FRP suspension & steering info

not done it all yet but i have learnt a lot so far so will try to amass it all here for everyones future reference......

as always i will try to make this concise & full of info so please pm me with any info & i will amend it as necessary (with names etc- dont like stealing anyones thunder). it just keeps things neat and unconfusing!

few posts;

frp steering rack
frp lower arms (wisbone - front)
frp rear track spacer
frp coilovers

as always please give it a good read over & pm me anything iv missed or got wrong....thanks

frp steering rack

utilises a bog standard puma steering rack & other than water getting into the gaitors & rusting on the track rods it doesnt seem to cause an issue. can be replaced 'exchange' for £100

track rods are frp specific tho!!! the rods themselves are 2 part; a rod and a ball joint. the rod is (im 99% sure) from a focus of the same age bu the ball joint (and the 2 cant be seperated unless you work in a factory etc!!) is different....it screws into the steering rack but is thicker than standard so it acts as a 'travel reducing' washer of sorts

i have a pic somewhere comparing my frp one and a std puma one from a spare rack i bought.......

if youv bent a track rod arm then replace it with a focus one and be careful when applying full lock.......

not to be confused with track rod END; thats the bit that connects the track rod to the hub carrier..... (and wears out a lot)

frp lower arms

as far as i know there bog standard puma arms that were chopped clean through approx 20cm from the ball joint end, seperated by 35mm and a thick steel plate filled (and overlapped) the gap......

diagram & pics to come



now pumabuild will sell you a replica set (made by someone for him; ie not ford parts im told) for £200 EACH!!! with uprated bushes.

consider this; arms are about £20 each, poly bushes are about £100 for all 4, now pay an engineer £50 to chop it in half & weld a plate over it....! cos its about £20 labour & a tenner for parts......! not everyone can do this of course but it might enlighten anyone who thinks £200 is a bargain!
oh & i do mean any engineering place in the yellow pages....take your frp arm in with a new one & itd be ready by tea time......

i have done a seperate guide on how to remove the lower ball joint and replace for £9, (about £30 labour) and wheel tracking

rear track spacer

exactly what it says on the tin....an alloy plate between the rear trailing arm and the brake disc assembly.....20mm thick on all frps bar the press cars which have a 30mm spacer. this was thought to put too much stress on the assembly, not to mention getting high tensile bolts that long is a pain because they are more likely to fail....so not taken through to production....

spacers sometimes come up on ebay but like i said if you want thicker ones youl struggle to find bolts.... if anyone knows where to get bolts let me kno as the industrial suppliers i use dont tend to deal in high tensile bolts like that....

frp coilovers

dunno a lot about them yet....

there sachs i believe
eibach springs
VW (yes!) orange bump stops!
fronts are thinner at the base where they enter the hub carrier as the angle in which they sit was rearranged by using an insert (so the hub carrier is different too) and tusly the frp system is not upgradeable at all!

fronts are circa £300
rears £200

generally there not worth anything to the fiesta boys cos you could only use the rears (unless you machine a shim up....) and nothing else on the market will fit an frp unless its custom made.....

frp uprated shocks were made (RPJ?) and are a track day version of the frp shocks but there wernet many made...

as an interesting side note all frp springs carry the name 'st160 prototype'!!!

saved in case i think of anything else......!

ditto!


feel free to ask any questions

what mods would have to be done to get coilovers to fit an frp ? the rears would be ok ? but what would have to be done on the front.

i think (cant be sure as i havent personally taken them apart & compared to a std puma..) that the bottom end of the new coilover would need to be machined thinner....whether this is possible is upto the manufacturer & how thick they make the bottom ends....if its a thin tube then theres no chance....

other way would be to modify the hub carrier; this is easier but because the factory didnt do it im guessing it would have weakened it to much so really you'd need custom hubs.....! im thinking aluminium for when i attempt to go to coilovers....

im hoping to get a spare std hub from a scrappy soon & take the frp one apart to compare......too many jobs on already tho!

cheers mate will look into it was for the sheel of 295 that a friend has but just interested myself