cheap, id look into it further before you purcased one through them. Mick, my rods were the older ones that were +2 degrees castor, they wernt adjustable. I beleive using a combination of an adjustable rod and strut tops could acheive big castor numbers without causing problems. HSVSUX, thats what i was going to do, cut the bumper bar out a bit, would have worked ok, it was the guard a bit too, have to look into it further to see how i can make some room under there. When my car finally hits the circuit i will look at changing the alignment settings a bit more, concentrating on my brakes and engine at the moment.