Front A Arms

Rauchman

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2019
What is a suggested Brand for Tubular upper and lower front control arms 87 GN Street Car
 
There are several options for coil spring setups and for coil overs.

I think UMI Performance is hard to beat either way. SC&C, Ride Tech, Detroit Speed Equipment and others.

The QA1 A-arms are set up for coil overs and use adapters for coil springs if you might change to coil overs later on. Just take out the adapter and you’re good.

I believe they all improve geometry and are best used with 1” taller upper ball joints to improve steering response and camber curve.

The UMI street version uses urethane bushings on the lower A-arms and the race version uses Heim joints (rod ends), whereas both use delrin bushings on the upper A-arms.
 
There are several options for coil spring setups and for coil overs.

I think UMI Performance is hard to beat either way. SC&C, Ride Tech, Detroit Speed Equipment and others.

The QA1 A-arms are set up for coil overs and use adapters for coil springs if you might change to coil overs later on. Just take out the adapter and you’re good.

I believe they all improve geometry and are best used with 1” taller upper ball joints to improve steering response and camber curve.

The UMI street version uses urethane bushings on the lower A-arms and the race version uses Heim joints (rod ends), whereas both use delrin bushings on the upper A-arms.
Thank you for such a detailed response. I like UMI. Are the Delrin. bushings better against heat?
 
My apologies, I was thinking the taller upper ball joints were 1” taller, but they are 1/2” taller.

UMI sells the upper A-arms with 1/2” taller ball joints already installed as an option.

Complete street kit with taller upper ball joints and standard lower ball joints.


You lucky dog. They are on sale.
 
My apologies, I was thinking the taller upper ball joints were 1” taller, but they are 1/2” taller.

UMI sells the upper A-arms with 1/2” taller ball joints already installed as an option.

Complete street kit with taller upper ball joints and standard lower ball joints.


You lucky dog. They are on sale.
My apologies, I was thinking the taller upper ball joints were 1” taller, but they are 1/2” taller.

UMI sells the upper A-arms with 1/2” taller ball joints already installed as an option.

Complete street kit with taller upper ball joints and standard lower ball joints.


You lucky dog. They are on sale.
I'll order them today! Good timing. Thanks
 
I have UMI upper and lowers with 1/2” tall upper and lower ball joints, bumpsteer kit and the front and rear braces, sway bars with aldan american coilovers in the front. Made a huge difference on handling.



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I have UMI upper and lowers with 1/2” tall upper and lower ball joints, bumpsteer kit and the front and rear braces, sway bars with aldan american coilovers in the front. Made a huge difference on handling.



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You still needed the bumpsteer kit even with the taller upper ball joint?

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You still needed the bumpsteer kit even with the taller upper ball joint?

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No, you only need bumpsteer correction if you change the lower ball joint. The upper ball joint doesn't mess with the relationship between the lower arm and the steering knuckle.

On the arms, in my not so humble opinion, don't bother with any arm that doesn't have a metal bushing for a Turbo Regal. Even on a stock-ish car, it will cook the rear bushings on the upper arms. Given that knowledge, the UMI race arms are the only arm I would put on a Turbo Regal ever again, and I've been through a lot of arms. And these are low maintenance. Keep them clean and hit them with a quality spray lubricant occasionally.

Everybody's gone to Delrin, and for all the LS swap guys, they work fine. We're a different application. The Delrin melts at just 347F. It will deform well below that. You can melt a delrin bushing with a Harbor Freight heat gun. That's less heat tolerance than the OE rubber. So your exhaust is going to cook them.

You'll want these front upper arms:

http://umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_59_273&products_id=861

You want the 1" taller, not the 0.5.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can order the arms without the ball joints and get these ball joints instead:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Spee...d-Stud-Ball-Joints,279374.html?sku=91720145-1

I'm not sure it's worth it to order the arms without the ball joints unless you already have a set of tall joints to swap in.
 
Last edited:
No, you only need bumpsteer correction if you change the lower ball joint. The upper ball joint doesn't mess with the relationship between the lower arm and the steering knuckle.

On the arms, in my not so humble opinion, don't bother with any arm that doesn't have a metal bushing for a Turbo Regal. Even on a stock-ish car, it will cook the rear bushings on the upper arms. Given that knowledge, the UMI race arms are the only arm I would put on a Turbo Regal ever again, and I've been through a lot of arms. And these are low maintenance. Keep them clean and hit them with a quality spray lubricant occasionally.

Everybody's gone to Delrin, and for all the LS swap guys, they work fine. We're a different application. The Delrin melts at just 347F. It will deform well below that. You can melt a delrin bushing with a Harbor Freight heat gun. That's less heat tolerance than the OE rubber. So your exhaust is going to cook them.

You'll want these front upper arms:

http://umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_59_273&products_id=861

You want the 1" taller, not the 0.5.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can order the arms without the ball joints and get these ball joints instead:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Spee...d-Stud-Ball-Joints,279374.html?sku=91720145-1

I'm not sure it's worth it to order the arms without the ball joints unless you already have a set of tall joints to swap in.
Great info. The only reason I haven't touched my front arms yet is that taller upper bj is going to drop the front height slightly right? I run a 265 wide front tire, it's shorter than stock though, on a G-body 15x8 aluminum replica rim and they rub slightly only at full lock which doesn't bother me. I have Kirban springs and bilstein shocks so it it not currently sagging anywhere.

How much will the front drop?


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No, you only need bumpsteer correction if you change the lower ball joint. The upper ball joint doesn't mess with the relationship between the lower arm and the steering knuckle.

On the arms, in my not so humble opinion, don't bother with any arm that doesn't have a metal bushing for a Turbo Regal. Even on a stock-ish car, it will cook the rear bushings on the upper arms. Given that knowledge, the UMI race arms are the only arm I would put on a Turbo Regal ever again, and I've been through a lot of arms. And these are low maintenance. Keep them clean and hit them with a quality spray lubricant occasionally.

Everybody's gone to Delrin, and for all the LS swap guys, they work fine. We're a different application. The Delrin melts at just 347F. It will deform well below that. You can melt a delrin bushing with a Harbor Freight heat gun. That's less heat tolerance than the OE rubber. So your exhaust is going to cook them.

You'll want these front upper arms:

http://umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_59_273&products_id=861

You want the 1" taller, not the 0.5.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can order the arms without the ball joints and get these ball joints instead:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Spee...d-Stud-Ball-Joints,279374.html?sku=91720145-1

I'm not sure it's worth it to order the arms without the ball joints unless you already have a set of tall joints to swap in.

I had in my head 1” taller upper ball joints were the way to go, but they only listed the 1/2”ers.
They do show the 1” ones in their upper A-arms only list, just not in the upper and lower kits. Odd.
 
Great info. The only reason I haven't touched my front arms yet is that taller upper bj is going to drop the front height slightly right? I run a 265 wide front tire, it's shorter than stock though, on a G-body 15x8 aluminum replica rim and they rub slightly only at full lock which doesn't bother me. I have Kirban springs and bilstein shocks so it it not currently sagging anywhere.

How much will the front drop?


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Ride height is determined by the relationship between the spring, lower control arm, and the spindle. Those are the things in between the frame and the spindle snout. The upper control arm is above all of that.

Thus, the upper ball joint has no effect on ride height. The lower ball joint has a lot of effects on ride height and steering linkage geometry. If you're not srs bzns with the car, a 1" taller upper ball joint is the way to go, and you can pretty much stop there. It doesn't screw up the steering geometry, it doesn't affect the ride height. It just fixes the camber curve and will dramatically improve the way the car feels.

It's the easy button. There are essentially no drawbacks to using a longer upper ball joint, only positives.
 
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