Kraton Kraton 4s v2.5 - my turnbuckles/rod ends upgrade quest.

[Barmaleus]

Hey all!

Want to share my experience in upgrading the rods/rod ends on Kraton 4s v2.5.

As I drive in wet conditions more than I'd want, my plan is to upgrade parts to stainless steel where possible. So long story short, I got a set of GPM rods (MAKS160S-OC-BEBK; who comes up with such part names? ). I knew these were made for v1 and was ready to improvise. Most important were the stainless steel rods and pivot balls. Somehow I did not find any other suitable replacements (stainless steel) that would fit v2 (I am in Europe).

GPM rods were received and, as I expected, were too short for v2. No worries!

Here is what I did: removed rod ends and pivot balls from GPM set. Took ARA330757 (Arrma rod end set) and slapped those on the GPM stainless steel rods along with the steel pivot balls.

The Frankenstein rods were successfully installed and my Kraton is super happy. As the funny factory plastic pivot balls were almost destroyed, the overall improvement in car handling with the steel pivot balls was immediately noticeable.

Overall, very happy with the upgrade. Just wish GPM had a set for v2. But v1 works great with some tinkering. After all, this is part of the hobby

 

[Glitch]

Nice mod. Are these plastic rod ends?

 

[Barmaleus]

@Glitch Yep, ARA330757. Works fine for now. Haven't found anything better in Europe so far.

 

[Glitch]

@Glitch Yep, ARA330757. Works fine for now. Haven't found anything better in Europe so far.

Nice.
So I'm a little confused.
Are you using 6s rod ends with GPM buckles?

 

[Barmaleus]

@Glitch Hmm, nope, ARA330757 are default for Kraton 4S. If I am not messing up things.
GPM rods and pivot balls + rod ends from a ARA330757 set.

 

[Glitch]

@Glitch Hmm, nope, ARA330757 are default for Kraton 4S. If I am not messing up things.
GPM rods and pivot balls + rod ends from a ARA330757 set.

I see!
Great mod. I wonder if they could start selling the pivot balls separately. Also vitavon makes some for v2

 

[Barmaleus]

@Glitch
Thanks! I actually plan to email GPM and ask if they'd sell pivot balls separately. Theoretically, the only thing I'd need to replace in this setup are either rod ends or the pivot balls. GPM stainless steel rods look/feel super sturdy.

I looked at the Vitavon. 70 bucks for 4 rods. That's a high price. Especially taking into consideration that you'd need 2 more for steering.

Let's see how the GPM mod performs over time.