Toe links explained??
 

Hi guys im looking into replacing my toe links (ive been loooking at them neat ones from fightgarage with the dust seals) now to the questions if anyone has any info dont be shy fill me in..

1) Does the standard toe links have a rubber bush surrounding the pillowball because looking at them it looks like it does but i just read when doing some searching that they are a zero compliance and there is no rubber surround.

2)whats the drive like when installing zero compliance toe links,,,im not into rally sport or dragging but it just seems so much cheaper and smarter to install these links than the expensive standard parts. (is ride quality compromised??)

thankyou for reading/ replying.

The stock toe links use rubber bushings, not pillow ball bearings. They have some compliance, although fresh bushings are usually much better than the worn-out bushings on the car.

(Pet peeve - people who complain about the performance of their worn-out stock parts vs. the new aftermarket replacement - they don't consider the fact that maybe the difference was that the old ones were simply worn out!?! Nobody ever makes a fair comparison). That said, toe links do play an important role in suspension performance, so going to lower compliance joints is a commonly agreed practice in transforming a street car to a race car. So they have a legitimate niche.

Generally toe links don't transmit much road vibration, not as much as say control arm bushings or differential mount bushings. Toe links simply keep the rear tire oriented, and the amount of compliance doesn't really affect the smoothness in the direction of suspension compression.

The only downer is that zero-compliance types do wear out also. So while the stock toe link bushings get a lot of flack, the aftermarket ones often don't last as long.

Dave

dgeesaman are you sure its just rubber bushing ive got one here in my hand and it doesnt move like a normal rubber bush,,,looks more like the pillow balls ive just put in the upper and lower rear arms ,,, only they look like they are surrounded by a thin rubber bit??? some one shed some light

They are pillowballs, not solid bushings.

I think both ends of the stock toe links (which I still have on my car) are pillow balls - both ends move freely (not with springy resistance like a rubber bushing) when they are are unbolted. And I think (I just replaced the outer PB on the LH one a couple of weeks ago) that both of them are called PB's in the parts list. IIRC, one has "230" as part of its number, and the other has "220" as part of its number.

Dave

DaveW how could you tell the bushing in the arms were knackered. ive got a pair of spare arms here,, the pillows move about freely but i cant feel no play in respect to knocking movement accross the axis (if you know what i mean?)

I apologize - I dug out the set of toe link bushings I have yet to install, and yes they are in fact pillowballs.

But they are pillowballs with the outer portion encased in rubber. That means they have the range of motion of a pillowball with the compliance of a bushing.

Dave

1. The rubber parts you see, IIRC, are just the seals to keep dirt out of the pillowballs. There is no rubber "cushion" around the outer one - (edit) the inner one I'm not so sure about.

2. The pillow balls are replaceable, and when you do, they just press into the toe link...

Dave

The problem is for the price of all 4 pillowballs on these standard toe links i can get a nice new set of aftermarket ones (not saying the aftermarket ones are gonna be 10 times better) ,, but they are new and all bushing installed by the way these are the ones im looking at...
http://www.fighters-garage.com/rx7.html

(please note even though dust sheilds arent show they do come with them)

soooo:- dgeesman,,, im studying the toe links close here,,,,one pillow ball has no rubber surround (zero compliance) the other end has a pillow with a small rubber surround sort of like a pillow ball mounted into a rubber bush (with the after market zero compliance bushing on both ends shouldnt really affect vibration at all should it,,, that one small rubber end cant make that much difference can it ??)

If it didn't make a noticeable difference, it would have been built originally without it to get more precise handling. Almost all rubber bushings exist to reduce noise and harshness.

Dave

Good point DaveW,,,, now what i need to know who has aftermarket toe links and what is the ride quality like?

The big (inner) one is basically the little (outer) one with an outer bushing.

Dave

Which would explain why Mazdaspeed only offer a replacement inner bushing (with stiffer rubber).

Ahah! Thanks, DaveG - that makes sense :uh:

Dave

Anyone know the costs of all 4 toe link bushes from malloy?

Each bushing is about $55. Dunno what shipping would nick you though.

Dave

lol rob me you mean,,,, shipping is $55 from malloy thats where i got the pillow balls,,,,thanks again to everyone,, think im gonna stick with stock bushing