QT Corrected Radius Arms - Review

[Geobloke]

Right to set the scene I have had a lift on Eva for almost as long as I have had her, about 5/6 years now. I have never had a problem with the steering, it has been pretty good all in all. It;

• understeered and oversteered like crazy,
• speed wobbled at 50 - 60mph,
• wandered a little,
• pulled under braking to the near side and shimmyed/slewed under heavy braking,
• and the ride was a little harsh over bumps, esspecially off road

But as far as I am concerned that was fine, I love driving and esspecially when it is a challenge, acctually driving the vehicle rather than being transported from A to B in bubble wrap and surrounded by cotton wool is what I like. Seat of your pants driving!

A couple of months ago forumite Gelf sold me his barely used QT radius arms because they didn't fit his discovery. Which I jumped on because they were a superb price and quite a deal, plus I had been waiting for years for a pair to come up at a reasonable price.

At this point I will just say cheers to Gelf for being a top bloke and delivering them to me mums (aka. Woodchippings) house, very much appreciated mate.

Now if your like me you are probably a little sceptical about what companies claim their products will do for your vehicle, esspecially since I have been burnt a couple of times in the past. Plus I had heard that putting the QTs on may cause the front prop to vibrate wildly and a further expense of a wide yoke or double cardon prop would be needed - very worried about this.

When I managed to get home to see mum and collect the radius arms my first impression was - Hot Damn they are gorgeous and really well made too! I kid you not they are a work of art, beautiful in their own right!

Now to the fitting - It couldn't be more easy - Drop one standard radius arm off and put the QT one on - I did it on me own outside my house on the road.

Some little tricks to be told though;

• Prop the chassis up on an axle stand for safety,
• The nuts are easy to get off, the 2 axle bolts may be a bitch to get out if they haven't been moved since the factory,
• To get the standard radius arm off you'll need to pop off the track rod on that side - you'll notice that when fitting the QT arms you can get them up and over the track rod because they are shaped differently,
• Before fitting the QT radius arm you need to get the bush spacers off of the standard arms, they are big washers that go on the outside of the chassis mount bushes - You'll need LR special tool No.1* to get the one off furthest from the nut,
• Put spacer on to QT arm followed by 1st 1/2 of the chassis bush - it may be tight in which case use the nut to force the bush on,
• The rear bolt will just slot back through the chassis and radius arm with ease, the front one won't, you'll need to jack up under the radius arm until the holes line up - jacking the radius arm makes it rotate around the axle,
• Copper grease all threads and bolts.

(*LR special tool No.1 = Lump Hammer)

The QTs are realy alot lighter than standard arms too.

Once on the vehicle the first thing you notice is that the chassis bush isn't squashed in any way and the arm seems more horizontal than the standard arms were, but thats it. Test drive time - took her on some of my favorite roads and went laning with Rangienut too and after over a week of driving these are my views -

The effect on the vehicle;

• Front end feels more damped, alot less road shocks and off road is excellent too no jolts or jarring shocks from the front end and through the steering wheel,
• Almost NO understeer or oversteer, turn in and the nose goes where you want it,
• NO speed wobble at all,
• Braking is much better although it still pulls to the left a little, but the shimmy/slewing under heavy braking is completely gone, feels much safer,
• NO prop vibrations at all and currently the knuckles are not binding either.

Having spoke to Gwyn Lewis he informed me that it is 300TDIs, TD5s and Discos that tend to suffer from the propshaft vibrations.

So am I happy? Hell yeah! :yay: Very very very happy. Eva has never driven so well, she drives superbly, responcive, exact and holds corners like she's on rails.

Oh and a bonus of the arms are that the front dislocation cones no longer catch on the springs (see picture QT_2). They used to clunk and clang against the springs, was really annoying and due to the springs being "S-shaped". Which was because of the lift putting the castor out by rotating the axle and also the spring bottom mounting plate. QTs have returned the axle back and the springs are no longer "S-shaped".

Also Eva's steering box has stopped leaking too, not sure if that is connected but hell it's good news!

Below are some pictures of the fittment and some of Eva showing off her new arms. What was apparent was that it is not easy to get a good clear shot of the arms because there is stuff always in the way of them!!

[Geobloke]

And a few more pics!

Just to add, I don't know if you US lot can get QT castor correct radius arms but there must be something similar over there!

[Muddy Oval]

Nice! We can get QT over here- I'm considering ordering some up real soon.

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

Nice! We can get QT over here- I'm considering ordering some up real soon.

Well worth it matey, well worth it! Am well chuffed!!!

[01001010]

Great Post!!!

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by 01001010

Great Post!!!

Cheers dude, am glad to help.

Can anyone spot the cheapest suspension mod on the front end?

[Pedro]

Lookin good fella .

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Lookin good fella .

Cheers dude. We really need to meet up at some point bud, it has been far far far too long, miss the Scooby and Eva show!!

[RageRover]

Dang Geo!! Those arms look real sturdy and tough, just like the diff gaurds.

Real nice man!!

[Bene]

Originally Posted by Geobloke

Cheers dude, am glad to help.

Can anyone spot the cheapest suspension mod on the front end?

sway bar removal?

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by Bene

sway bar removal?

Nope no sway bars on a defender over here, not necessary. Good guess though! Even simpler than that, You can see them in the pictures!!

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by Bene

sway bar removal?

Ok concentrate on the second picture in the first post! see it yet?

[Cdawg09]

Originally Posted by Geobloke

Ok concentrate on the second picture in the first post! see it yet?

Shocks?
lol simplist i can think of

[Badger1]

Hey great writeup Geobloke, thanks for the info!

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by Cdawg09

Shocks?
lol simplist i can think of

THe mod I am referring to cost £1 which is what $3ish. It does have something to do with the shocks though! Look closer!