Review - Andy McCoy High Clearance Radius Rod - NOT Good!

[PaulF]

I have never posted a negative review before, even if I have problems with a product or service because I have always been able to work it out with the seller or service provider (I am very patient). I had a small issue with this same company with the Quick Release Sway Bar Links but they promptly sent me updated hardware. Even after that experience, I still recommended the links and several have purchased them from my recommendation.

However, I must post my horrible and expensive experience with their radius rods. These rods give the most ground clearance that I have seen and are built tough but that is where it ends...

1. The design uses heim joints and allows the rods to rotate forward and back. While this does not impede the function, it is strange. You can mitigate it a little by offsetting the center position of the inner and outer joints so they don't pivot too much and still allow for full and proper movement.
2. The heim joints squeak like hell and I HATE squeaks and rattles.
3. Only have about 250 miles on them and the heim joints are already loose. My stock rods with over 2,500 miles are still tight as new.
4. But the worse part is that the arch design on the upper rods is so high and they didn't design enough clearance that if you drive aggressively, the upper rod will hit the exhaust and ruin your muffler.

I tried to work it out with them but they told me to take it to a local shop (not sure how that would help a poorly designed part) and would only refer to their (basically useless) 15 day "Return Policy" and "Terms and Conditions" (which states ZERO fitment guarantee and that if you bought it, you keep it). Their customer service is HORRIBLE to say the least. Because they will not stand behind their poorly designed product, I do not recommend this product.

I will have to put my stock upper rods back on for now until I decide which of the other rods will be better. It is a shame, these rods offer the most rear clearance. They should have made the top rod straight like most of the other...

Upper left rod is hitting the hot exhaust so hard (and so often) that the paint is melted and rubbed away down to the metal...

And it dented the hell out of my pipe (pic is deceiving, that is dented in over 1/2 inch). Need a new muffler to correct this...

 

[CID]

I was looking at your picture and thinking 'could the top rod be straight and still work' even before reading your post. I decided that 'sure it could' but it wouldn't look as symmetrical as with both bent the same amount.

That said (and completely irrelevant ☺), that they wouldn't be jumping all over themselves trying to make this right, is a REALLY BAD business model. That there is contact with the exhaust is simply a very basic design flaw and unacceptable (duh ). Sorry to hear that they aren't stepping up to a solution and are using the lame 15 day return policy. Thankfully, we now have the internet to pass this information on to others.

 

[Lil_Steve]

Damn, that sucks but thanks for sharing this, Paul. I definitely purchased their Quick Release Sway bar kit based on your recommendation. I think the function of that kit is great, the only minor complaint I have is the powder coating was a little sloppy.

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see how the upper rods being arched is a benefit since it doesn't affect ground clearance.

Early on I went with the L&W Fab radius arms and I also initially thought the heim joint design was weird. But I've put over a thousand miles on that set up and have not experienced any squeaks and the joints are still very tight. I realize this information doesn't help your current situation but if you are somehow able to get refunded I wholeheartedly recommend the L&W radius rods/arms. I believe they offer a lifetime warranty on the non wearing parts.

 

[PaulF]

That said (and completely irrelevant ☺), that they wouldn't be jumping all over themselves trying to make this right, is a REALLY BAD business model.

A few lost sales will cost them much more than making it right with me, not sure what they are thinking. Customer service is EVERYTHING now because of the internet. I realize there are some people you simply can't make happy but I am not one of them. This is honestly the first bad review I have ever done. I am pissed as hell!

Damn, that sucks but thanks for sharing this, Paul. I definitely purchased their Quick Release Sway bar kit based on your recommendation. I think the function of that kit is great, the only minor complaint I have is the powder coating was a little sloppy.

I cannot comment on the powder coating. They only offered white and I didn't want that so I bought mine raw and painted them silver to match the stock suspension parts.

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see how the upper rods being arched is a benefit since it doesn't affect ground clearance.

No benefit whatsoever, they do it that way only for looks. I will install the stock upper rods and see how odd it looks and post a pic.

Early on I went with the L&W Fab radius arms and I also initially thought the heim joint design was weird. But I've put over a thousand miles on that set up and have not experienced any squeaks and the joints are still very tight. I realize this information doesn't help your current situation but if you are somehow able to get refunded I wholeheartedly recommend the L&W radius rods/arms. I believe they offer a lifetime warranty on the non wearing parts.

Although there is no chance for any type of refund (I gave them ample opportunities to make it right before I posted this), this does help a lot...

• It solidifies my belief that Andy McCoy used inferior heim joints.
• It helps me and others compare products and make informed decisions.
• I will highly consider the L&W rods. I have their from high clearance arms and they are exceptional pieces.

 

[Lil_Steve]

• this does help a lot...
• It helps me and others compare products and make informed decisions.
• I will highly consider the L&W rods. I have their from high clearance arms and they are exceptional pieces.

Only posting these here for comparison/reference, if it seems highjackish, let me know and I'll delete...

It looks like we're using the same "Shear Stopper" brackets, so I can confirm fitment with the L&W Fab arms. I first tried the Bosman brackets and they don't work with the L&W arms.

This was a gif I sent to @CID some time ago just to illustrate the heim movement. It required a strong grip and effort to get it to move.

The lower arm does not hit the hub when fully rotated inwards.

 

[Tommyp]

They make rod ends with no pivot point, it’s solid. If that would help the back and forth movement.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

@PaulF

You should be able to replace those bent upper arms with some trick aluminum links and decent rod ends fairly cheap. Getting the heim misalignment spacers for the metric bolt size and Honda chassis spacing is half the battle with making your own radius rods.

I was thinking about buying 8, 5/8 FK heims and some appropriate length Smileys Racing Products swedged aluminum tubes before i discovered the above problem.

XXX Sprint 1-1/8" Aluminum Radius Rods

High Performance Circle Track and Oval Track Race Parts for Sprints, Late Models, Modifieds and Street Stocks

www.smileysracing.com

Or if you prefer steel:

SRP 3/4" Steel Swaged Tubes, Threaded

High Performance Circle Track and Oval Track Race Parts for Sprints, Late Models, Modifieds and Street Stocks

www.smileysracing.com

 

[PaulF]

They make rod ends with no pivot point, it’s solid. If that would help the back and forth movement.

Good idea but because the rods pivot in multi directional arches (up/down and front/back), solid pivots would not work. The stock ends have a limited forward/back movement to them that allow for this type of pivots.

@PaulF

You should be able to replace those bent upper arms with some trick aluminum links and decent rod ends fairly cheap. Getting the heim misalignment spacers for the metric bolt size and Honda chassis spacing is half the battle with making your own radius rods.

The ends supplied with the Andy McCoy rods have machines spacers so I could reuse them.

I was thinking about buying 8, 5/8 FK heims and some appropriate length Smileys Racing Products swedged aluminum tubes before i discovered the above problem.

I am not concerned with the upper rods or even having them adjustable. I am simply going to put the stock ones back on so that I have a weak point to act as a "fuse" so I don't bend anything more critical like the frame.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Only posting these here for comparison/reference, if it seems highjackish, let me know and I'll delete...

It looks like we're using the same "Shear Stopper" brackets, so I can confirm fitment with the L&W Fab arms. I first tried the Bosman brackets and they don't work with the L&W arms.

View attachment 224354

This was a gif I sent to @CID some time ago just to illustrate the heim movement. It required a strong grip and effort to get it to move.

View attachment 224355

The lower arm does not hit the hub when fully rotated inwards.

View attachment 224356

Slicing up appropriate sized rubber or poly bushings and placing them on the outsides of the heim will prevent that movement but will allow them to pivot and move about as the suspension cycles. Some people/companies refer to them as wobble stoppers.

Daystar Lift and Leveling kits

Daystar is a household name in the automotive industry, specializing in injection molding, cast polyurethane, and elastomeric boots.

www.dieselpowerproducts.com

 

[PaulF]

UPDATE...

I took Kevin from Any McCoy's advice and took my machine to a highly respected custom UTV fab shop here in town and all he could do was laugh (out loud)!!! He said the tubes used were great and the design of the lower rods gave the most clearance possible but that was the only thing good about them.

The design of the upper rods was obviously not checked for clearance and the Heim joints that AMRC used are the lowers quality junk you can buy. They are metal on metal type joints and are completely worn out after about 200 miles. And they squeaked like hell from about 10 miles in their first ride. He suggested some good Chrome Moly joints with Nylon or Teflon bushings for no maintenance or even greaseable/rebuildable joints if I wanted to spend that kind of money.

I removed the upper rods and put the stock upper rods back on for now to avoid any further damage to the exhaust. I decided to put some Chrome Moly with Teflon/Kevlar bushed Heims on the lower rods and see how that works. Went out this weekend to the dunes, put 100 hard miles on the new joints and everything was nice, quiet and tight.

This is the junk Heim joints that AMRC used. They are metal on metal. These type of joints are suitable for something like linkage, not suspension components...

 

[Smitty335]

UPDATE...

I took Kevin from Any McCoy's advice and took my machine to a highly respected custom UTV fab shop here in town and all he could do was laugh (out loud)!!! He said the tubes used were great and the design of the lower rods gave the most clearance possible but that was the only thing good about them.

