MODS: If I am in any violation of the rules, please close the thread and contact me to work things out instead of deleting it

Many of you know me as the suspension guy in the 1st and 2nd gen forums. Well, a little while ago I decided it's finally time I start making suspension parts, instead of just talking about them. With that said, I would like to proudly introduce a part I've been working on over the summer: TRACTION RODS!




What is a traction rod?
On a front wheel drive car such as the Altima and Maxima, a traction rod is a link that connects one end to the lower control arm and the other end to a point on the undercarriage, in this case the lower subframe stud:

(Installed on a 3rd Gen Altima)








Why do we need a traction rod?
Your control arm is meant to move up and down on a pivot, as shown in the following pic:


However, thanks to the location of the pivot points and the fact they are made of rubber, the control arm often violently moves in ways it shouldn't, as seen in the following pic:


This usually occurs under great stress such as drag launching or during high lateral G forces of hard cornering. In hard cornering, it causes the bushings to deflect greatly and allows the control arms to toe in or toe out, creating unbalanced handling characteristics.

During the stress of a drag launch, the car sits back on that big fat bushing as the control arm moves up and down, causing not only wheel hop but front end lift, reducing traction to the front wheels.





How does the traction rod stop this?
By connecting to the hole in the center of the control arm and to another point on the chassis (in this case, the subframe bolts), the arm is held in place to keep it from leaning back or forth on it's pivot points.

However, thanks to the use of high misalignment rod ends, the traction rod is still able to move up and down with the natural movement of the control arm!

EDITED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!

Since I am not yet an official vendor, this will NOT be a Group Buy thread, as I don't want it getting closed like the others. However, as soon as my status gets approved I will return it to GB status.

Hmmmmmm. How does your product work with aftermarket front end links (Racingline Performance) to include a lowering (springs only) kit?

Good question CFR, i like this idea about the bars, however i only will have the racingline endlinks wit fstb but I will keep stock height. Let us know. Thanks

Also for 6.5 gens, will we need to drill any extra holes or any other type of fabrications or is this a plug and play type of thing? Please excuse my ignorance on this topic. thanks again

These will work well with other mods or by themselves. They are designed to give you better traction during hard drag launches, and they should even help a car at cornering better. They'll give your front wheels more grip!


Nope! They will use the large, fat hole that Nissan has in the OEM control arm as a mounting point for the front bracket, and the rear bracket will mount around the rear subframe stud. Basically, plug and play!

price

Will be $200shipped for 10 or less buyers. If I can get 50 total buyers taken from both Maxima.org and NissanClub.com, it'll go down to $175shipped.

Free Shipping? To where? Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, included in this? If not how much to Hawaii? Do they fit in the flat rate shipping boxes that Postal service has. Thats an awesome way to ship.

Free US Shipping, yes. I'll see how much extra Canada shipping will cost.

Wouldnt replacing the bushings with urethane accomplish the same thing?

Not to the degree traction rods do, and certainly not for drag launching. Poly bushings still squirm a little under cornering, and during a launch they won't stop wheel hop or curb lift like traction rods do. Ask the 4th and 5th genners who have both!

Also, they appear to be adjustable, and if so, is it possible to dial in toe in or toe out if desired? Any danger of binding?

No, I wouldn't use these to adjust toe (or caster for that matter), as that will preload the rods and create bumpsteer issues.

interesting!!!

Agreed, unfortunately I'm tapped for now. But thanks for introducing another product for ur cars. These could come in handy down the road.

hmmm looks like i might need to try this out

Red Lion, you are quick to ATM (answer the mail). I feel that this is a great rapport with the .org. Unfortunately I am headin to Iraq in less than 2 wks. I will definitely be looking at this (if possible) during my tour and seeing how people like this and will most likely order a set upon my return. Do you have a product availability date?

They seem to have a very low ground clearance or is it the angle of the pic?

I'm going to start a GB towards the middle of this month and it will last for about 3 weeks, after which I'll start sending parts out. But don't worry, this won't be a one-time deal! I'll keep some in stock so when you return there will be some available for you!

They hang a bit low, it is true, but you need some hang otherwise they will bind during suspension travel. HOWEVER, I am working on making the bracket so that they don't hang down very low. The part of worry is actually where they connect to the rear subrame stud, as this is the part that was most likely to scrape speed bumps during testing...

yep, that was my concern! Speed bumps or stray animals.....