the difference between "race" and "tuner" parts - TRG vs. agency power

here are adjustible front swaybar links from TRG and agency power. the agency power heim joints are puny and kept braking. the TRG parts (i'm using gt2 swaybar links) are engineered rather than just put together. the TRG links give better range of motion and don't bind. at max lock the agency power links tightened up and tended to brake right at max lock. even though vividracing promptly sent me replacements, after my third set of heim joints, i was done with agency power... at least with their front sway bar links.

hey dude... can i stop by for a few minutes and hear your GHL?

Carlos, I had to laugh a little bit at your post. I purchased my first drop links from TRG. I broke them both in one weekend. Obviously that have improved them greatly since then. Jim

lol, i remember you telling me that the TRG parts are consumables. i had a look at them in person before i bought them and i was impressed by the the size of the joint 5/8"-3/8" vs. 3/8"-1/4". the conical machined spacers are a nice touch too. they increased rotation by 15~20 degrees and no longer bind. which drop links do you use? ERP?

sorry, GHL's are long gone. i have fabspeed now

can i ask you why you switched?

To be fair to TRG, the second set they sent were very strong and lasted a long time. I'm pretty sure I have ERPs now. I've stopped using heim joints from any of these companies including Porsche Motorsports. We found a local company that will sell to my mechanic that has heim joints many times stronger than what comes on the suspension components and for a fraction the cost. I assume they are intended for industrial use. Jim

Carlos... Haven't I helped you by sending you extra heims for free and the updated beefy ones? We have sold TONS and TONS of these and we have not seen this problem elsewhere. If the links are not at the correct length, it is possible to have to much torsion on them and that is why the heims can break.

the GHLs sounded wimpy, almost stock sounding. i went with GHL loud and they were only marginally louder. i double checked with GHL and they confirmed that they sent me the "loud" version. fabspeeds are louder than the GHL but not necessarily a better sound... they are on par. PSE, on the other hand, is the BEST sound and volume.

hey dan, yes you have been VERY helpful with the replacements. the one's in the picture ARE the beefy ones and they are still way smaller than the TRG ones. as you can see from the pics the shaft diameter is not beefy enough. the problem is when the links are at full lock, they bind then bend then finally break. there isn't enough range of motion. also, you need a stack of spacers between the hub carrier and the heim joint. without the spacers the angles the drop links are subjected too are even worse. i have tried the links short, long and everywhere in between. defintely short is the worst scenario, there isn't enough range of motion. long is ok but the joints still bind. the agency power links have broken 6 times and i was done with them. i am a good enough wrench to know how to install them properly. thanks for the help.

Carlos, I agree 1000%. FWIW, there are a couple of stock/sprint/oval car chassis companies that that will custom make any suspension link/component you want at about 1/10th the cost, of course it's not spray painted blue, but they are NASCAR spec. I'll get you their contact info. Chris

I know what you mean Karlooz. I had a couple of customers that bought them only to have the same thing happen I did tell Vivid Racing back in the day but not sure they took note of it. It seems to bind and the curved ones do help somewhat with the geometry with some of the different sway bars....

I have FabSpeed installed by the PO. They sound great, but do you have a problem clamping them to the stock pipe using the stock clamps? I can pull my mufflers off without loosening the clamps. Is there an aftermarket clamp I can use?

Here's a great place: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Search...x?keyword=heim

ya sharky, even though vividracing (dan) has been REALLY good about replacements, i just don't want to replace them anymore.. well... at least as frequent.

i have a slight problem with the left muffler hooking up with the cat pipes. the tubes aren't perfectly in line so there's a kink at the joint allowing a slight leak. it's not really a problem since the mufflers are down stream from the cats.

thx for the link

Yeah man.. I had so many issues with drop links myself back in the day and/or with JICs but thankfully those are behind The TRG curved ones have held up on my car for a good while.. then again, the only tracking I've been doing lately is in a straight line

we'll get you going on the twisties soon buddy! the white shark will be a hit at the pca and especially nasa events

Lol..Damn jim, i guess i'm just not driving hard enuff

So does that mean I'm gonna snap the stockers first time out on the track? They've been holding up so far with street tires and up to 1.0 Gs. I have the H&Rs

No you'll likely be fine. They tend to have issues when you use different sway bars and ball joint-type drop links with weak heim joints etc...

karlooz, Where did you buy your TRG drop links? Please advise.

theracersgroup.com ask for austin

karlooz, Thanks for piping up. I, too, get sick of all the under-engineered, over-priced dare I say "junk" that gets passed off on us. It's not the shaft diameter which is much thicker than the stock end links, it's the binding. If it binds, it will break. I have to check out your LWFW one of these days...

i wouldn't say it's "junk", there just isn't enough testing. overpriced, i would agree. i got wise and pieced the whole front kit together myself using the internet and came out under, and that's with a whole bunch of spare bolts/washers/nylock nuts and heim joints. of course, the TRG parts do have custom machining and a custom bent female threaded rod. i decided to make my own adjustible rear drop links since i haven't been able to find them. they need to be adjustible because my rear sway bar is slightly bent so i need to dial out some pre-load. ya, come by and check out the flywheel. i work in cupertino so maybe we can do lunch.

Thanks!

Agency Power works hard to design and produce a high quality adjustable front end link for the 996. This is a very successfull product with many happy users who have not experienced any binding or breaking of the links or hardware. We are aware of the rare breaking incidents and are looking at ways to prevent this from happening. We appreciate your support for our brand. Matt Jobin Agency Power

After reading all this, I would probably not buy the Agency Power end links. Call it a rare breaking incident, but one time is too many for me.