Let's Talk End Links

The purpose of end links are to connect the sway bar to the struts or the lower control arms.  With the sway bar being linked to both sides of the suspension, it prevents body roll by allowing each side to compensate for the other.

What does this actually mean?  It means that your car is less prone to torquing about on itself, while keeping the body relatively level through a turn.

Now lower that car and push it to the limits.  If your car sees regular abuse, there is a risk that the thin factory end links might break.  This might not be the end of the world, but the car would not handle properly; it would be sloppy and unpredictable.

This happened once on my S40, at the Tail of the Dragon...  To avoid any chance of this happening again, I have replaced the OEM end links with the beefed up, fully adjustable, end links from Massive Speed Systems.

Massive end links

While I cannot say I notice a difference with daily driving, I do have the peace of mind knowing that my end links are ready for any track day.  Are they worth the money?  Not for a daily driver.  If your factory end links break, I recommend replacing them with OEM equivalents for $20 a piece.  However, I got these in a parts box when I purchased my car, so no money out of my pocket!  Plus, they look pretty cool.

Go Wide!

Lowering a car, in my opinion, is both for handling and for looks.  I appreciate the minimized wheel well gap, when the fenders sit just above the tires.  But to truly finish off the stance, the wheels must sit flush with the fenders of the car.

As you will notice on most cars, the wheels sit nearly 1" tucked inside of the fender, giving the car a cowardly appearance.

Wheel subset in wheel wells

Wider wheels and beefier tires can accommodate for this stance, but when you wish to keep your current setup, spacers are the best option.

I do not mean the cheap metal rings that sit between the brake rotors and wheels, I'm referring to quality hubcentric spacers.

GarageLine hubcentric spacers

The hub of a car has a small protruding lip, which the wheel rests on when properly mounted.  This helps keep the wheel centered and balanced on the car's hub.  Hubcentric spacers are designed to sit snugly on top of the car's hubs, extending that lip for wheel mounting.

GarageLine makes special spacers for the P1 Volvo and the new Ford Focus.  Unlike most spacers, these have extended studs pressed into the spacer, so there is no need to replace the factory studs in the hub.  While they do have a hefty price tag, one should never skimp when purchasing a product that literally holds the wheels on the car.

Of course, some modifications were required to go as wide as I wanted.

After removing the plastic fender trim, I rolled the straight metal fenders to flare them outward.  This way, when the car leans in a turn, the metal does not cut into the edge of the tires.

Rolled fenders

Of course, with such an extensive alteration, the plastic fender arches and wheel well liners had to be modified as well.

This required cutting off the protruding plastic mounting clips on the back, along with the inner portion of the arches that would make contact with the tires.

Plastic clips cut off on the inside

Inner edge cut to avoid rubbing

Outer edge of wheel well liner cut to avoid rubbing

The fender arches mount with screws on each end, but to keep the upper portion in place, a strip of double stick tape was run along the fender edges.

Double stick tape to remount arches

It may seem like an extensive amount of work for a very subtle modification, but the end result is an aggressively flush stance.  Even those who are not aware of how a car sits, will subconsciously acknowledge the difference; flush surfaces are more appealing to the human eye.

Wheels flush with fenders