VAC Tie Rod Failure at the Glen

[AXDB]

I love how fast bad information can travel. For those saying this would have been noticed in a tech inspection...please...PLEASE I beg you show me how this would have been found in a tech inspection.

[Estoril]

I love how fast bad information can travel. For those saying this would have been noticed in a tech inspection...please...PLEASE I beg you show me how this would have been found in a tech inspection.

If you read the post with care - it says no such thing. And post #6 makes that even clearer.

[eacmen]

I love how fast bad information can travel. For those saying this would have been noticed in a tech inspection...please...PLEASE I beg you show me how this would have been found in a tech inspection.

Catch-22 no way to know after the failure if it would have been caught. Still people should know that tie rods and other critical suspension components can fail and they should be inspected on a lift before each event.

I suspect there may have been play in the tie rod, if you yanked on it hard enough. But No way to be sure.

Not trying to shit on VAC or the driver, just trying to bring awareness to safety.

[CrookedCommie]

Catch-22 no way to know after the failure if it would have been caught. Still people should know that tie rods and other critical suspension components can fail and they should be inspected on a lift before each event.

I suspect there may have been play in the tie rod, if you yanked on it hard enough. But No way to be sure.

Not trying to shit on VAC or the driver, just trying to bring awareness to safety.

As I mentioned, there was no play in the tie rod spherical end.

[eacmen]

As I mentioned, there was no play in the tie rod spherical end.

sorry i missed that. Apologies. Glad you’re okay!

[CrookedCommie]

Yeah, got very lucky. No damage except some scratches in a brand new TE:AL wheel.

I suggest anyone running a bump steer tie rod check and see how the stud seats, and STOP running it if the stud does not shoulder on the spindle.

-Rudy

[Estoril]

Yeah, got very lucky. No damage except some scratches in a brand new TE:AL wheel.

I suggest anyone running a bump steer tie rod check and see how the stud seats, and STOP running it if the stud does not shoulder on the spindle.

-Rudy

You were very fortunate that the failure occurred at Turn 1. That T-1 generous runoff is the place that gives you maneuvering room - unlike pretty much every other place on WGI.

[CrookedCommie]

Pretty much anywhere else would have resulted in a totaled car. Interesting way to learn WGI, my first weekend there

[bigjae46]

Not an engineer but if you lengthen the arm which bolts into the kingpin, wouldn’t the joint rely solely on the strength of the vertical bearing/sleeve/stud on the ball joint?

I would guess that running over curbs, understeer, and normal deflection in the tires would put a lot of stress in the joint.

I believe the drop steer kits are a link which attaches to the king pin where the control arm and tie rod ball joints go. Seems like that would provide more strength.


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[T.J.]

I think there is a moment arm being created that will eventually fatigue the stud where it meets the spindle. I am switching to stock tie rods for now, and looking into the SLR or AKG kit for the future - I'm not comfortable running the VAC bump steer or their control arms anymore.

Agree on the moment arm creating stress there. I don’t think the AKG part would do much better as the diameter in that section is still determined by the hole size. Looks like AKG was trying to build in some support against bending deflection but it’s not going to help with shear forces.

[SteelGreyM]

Glad you’re okay. Could have ended badly.

[Bobbydigital211]

Let’s all sit around and circlejerk, while drinking the VAC koolaid, and point fingers at the driver. No one would be able to notice micro cracking in the stud up inside the knuckle obscuring your view, and to say otherwise makes you daft. The fact that VAC stealth updated the design on this product leads to suspicion of a known failure point in this part, and at no point released a PSA stating there was an issue. Parts fail, it happens, but to think this was an easily avoidable issue bY cHeCkInG fOr MiCrOcRaCkS, makes you a moron.

**STEALTH CHANGE**
Glad the driver, and car are all in one piece!

[jbfrancis3]

Let’s all sit around and circlejerk, while drinking the VAC koolaid, and point fingers at the driver. No one would be able to notice micro cracking in the stud up inside the knuckle obscuring your view, and to say otherwise makes you daft. The fact that VAC stealth updated the design on this product leads to suspicion of a known failure point in this part, and at no point released a PSA stating there was an issue. Parts fail, it happens, but to think this was an easily avoidable issue bY cHeCkInG fOr MiCrOcRaCkS, makes you a moron.

**STEALTH CHANGE**
Glad the driver, and car are all in one piece!

The point has been made, no need to dramatize.

[Obioban]

Pretty much anywhere else would have resulted in a totaled car. Interesting way to learn WGI, my first weekend there

I'd like to make fun of you for all the neutral checks, but I'd be doing exactly the same thing

Glad that didn't result in a crash! VAC is nothing, if not consistent.

[CrookedCommie]

Every time I have an 'incident' I subconsciously do that