radius arms

[colintandy]

should i replace using  a  scorpion racing set   b  qt radius arms
my question is who is using either and can you give me some oppinions on either and is that what is sometimes making my steering a bit like steering a little boat in a galeforce 10  and makes you jumpey  when being pulled into those damn rutts on the motorways and also can anyone tell me what the safe speed for mud terrains is i was told bfg muds are good for 90 mph but i dont want to find out myself if they are they seem fine at 70 but has any one taken further i tend to swap back onto my all terrains normally but as these are new muds i want to run them in a little any thoughts welcome regards colin

[datalas]

I personally prefer the QT ones, search around in the bar and you may gather why...

As for whether they will correct vauge handling, quite possibly.  That is what they are aimed to do, a poor castor will affect the self steering of the vehicle, and make it wander a lot more.

As for the speed rating of your tyres, it should be printed on them.  There is a letter designation which will tell you how fast they are rated at.  yours should be Q or above (with A being insanely poor),  A Q-rated tyre is good for 100MPH (ISTR), and your disco, assuming it's a TDi is legally rated at around 97, ergo anything with a speed rating less than that is illigal and technically an MOT failure.

Most Mud-Terrains, in particular remoulds fall foul of this, although there are several tyres which have a better than Q rating for them.   All Terrains tend to get better speed ratings than MTs, and "new" tyres as oppose to remoulds tend to get higher still.  Although, most of that is just "tends to" and varies depending on tyre and manufacturer.

[colintandy]

ok thanks for that will have a look around bar as sugested yes mine are q rated just checked thanks

[muddysteve]

my bfg muds will sit a 90 no problem for extended periods of time (wont be doing tht in the rangie  :x  ), had it up to 95 and bottled it as at the time i was in serious need of some new bushes

Steve

[Henry Webster]

can you give me some oppinions on either and is that what is sometimes making my steering a bit like steering a little boat in a galeforce 10  and makes you jumpey  when being pulled into those damn rutts on the motorways

The castor correction or difference thereof may have some effect here, but it is just as likely to be other issues like the condition of the bushes, shock absorbers or tyre pressures.

As for a safe speed for Mud Terrains, that is entirely down to road conditions etc.  If your car feels like a boat in a force 10 then I would say that is too fast, regardless of what the tyres are rated for.

We hit about 90 mph on gravel tracks on the Hillrally the other weekend and we were using Kingpin Highlander remoulds.  Whether that was 'safe' I'll leave up to you!

[Xtremeteam]

We hit about 90 mph on gravel tracks on the Hillrally the other weekend and we were using Kingpin Highlander remoulds. Whether that was 'safe' I'll leave up to you! Wink

Gee,i though i was trampin on at 65 at the night safari on the wet greasy track along the quarry edge,was like pinball off the bankings,think thats how i bent the chassis as i took the entrance flat over the top & landed on the bumper  :twisted:

[Henry Webster]

We have to keep the pace on - on the smooth, because we can't keep up with the Bowlers and Tomcats in the rough!   And we like embarassing them!  :lol:

[chuggaman]

I have the scorpion ones

they work well and my steering self centres and feels right with 4 inch lift and 33s

problem is

as soon as you do the radius arms you will need to do the front prop

double cardon

bear this in mind with costing

mike

[Thrasher]

...unless you have a cat equipped V8 ... then you get a nice front prop as standard ;-)

Bloody expensive tho ...... (£400!)

I have a spare ;-)

[Range Rover Blues]

I didn't think the catalist prop was a Cardan though :?

[Budgie]

Like Chugga, I've got Scorpion radius arms fitted and notice the difference on the first drive. The vehicle used to "tramline", weave all over the place and require constant diver input to maintaine a straights line on the road.
As soon at the new radius arms were fitted it tightened up the steering back to what it was before a lift was fitted. :D

Like Chugga says, when you fit these it brings the nose of the diff down towards the ground and this vastly increases the angle of the transfer box U/J on front prop causing a pulsing in the U/J that is transmitted right through the vehicle. I don't know what this will be like with only a 2" lift but with the 3" lift I have it soon started to wreck the front output seal on the transfer box and can't be good news for the output bearing either!

Wide yoke front props don't cure the problem, the only way to go if you have the problem is with Caden jointed front propshaft from a TD5 Disco which you can get either second had form someone like Equicar or new from Devon 4x4. You will also need the transfer box output flange from the TD5 to mate the propshaft too.  

If you do a search through the Modified section there is a whole thread about the problems with the front proshaft.  

[Range Rover Blues]

I don't think that castor correction increases the transfer box UJ angle that much, the probelm is that it reduces the axle UJ angle to zero, so whereas without the castor correctiopn the 2 UJs are cancelling each other out (not completely but to an extent) once you fit it the 'fun' really begins.

[Budgie]

With the 3" lift on the vehicle the transfer box U/J was close to binding when sat on level ground once I'd fitted the caster correction arms. But I can see what you mean about the straight U/J at the diff end stopping them from cancelling each other out. :D

Colin, some light reading for you:
Here's the prevoius thread on the radius arms for you and this one is all about the front prorpshaft.  

[colintandy]

thanks for that budgie just read all them threads what a can worms have i gone and opend up  #-o here we go then so basically if i fit a new set radius arms and bushes and that will sort out the wanderring steering ect but could i say could cos mine has only a 2 lift it could cause me to have prop vibration problems due to the angle of the diff ect.. then the best way is to correct this is to  use a double carden front prop shaft is that correct :? or have i been reading this for to long and its all mixed up in me head :oops:

[Budgie]

That about sums it up Colin.

Tomcat Motorsport used to make special swivel housings that had been machined to correct the caster angle. I don't know if they still make them but if you could get a pair then they will sort the problem without changing the angle of the axle or the propshaft.

There,  now you're really confused!  :D

[Range Rover Blues]

I was seriously tempted by the Tomcar swivels too, as I needed new swivels come what may.  However, with a 2"lift you still have some imbalance in the prop UJ angles and the swivels only come with 6 degrees rotation anyway (ie a 4" lift), plus if you don't have the filler for the diff machined into the diff casing you can't get the correct oil level in there.  Also your damper bushes get stuffed a lot faster as they are twisted too.  On the positve side your damper and track rod are more out of harm's way and your prop stays away from the anti roll bar.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

[colintandy]

dont use them anti roll bars they restrict the axel movement  to much when vehicle is lifted took both front and rear off when i did lift on my truck

[Eeyore]

Wide yoke front props don't cure the problem, the only way to go if you have the problem is with Caden jointed front propshaft from a TD5 Disco which you can get either second had form someone like Equicar or new from Devon 4x4. You will also need the transfer box output flange from the TD5 to mate the propshaft too.

Spot on with the wide yolk - they only allow more movement, not increased life span.

For me, the cheapest way of going double cardon was to get a shaft custom built (or I could have just hoped to stumble across a good 2nd hand one). Custom build was less than some of the 2nd hand ones I saw!  Although I did go for an adaptor onto the o/p shaft instead of a TD5 job shaft - this means I also have a spare prop sat in the garage should I lunch the custom one at any time (which given the weekend is highly likely!!).

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[muddyweb]

My vote goes to QT

I know the company and the way they operate.  There was a fault on the *very* early radius arms...  it was being used on a safari racer, on the back axle (so not really normal conditions) and it failed.   QT recalled the *whole lot* and replaced them FOC with a modified design.

For my money, that sort of support and confidence is worth a lot.  There are other companies about who will just try to sweep such failures under the carpet... even in the face of repeated problems.