shaggy0778

Who here is running aftermarket knuckles on their daily driven cars? Which knuckles do you use and what are your thoughts on them?

I am in the market for a set of aftermarket knuckles for my S14. I've been looking at a few different options but I am unsure how much these will change the driving characteristics of my car in daily driven use. I'm looking for something to give me more steering angle as well as correcting roll center.

These are the options I've been checking out so far:
Powered by max 45mm Front drop knuckles


Drift works Geomaster 2 with 45mm roll center correction


and lastly, Cor integration "Chuckles" with 44mm roll center correction


I know all of these knuckles will help correct roll center and give me quite a bit more angle, but I am curious whether the driving characteristics of the car will still remain mostly the same under normal driving. I'm looking to avoid twitchy steering, bump steer, and overall just have a pleasant, easy car to drive. I've read up on the roll center thread but there is not much there in terms of how the knuckles perform in normal driving, not at full lock.

I'm also curious how these knuckles differ from each other as far as grip driving as well

Thanks in advance for any replies.

derass

When I switched to modified knuckles, the increase in steering response was not dramatic so much that I would be concerned driving with them on the street.

You should consider GKTech knuckles, they have RC correction and a selection of steering arms, from stock to extreme, if angle is not of concern to you. You mentioned grip driving, I feel these with stock steering arms would be the best choice.

In terms of bump steer; PBM, DW and GKT would be the better choice, as they have the tie rod pickup level with the ball joint mount. You can always use adjustable outer tie rods, but I found with those, you have a vague on-center feel due to the increased length of the shank.

shaggy0778

Thank you for the reply!
I've seen the GKTech knuckles before, I do like that they are aluminum to help with unsprung weight. I wouldn't mind having a quicker steering as long as it is still stable feeling, I just don't want to touch my steering wheel and have the car jerk to the side with little input. I'm looking for sort of a triple purpose knuckle, for drifting/gripping/daily driving. So far I am leaning towards DW front and rear setup.

derass

I don't find mine to be like that at all.

FaLKoN240

This is a good thread, I've often wondered about the characteristics of the car after changing so much of the way the front suspension works.

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shaggy0778

Which style knuckles do you have?

derass

MA Motorsports. I even have the HICAS rack with the faster ratio and don't think steering response is too fast or dangerous.

I wish I had waited a few months longer for the PBM Forged with their RC correction. They were still in development at the time.

One thing that takes some getting used to is the way the front end understeers or "pushes" when slowly pulling into a parking space or driveway. This is because of the reduced Ackerman that occurs with almost all modified knuckles. GKTech with their stock steering arms and higher end kits like TDP and Wisefab that have adjustable Ackerman are the exception. This might only be an issue with the MA knuckles as I've noticed they have VERY low Ackerman, less than some other modified knuckles I've read about.

badass8

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brndck

I have yet to drive a pair of modified knuckles that makes the steering fast/twitchy enough to be dangerous. I drive my car on a daily basis and have no issues with the steering being to quick (I have fineline tuning knuckles which are basically like the "chuckles" posted above). As long as your alignment is within spec as far as toe settings, you should not experience any unsafe condition.

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joshchewuhh

i have PBM 45mm forged knuckles on my s13 with extended LCA. I daily it sometimes and its not bad at all. The steering is much faster but i mean its daily driving lol

az_240

Stick to knuckles that have a longer steering arm if you don't want the quick steer.
Stock vs PBM forged


Future Fab vs Driftworks


Future Fab knuckles feel close to stock but give extra angle with the large rack spacer.
Never ran the DW.

I'm liking the PBM knuckles so far... the steering is a lot faster but I wouldn't say it's dangerous.

shaggy0778

So from what you guys are saying the quick Steer will not be an issue. Seems like the only thing detrimental to daily driving would be the reduced ackerman causing scrub at lower speeds

Def

I have a HICAS rack on my S13 that currently has stock spindles with modified RC via a FLCA that uses a 3/4" bolt and spacers (about 1.75" of RC adjustment). I feel the steering is too slow on track honestly, and in really tight sections or big corrections I have to have really fast hands to keep up with the car.

I'm going to install my GKTech spindles with the Extreme steering arms and probably a good condition stock rack I've got. I think that'll be fast enough for me, but I might give it a go with the HICAS rack and see how I fancy it.

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