So is this poor design, poor materials or poor protection from the elements?.
I think it is a consequence of taking a design intended for track use and not re-engineering it for road use.
I think the S5 suspension re-design was a reflection of the inherent short life, and the CX platform has a much more "road car" suspension.
Those of us that run S1 to S4 based cars will just have to accept the problem as part of the "exclusivity"...as Howard has implied, if you can afford such a vehicle then you should be able to afford to run and repair it.
The S1 suspension is different to the S2 onwards cars, and uses different ball joints. The suspension was redesigned for the S2 cars onwards and I believe the S5 cars still use the same ball joints as the uprights are the same, even with the substantial change in wishbone design
In my opinion the reason the ball joints knock out with such low mileages is that they are loaded incorrectly with the Aeros unique rocker arm front suspension
I’ve spent a great deal of time in the last 2 weeks working out how to remove the S2 on ball joints from the castings, and trying source and identify replacements
Simon @ Sifab.co.uk
