Tie Bar Bolts
Turbo Mini Forums

Here we go with another of my dull as dish water posts:

What spec bolts are people using to connect their front tie bars to the to bottom arms? I've currently got good old grade 5 (which I use for every thing when I don't know waht bolt to use) but thinking about the loads going throught these little 5/16th bolts I'm wandering if I should get a pair of grade 8. What do you reckon, other than I need to get out more.

well 8.8 grade are fine but..... i go over the top

just because i have hundreds of them

i use M8 cap screws with a long shank on them & a nylock nut grade 12.9

now these are realy over the top ....lol

yes you nee dto get out more,lol,

use alloy .

carl

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

Another thing to make sure of is that the shank is long enough to go most of the way through the arm and tie bar, as the threads are a slightly smaller diameter and that can lead to movement in the connection.

I also use 12.9 grade capheads as per Benross.

I use whatever's on the floor LOL

Alex

AlexF

cable ties???

Use caps. these are best for stressed high loads situations. As Tom sais it is important that all the loads from the components are supported on the smooth area of the bolt ( Called the Grip also commonly called the shank). The thread is only there to put a nut on or to screw into thread, Not for supporting loads.

USE ALLOY.

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

I *think* Carl is referring to alloy STEEL bolts....

i wondered how long it would take you clever Tom,

WWW.FORCE-RACING.CO.UK PLEASE CLICK HERE

your right carl, i need to get out more! buddy.........lol

Rob pm me with your address and i will pop some in the post for you

Generally speaking the BZP nuts you get from propper suppliers will be fine. Remember the bolt has to endure all its tensile load through its cross section. The nut on the other hand is kinda in compression and the force is spread over a number of turns of thread into the body of the nut. As a general rule you should have 1.5 times your bolt diameter to thread into. So if your using an 8mm bolt you should be able to screw it into 12mm of female thread.

Use cap head bolts where you can on suspension etc. Money well spent if it stops a corner falling of and you a trip to hospital. On a good race car build you wont see anything less than a 12.9 Cap and usually even better aerospace bolts.

All imperial caps are 12.9 unless its stamped on the head as anything different, i have seen 10.9's. So if its a good imperial cap with nothing on the head its a 12.9. All metric caps have the spec stamped on them.

Good bolts are made by the likes of Unbrako and Holo-Krome.

think i need to get out more to, sounds like i have a bolt fetish !!! lol

thast greet info there Mirage (whats ya real name I can't call you that lol).

I ought to get some proper bolts then :)

alex

AlexF

so wheres a good bolts suppliers then in the northwest or tinternet, theres one near my work but they dont sell individual items you have to spend a fortune. and id often worried about them little tiny bolts on the tie bars.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

My names Richard but everyone calls me Barney.

To be honest getting the quality of bolts your looking for from a local supplier is difficult. Most will stock a some metric caps but few stock any imperial. If you want them they will usually order you a box which may be between 50 - 100 bolts.

Have a look at http://www.tridentracing.co.uk

I use these guys a lot as they are local to me at work. They are not cheep but they do carry a very good stock of just about any imperial or metric cap you would want. This includes button and countersunk heads. They also carry good range of aircraft spec fasteners, but these are VERY expensive, but are exellent and look the t*ts. The 12 pointed head ones are usually the best quality. These have to be used with special washers under the head as they have a large radius under the head.

I just got myself a load of titanium NAS bolts for my own formula ford im building. These are so sexy !!! lol

On mine I used 998 rod bolts and drilled the arms out to suit, they have a nice shank to locate on and A+ head or big end nuts fit, all high grade items from the spare bits bucket!

One of my favorite tricks is to use A+ bigend or head nuts wherever possible, for example the fit on the bottom arm pin with the wiggle in it. I've also used them on the rear front subframe mounts (need drilling bigger though).

Edited by Joe C on 3rd Sep, 2006.