This is a reproduction of a post I made at CorvetteForum about building my own adjustable rod-end style rear trailing arms for my 1992 Corvette. The original post can be found here:
Hey all, I did search for this and didn’t find it, so thought I’d share.
Rear trailing arms for the C4 are really simple, but the rubber bushed OEM ones are abjectly terrible. The rubber bushings will squish and squirm and that messes with everything: the instant center, roll center, anti-squat, all of it. A solid bushed arm is the solution, and it’s the way the engineers expected it to be when they designed the suspension. The rubber bits were thrown in by the NVH people.
The Banski arms seemed to have been a popular piece of kit based on search results here, but they’re out of business. Functionally identical arms from vendors are still available, but they run the gamut from expensive to REALLY expensive.
But Banski left the info on their arms on the interwebz for us:
https://nebula.wsimg.com/e15fecf236b…&alloworigin=1
So, reproducing their parts just takes some measurement and a few minutes at McMaster-Carr and Coleman Racing products. So, without further ado, here’s the parts list if you want to reproduce the Banski rear trailing arm set yourself:
| Qty | Part | Description | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2458K17 | Lubrication-Free Ball Joint Rod End, Carbon Fiber Insert, 5/8″-18 Right-Hand Thread | McMaster-Carr |
| 4 | 2458K17 | Lubrication-Free Ball Joint Rod End, Carbon Fiber Insert, 5/8″-18 Left-Hand Thread | McMaster-Carr |
| 8 | 95034A600 | Ball Joint Rod End Insert, Washer-Style, for 5/8″ Rod End ID | McMaster-Carr |
| 1 | 99612A159 | Left-Hand Threaded Grade 5 Steel Thin Hex Nut, Medium-Strength, Zinc-Plated, 5/8″-18 Thread Size, Packs of 10 | McMaster-Carr |
| 4 | 4723T2 | Ball Joint Rod End Reducers for 5/8″ Rod End ID, 1/2″ ID | McMaster-Carr |
| 1 | 91286A331 | High-Strength Grade 8 Steel Hex Head Screw, Zinc-Aluminum Coated, 1/2″-13 Thread Size, 2-5/8″ Long, Packs of 5 | McMaster-Carr |
| 1 | 97135A250 | High-Strength Steel Nylon-Insert Locknut, Grade 8, Zinc Yellow-Chromate Plated, 1/2″-13 Thread Size, Packs of 10 | McMaster-Carr |
| 1 | 93839A835 | Zinc Yellow-Chromate Plated Steel Thin Hex Nut, Grade 8, High-Strength, 5/8″-18 Thread Size, Packs of 10 | McMaster-Carr |
| 2 | 19080 | Tie Rod, 5/8″ L/R Thread, Hex, Aluminum, 7-1/2″ | Coleman Racing Products |
| 2 | 19084 | Tie Rod, 5/8″ L/R Thread, Hex, Aluminum, 9-1/2″ | Coleman Racing Products |
In less than two days you’ll have all this on your countertop:
After about ten minutes of assembly, you’ll have this:
The rods are right/left threaded, so turn the body one way and they get longer, turn the other and they get shorter. Match them up with your stock arms and install. If you’re hardcore, you can use these to make adjustments to the anti-squat and instant center on the car. The only difference between these and the Banski arms I can tell is I used the jam nut style tie rods instead of the EZ-Just clamp type because I’ve had problems with EZ-Just clamps and the tie rod end threads being damaged on other applications in the past. The jam nut path just seems to be more durable.
All of these parts cost $450.36 + tax and shipping as of 3/17/2023. Compare to ~$200 for rubber-bushed adjustable ebay replacements, ~$550 for spherical bushed ebay, and $810+ for Ridetech strongarms.
Things you don’t get? Dirt control. No rubber boots cover the rod ends. You’ll have to keep them clean. These rod ends use a Carbon Fiber race, so they never need lubrication, but you don’t want to let them get or stay dirty. Probably not a problem for most of us since very few DD their Corvettes. They’ll also likely ride harsher than the RideTech arms. Ridetech uses a fancy rod end with a rubber-ish race that has some NVH reduction value.
Standard disclaimer: This information is being offered without warranty. I make no guarantees about suitability, performance, or fitment. You go down this road, you’re on your own. I am not selling these. This is a DIY project for crazy people like me that like to dig their own graves. Caveat Emptor.