The design of the upper rods was obviously not checked for clearance and the Heim joints that AMRC used are the lowers quality junk you can buy. They are metal on metal type joints and are completely worn out after about 200 miles. And they squeaked like hell from about 10 miles in their first ride. He suggested some good Chrome Moly joints with Nylon or Teflon bushings for no maintenance or even greaseable/rebuildable joints if I wanted to spend that kind of money.

I removed the upper rods and put the stock upper rods back on for now to avoid any further damage to the exhaust. I decided to put some Chrome Moly with Teflon/Kevlar bushed Heims on the lower rods and see how that works. Went out this weekend to the dunes, put 100 hard miles on the new joints and everything was nice, quiet and tight.

This is the junk Heim joints that AMRC used. They are metal on metal. These type of joints are suitable for something like linkage, not suspension components...

View attachment 227371

Whoops , not ready for prime time!

 

[1HasBeen]

Half-baked stuff is all too common in this industry.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Buying Talon parts from a company that specializes in building high end Top Sportsman and ProMod drag cars makes no sense to me? Would you call L&W and ask them to build you a ProMod suspension?

 

[PaulF]

Buying Talon parts from a company that specializes in building high end Top Sportsman and ProMod drag cars makes no sense to me? Would you call L&W and ask them to build you a ProMod suspension?

Way to kick a guy when he is already down.

 

[CID]

Buying Talon parts from a company that specializes in building high end Top Sportsman and ProMod drag cars makes no sense to me? Would you call L&W and ask them to build you a ProMod suspension?

I have a different take on that. Since ProMod is building high end Top Sportsman and ProMod drag cars and decided to enter the SxS market, why wouldn't I think I'd get high end SxS suspension parts that someone, anyone would have drawn up in a CAD program to see that they would ACTUALLY WORK without interference on my SxS? 🤔

Another point - if you were in this business and someone contacted you about the interference with photos, wouldn't you immediately apologize and send a full refund, including the cost of a replacement for the damaged stock parts? And then stop production immediately, until you could reengineer the defective parts? And contact all owners that had those parts and offer them full reimbursement? 🤔

If I had my own company, you can bet your butt I'd be all over this like stink on doo doo.

 

[1HasBeen]

They can't be too "high end" if they couldn't be bothered to cycle the suspension, and check for interference.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

I have a different take on that. Since ProMod is building high end Top Sportsman and ProMod drag cars and decided to enter the SxS market, why wouldn't I think I'd get high end SxS suspension parts that someone, anyone would have drawn up in a CAD program to see that they would ACTUALLY WORK without interference on my SxS? 🤔

Another point - if you were in this business and someone contacted you about the interference with photos, wouldn't you immediately apologize and send a full refund, including the cost of a replacement for the damaged stock parts? And then stop production immediately, until you could reengineer the defective parts? And contact all owners that had those parts and offer them full reimbursement? 🤔

If I had my own company, you can bet your butt I'd be all over this like stink on doo doo.

My take....... He doesn't care at all because selling Talon suspension parts isn't his business, and if sombody isn't happy with his product it has ZERO effect on his money maker.

Don't get me wrong, selling crappy parts to Paul isn't cool but the guy obviously doesn't give a shat about that side of the business. Hence why I wouldn't by Talon parts from a pro mod builder.

 

[1HasBeen]

If you put your name on stuff you don't give a shyt about, then that speaks volumes. If you don't care, then don't get involved. Simple business ethics.

 

[JeffDavis]

I designed and fabricated multiple sets if radius rods for the Talon X. An arched upper rod is absolutely not needed, ever. As seen, all it does is cause interference issues. I spend 8 months testing mine for any known or possible issues, offer a lifetime warranty and use FK rod ends. I also try to price them competitively at $420 shipped fir a full set. I use a bushing at the frame to keep the noise down, keeping the rod from "flopping" around. This is a hard market to compete in! But good products with good support are never a bad thing. The AMRC rods were not very thought-out and even worse, badly executed and they surely did not stand behind their product.

The picture of the rods while mounted on my Talon are a quick set I tossed together for Moab last year, using the stock Honda rod ends.

 

[CID]

I designed and fabricated multiple sets if radius rods for the Talon X. An arched upper rod is absolutely not needed, ever. As seen, all it does is cause interference issues. I spend 8 months testing mine for any known or possible issues, offer a lifetime warranty and use FK rod ends. I also try to price them competitively at $420 shipped fir a full set. I use a bushing at the frame to keep the noise down, keeping the rod from "flopping" around. This is a hard market to compete in! But good products with good support are never a bad thing. The AMRC rods were not very thought-out and even worse, badly executed and they surely did not stand behind their product.

The picture of the rods while mounted on my Talon are a quick set I tossed together for Moab last year, using the stock Honda rod ends.

View attachment 228237 View attachment 228238

YAY, another member from the once great state of Colorado. 👍 What city? Will you be making these for the Talon R? 🤔 Have you signed up for a vendorship here?