Looking to lower and would like to get a set rather than the kmac bushings.
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Rdm tek still available?
- Thread starter RocketeerPerformance
- Start date
Austin, aka omegabenz, was the man to see but he hasn't been active here for awhile. IIRC, he passed the manufacture of these parts to his father. I will try to get in touch with him and let you know.
Awesome. Appreciate the help.
I could use a set of those poly bushings on his Strut Towers If possible i need enough for 10! the ones i have are TOAST and i would love to have spares.
The very last RDMTEK thing that Austin's dad (Gary) did for us was the production run of the 124 rear lower control arms, modified for lowered cars and/or with wider wheels to avoid the wear to the inside rear tires, for our very successful group buy. This was about 2 years ago.
I'm afraid that RDMTEK is out of business. It's been discussed here before. He had some things changing in his life and job that going forward would not give him time/ability to do any more RDMTEK stuff. The rear LCAs were the last gasp
Just look up "RDMTEK group buy"
Cheers,
Gerry
I'm afraid that RDMTEK is out of business. It's been discussed here before. He had some things changing in his life and job that going forward would not give him time/ability to do any more RDMTEK stuff. The rear LCAs were the last gasp
Just look up "RDMTEK group buy"
Cheers,
Gerry
Sucks. The camber mounts he made back in the day is starting to fall apart.
The polyurethane is not holding up anymore
The polyurethane is not holding up anymore
Info on the RDMTEK lower control arm group buy is here.
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1586
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2183
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1586
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2183
Sup ya'll? Dean emailed me. I sold my 500E to Gsxr for his wifey, so I haven't been on much. I'd consider buying it back from her sometime hehe. Or get a 996 Turbo...
But first things first, I'm studying to take the patent agent bar exam right now, and I'm working on starting some new businesses including getting a patent searching/drafting business going.
RDMTEK is still around, just kind of bespoke when asked, at least as far as 500Es go.
I'll run it by my father. I suppose that he might be interested in doing >10-15 sets, but one point contact like last time, prepaid, etc. Probably have to check prices of materials, etc.
Sorry to hear that. Email me pictures and your original invoice, and we can chat about it.
Happy Holidays ya'll!
EDIT - this is my one-hundred and nineteenth post (119) hehe =), on the 19th of December, nonetheless!
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PM sentIIRC, I have a set of the mod'd lower LCA's if someone is itching hard for them!
NIB etc, etc...
My dad is down. I called my Contact at Mercedes. I can get the rear LCAs next week. I see my dad so if you guys get this together fast, I might be able to save some money on shipping the LCAs to my dad...
It's a sign, Austin! Time to get another 500E and come back, eh?
Hehe, and I was driving my AWD Element today and it turned 119,911 =), then 119,928 <~a la 500E tranny in 928.. The 500E Gods are aligning the stars. Maybe that 600E wrench?
IIRC, I have a set of the mod'd lower LCA's if someone is itching hard for them!
NIB etc, etc...
I hope you make a premium. Delivery before Xmas!
I'm in. What are the next steps? Ppl prepayment?
Someone needs to step forward and lead this effort. You can use my threads on the topic as a template of how to do it. Someone needs to start a list and establish what the minimum order is. 10 pairs? 15 pairs?
Transparency is key so that folks know exactly what is happening. I even posted scans of my bank deposit slips after receiving funds from people.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Transparency is key so that folks know exactly what is happening. I even posted scans of my bank deposit slips after receiving funds from people.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I talked to my dad - 10 pair minimum, preferably 15.
Price may be a little more, but I am trying to talk to the suppliers to get updated quotes for him- stay tunned.
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Well it's kind of hard to supply an invoice because when these were originally purchased by Jeff and Matt there was no invoice supplied.
So that being said... Is it still possible to get spare bushings so these could be used? At this point the camber plates are collecting dust.
Let me know..
So the camber plates are out of warranty in that case since you are not the original purchaser. Send me pictures as previously discussed and we can have a look.
To tell you the truth I am not looking for a warranty.
