Rear Upper Wishbone Cracks

[phenoyz]

Update on the after market wishbone?

[Whitey]

Racefan hasn’t been on here since 2021, but I have sent RRR an email today to see if they are still developing this part.

[Whitey]

RRR replied to me this morning and stated that they are currently testing them on cars and will provide an update in a few weeks.

[agentdr8]

I just received a pair in the US from a pre-production batch. They look very well constructed, and with all replaceable bushings. Kudos to Gregor over at RRR for the quick turn-around time. 

For future reference, the two bolts that hold the end bushing on should be torqued to 45 nm per RRR. 

 

[Whitey]

They look great, do you know what metal they are made from?

[agentdr8]

8 hours ago, Whitey said:

They look great, do you know what metal they are made from?

Aluminum billet. Unsure of which grade though. 

[Vulcan Grey]

I'd also be interested in the aluminum alloy and the anodizing spec?

[agentdr8]

6061-T6 with a hard anodization per RRR. 

[Gareth44]

Hair line crack in each of mine found today (2015 S SR, 47k miles, no track or curbing etc.). Not visible to the naked eye but my mechanic knew to check and once they were clean, there the cracks were.

[Whitey]

Are you thinking of replacing with RRR ones, assuming they are now available, or just go oem ones?

[agentdr8]

As a comparison point, the RRRs are adjustable (even if you leave it at stock camber), and the design allows for easy replacement of all bushes. Plus there's no casting seam since they're machined, so a chance of crack reoccurrence is low. 

Price-wise, I think they're highly competitive compared to OEM, and at this point, might be easier to obtain. 

@Gareth44Good catch by your mech, and glad it was before the cracks allowed the bushing to move. If the bushing slides forward, it allows for contact between the outer CV gaiter and the lower spring perch, which can tear a hole. Wouldn't be a big problem if the gaiters were available from Lotus, but they haven't been for the past ~2 years unless you buy a complete driveshaft assembly. 

[Spanky3]

Where are the RRR wishbones available from? Sorry if that's a silly question but Google has failed me.

[agentdr8]

RRR Engineering - But they're not posted on their site still (has been about ~3 (?) years since they were announced). I reached out to Gregor Pekala (greg_at_rrrengineering_co_uk) directly and asked if they had any to sell, and he was able to ship me a pre-production set. Last I heard, they were nearing production on them. 

[pixelmix]

22 hours ago, Gareth44 said:

Hair line crack in each of mine found today (2015 S SR, 47k miles, no track or curbing etc.). Not visible to the naked eye but my mechanic knew to check and once they were clean, there the cracks were.

I replaced a cracked one last month too. I think it cracked on my way to the garage to get some other work done as it was a clean crack and I hadn't noticed anything off with the handling, (except for a slight knocking sound as I pulled away from lights round the corner from the garage). 

I thought about doing the other side pre-emptively but now that I know what to look for I'm just keeping an eye on it for now.

[Gareth44]

I'm not entirely sure what they are being replaced with, to be honest.

When my mechanic called he said that Lotus didn't have any or would take ages, I can't remember which, but that one of his contacts did, so they should be here by the end of the week.

He did say though, when I asked about the price, that they were just below £300 each. When I did the customary groan, he said the earlier ones were over £400, so I assume I'm getting some type of newer version, be that OEM or not.

[agentdr8]

Probably OEM ones at that price. The aftermarket ones, of which I'm only aware of 2 vendors that make them, are much more than that for a pair.