scojack_2001
Livin' Like A Refugee
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
Good reading here. Im about to install my set I got a while back. Been meaning to look into the longer ball joint info.
Charlie that is correct you mount it under the a-arm.
Rodney the nuts on the ball joint if you bought them from us are locking nuts. Usually with plastic in them. Sorry to hear what happened.
One other thing I can add on ball joint position. You were very lucky on the bolts coming out Rod. Most of these get the ball joint mounted on the bottom to help with the camber curve, not in the stock manor.
I would also like to add that although mounting the BJ on the bottom of the upper arm does help with the curve, I NEVER DO IT!!!! It is a major safety concern becuase of instinces as stated above. If you mount them on the bottom and loose your nuts "", your car is done! Or yourself and your family for that matter.
We have them on our site but not by themselves. I'll dig up a Moog part # for the taller ball joints. Here is a UMI set up with the taller ball joint just so you can see the picture.It's not something you can get through a normal parts store. You have to get it from a racing supplier like Speedway motors or Day motorsports. I don't know if Brian has them or not.
The factory geometry is horrible and is not worth duplicating. Every G body can benefit from taller upper and lower ball joints. Proforged upper and lower joints get the job done. Using a 1/2" taller lower joint raises the upper ball join 1/2",gets rid of most of the bump steer,and lowers the car 1/2". Adding 1/2" longer upper joints raises the upper ball joints another 1/2" for a total upward movement of 1". This makes a big improvement toward a negative camber curve and that is a good thing. Then you could use the upper control arms with bump stops that G Body sells or you could use these.See why I don't want any funny stuff that varies too far from factory? Too much weird shit. Just looking for tubular arms that replicate the exact geometry of the factory stuff.
The factory geometry is horrible and is not worth duplicating. Every G body can benefit from taller upper and lower ball joints. Proforged upper and lower joints get the job done. Using a 1/2" taller lower joint raises the upper ball join 1/2",gets rid of most of the bump steer,and lowers the car 1/2". Adding 1/2" longer upper joints raises the upper ball joints another 1/2" for a total upward movement of 1". This makes a big improvement toward a negative camber curve and that is a good thing. Then you could use the upper control arms with bump stops that G Body sells or you could use these.
http://www.spohn.net/shop/1978-1987...y-Tubular-Upper-A-Arms-Tall-Spindle-Swap.html
To use them the way they were meant to be used,they need taller upper and lower joints or taller uppers or taller spindles. If you use just a 1" taller upper,because you don't want your car to sit lower,you'll move the camber curve toward negative but won't help bump steer. There is another way to fix bump steer.So they do require taller upper ball joints?
If you drag race this car and leave hard enough to put the ball joints in the situation I described earlier,what will happen?I just installed them on Tuesday. I noticed they were at full bind and I had to put a jack under the lower arm to get even close to getting the nut started.
Whenever you negotiate any turn with your car,because of the geometry of the front suspension on G bodies,your suspension moves the tires into a position that hinders the turn you are trying to make. If you do the modification I've described,your suspension will move the tires into a position that helps the car turn. This means you can get away with less spring and less sway bar and still have a car that can level out a corner pretty well. When your suspension fights the turn you are trying to make,it does it when the control arms move during the turn. To stop the crappy suspension geometry from hindering your turn,you need to hinder the apward and downward movement of the control arms. This is typically accomplished buy using stronger springs and sway bar. This leads to a more harsh ride. If you like the ride comfort of your car currently, it will still ride the same after the modifications I've described but will turn better with less steering input.Factory stuff sometimes doesn't even fit lol. When you start changing stuff around like this all sorts of other stuff starts getting affected.
If you have the factory style outer tie rods and the factory spindles,you have bump steer.My car doesn't bumpsteer anyhow.
The suspension is designed in a fashion that purposely hinders any turn you try to make so that you are less likely to cause the car to spin out. The engineers purposely put the suspension geometry into a position that moves it away from working OK.It works ok as it is.