NOTE; this kit is now obsolete on anything newer than a MK4 chassis. I'm leaving this page up for now just for the heck of it. Modifications to the shocks by the manufacturer and other issues have resolved this problem for now. But, a car with this kit installed will not have the tire hit the fenders if a shock does fail.

Hey, Guys. This product is meant to give an extra measure of insurance to the possibility of a coilover shock component failure. As we know, a failure here usually leaves the chassis on the ground. A failure while rolling can mean limited braking and steering control as well as body and tire damage. These new braces limit the upward travel of the FFR Tubular Lower Control arm. The part has an adjustment range that is accomplished by sliding the part in or out before locking down with the existing nuts. 

The part may fit other makes of arms, but that will be up to the installer to determine suitability. Anyone that would like to give it a go on other configurations are invited and may do so with the knowledge that the parts may be returned for a refund sans shipping. Anyone confirming suitability on other configurations will also relieve a 20% discount upon submitting pictures of same.

Browse through the pictures and videos to see what the intent is. The kit comes complete with thick, selected durometer rubber pad snubbers; industrial width tie-wraps; and 1/2" longer, Grade 8 steering rack bolts.



                                Price for LCA Bump Stop Kit............................. $119.95 plus shipping
                                                     

                                            Jump to instructions.           Jump to Disclaimer and Purchase.

The 3D CAD sketches below show the design intent. You see a front lower quadrant of the FFR Roadster Chassis, the plates that the LCA and Steering rack bolt to. The Bump Stop arms attach to these two bolts on either side.

Picture below is the raw pair of braces. They are 1018 cold rolled steel, laser cut. Ready for the rattle can paint color of your choice.

Picture below is the brace installed on the driver side. Note the rubber pads attached to the arm. Shown are two 1/4" thick rubber pads and tie-wraps. The pads give a bit of cushion and protect the arm from damage. The braces clear the steering linkage and suspension throughout their entire range of travel. This will also need to be confirmed on your installation before driving as well.

 

Picture below is the brace installed on the passenger side. Steering rack shown is typical manual rack. The SN95 spindles are set up with the competition brackets and bump steer assembly as supplied by FFR.

Click below to see the testing videos.

 

Plates ready to ship.

 Installation Suggestions - Car up, wheels off, shocks off. Naturally make sure the car is supported solidly on jack stands before working on or under chassis. Remove the front Ford nut from the LCA and put aside. Remove the nut and bolt from the steering rack and replace the bolt with the supplied 1/2" x 5" bolt. The existing bolt may have been too short to properly catch the locknut. 

You will find that the supplied arms are different lengths. The shorter of the two is the driver's side, due to the placement of the steering shaft input. Place the LCA Kit arms in place on the ends of the bolt and run the nuts on just tight enough to allow you to slide the arm in and out. You will see that by sliding the arm in and out, this raises or lowers the end of the arm. 

SIDENOTE: If you were to go to the trouble of taking the coil off the shock. Then loosely reinstall it and the front wheel.  Then jack the suspension upward. You would most likely find that the wheel would contact the body before shock travel ran out. This tells us that the shock is most likely never completely collapsed during any usual driving situation. But if we were to find that the shock does indeed stop short, this is the point where we would want to adjust our LCA brace to. The typical upward travel would be limited by the shock, this is where we would want our tire to stop in the event of a component failure. But, if the shock does not limit the upward travel enough to keep the tire from contacting the body, we will have to choose at which point we want this to happen. This should be just enough to allow the tire to roll and give us some steering control left and right. 

Now take two of the rubber pads and fasten them to the control arms using two supplied tie-wraps. Look at the picture for proper placement. The pads will go over the "hump" in the shock mounting assembly. Pull the wraps tight and cut off the ends. 

Install the wheels temporarily and point them straight ahead. Now, using the jack, carefully raise the wheel until it contacts the body. I placed a couple of thick shop towels on the top of the tire and lowered the wheel until they pulled out with no contact. Note this position in relation to the LCA brace. The object here is to find the optimum position of the brace that allows the wheel to rotate and have several degrees of steering left and right. 

Remove the tire and snug up the bolts holding the brace. Re-install the tire. Now, place the jack under the shock mount of the LCA (use a pad or block) and slowly jack up the wheel until the bump stop contacts the arm. The tire should rotate freely if a proper position has been found. If not, take off the tire and push the brace in a bit, this lowers it. Try again. Once the sweet spot has been found, ease upward on the jack until you see the corner of the car lift off the jacks slightly. You will see the rubber snubbers compress as the brace takes the weight. You should still have a tire that rotates. Try the steering wheel, you should also have a few degrees of steering. 

Take the wheel off. With the jack still under the shock attachment point on the LCA, raise and lower the suspension through it's range. At the extents of travel, cycle the steering to it's extreme left and right. We are looking for ANY interference with the new LCA brace and normal operation. This is extremely important so be sure you know what you are looking for. You may find that the steering rack might touch at the one extreme or another, you might be able to eliminate this with a rack travel limit spacer, usually those are sections of PVC installed on the rack under the bellows. You might have a special bump-steer attachment that gets in the way. If you cannot come up with a method to eliminate this conflict, if it exists, then you will have to abandon your installation and return the parts. 

However, barring any conflicts with suspension travel and steering movement, lock down the bolts as originally installed. Proceed with the procedure on the opposite side of the car. 

Re-install the shocks, wheels, and take a few minutes to think about the installation, the LCA braces and parts that you've removed and re-installed. Is everything back together as it should be? Put the car back on the ground and give it a roll and range of steering by hand. Any sounds or feelings of conflict? There shouldn't be any. 

Now give the car an easy shakedown cruise and pay special attention for anything unusual. There! You've done it. You can now have that peace of mind that if something was to happen with a component of the front shocks, you just might have averted problems.

SIDENOTE - During the installation, you may find that by elongating the holes or doing some perimeter grinding on the LCA braces, you get the adjustment you need. The back side of the small brace might hit the steering rack for instance. This should/might only be required in unusual component installations. Only attempt this if you are mechanically inclined, which you should be if you built the car. If after your best attempts, you find the braces will not work for you, contact me and we'll discuss a return of the parts. I want you to be able to install these successfully, if you can't, then I don't want you to pay for them - even if you've modified them. This offer is limited to 30 days after purchase though, so get them on the car and check them out. 

Good luck and All the Best, Don                                                                                     ver. 08/08 

                                        Check out the Driving Light / Grill Kit while you are here! 


                                                                       ****** DISCLAIMER and PURCHASE ******

I don't know how to put this any gentler than simply saying, "You are on your own here." As much as we may want others to be responsible for perceived issues, you're the one with the race car in the garage. These are quality car kits; designed and supplied with the best of intents. You may be one of many that feel the shocks in question are adequate and sound as attested by FFR and Bilstein. As FFR has studied the problem in depth, they have found reasons for all but a very small percentage of the breakages and have offered an inspection procedure to all so you can make sure your shock/spring combinations are within their guidelines. I know you have already done this, if you haven't then here is their link - - - - - -  FFR INSPECTION PROCEDURE   - - - - - - .  With that understanding, you desire to take an active role in "enhancing" the design. You understand how the LCA Bump Stops work, are a benefit and compliment the existing design. But, you also fully understand that it is up to you to determine the suitability of the design to your needs. You agree to take full responsibility. No warranty or guarantee of any kind is expressed or implied. If you don't agree with this for any reason, simply return the product - your money, sans shipping costs, will be cheerfully refunded. 

   (click here) I have read the above disclaimer and would like to purchase, (click here)