lower control arm question

noslow86 · Jun 12, 2005

which is better the box or the tube looking lower control arm or are they the same

2002BLGT · Jun 12, 2005

noslow86 said:
which is better the box or the tube looking lower control arm or are they the same

anything is better than stock

Cobra1894 · Jun 12, 2005

I would like to know what brands are worthy of looking at... Since I have to redo my rear end might as well replace these... Street / road race

RYC CUKR · Jun 12, 2005

I am partial to Maximum Motorsports stuff. www.maximummotorsports.com

criticman · Jun 12, 2005

Granatelli Motorsports are nice as well...and can be found DIRT CHEAP on eBay for their tubular ones.

WantaGT · Jun 12, 2005

theres an ongoing ad at the corral for a full set of granatelli tubular ones for $150. I was wondering if they were worth it.

RYC CUKR · Jun 12, 2005

I got my MM adjustable LCAs for $180 shipped off of ebay. It took some looking and some patience but they can be found for bargain prices if you look hard enough and long enough.

I believe that the Pro3i's are very similar to the MMs but at a less of a cost.

criticman · Jun 12, 2005

I believe I got my Granatelli's for $150 shipped - Cool Blue Performance was the eBay seller, but they have an online store at their website too.

Camman · Jun 13, 2005

A tubed lower control arm will be stronger. Unless you will be building some SERIOUS power a boxed style will work fine as well. The concensus seems to be MM is king. I myself have pro3i becuase they are basically the same as MM and they cost alot less. Whatever you do dont by one with poly on both ends... unless of course articulation is not something you desire to keep.

Shakerhood · Jun 14, 2005

Camman said:
A tubed lower control arm will be stronger. Unless you will be building some SERIOUS power a boxed style will work fine as well. The concensus seems to be MM is king. I myself have pro3i becuase they are basically the same as MM and they cost alot less. Whatever you do dont by one with poly on both ends... unless of course articulation is not something you desire to keep.

Does this apply to stock lower control arms too? As I just put new springs on and polys and I can rotate the spring when the suspension was hanging at droop. I seriously thought about putting the new factory rubbers on the top that came with the springs.

glenn95gt · Jun 14, 2005

I use grantelli U/L's with ET Drags I cut a 1.6 60', I am pretty sure I can cut a 1.5 after heating up the tires a bit more.

Camman · Jun 14, 2005

Shakerhood said:
Does this apply to stock lower control arms too? As I just put new springs on and polys and I can rotate the spring when the suspension was hanging at droop. I seriously thought about putting the new factory rubbers on the top that came with the springs.

Yes it would apply to the stockers as well. Boxing the stocker will make it tons better than stock. As for you being able to rotate the spring at full droop,k dont worry about it. I once had a saturn(no flames please) that I installed some e'brock lowering springs on. The springs were so much shorter than stock that I actually had to hold them in place when I lowered the car back on to the suspension so they would hit the isolaters. You will not hit full droop driving on the street. or even at the track for that matter.

For example. During testing of an unnamed car I was working on a few years back. There was a section of the test track that was pached(sp?) over. The pached part of the track somehow was about 3 inches lower than the rest of the surrounding track. The car was doing 197 when it hit this section of the track. It got airborne as our sensors indicated no forces on any 4 of the tires at once. it was airborne for .8 seconds(believe it or not this is a LOT). The suspension never hit full droop... shocks and anti roll will both prevent this. If it would make you feel better go for a VERY spirited drive, but dont put others lives in danger. Look at your springs when you get back, I would put odds 1000:1 that they will not even have rotated. Good luck

Edit: in my original post I was actually talking about poly bushings not spring isolators. The poly spring ilolators will last longer than the stock rubber pieces. Other than that I really can't see a reason to put them on as I can't think of any performance reason. As for taking them off and putting the rubber one back on. The only difference I think you will se will be a slite hieght increase as the stock rubbers are thicker. G/L

dcarlson · Jun 14, 2005

Tube or box is not nearly as important as the bushing design. What is the best bushing depends on tha application. A For good handling you need something that can articulate (twist, for body roll) without binding up, that is why the control arms with 3-pice bushings are good (Steeda, Maximum).

glenn95gt · Jun 14, 2005

one thing to add that i forgot to mention is wled up your weld up your torque boxes. with the added support from the U/L control arms, the boxes are more likely to rip. only 3 spot welds hold them in place.

Shakerhood · Jun 14, 2005

Camman said:
Yes it would apply to the stockers as well. Boxing the stocker will make it tons better than stock. As for you being able to rotate the spring at full droop,k dont worry about it. I once had a saturn(no flames please) that I installed some e'brock lowering springs on. The springs were so much shorter than stock that I actually had to hold them in place when I lowered the car back on to the suspension so they would hit the isolaters. You will not hit full droop driving on the street. or even at the track for that matter.

For example. During testing of an unnamed car I was working on a few years back. There was a section of the test track that was pached(sp?) over. The pached part of the track somehow was about 3 inches lower than the rest of the surrounding track. The car was doing 197 when it hit this section of the track. It got airborne as our sensors indicated no forces on any 4 of the tires at once. it was airborne for .8 seconds(believe it or not this is a LOT). The suspension never hit full droop... shocks and anti roll will both prevent this. If it would make you feel better go for a VERY spirited drive, but dont put others lives in danger. Look at your springs when you get back, I would put odds 1000:1 that they will not even have rotated. Good luck

Edit: in my original post I was actually talking about poly bushings not spring isolators. The poly spring ilolators will last longer than the stock rubber pieces. Other than that I really can't see a reason to put them on as I can't think of any performance reason. As for taking them off and putting the rubber one back on. The only difference I think you will se will be a slite hieght increase as the stock rubbers are thicker. G/L

When I said full droop, I ment with the shocks and swaybar already hooked up. I cant take it for a spin as I am in the middle of a brake conversion too, and I thought using the stock rubber bushings would give you a lower ride height as they have more give to them compared to hard polys that have no give.

Camman · Jun 15, 2005

Shakerhood said:
When I said full droop, I ment with the shocks and swaybar already hooked up. I cant take it for a spin as I am in the middle of a brake conversion too, and I thought using the stock rubber bushings would give you a lower ride height as they have more give to them compared to hard polys that have no give.

yep I meant full droop with suspension hooked up too. You should be fine, and I do believe you will get a higher ride height with the rubbers. I did anyway

Edit: Allow me to explain. As your car is in a position for the suspension to hit full droop, it will only be there for a very minute amount of time. The loading/uloading of the anti-roll bar and the rebound properties of even a worn shock will take longer to extend than your car is in that position. If youdo manage to be airborne long enough for you rear to hit full droop, I think the springs rotating are going to be the least of your worries when you hit the ground.

lower control arm question

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