Hey guys and gals,

I'm finishing up with my suspension modifications and currently have a set of SPC rear toe bolts on the way. After a lot of reading, it's obvious that the bolts included in the kit are too weak, and the eccentric washers have too much slop and are too soft.

I have access to a machine shop and have already talked to a friend there who doesn't mind "beer jobs..." especially smaller things.

I currently have an extra set of 10.8 grade bolts laying around and plan on having them modified to act as the SPC bolts do, only much stronger. I might also have them designed with a different key so that not as much of the bolt material has to be removed.

The other thing I'm going to look as is having a much higher toleranced set of eccentric washers made out of a stronger material to eliminate the slop and that carries a matching key to the bolts.

If all goes according to plan, I'm wondering if anyone else would be interested in an upgraded version of the bolts?

I don't have any idea of price yet or number of kits I'll be able to make available, but first wanted to check and see if anyone else out there is in the same bolt as me and would like a superior alternative to the SPC setup.

Just let me know.

EDIT: Mods, if there's a more appropriate section for this, please move it at your discretion. Chose this section as it seems to get a good deal of traffic.

 

pretty sure someone already did this on my350z

 

are you talking about something like lockout washers? or just making stronger eccentric washers?

http://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-s...arms-pics.html

http://my350z.com/forum/suspension/5...t-washers.html

 

I'm talking about making a stronger eccentric washer kit with upgraded bolts. AKA the SPC rear toe kit on steroids.

 

This post details the problems with the SPC toe bolt kit that I'm looking to correct:

http://my350z.com/forum/8293599-post19.html

 

SPL makes an SPC kit on steroids made of titanium

http://www.conceptzperformance.com/C...699.238.17.198

 

Red, you're thinking of a completely different thing buddy.

Look at the link I posted above.

An eccentric lockout kit does just what it states and locks the bolt in one specific place. To be able to utilize the eccentric lockout kit for toe in the rear, you have to have adjustable toe arms. In order to use adjustable toe arms you need to go to a true coilover setup in the rear, or buy the $600+ SPL rear spring buckets.

The SPC eccentric kit offers a wider range of adjustment by moving the washer further to one side, allowing it to articulate further in an enlarged opening.

I've heard of a couple guys having 10.8 grade bolts machined down, but I haven't seen in all of my research any kind of hands on (bolts, washers, and the way they fit together) upgrade to the SPC kit.

 

ah i see, let me know what u come up with

might be interested

 

lol these are not made out of titanium. The plates are T6061 aluminum (the most common aircraft grade - but definitely not the strongest) and the bolts are steel.

 

^you are correct, I guess my eyes were seeing things at 3am

 

Here's a couple of teaser shots from tonight:



The new 10.9 bolts being machined down.




New eccentric washers about halfway through their program on the CNC machine.


So here's what we've come up with:

First and foremost, instead of removing a ton of material from a single side of the bolt to "key" it, we are removing material from both sides of the bolt. This actually gives more flat surface to hold the washers straight, and takes less total material out of the bolt (to further guard against stretching). It should also give the torque nut a better grip on the bolt (so it'll hold that torque better). Another benefit is that since there is a flat side toward the outer edge of the washer, there's more material there now which should make it stronger.

Second, and equally important, we CNC machined new washers out of stainless. The original SPC washers are machine punched which makes them very sloppy with a larger radius on one side of the washer and a smaller radius on the flip side. The punching also makes the key hole very sloppy (some have found up to 5 degrees of slop in that area alone). The washers will fit snugly now on the bolts, and also carry the new key design. The bolt center is in the same position on these as the SPC's, so the adjustability will still be +/- 3 degrees.

Finally, we've decided to weld the washer closest of the bolt head to the bolt to mimic the OEM design. This will eliminate any chance of rounding out of the washers..

I should have the finished products tomorrow night. I'll still be utilizing the SPC pattern to enlarge the toe bolt holes on the car, as the adjustment will be the same as the SPC kit.


I've talked to my guy that's making the new parts, and he says he won't mind doing up a few kits. I just have to talk pricing with him.

 

Why can't you just recreate the OEM style, with just a small v-groove cut out of the bolt?

 

Eibach already do a kit with this design for the 350Z/G35, they work just as well as the std bolts.

 

You may want to look again. The Eibach kit is nothing more than the SPC kit rebranded and sold for a $20 mark up. Please try to refrain from spreading the wrong information in my thread. I'm trying to do this to help the community a little bit and misinformation such as yours only hurts the knowledge base on this site.

 

We looked at several different designs and decided on ours as the one that blended function with ease of manufacture the best.