by spencerforhire » Wed May 19, 2010 6:49 am
I am a firm believer in "do it right the first time", and I am building my race car with a lot of parts that are designed to handle way more power and abuse than it will ever actually experience- like a 9" rear with 35 spline axles, billet axle ends, back braced housing, Daytona pinion support, etc. and a Powerglide with an Ultrabell housing.
If the entry level, economy rod ends from Summit, Jeg's and QA1(all in the $12-$15 range) weren't safe to use on a 2200lb high 9 second car, I'm sure they wouldn't recommend OR sell them for that application. If I were building a 4000lb car or using a 1000hp motor(like the trans and rear are designed for) I would be using the pricier chrome moly rod ends for sure. I'm thrifty, not stupid. Not that anyone on this board would ever call another member stupid; that would be more likely over on "yellowbullet"!
It all boils down to whatever makes you comfortable, and spending money on good quality parts can never be a waste; you're buying peace of mind. Considering you can spend up to $70(!!!!!) on a rod end, the ones that tzoom is looking at from Summit are actually a pretty good deal in the price/strength department.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....
Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca