Brent Peters
Tackled one of the bigger jobs on the off season list for our Excel Cup Car, finally welded out the front Lower Control Arm (LCA) mounts.
Welding out the LCA mounts is allowed in the rules due to it being a weak and common failure point on the Hyundai Excels. The front LCA mounts with a bracket that that sort of saddles the LCA to the chassis with a through bolt, a majority of the weight and load hangs out in front of the pick up. Over time the seems and mounts pull apart especially if your heavy on the curbs (cough – turn 7 Wanneroo cough cough).
When these do pull apart or the mounts warp and you can end up chasing your tail with wheel alignments as the LCA can flex and move under load. Wheel alignment and set up makes a massive difference in a control category like the Excel Cup, so anything to control and keep your alignment constant can help get you further up the pack.
I’m not a fabricator nor the worlds best welder very far from it, but any excuse to practice and try to improve I’m in. Especially on something like the excel where the job is basic and the risk vs dollars is no where near as high. Doing this did give me the confidence to tackle the stich welding for the new R32 skyline race car which I’m looking forward to.
Have any questions just give us a shout happy to share what I’ve learnt so far.
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