RX2 castor control - Legal?

[Warps]

I'm still playing with options for castor control on the RX2, and am trying to find alternatives to the "hack saw" modification on the sway bar. Long story short - I have a modified sway bar, but the end of the thread has been cut off, so the available length is insufficient for the pressed steel LCA's I'm going to use. (If this doesn't make sense to you - just ignore it. It's there to answer some questions that would have probably come my way).

HAving read the CAMS manual, I can't really tell whether my proposed modification is allowable or not (no surprises there, right??)

I'm considering cutting out the sway bar to chassis mount, and replacing it with a 2-piece clamp arrangement. This will raise the sway bar body mounting position approx. 40mm (perfectly legal laccording to CAMS manual). The sway bar will be connected to the LCA using drop links (to provide onlu roll control, but no castor control).

Then make up new castor rods (spherical rod end to mount into a clevis at the approximate original location for the sway bar body mount) and bent at the rear to go through the original LCA sway bar mount. This castor rod would be threaded at both ends to provide as much castor adjustment as you need, and can be raised or lowered to play around with anti dive settings.

This setup would solve many of the RX2's handling and other issues, and as far as I can see, would be legal (although the addition of separate castor rods doesn't really seem to be covered anywhere). Does anyone have comments on this? I know it would work (hey, it works on Datsuns ) which leads me to believe that it won't be allowable, since I don't know of anyone else having done it before.

Thoughts?

[afifield]

Sway bar-to-chassis mounting point is a suspension mounting point, so therefore must remain in place, in the original location.

If what you're proposing can be bolted onto the original mounting point (which I doubt), it's all good.

Just a hint - It would be cheaper to buy an adjustable sway bar (custom if necessary) than to make up what you're proposing.

Keep in mind that you could make spacers of various thickness to sit between the bush and the chassis to move the sway bar up and down. Might not be 100% legal(not sure), but harder to notice. If it's not legal, I know one red RX2 that wouldn't get a start with what it has done.

[Warps]

That's what I would have thought, except for this:

[B]3.5 Suspension:[/B]

(iv) Anti sway bars are free, as are their anchorage points. These points may be used for the mounting of reinforcement bars.

Now what I'm proposing actually leaves the castor rod mount point in exactly the same place, but relocates the ARB (free according to what I quoted out of the current CAMS manual above). I know I'm adding 2 extra suspension components to achieve what I'm proposing. That may be the sticking point.

I know that I can get an adjustable ARB, or modify my own, but I don't really like the existing design, and I'd still end up with bad flex in the castor rods (I can move one end of the ARB several mm by hand, and watch the other end move just as far while the bar flexes in the middle).

Also, as I put in longer LCA's, the bar becomes increasingly difficult to mount into the LCA's. Combined castor rod / ARB has too many compromises IMHO, and I prefer having separate items.

I know these arguments might not hold a lot of water to many people, but I don't mind taking on a challenge, if it's going to work better than other options

[Kaptainballistik]

Anti dive kit is legal ( Got "unnofically" protested and declared ok)

Because its an anti Rollbar mount you can move it as long as the fixing point is the same.

[Kaptainballistik]

You have a PM.....

[Ben Wilson]

As long as the mount bolted up to the original sway bar mounts (which may need some reinforcing), it all looks legal to me.

Bear in mind that if it's anything like an Escort, your tension strut is going to need to have a kink in it or you won't be able to reach full lock.

One of http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tension-strut-...742.m153.l1262, could come really close to fitting with minor modifications..

[Warps]

The swaybar mounts are plated and reinforced to buggery already. Simple way would be to cut the whole shibang off where I want the join to be, flange and modify the join (so the sway bar fits into the clamped bit), bolt back together with the tension rod / radius rod / strut bar / castor rod (take your pick) mounted to where the ARB used to sit.

I might get away with minimal bending if I move the mounting clevis for the castor rod to the very inside of the original mount (still technically within the original mounting point) and having big offset on the front (which I'm planning anyway). At worst, might need a small bend in the castor rod.

[afifield]

I think that the "spirit" of the rules are that an ARB can be added to the car if it wasn't produced with one. Where it is added, the mountings are free.

In a Capella/RX2, the ARB is a critical suspension component (i.e. you can't drive the car without it, so comes under the suspension mounting point stuff.

Good luck with figuring it out and if you get stuck, refer to my post in the crap/gold thread.

[buzz]

I think I have a spare kmac 'adjustable' swaybar in the garage if that is just easier....