I want to BUY enough replacements to last me years.
Please email me a price enough for 10 cars... 4 bushings per car so 40 bushings will do.
These were the blue green ones.
Email
5thscaleracer@verizon.net
I want to BUY enough replacements to last me years.
Please email me a price enough for 10 cars... 4 bushings per car so 40 bushings will do.
These were the blue green ones.
5thscaleracer@verizon.net
IIRC, I have a set of the mod'd lower LCA's if someone is itching hard for them!
NIB etc, etc...
Looks like jonathan has one set if someone wants a set right away.
For those wanting to do a Group Buy, as Gerry said, someone needs to step up and be the leader.
I talked to my dad today - 10 set minimum. He can do them mid/late January. After that he has other projects, so hopefully you can wrangle up a few people.
As Gerry found out last time, there are always a few stragglers, so the organizer may want to opt to pay for a set or two extra in advance in case that happens.
Last time, when a final count is done and paid, a bulk order is placed. I had them ordered and shipped all together, so straggling parts mean a different price due to extra costs incurred (shipping, etc.). Good luck to the new leader! Gerry did outline the process well.
Have fun!
Probably in that same range, maybe a little more $330-$360.
FROM THREADS ABOVE
If anyone wants a pair Now @ that price, hit me up jono@blueridgemb.com
or, I'm @ work for the next couple of hours 404.805.1357
jono
or, I'm @ work for the next couple of hours 404.805.1357
jono
I just sent you an email.
Just so I have clarity. The LCA's are not enough to accomplish correct lowering. The toe in needs to be adjusted via eccentric bushings. Is this correct?
If you want the toe to be within factory spec, yes.
However, there was discussion here which indicates having a bit less toe-in may not be bad thing. Depends what you are looking for.
Not to resurrect an old thread unnecessarily, but in case Austin/omegabenz is still kicking around I wanted to pass along a nice compliment on his RDM-TEK parts (both the front camber plates and shortened rear LCAs) from my local expert suspension/alignment shop in Mountain View, California, a place called (somewhat uncreatively) Custom Alignment. I've had these parts sitting on my shelf for literally years now, from an original group buy back in the days of old 500Ecstacy board if I'm remembering correctly, but just never got around to doing anything with them.
I finally got tired of dealing with my car being constantly out of alignment (it was lowered by a prior owner early in its life) so I took the car and the RDM-TEK parts to Custom Alignment last week and told them to fix the alignment in whatever way was best, either install the RDM-TEK stuff with the lowered springs or put a set of stock springs back on. The owner/lead tech took a look at the RDM-TEK parts and said he thought they looked really good, and so suggested giving them a shot since I already had them and if they did the job it would spare me the not-inconsiderable cost of a complete set of factory springs. I was due for new tires as well, so I had a set of Conti ExtremeContact DWs drop-shipped to the shop from Tire Rack and had them install them along with the suspension/alignment work.
I picked the car up the other day*, and the owner/tech could not have been more complimentary of the quality and workmanship on the RDM-TEK stuff. He literally used the word "beautiful" and declared them better than any other such parts he'd ever seen for these cars, especially the front camber plates. He also made specific mention of the skill exhibited by the welding on the shortened LCAs, saying "whoever did that work definitely knows what the hell they're doing." This is a guy who's been in this business for decades and has pretty much seen it all in the world of aftermarket/performance suspension parts, and his overall impression was that the RDM-TEK stuff was as good as he's ever seen and miles better than most of it.
So, long story short: Austin/omegabenz and/or your dad, well done you!
* Unfortunately after driving the car around town and on the highway for the past couple of days, the alignment woes are not yet completely sorted. It's worlds better than it was (and was for years), but there's still a slight drift to the right that I think is more than the influence of road crown. I suspect I might need the factory rear tie rod eccentric bushings mentioned by gsxr in several past threads, so I plan to stop by Custom Alignment tomorrow with a print-out of gsxr's posts on the topic and chat with them about it. But we're getting close, I can feel it!
