Ok so no Micheal Bay type explosions, but I’ve got a suspension problem that I’d love to get some input on. This is long “because Racecar”.
I’ve destroyed one oem axle, two or three advance “GSP” axles, and one new Napa axle. All were on the drivers side and failed in the outside boot, knuckle,etc right next to the hub.
So for starters here is my suspension setup-
1992 DA9 LS
Koni Race struts
Ground Control adjustable perches
Eibach springs 800lbs front, 900 rear
GC s2000 tophats
Prothane Bushings (everything except new oem center lower control arm bushing and rear trailing arms, used oem crv bushings, double pressed w/ stock bushing sleeves)
Deleted front sway bar, CRX st bar in the rear with custom brackets.
Aftermarket traction bar with adjustable radius rods (Full Race)
Quaife lsd (not suspension but may be a factor here with increasing the abuse level on that left side)
-3 degrees camber in the front
1 degree or so of toe out
1 degree or so of negative caster
Front is raked 1 inch lower from the rocker panel by the seam weld (5 inches front, 6 rear respectively)
Full softness on the front struts for autox, one turn off full stiff (front) for road course (rear is always just a bit off full stiff)
So, the problem is that I keep eating axles at track days. The shaft on several occasions has pulled itself out of the CV past the snap ring and stripped all the grooves from the spline resulting in loss of control and movement. (Car pulls harshly to the left as the shaft comes out or is stripped)
Also, I’ve had the cage itself explode/disintegrate on entry to a corner at 80ish mph. (All on the road course)
So, I’ve gathered that these could be the culprits.
- Ride height too low. (I had raised the front to 5.5 inches ITA heights are 5.25; Friday for a track day and the Napa axle lasted only 5 laps on the first session)
I’ve been told there needs to be play when I reach under the car and grab the axle shaft and move it. If there is not then the axle will burn out (the right side has play, the left with the broken NAPA axle does not, it is tight). Also, I’ve been told I need to measure height from the piston of the shock, not from the rocker panel.
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No front sway bar allows for extreme angles under power in cornering.
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Crappy pos Chinese parts house axles?
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Engine mounts could be changing the angle the engine sits at, thus affecting axle geometry (Hasport mounts, the engine seems to be turned a degree or two counter clockwise in relation to the firewall, not sure if this is normal or not I have no reference point)
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The caster; the axles are angled back somewhat extremely from exiting the transmission to the hub (also, one radius bar has more threads showing which means that one rod is more extended than the other I would think, one wheel seems to sit farther back caster wise the the other in relation to the fenders, but the car always zero’s out and aligns correctly when on the alignment machine)
I’m kind of getting frustrated at this recurring problem and it would be awesome if any of you guys had any ideas. I would hate to just throw money at it with some RAXLES or Driveshaft shop axles only to destroy those too.