V1 Spherical upper strut mount group buy

[duthehustle93]

Thank you all for your ongoing patience. Unfortunately, shipment will need to be pushed back slightly for some. I have updated the Timeline.

The spherical bearing bore requires a tight tolerance for the intended interference fit, and a significant number of bores in the second lot measured a couple tenths oversize on the CMM. I’m almost positive retaining compound would compensate for the lighter press fit, but quality is more important than expediency, so I chose to reject them rather than ship parts I wasn’t fully happy with.

The remade second lot is scheduled to arrive the weekend of the 23rd/24th. However, I’ll be running the Thunderhill 25 Hour (+1 Minute) race that weekend, so assembly for those kits won’t happen until the weekend of the 30th/31st.

With that said, shipment for the first lot of parts mentioned in post #99 is still happening this weekend, shipping in the order payments were received. All remaining orders will use the second lot and are expected to ship June 1st.

First lot is only 15 parts (7 sets) and being distributed as follows:

• Testing (shipped 5/1):
  • Me
  • MarkM
  • Sparvy
• This leaves 4 sets left, and the first 4 to pay me were:
  • Gtstorey
  • Rttoys
  • WYgoblin
  • Indy Lonnie

Non-timeline updates:

Testing: I made a last-minute decision to camp and run the entire weekend, so this kit now has two track days on it. No issues were found, but I’d still like to pull everything apart tomorrow for inspection and see if anything shows up.

Additional post-group-buy kits: because the machine shop already has to set back up to remake part of the second lot, and since people are still messaging me asking to get in on this, I asked them to make additional sets. I’m making 6 extra sets total; 2 are already spoken for, so there are 4 remaining.

That said, I lose bulk discounting on the additional hardware for these extra sets, and the group buy is officially over at this point, so post-group-buy pricing will be $295/set shipped.

 

[KSLunsfo]

No issue for timing far as I'm concerned, just glad to know the quality is being taken seriously.

When I hear parts are being rejected for tenths that further solidifies the emphasis on quality!

 

[duthehustle93]

Testing: I completely disassembled the kit that I ran on my car that ran a full track day weekend, and everything looked perfect. The two test kits that I sent out also have positive feedback, and no issues.

The last of the first batch kits are going out tomorrow to Gtstorey, Rttoys, WYgoblin, and Indy Lonnie; thank you for your prompt payment!

For everyone else: thank you for your patience while the shop finishes up the second batch.

 

[duthehustle93]

Murphy is alive and well -- the final lot was shipped in two boxes; one of them arrived early, and the other one is delayed until Tuesday.

The good news is this box has enough parts in it to fulfill 8 or 9 kits. I don't know if it will be 8 or 9 because I've been match-fitting my bearings to the CMM report attached to the lot. If I can't find a matched pair I'm happy with, I'll have to wait for more bearings and/or spherical mounts to come in. This means that everyone listed in the OP up to #15 (95 blitz) will be shipped this weekend. #16 (David) will ship this weekend if I can find a matched pair that I'm happy with, or it will wait until the middle of the week if I need more inventory.

Everyone #17 (Stretch2126) and further will ship middle of next week next weekend.

 

[David]

Murphy is alive and well -- the final lot was shipped in two boxes; one of them arrived early, and the other one is delayed until Tuesday.

The good news is this box has enough parts in it to fulfill 8 or 9 kits. I don't know if it will be 8 or 9 because I've been match-fitting my bearings to the CMM report attached to the lot. If I can't find a matched pair I'm happy with, I'll have to wait for more bearings and/or spherical mounts to come in. This means that everyone listed in the OP up to #15 (95 blitz) will be shipped this weekend. #16 (David) will ship this weekend if I can find a matched pair that I'm happy with, or it will wait until the middle of the week if I need more inventory.

Everyone #17 (Stretch2126) and further will ship middle of next week.

No rush I rather have a good QC like your doing then rush and have issues. Keep up the great work.

 

[duthehustle93]

No rush I rather have a good QC like your doing then rush and have issues. Keep up the great work.

Appreciate it David! I just finished measuring my bearings and comparing those to the CMM report - I have 8 nominal kits, and 1 that would be "fine" but not optimal. I'll wait for additional parts to come in for your kit; I much prefer shipping quality, so I appreciate the confirmation. Thanks for your patience!

 

[duthehustle93]

8 more kits packaged and will be going out tomorrow! They are for:

1. Comegetjoe - Wednesday
2. Jaredthenav - Saturday
3. SmsDetroit - Friday
4. OptimizePrime - Wednesday
5. ToxicBill - Tuesday
6. KSLunsfo - Wednesday
7. Meansol - Tuesday
8. 95Blitz - Wednesday

You should all receive them by this weekend. Just checked on everyone's tracking and unfortunately only a couple are making the weekend cutoff: I've updated above for your arrival date.

 

[SmsDetroit]

Awesome. Perfect timing. I just got the trans back in and need to realign the rear end

 

[Sparvy]

So I was fortunate enough to get a set of these a few weeks ago and have been street driving on them for 100 miles or so when the weather has cooperated. Yesterday I was finally able to get to the track for the first time this year and of course I put the car off into the tire wall passenger rear tire first. I haven't been able to tear into things yet but the new mount seems to have held up with no damage. Once I'm able to get it all apart I'll update with some pics and a good once over of the mount. The hit was hard enough to bend the billet lower rear mount on the big brake kit that Justin put together awhile back and possibly the front adjustable toe bar. Car was pretty quick till the driver ran out of talent.

 

[duthehustle93]

So I was fortunate enough to get a set of these a few weeks ago and have been street driving on them for 100 miles or so when the weather has cooperated. Yesterday I was finally able to get to the track for the first time this year and of course I put the car off into the tire wall passenger rear tire first. I haven't been able to tear into things yet but the new mount seems to have held up with no damage. Once I'm able to get it all apart I'll update with some pics and a good once over of the mount. The hit was hard enough to bend the billet lower rear mount on the big brake kit that Justin put together awhile back and possibly the front adjustable toe bar. Car was pretty quick till the driver ran out of talent.

Crash testing wasn't part of the testing plan! All jokes aside, it sounds like you're alright? That's all that really matters.

I'm very curious to see how they held up. I'm having some extra mounts made for spares and to post up later for others who aren't as active on the forums. If it's damaged at all, don't risk it, I'll send you a new one.

 

[Rttoys]

Any video of the off? For science

 

[Sparvy]

Crash testing wasn't part of the testing plan! All jokes aside, it sounds like you're alright? That's all that really matters.

I'm very curious to see how they held up. I'm having some extra mounts made for spares and to post up later for others who aren't as active on the forums. If it's damaged at all, don't risk it, I'll send you a new one.

Yah no injuries. The hit was pretty minor so I was surprised how much it bent but it was right to the back edge of the tire so I think the forces were just right. I'll post what I find for sure and I appreciate you having a few spares available just in case.

 

[Sparvy]

Any video of the off? For science

Of course I didn't mount the go pro the one time I really could have used it. I'm checking with the 2 911's that we're behind me to see if they caught it.

 

[SmsDetroit]

I got mine in the mail today. Going to be stall them tomorrow. Thank you for designing and putting these together

 

[duthehustle93]

Last sets of strut mounts have been boxed up and will go out tomorrow! With that said, this wraps up the group buy. Thank you all for joining in on this and supporting the project.. I had fun doing it!

A couple notes:

• A second batch of these being run right now (as of 28JUN), if you want another set, message me ASAP as this is the last run I'll be doing.
• I will keep an inventory of spare parts to support these for the coming years, so if you need something, have questions, or an issue pops up, feel free to reach out.

Replacement parts:

• Internal retaining rings: McMaster 90442A534
• Bearings: COM10T-F1 (the ones shipped were 'FK' brand)
• Dust cap o rings: Trade size 140 (50 durometer - soft)
• Dust cap screws: McMaster 92949A535
• Square nut: McMaster 98694A120

I've attached the following documents:

• Updated instructions (updated information for bearing replacement)
• pre-shipment assembly instructions (this was my checklist before shipping the kits.. I'm not sure if it's relevant to any of you)

I've attached the following STL's:

• Snap ring go / no go: For verifying that the snap ring fully expanded in the groove
• Bearing installation jig: There are two files, a larger one that is set to the OD of the 3d printed spring centering ring, and one that centers about the part before a spring centering ring is installed. If you are replacing a bearing, I recommend removing the spring centering ring, and using the smaller jig, as that's more accurate. Print this out of ABS or similar for heat tolerance while working with a hot strut mount.
• Dust covers w/ a rounded or chamfered top. These can be printed without support. I used matte PETG. I recommend printing these pretty dense so you're properly supporting and squeezing the o-ring.
• Spring centering ring: I used regular PETG and printed these solid

Repost of video instructions:

@Gtstorey @comegetjoe @jaredthenav @SmsDetroit @Rttoys @Markm @Indy Lonnie @OptimizePrime @Sparvy @WYGoblin @ToxicBill @KSLunsfo @Meansol @95Blitz : The bearing replacement section on the second page of the instructions you have has been revised. If you are keeping a hard copy for the service section, please print the new instructions attached. If you aren't keeping a hard copy, then you don't need to do anything. These instructions will live on here, and I also put the updated instructions in the youtube video. I experimented with bearing removal on some scrap parts, and it's not as straightforward as I originally planned. My design intent was to press out the old bearing off the ball, but what happens is you turn the bearing into a wedge anchor. I've updated the service section in the instructions with a few viable options.

 

[Sparvy]

So I was able to tear down the passenger rear suspension today and the good news is the mount as well as the strut didn't take any damage. I took a few pics but forgot the disassembled bearing and strut shaft as I was a bit distracted giving them a look over. Hopefully DF will be able to supply the 2 parts I need to get it sorted and back on the road.

 

[Indy Lonnie]

Installed mine tonight. Everything looked in spec.
FYI - I ordered new 10” springs by accident. They fit with rear fenders.

 

[95Blitz]

Mine made it in Wednesday. Great looking parts, thanks.

 

[duthehustle93]

Mine made it in Wednesday. Great looking parts, thanks.

Awesome, great to hear! Thanks for joining in on this so we had enough people to make it happen!

 

[duthehustle93]

At the moment, I only have 1 extra set of these, and unfortunately the machine shop has broken down their setup for these parts. I'll need to process a separate/new order if I want to make more of these, which means a minimum of 10 sets for it to be worth it. They will be $295/kit shipped. With that said, please PM me if you missed out on the group buy and want a set of these. I'll post up in the fb groups as well to see if there's enough people out there before I close this out.