"...This is what a Bullet Proof Steering linkage looks like after racing in the baja-1000 for 50+ miles with it being used as a bump stop after we lost both the drivers side front shock and bumpstop! A lesser linkage would have snapped off within 2 miles…"   
    -Phil Moulton, Oregon

NOTE: the vertical downward force beating onto the tie rod tube. This placed extreme pressure on the side of the rod end in the worst possible scenario, where the center ball is trying to be forced out of the bearing race.
Our Special Rod End bearing held up perfectly nice and tight just like new, and the tubing only bent slightly! This is...

   BAJA   
       TESTED
            TUFF!

"...We not only left the infamous (baja 1000) checkpoint one in the dust but checkpoint two and three as well.. and due to some fate of the Baja gods we timed out. Approximately 10 miles before Checkpoint 4. 150 miles of race course. We lost the front shock at approximately race mile 80 when I hit a whoop a lil too hard and we went the next 70 miles with no left front shock or shock mount or bumpstop and the Front suspension was bottoming out on the Track bar mount and the Bullet Proof Steering's linkage. Both held up with the over 70 miles of Racing with only a slight bend in the linkage. I am MOST impressed..  every time we hit a "whoop" both matt and I were saying 4 letter words loudly... but this is what was keeping us in the race…"    -Phil Moulton, Oregon

The above rod end was the same one pictured above connected to the tie rid which the broken suspension was slamming and banging against for 70 unrelenting miles in the grueling Baja desert. And even then, only a slight bend was the final result, never even coming close to failing in it's performance and reliability! And above and beyond all that, the exceptionally super tight bearing clearance and fit that our Bullet Proof Rod Ends™ are known for was still like it was when brand new out of the box!!! Nothing compares to a Genuine Bullet Proof Rod End™! Nothing.

The above rod end was grinding against the inner wheel for a considerable length which sawed through nearly three quarters of the rod end's main body housing the critical bearing and race. Even though the extreme carnage is clearly visible, there were no signs of failure, and in fact the bearing clearance and our signature Bullet Proof™  Tightness was STILL fully intact and ready to take on even more abuse!

The rod end to the right was not threaded into the tube properly as shown. Only five threads were engaged through the rigors of the brutal Baja 1000, yet our one piece machined tubing threads held up perfectly, as did the threads on the rod end. Normal weld in adaptors would have failed long before this, resulting in a total loss of steering and an inevitable crash. The Bullet Proof™ Advantage is proven!

The Race Proof tubing to the left shows that the only external metallurgical damage the to the surface was the powder coating was scraped off after 70 miles of hard, solid suspension impacts in the Baja 1000 outback. The image below shows the slight bend that resulted after 70 miles of relentless slamming and pounding from the impact of the broken suspension keeping the vehicle from bottoming out elsewhere. "A lesser linkage would have snapped off in 2 miles" says Baja racer Phil Moulton in his post race assessment "This was keeping us in the race" added Moulton. This certified "Built Bullet Proof Tough" evidence of the quality and performance we build into each and every system, whether for trail or competition!