WTH is this setup????

Can anyone find the original post of the video at CF? Some observations were made in that thread (at least one by me) that were never answered. Now it seems to have vanished.

Poof!​
 
Twin_Turbo said:
Someone already broke his brackets

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/2383362-shark-bite-rear-coilovers.html
Click to expand...

I just finished rebuilding the sharkbite setup for rodteq. It was originally installed on Snowman's car but he wasn't sure about using it at 140mph. He sold it to rodteq. After two passes down the strip at Bowling Green it started to bend. On the way back to Houston it collapsed.
I'm not going to go into any details on the geometry, Marck is better at it then I am. I'm sure Speed Direct has an outside company doing the work on the brackets so they are not at blame here. Here's what I have noticed:
No penetration in the welds
Brackets are welded on one side only
No beveling. Pieces are butt welded.
No quality control on bracket placement. I was given 4 brackets, 2 old and 2 new. All 4 had the arms in different positions.
My personal opinion:
The stock trailing arm cannot handle the lateral and torsional loading being placed on it. I have built hundreds of trailing arms, not referring to the assembly but the actual welding of the six parts that make up the bare arm. It it designed for compression and tension loading only. The sharkbite system puts torsional stress on the rear of the arm. These arms are stitch welded so at the very least they need to be fully welded.
The mounting setup of the bracket to the stock arm, in my opinion, needs to be welded. The current design allows movement since the main attaching point is a single center mounted bolt.
I would not use this system without a modified set of arms. Steel plate .250 versus .100 stamped sheet metal. I had Rodteq send me a set of VB offset arms and then I fully boxed the rear portion. I requested VB arms because of their stock design bushing. The other well known company in Fla still insists there is nothing wrong with theirs even though I have shown their dimensions to be up to 1/2" off.
I then had the brackets fully tig welded and mounted to the arms in the correct locations. I'm sure if someone asked Rodteq for pics of my mods he would take some.
Mike
 
Bottom line, same junk as steeroids. Those brackets are super thin cold welded by a money, no penetration pieces of crap too! Some day someone is going to kill himself with this speed direct stuff.

Can you get Rodteq to post the pics here? I'm sure ppl would be interested, i'm not going over there to post. Also, I think my half a page reply/post over there on the system was deleted. I can't find it but I know I never got an answer to all my questions and I didn't even go into the details about how iffy it was w/ the stock trailing arm, everything hanging from the trans crossmember bolt and what not.

Anotehr observation is the total lack of gussets or adequate gauge steel...in everything they build. They should invest in a bigger sheet metal brake.
 
I should see him this weekend. I may have to do the rear setup on it. I'll try to get him to post some pics here.
I have a big box coming your way.
Mike
 
tracdogg2 said:
Or at least a 220 volt welder.
Click to expand...

i have a feeling that someone is cutting their stuff from thin gauge sheets w/ a laser,water or plasma cutter and someone is @ home jigging this stuff up by hand (without an actual jig judging by tolerances) and then using his 110V little putt putt welder to weld this stuff.
 
If I built and marketed something that poor I'd have been sued out of existence by now. How do they get away with it? Will they continue to deliver sub standard products until someone gets hurt or killed?
 
Just to make it clear this is not a problem with Speed Direct. It has to deal with the people actually doing the welding and assembly for them. I've never dealt with them. They could be a great bunch of guys or guy. But he/they are responsible for the final product. And any liability. In case someone from Speed direct reads this thread I will make them the same offer I made V.S. I will be happy to tell them what's wrong with their product and what is needed to correct it. All they have to do is contact me. Although I am not interested in putting this system on my car I'm sure there are people that do and I want it to be as safe as possible. Instead of talking to me V.S. chose to bash me on CF and then had the thread pulled.
Mike
 
DeeVeeEight said:
If I built and marketed something that poor I'd have been sued out of existence by now. How do they get away with it? Will they continue to deliver sub standard products until someone gets hurt or killed?
Click to expand...

Given BK laws today, don't over estimate the collect ability on that crap....small corp goes BK every damn day...no biggie....

the chances of them/anyone like them having manufacturers and contractors' liability insurance are almost ZERO....

:shocking:

keep in mind, I personally dunno jack about welding....not good at it some decades ago...but have watched my welder friend do shit over the years...

learned a LOT of theory....like about grinding that V wedge, shit like that....

my experience with welding pre dated the net....

:rain:
 
i'd love the coilover/shocks. as for a cantilevered system, if you're going to that extent do it right. i'd yank the spare tire (which i already did) and mount the coilovers longitudinally off the rear crossbeam.
then again, i'm doing something similar. and completely different.
 
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