I am thinking to add the TCP strut rods to my 1970 Mustang. I have the upper and lowers TCP arms and spring perches with ball bearings. TCP claims there strut rods help with alignment and increase caster adjustments. My car is being built from ground up and I am now starting on the suspension. Are these rods worth the money? Are the stock rods as good as the TCP's with rubber bushings? Thanks.
TCP Strut Rods?
- Thread starter wickedmach1
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Route666
Active Member
If you used their lower control arms as well you can adjust caster a whole lot more as it has a spherical bearing.
Their new strut rod design has a nice feature which may not be noticeable, but is technically more correct - it centres the pivot axis in the middle of the mounting point unlike other spherical bearing designs.
Their new strut rod design has a nice feature which may not be noticeable, but is technically more correct - it centres the pivot axis in the middle of the mounting point unlike other spherical bearing designs.
Route666
Active Member
If you're after a stock buildup with cruising capabilities then there's no point to getting them really. The ride may be a little better as some binding is removed, but it's probably negligable.
If you're after a performance build - they are one of the things than can remove binding, so they would be well worth it. The roller perch would go together with this in freeing up the suspension, and these two mods along with the shelby drop would give you a nice upgrade over a stock suspension setup.
Harder springs are going to make the ride harsher but increase the performance of the suspension, but don't forget adequate shocks to match them or you'll end up with a car that bounces, which gives a hard ride and reduces traction.
Tubular arms are probably the next upgrade, they allow the suspension geometry to remain consistant under more harsh conditions - when driving hard.
Further on from this - TCP's arms allow camber and caster adjustment as well.
Coil-overs are going to increase the quality of the ride while maintaining suspension performance or maintain ride quality while improving performance, depending on spring and damping rates you select.
If you're after a performance build - they are one of the things than can remove binding, so they would be well worth it. The roller perch would go together with this in freeing up the suspension, and these two mods along with the shelby drop would give you a nice upgrade over a stock suspension setup.
Harder springs are going to make the ride harsher but increase the performance of the suspension, but don't forget adequate shocks to match them or you'll end up with a car that bounces, which gives a hard ride and reduces traction.
Tubular arms are probably the next upgrade, they allow the suspension geometry to remain consistant under more harsh conditions - when driving hard.
Further on from this - TCP's arms allow camber and caster adjustment as well.
Coil-overs are going to increase the quality of the ride while maintaining suspension performance or maintain ride quality while improving performance, depending on spring and damping rates you select.
SoCalCruising
Founding Member
Increased pos. caster is important for good high-speed handling. What an alignment shop will likely do is to shorten the strut rod (moves lower ball joint forward and increases caster) and then fine-tune the caster setting by adjusting the length of the forward or rear arm of the UCA, individually (I assume you UCAs are adjustable). This moves the upper ball joint either forward or rearward. You don't want to do it all with the UCA. The car will run very predictably with more pos. caster and the wheel will tend to return to center better.
Thanks for the great information. The list of parts that I already have are listed below. I am building a street driven car which will occassionally be driven at the track. Is there a weak link or anything I need to do differently to make a solid handling weekend cruiser?
Front:
TCP Upper and Lower Control Arms
Roller Spring Perches
620# Coil Springs
Koni Shocks
Shelby Drop
Rear:
4 1/2" Mid-eye Mustangs Plus Leaf Springs
Koni Shocks
Front:
TCP Upper and Lower Control Arms
Roller Spring Perches
620# Coil Springs
Koni Shocks
Shelby Drop
Rear:
4 1/2" Mid-eye Mustangs Plus Leaf Springs
Koni Shocks
Your combo is good, huge improvement over stock. Get GOOD tires, they are your link to the road! Do some research on which ones would be good for your situation. Street Or Track also has strut rods for $300. I'm extremely happy with mine. Get a performane alignment afterwords. Do a search to get specifications if you need them.
Route666
Active Member
Sounds like a good sports-oriented build to me, I'd go the extra few hundred and add in the strut-rods for their freer movement and extra dimension of adjustment. While you can adjust castor with the upper arm, you can adjust TWO of castor, wheel position and strut-rod length if you get the adjustable SR as well.
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