Would you pay for it?

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:42 pm

If I were to offer items for sale on a commercial basis, would you people be interested in buying them? Basically small accessories for MY and L-series 4WD Subarus such as:

Beefy Radius Arms
Sump Guards for lifted vehicles
Carrier Bearing Guards
Adjustable Strut Tops
Not lift kits

Prices wouldn't be cheap ($400+ for a pair of powdercoated 4140 steel alloy 25mm radius arms) but quality and finish would be second-to-none.

Just conceptual at this stage, but let me know if I'm barking up the wrong tree here.

simmo · Post by **simmo** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:55 pm

i'd pay for adjustable atrut tops.... when does production begin

BlackMale · Post by **BlackMale** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:36 pm

Hmmm more info may be required here Muddy and i suppose if most items are that price is it really worth the expense given they rearly fail/cheep to replace would we bother?!

Eg to support this I have only bent 1 radius rod and training arm in all my years and it was not that had to fix and/or replace so even though some beefed up ones would be nice I am unsure if I would spend $400 big ones on em… maybe not.

That being said it is always good to have options available – so how much for a bash plate on a 2” lifted L series

Oh and good luck with the venture, (and who knows i could purchase more then i had bargened for).

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:40 pm

I'd probably pay for some radius rods, I figure these stock L series item's I'm installing will be bent before the car comes off the jackstands.

Just need my &*^&* pay review first!!!

Fang · Post by **Fang** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:44 pm

Jaffa wrote:so how much for a bash plate on a 2” lifted L series

Ditto to that - I would like a decent sized bash plate myself!

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:41 pm

I'd possibly be up for stuff. Put together some specs and pricing

32ford · Post by **32ford** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:51 pm

beefy radius arms sound good to me, even though I am yet to bend or break mine. I guess the thought of walking home scares me

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 10:30 pm

Cool indeed, ok I'm keen to get started soon then!

I'll make stuff in several batches, it's a lot easier to make, say, 10 sump guards than it is one!

Obviously I don't have anything in stock just at the moment, but here are some of the things I'm thinking of doing first off:

Sump Guard, suit 2" and 3" lift for MY and L-series (with EA engines, will not fit EJ conversion) - 3mm mild steel chequerplate [very cheap!] or beefier [more expensive!]

Heavy Duty Radius Arms, OE replacement items, suit MY and L-series. These will be exxy, around the $400 mark for a set.

Carrier Bearing Guard - with integral lift block. Suit 4" lifted L-series.

At this stage I'm interested in no more than expressions of interest, as many of the materials etc to make this stuff depends on others, it may take a few months to get the ball rolling.

damo666 · Post by **damo666** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:00 am

Yep, I'd also be interested in some raduis rods - if your going to the trouble of making them from scratch, make them longer for more castor too.

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:18 am

Any way to make the radius arms adjustable in length?

What exactly do you mean by adjustable strut tops ?

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:58 am

I could make the Radius Arms in any length you desire, i can even make them adjustable however this is much more expensive again (double the time on the machine for each piece really).

You can't make Radius Arms any more than about 15mm longer because this puts too much stress on the Lower Control Arm Bushes and also the holes in the Lower Control Arm to mount the Radius Arm will not line up properly.

I'm still working on perfecting the Adjustable Strut Tops, long hard road of testing to make sure it all works, but they'll most probably end up like the ones you can buy on Ebay for Libertys and Imprezas.

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 10:17 am

4140 for radius rods? hmm...it would have to be well annealed?
Are the mount points up to it? I think I'd preferr having the rod bent, than break the mounts....JMHO
the adjustable tops...you mean like the k-mac things for adjusting camber? yes would be interested in that....
maybe consider strut braces in your line up too ?

Good luck with it.

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 1:51 pm

Good idea about the strut braces.

4140 that you use for cold machining is already annealed. It should be tempered and oil-quenched after hot-working. As the Radius Arms are cold-worked, there is no need for additional tempering.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:46 pm

I dont know if there would be alot of takers on here when it came to the crunch. Mabey if we all had STI WRX's modified for offroad... but at the end of the day most of us have our older Subaru's done up as an inexpensive offroader. I certainly wouldn't be spending 25% of the total worth of a car getting radius rods for it 8O

damo666 · Post by **damo666** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:50 pm

but they'll most probably end up like the ones you can buy on Ebay for Libertys and Imprezas.

Thats probably the only issue with making a run of strut tops. You can get Lib/WRX ones relativley cheaply, and it only takes a few minutes with a die grinder to get them to fit.
Unless you can knock them out really cheaply, it may not be worth your while?

Can you also do a cheap version of the factory diff gaurd??

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:39 pm

That's a good idea about the diff guards - Yes I can do that too - later though.

As for paying big money for car parts, I completely understand that and I agree with your point. I'm thinking of catering more for people like myself who don't really care about how much they spend, they just want the best because they love their Subaru and they like to use it like a "real" 4x4 without breaking things leaving them stranded.

To start with I'm going to make 2 different sump guards - a basic and a delux model:

The basic model will be simple pressed 3mm mild steel chequerplate that's drilled to be a bolt-on fit for 2" lifted MY-series, holes will be drilled for the fasteners (grade 8.8, included) and will include provision to perform an oil change with the sump guard fitted.

The delux model will also be for a 2" lifted MY-series, but will be made from pressed 4mm mild steel, will include stiffeners as well as recessed fasteners, so that there's no chance of shearing off or damaging the bolts when you scraped the front crossmember on a rock.