Adjustable Strut Rods

Most of the adjustable strut rods on the market are basically the same, a pillow block that takes the place of the bushing followed by a heim joint. Some of them have a fastener that screws in from the backside of the LCA, some of them use a screw in stud on the end of the tube so there’s just a nut on the back of the LCA. The latter makes it harder to install the strut rod initially but easier to adjust. Firm Feel makes a set that’s adjustable but still used a bushing at the front. I like the QA1 strut rods personally, but they’re really all pretty similar. Making sure they have flats on the tube to adjust them makes them easier to adjust.

As far as why you need them, it’s all in the stock design. The factory strut rods are a “one size fits most” operation. The factory tolerances on these cars are fairly loose, even at the suspension components. The factory got around that using pretty thick rubber bushings, so the soft bushing takes up any difference. The problem with that is if the strut rod isn’t exactly the right length you get binding in the suspension at the LCA, which you don’t want. The strut rods also allow for movement in multiple planes. So, the soft bushing is bad in fore/aft direction, because it allows a lot of movement of the LCA in that direction which causes caster changes. But, it has to be soft in the up/down direction otherwise the binding is exacerbated. Which is why I don’t like poly strut rod bushings- they reduce caster changes but increase vertical binding.

The adjustment shouldn’t be used to add caster. The whole idea is that you make the strut rod the right length for your car so that there’s no binding in your suspension within the range of travel. That improves the suspension reaction and reduces caster changes. You may see some increase in positive caster when they’re adjusted correctly, but that shouldn’t be the end goal.