Heim Joint Failures on SKINZ Concept A-Arms

[christopher]

Absolutely.

Time to make a call to SKINZ and verify that they are making NO STRUCTURAL CHANGES to the A-Arms to accommodate the new 5/8ths Heim Joint.

If this is nothing more than a DRILL and TAP job, then I would be perfectly comfortable in taking my new A-Arms into a local shop and having that change done here rather than shipping them back to SPG to make the change.

 

[christopher]

LETTER FROM SKINZ



Chris,
I'm sitting here in Denver hanging out so I thought I would lay out where we are at with the Rod ends.


Obviously, we did not have failures in any of our testing. If we did we would not have used these 1/2-20 rod ends. We are comfortable with the 1/2-20 rod ends and still believe they are suitable. From what we understand, these are used in Mustangs.

All of our reports from the people that have used the new ends are positive and without problems.

We have decided to make the change to the 5/8 lower. Not because we thought our original design was not right but to offset the concerns and perceptions generated online. The larger end would just put everyone at ease.

We are offering to upgrade the customers that aren't comfortable with their 1/2-20 lowers. They will be able to contact us and we will rework their lowers to the 5/8.


It is important to know that all the filming and development was done with the 1/2-20. This is why we made a movie and made it available for free.

As we were the first company to innovate, develop, and produce the Nytro front end with forward location of 4.5", we wanted people to see the authenticity of the front end and what it could do. We also still think this front end is the most effective compared to the others because of the spindle location.

As stated before, our end game is the customer experience. We are replacing all the 1/2-20 rod ends with new parts. We strongly beloved the first ones were defective. Some seemed to be OK and some weren't. If anyone has any questions, they can call us and we will work it all out. We want everyone to be taken care of.


This is sent from my phone so you may have to fix a couple things.


Thanks for your help.

Jeff

 

[christopher]

SKINZ REPLY to my question about taking the Concept A-Arms into a local machine shop to be Drilled and Tapped for the 5/8ths Heim Joint replacement.



We can't advocate they do it themselves but a qualified machine shop could do it. There is plenty of material to drill and tap it.

There would be no warranty unless we do it. This is a straight forward task for a machine shop.

The structure of the arms will stay the same as they are very strong.

Sent from my iPhone

Jeff Hawksworth
Skinz Protective Gear.
320-243-8771
Fax 320-243-2453
www.skinzprotectivegear.com

 

[srxgreg]

skinz heims

If the Heim joint is breaking flush with the a arm end then it could be from tightening the jam nut. It seems like if the jam nut is snug then if the threaded parts of the heim would break outside of the jam nut not flush with the a-arm. I just snuged up the jam nut on my 42" A-arms but I could see if someone trally tightened these things up that could cause a failure.

 

[wilmot]

I wonder how much force it takes to break a heim joint? I have hit a tree and a rock and both times broke spindle's and ripped my ski off. I think i would rather replace a hiem joint than a spindle,a-arm or subframe. I've been out riding with no problems but i haven't hit anything.

 

[richracer1]

Here's what I did to my Barkbuster spindle yesterday. It uses a 5/8" lower heim joint. Nothing got "broke" but the spindle is now a trophy. A new one got order this morning.

 

[tmk50]

I have just over 100 miles on my SKINZ a arms without any issues either. I have been taking it easy off trail and have not hit anything.

So far I like them, but I want to ride in some better snow to see what they can do.

This is probably opening a can of worms, but I will ask anyway. Do you guys think there will be big differences in performance of these kits with different skis?

 

[christopher]

Hard to imagine that your choice of skis wouldn't have a significant impact on total performance.

 

[wilmot]

I was thinking about taking my Simmons gen 3 ski's off, and go back to stock. My steering was way to heavy. I talked with Jeff he told me to adjust center shock so i did, now it's a totally different sled. It performs sweet in the powder.

 

[tmk50]

I was thinking about taking my Simmons gen 3 ski's off, and go back to stock. My steering was way to heavy. I talked with Jeff he told me to adjust center shock so i did, now it's a totally different sled. It performs sweet in the powder.

So you bumped up the pressure and it made a big difference? No changes to the limiter straps right?

Edit: I have the new 2012 stock skis and the steering effort is pretty light. I was thinking of going to something with a deeper keel for more bite. Good to know that I can bump pressures up if needed.

 

[christopher]

I was thinking about taking my Simmons gen 3 ski's off, and go back to stock. My steering was way to heavy. I talked with Jeff he told me to adjust center shock so i did, now it's a totally different sled. It performs sweet in the powder.

Thats interesting as one of the things I remember from last year was how much LIGHTER the steering was once I put the Gen IIIs on.

 

[wilmot]

My limiter straps were already loose. If your having heavy steering loosing strap and add pressure to center shock, i went from 80 to 125 psi that's the sweet spot for me. I also got to ride in some powder... finally.

 

[christopher]

What are you riding and what's your weight?

 

[wilmot]

2010 S/C Stage 1 with yamaha light weight suspension, CE 162 2.5 track, fox 2 shocks.

 

[wilmot]

205lbs plus gear.

 

[christopher]

Thanks.
Bumping your pressure up +50% was a lot.
So I was curious about your other numbers.

 

[wilmot]

Im running 80lbs in my front shocks.

 

[MotoPsycho]

So you bumped up the pressure and it made a big difference? No changes to the limiter straps right?

Edit: I have the new 2012 stock skis and the steering effort is pretty light. I was thinking of going to something with a deeper keel for more bite. Good to know that I can bump pressures up if needed.

If you want the skis to bite harder, lower the pressure in the front skid shock in 5 lb increments until you get desired feel.

I have run the Skinz kit with Gen III's and the Curve XS skis - and yes, there are huge differences.


To answer an earlier question, the 1/2" CHROMOLLY heim joints have a 17,000 lb shear strength.

 

[tmk50]

If you want the skis to bite harder, lower the pressure in the front skid shock in 5 lb increments until you get desired feel.

I have run the Skinz kit with Gen III's and the Curve XS skis - and yes, there are huge differences.

Thanks - I'll give it a shot. What I really want is a good run on a powder day before I start making a bunch of changes. We hit a few spots this weekend and got about 8 inches of snow on Saturday - but there are still a ton of landmines out there that I don't want to hit....

 

[wilmot]

Received my lower heim joints today. Never had a problem but will change them just in case. Thanks SKINZ that was fast.