I've read the "Best Endlinks" thread, which hasn't been updated in a few years, so here's my question.

Can anyone offer any input on which of these two brands will last longer? I've had another brand, open Heim-joint type, and I'm sick and tired of all the noise and crappy hardware (which were issues from day 1). I want something quiet, and something which will stay that way for a ling time, so I'm looking for a sealed rod-end type. My '08 is very close to stock, with Hotchkis bars and springs. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

No coil over, not worried about corner balancing, get stock.

 

I appreciate that you took the time to respond, but at least in the front, that just doesn't work because of the geometry. The OEM front endlinks are far too long, and they end up angled more toward horizontal than vertical. This puts them at a tremendous mechanical disadvantage, and I'd almost bet there is as much deflection of the endlinks themselves as there is of the swaybar.

The situation is not the same in the rear, but I can tell you that my OEM endlinks wore out very quickly once I installed the Hotchkis bars. Previously (~20K miles) they were tight and quiet, but within the next 5K miles (after the Hotchkis bars) they became very loose and noisy, which is why I had to replace them with the Heim-jointed links. I think buying more OEM parts would just be throwing away more $.

What worries me about the Whitelines is the aluminum adjuster sleeve, but the joints themselves appear larger than the Powergrids. I just hate to spend almost $350 for another set of endlinks and have the same noise/wear issues reoccur.

I'd still like some input on the longevity of these 2 brands, if someone else would care to share their experiences. Thanks again.

 

I just ordered the Powergrids because of what I read on here regarding the noise. Apparently, even the Whitelines make noise eventually. But, I have no personal experience yet.

 

Does nobody have experience with the SPL links? They seem like the best quality in the pictures.

 

I can't say which is best, but I've had the Powergrids for 4 years now and haven't had any noise issues with them...

 

I ran OEM's for 90k miles without problems on a Hotchkiss bars. The Whiteline fronts till I broke one , now SPL.

What are your bars set at?

 

Hard to believe your OEM parts lasted that long. Front bar has always been set at 2nd softest (hole 2), while the rear is set at softest (hole 1).

The car is only driven on the street, and not very aggressively. The AMS endlinks on the car are minimally worn, but they've always been too noisy, and the crappy hardware needs tightening frequently. Wheels are the '08 18" OEM, and the car gets driven maybe 5-6K miles per year.

 

Forgot to ask, in what way did your Whiteline part break? Seems like the more I read, the Powergrids are the way to go.

 

I don't like the design of the powergrid links.





You can't really get those good and tight due to design, then I can see having issues with the jam nut coming loose and the link changing adjustment/coming apart.

The SPL endlinks have a bolt that goes all the way through, would have more range of movement, and the adjustment style while not as precise (would have to do half turns instead of very small adjustments for corner balancing) wont be able to screw up. The worst that can happen is the jam nut come loose and the eyelet will turn, but it can't come apart or change length.

 

The link can't change its length, even if the jam nut is loose because the rod ends aren't able to rotate on the adjuster more than perhaps 1/8 turn each. Look at any car, and you'll see this is the default design used on virtually every steering link setup, which is far more critical. Whether it's female to female with a connecting rod (Powergrid), or male to female (SPL), doesn't matter - the link can't come apart or change it's length by much, even w/o a jam nut.

One problem I've had with Heim-jointed designs, like the SPL, is that the thru-bolt hardware (which ties the link to the suspension or frame on one end, and the sway bar on the other end) always gets loose. And, believe me, I've used plenty of Loctite Red and Nylock nuts. Drilling and safety wiring or pinning the nut would surely work, though. The other is that I haven't found a Heim-joint which isn't soon noisy, whether it's used on a sway bar, steering rod, or other suspension link (experience with other cars I've had, not the Z). Just the nature of the beast. On a track car, that's fine, but for a street car I want quiet and long-lived, just like any other OEM suspension part. The Powergrids use OEM parts, re-purposed for sway bar use, rather than race car parts, and that seems to make good sense, at least to me. I won't try another open joint link again.

I'm most concerned about longevity, but 'microsteve40' posted above his Powergrids are 4 years old and still fine. Anyway, thanks for your input, and everyone else's, too.

 

I had a set of CZP heim joint endlinks which had all the problems listed above, and they drove me nuts. Finally bought Powergrids and haven't heard a sound. Bought them used from a member here, so they had some miles on them, but I can't say how many. So far, so good.

 

If the jam nuts come loose and the center piece vibrates and turns that would lengthen or shorten the endlink. If it lengthened enough it would come apart. I don't know if there is enough give in the sway bar setup for that to happen, that's just what I see in my mind.

I have a set of Hotchkiss bars at the shop waiting for me to install them, so I'm trying to figure out what endlinks I want to choose.

Noise isn't a problem for me. I have the creaky CV shafts, loud exhaust, solid bushings in the rear end and about to put solid bushings in the compresson rods. I also have a loud aftermarket stereo and short shifter. My car is everything except quiet. I have 3-4 rattles in the car from the exhaust resonating.

 

I've had the Powergrids on with Hotchkis sway bars for about 3+ yrs. These end links are impressive; don't know how they compare.

 

There's just too much compression on the endlinks to let the adjuster move freely. If you've ever tried to adjust this type of link, you'll see it actually takes quite a bit of torque, even with minimal loading on the bar. Seems like a non-issue. Also, remember, to adjust the SPLs you'll have to release one side of the endlink. Probably not that big a deal, since adjustment is only necessary during the initial install.

As for the noise, that's up to you, but squeaks, creaks, rattles, and knocks drive me f-ing crazy.

 

So far, 3 strong positives on the Powergrids, and 2 somewhat negative responses on the Whitelines. Looks like Powergrid endlinks are in my future.

 

I just ordered the rears Monday (eBay) and there were only 3 sets left. From what I've read in past posts they take a while to get back in stock. Food for thought.

 

They used to drive me crazy, then the Z kinda got me to get used to it. around 2500-3000rpm under normal acceleration there are like 2-3 panels that vibrate louder than my exhaust. I gave up trying to stop all of the noises.

I will probably never adjust the endlink, and I'll probably never change settings on my sway bars. But if I'm changing settings and the endlink needs adjusted it will already be loose where it can be adjusted.

I just want something strong enough I wont have to replace it.

 

Build them yourself , midwestcontrol.com

 

I purchased my Hotchkis bars used with SPL endlinks, reportedly with 10k miles on them. The SPL links had corrosion on the heim joint bearing surfaces and had definite resistance spots in motion. I would assume squeaking is a guarantee.

I resold them with a good warning to the purchaser and bought the Powergrid units (2.5 years ago). My only complaint is that they do not get short enough get the sway bars perfectly parallel with the ground.

Zero noise or loosening hardware after 20k miles, 3 different sway bar setting changes, and multiple auto X events.

Speaking of, I'm going to go one step stiffer on both front and rear this weekend