I finally got tired of dealing with my car being constantly out of alignment (it was lowered by a prior owner early in its life) so I took the car and the RDM-TEK parts to Custom Alignment last week and told them to fix the alignment in whatever way was best, either install the RDM-TEK stuff with the lowered springs or put a set of stock springs back on. The owner/lead tech took a look at the RDM-TEK parts and said he thought they looked really good, and so suggested giving them a shot since I already had them and if they did the job it would spare me the not-inconsiderable cost of a complete set of factory springs. I was due for new tires as well, so I had a set of Conti ExtremeContact DWs drop-shipped to the shop from Tire Rack and had them install them along with the suspension/alignment work.
I picked the car up the other day*, and the owner/tech could not have been more complimentary of the quality and workmanship on the RDM-TEK stuff. He literally used the word "beautiful" and declared them better than any other such parts he'd ever seen for these cars, especially the front camber plates. He also made specific mention of the skill exhibited by the welding on the shortened LCAs, saying "whoever did that work definitely knows what the hell they're doing." This is a guy who's been in this business for decades and has pretty much seen it all in the world of aftermarket/performance suspension parts, and his overall impression was that the RDM-TEK stuff was as good as he's ever seen and miles better than most of it.
So, long story short: Austin/omegabenz and/or your dad, well done you!
* Unfortunately after driving the car around town and on the highway for the past couple of days, the alignment woes are not yet completely sorted. It's worlds better than it was (and was for years), but there's still a slight drift to the right that I think is more than the influence of road crown. I suspect I might need the factory rear tie rod eccentric bushings mentioned by gsxr in several past threads, so I plan to stop by Custom Alignment tomorrow with a print-out of gsxr's posts on the topic and chat with them about it. But we're getting close, I can feel it!
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Johnathan, the Conti ExtremeContact DWs I mentioned are on my 17" EVOII wheels, size 245/45R17. The OEM 16" wheels are mounted with 225/55R16 Sumitomo HTR A/S P01s (which I'm not much fond of to be honest). I'm currently running the EVOIIs with the Contis, and that's what the alignment work was based on.
Well, I've seen it happen on Many an occasion but if the new tires wore in on a poor alignment they won't come back fully, ie the wear in the tires will drag you around. It can be a might bit maddening.
Those sumi's are good for bit lurid drifts....
I haven't run conti's in an age, but I've been very pleased with how these cars align up on fresh Michelins. IIRC, you can get the super sport in a size that fits the 8 1/4 evo's.. Anything wider not so much..
jono
Those sumi's are good for bit lurid drifts....
I haven't run conti's in an age, but I've been very pleased with how these cars align up on fresh Michelins. IIRC, you can get the super sport in a size that fits the 8 1/4 evo's.. Anything wider not so much..
jono
The rear tie rod eccentrics are bushings... you'll use the stock bolts. I'd install the new eccentric bushings into new tie rods (OE or Lemforder) assuming the existing tie rods are original... they rarely wear out, but while they're off the car anyway... kinda makes sense as preventive maintenance. Plus, that way you can "build" them on the workbench and just swap 'em out.
Good news - the price has dropped substantially from a few years ago. They are "only" $104 each MSRP now, had been $202 each in 2013...!!
Good news - the price has dropped substantially from a few years ago. They are "only" $104 each MSRP now, had been $202 each in 2013...!!
Parts.com has the eccentric bushings on sale for $78, and the lowest-cost shipping I could find. I talked to my alignment guy and he said he wouldn't need them for the issue I'm currently having (apparently they were able to get rear toe in spec) but suggested it'd be a good idea to have a set of these things on my shelf for a future "just in case", so I went ahead and ordered a pair today. Car goes back in on Wednesday to try to finalize the alignment for good so wish me luck.
Glad to hear! I think my dad did the welding on your set.
swap your tires side to side or front to back and see what happens.
Make sure you replace the rear wheel carrier joint.
I'm in the bay area now. I'll look you up next time I'm in the south bay.
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