Assembly Procedure Update
We have become aware of a few customers who have had fasteners come loose from adjustable front upper control arms.  This is a serious concern, please read the following information to make sure this does not happen.

(left)  current locknut, (right) older style locknut
Due to the circumstances, we are taking the following action immediately:
  • We are currently sending out notices to all affected customers who have these adjustable control arms.
  • We have ordered replacement fasteners and are sending them to all affected customers.
  • We are posting this on our website and on computer discussion forums.
  • We are assigning an engineer to audit web based forums (not something we do as a routine).
  • We are implementing a 24 hour hot line for any reports involving safety of FFR products.
There are posts on the discussion forums which discuss loose or missing nuts that are used on adjustable upper control arms (there are three sets of bolts/nuts that secure the actual arm of the control arm to the base of the control arm and the part of the control arm where the ball joint is threaded into).

We became aware of the problem yesterday when customers told us to read the forums. Jesper published a quick update to address this last night (October 14, 2003). After some careful investigation and a thorough review today (October 15, 2003) with tech support and the engineering team, we are taking the actions listed above. Lets review the conclusions reached by engineering and our guys here.

Tightening:
First of all we really do believe the fasteners sent are the correct for the application. Standard engineering charts for these fasteners state clearly the correct torque specification is 60 ft/lbs. A quick assumption is that the fasteners were not sufficiently tightened. A report of stripped threads and assurances of customers that they were correctly tightened indicate that the wrong fasteners could have been sent out with the arms. Reports that the bolts do not protrude THRU the nut also indicate that the wrong fasteners could have been sent. There is no way we can individually verify each and every fastener since (for these fasteners specifically) they were shipped from an outside supplier and THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE SIMPLY CAN'T TAKE THE CHANCE. These control arms are one of the only parts that we don't order fasteners for ourselves. They were included with the arms and we think it was a mistake. We don't want anyone wasting time calling Pole position, we sold the arms, we are replacing the fasteners ourselves.

We have ordered replacement fasteners to be sent to every customer who may have these parts.

You can check your control arm fasteners by looking at the bolt head and it should have three slash marks indicating a Grade 5 bolt. We do not recommend grade 8 bolts in this application since the part is in shear. You should check to verify that the bolt protrudes THRU the nut (engaging the locking nylon collar).

On the older nuts (mechanical locking toothed nut) the 60 ft/lbs is a must. Once these are put on at this torque they just don’t come off.

The locknut was changed from a mechanical locking toothed nut to a nylon style locknut approximately one year ago. This was done at our request as we prefer this style. There is nothing wrong with the mechanical locking toothed nut but they must be torqued to the correct specified foot-pounds so that they grab into the surface of the part.

Also note that the correct torque specification of 60 foot-pounds is for a dry bolt. The number would be reduced if there is oil or grease on the threads. Please make sure that all of the bolts in the kit are clean and dry when tightening them to the correct torque.

Accuracy: It is best to use a click style torque wrench, not a beam style.
Notes: We are truly thankful to the individuals who made this known. We would ask for even more help in the future when something like this happens. We want to try to make it easier to contact us directly. We are asking the forums to install direct links for safety items on their sites (to our tech email) and we are also implementing a 24 hour tech alert hotline.

Above all else we care about your safety. Our cars have logged hundreds of thousands of miles on the track and on the street. We trust our cars with our lives and want you to rest assured your safety is engineered into every FFR part.

If you have any concerns, questions or feel that you don’t understand this message, please e-mail or call FFR’s tech department at 508-291-3443.

Dave Smith
Jesper Ingerslev
Jim Schenk
Joe Fournier
Factory Five Racing, Inc.