Ridetech new R Joints?

[130fe]

I was wondering if anyone has put their new joints into their 4 link suspension yet? Looking into them to get rid of the noisy heim ends I currently have. Any feedback would be appreciated.

https://www.ridetech.com/products/r-joint/

[oleyeller]

There's not much of a choice other than Johnny joints. ridetech says they are the only way to go. Wish I had known that before I ordered mine.... They have a retrofit kit Part # 11009516, comes with R-joints and a left hand 3/4-16 tap . They want somewhere around $650 for the kit. I think I will wear out my poly joints before I indulge.

[krom]

Guess I don't see what makes them worth twice as much as these:

https://www.spohn.net/shop/Del-Sphere-Pivot-Joints/

[oleyeller]

Those don't have a neat little R on them........

[Rod]

Guess I don't see what makes them worth twice as much

the spohn ones are chromoly housing unit with a chrome plated steelball, 28 degrees of available rotation, and you have to adjust them as they wear and select your own friction level as you manual adjust them and they need to be cleaned and greased......

the ridetech ones are investment cast stainless with rolled threads and polished stainless ball and special Delrin compound needs NO lubrication and has a spring loaded self adjuster so its always tight, 30 degrees of total lateral rotation, self cleaning design

that's what I found different on each website

[jasonz28camaro]

I just installed my new ridetech 4-link with the r-joints on my 68 and it is very quiet compared to my 96 camaro that had hiem joints. As for performance, I do not have an answer yet.

[TheJDMan]

Please let us know how you like them! I will be curious to see how they wear. I don't like the noise I get with my G-Link heim joints so I will have to keep an eye on these for possible replacements.

[Steve Chryssos]

It may be a while before there is any feedback on R-Joint wear. As part of our durability testing process, one of our test vehicles is a 5200lb Suburban. It was daily driven for 15,000 miles with a full family and gear in all weather. Likewise, we tested R-Joints in Smitty's Corvette throughout his championship-winning 2017 race season. We run them in both 48 Hour Camaros as well. We have not yet been able to measure appreciable wear in a street or autocross/track day environment. We will keep trying -- Promise....
Thanks
/Steve

[Sinnister69]

old thread but i have a question. if you got the double adjustable r joints on the bolt in 4 link, what keeps the rear housing from having lateral movement?. i have the first generation 4 link in my camaro with single adjustable lower bars and full heim joint upper bars. and i feel the lower bars keep the rear centered because of the solid mount that bolts to the torque box

[dontlifttoshift]

It is the triangulation of the upper bars that keeps the axle centered, not the bushing. If it could be done with bushings, other suspension designs wouldn't need a panhard bar or watts link.

[Josh@Ridetech]

It is the triangulation of the upper bars that keeps the axle centered, not the bushing. If it could be done with bushings, other suspension designs wouldn't need a panhard bar or watts link.

100% correct, thanks Donny

[130fe]

I wanted to give some feedback after putting some miles on them. The R-joints are night and day difference compared to my old style heim joints that cane with my original kit (circa 2008). No more squeaks and pops from articulation and it seems “smoother”.

Donny is 100% correct. Centering the rear is very easy With the upper bars. Besides setting the pinion angle, you are able to maneuver the rear but lengthening/shortening one side and doing the opposite with the other bar. Just do the same amount of turns/flats adjustment on each side.

[cpd004]

Interested to hear any other opinions on the updated design.

[Kraftwork69]

Interested to hear any other opinions on the update design.

My original upper bar heim joints did the "popping" noise once they warmed up. I recently replaced them with the "R" joints. Been on the road for about a week with them and so far so good. Nice and quiet and hoping they stay that way.

[Just 1 More]

I did the kit with the Double "R" joints, one on every end. I've only gone around the block a couple times but as soon as I get rims i'll be putting some miles on them and see how they are.

Resized_20201202_203928 by F G, on Flickr

[andrewb70]

I am about to install a complete ridetech A-body system with the R-joints, and I am pretty excited about it!

Andrew

[Mr Nick]

100% correct, thanks Donny

Josh, i already have UMI rear control arms with heim joints. Can I purchase R-Joints to replace just the heims, instead of getting all new arms? I'm not sure what the thread size is off the top of my head.