Baer Tracker bump-steer tie rod ends

[PiLOTLiTE]

Just picked up a set. Bump-steer got worse after installing my Hotchkis springs so I popped for a set. Oh man are they sweet looking.



Car goes in for the rod-end installation and custom alignment on Tuesday and I can't wait to see how these do.

[speedy-v6-camaro]

They work wonders....I used to have really bad bump-steer. My adjusters came in red though....they must have changed. Make sure the shop can pull your suspension through its whole range otherwise they can't adjust them.

Here is a pic of mine.
http://oregonstate.edu/~waltejam/P1010086.JPG

[Arctc Wolf]

where exactly do these attach to on the front suspension?

[Wicked 3800 V6]

They are replacement tie-rod ends. So they attach on the tie rod and the spindle.

[hawgs]

They look badass... Where did you get them and what exactly do they help?

[PiercedJD]

they correct the angle of the steering linkages. you can adjust the pivot of the steering end link up or down to correct the engle of the linkage. it creates a smoother geometry transition through the range of motion.

Not sure if you can follow that explanation or not. when the vehicle is lowered, the steering rack stays in one place, while the pivot point is raised. this allows you to move the pivot point back to it's original location.

[hawgs]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

Price anyone and location anyone?

[Clark Griswold]

rAAAAAAs' main mods involve parts around the steering linkage. If you ever got into a emergency changing lanes race with him, you'd loose badly. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[V6Bob]

"what exactly do they help?"

Since you said "exactly" :D

As a front wheel moves up and down, the toe-in/out can change, especially if you've modified the geometry by lowering the car.

Hit a bump with both wheels at once - no problem. They both change toe and it evens out.

Hit a one wheel bump, that wheel toes in or out, and the car steers itself - "bumpsteer".

They have a couple of downsides. In order to set them up you need to move the wheel up and down through its' full range while measuring small changes in toe. Pretty much a job for a pro.

The second, and more important thing, is that your steering now goes through two rod ends, which are somewhat more likely to fail than the very reliable ball joints they replace. In particular the rod ends can fail suddenly, while the ball joints almost always get sloppy enough to notice before that can happen.

Among other things that means you're trusting the aftermarket guy to not cheapskate the rod ends (good ones are $$$).

They work great on pure race cars which are subject to very frequent inspection, but are questionable on a street car. In spite of their clear advantages in maintaining proper geometry I don't think any of the big boys (Ferrari, Porsche, etc.) use them on street cars because of the maintenance/safety issue.

[hawgs]

Thanks V6Bob.. good explanation. I read some on LS1tech about them too and most people say the same thing... too much money for a not that noticeable difference. They look cool though. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[PiLOTLiTE]

Wow, they are in and boy do they rule. The car glides smooth and straight over bumps that used to jerk the wheel around a good bit. No more wheel movement under any situation, even hard braking.

My set I picked up for $120, though I hear retail is around $200. I would have these set up by a professional as I did, they are a little tricky. He let me watch and now I could probably do it too. As for the quality of the rod ends, I work in a machine shop that has made many a rod end and I can tell you these are top-notch. Even my shop owner was impressed with the craftsmanship. Baer definitely did not skimp on material or fabrication costs.

Overall this is one of my most favorite mods!