[DeTomaso] Adjustable upper rear A-arms
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Wed Dec 2 22:26:10 EST 2015
In a message dated 12/2/15 5:13:26 PM, tonydigi at optonline.net writes:
> I'm ready to finally compensate for that excessive rear camber my car
> has.
> Anyone have good used set they want to sell?
>
>>>I've suggested this before, but it bears repeating.
If you have excessive negative camber, you don't want, nor do you need,
ADJUSTABLE upper A-arms. You only need LONGER A-arms.
The adjustable style have been around for 30 years or more. They are
somewhat complicated to manufacture and incorporate expensive components, which
makes them cost an absolute fortune--figure close to $700 for a pair. But
the spending only starts there. Once they are installed in the car, in
order to make an adjustment you have to disconnect them from the hub carrier,
then turn the adjustable doohicky in our out some number of turns, put it all
back together again, hook all the equipment up again, and re-measure.
It's a very time-consuming, labor-intensive, and thus very expensive
proposition.
On the other hand, fixed-length A-arms that are slightly longer can deliver
the desired result with no difficulty at all. Just pop your ball joint
out of your stock units, swap them over, bolt them on (if you have poly
bushings they will transfer over easily, otherwise you'll have to buy four new
stock-style bushings and have them pressed in), and then you simply adjust your
alignment in the conventional manner. These things are available from
both Hall:
http://hallpantera.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=hallpantera-inc&
item=22521
And Precision Pro-Formance:
http://www.precisionproformance.com/sc2020.php
Note that while they achieve the same thing in the same way, they appear to
be different designs. Also note that the Precision Proformance model is
slightly more expensive AND requires you to exchange your old units, which
incurs shipping cost plus you lose your old ones.
I've helped install Hall units on several cars, and they worked absolutely
great.
Having said all that, realize that the Hall/Precision Proformance
adjustable chassis stiffening kits can have a profound effect on wheel alignment.
If you get too rambunctious expanding the lower rear piece, you can create
negative camber by spreading the main chassis rails apart from one another.
And by the same token, if you get aggressive with the upper portion, you can
potentially dial out all of the sag that may have set into your chassis and
return it to its original location (although if one is too aggressive,
paint damage could possibly result?)
So before you spend money on expensive (and expensive to set up) adjustable
upper A-arms, first look at your existing chassis components to see if you
have accidentally manufactured your problem, or could correct it. If not,
then seriously consider taking the simple and inexpensive route by using
longer-length, fixed A-arms?
Let us know how it turns out!
Mike
-------------- next part --------------
In a message dated 12/2/15 5:13:26 PM, tonydigi at optonline.net writes:
I'm ready to finally compensate for that excessive rear camber my
car has.
Anyone have good used set they want to sell?
>>>I've suggested this before, but it bears repeating.
If you have excessive negative camber, you don't want, nor do you need,
ADJUSTABLE upper A-arms. You only need LONGER A-arms.
The adjustable style have been around for 30 years or more. They are
somewhat complicated to manufacture and incorporate expensive
components, which makes them cost an absolute fortune--figure close to
$700 for a pair. But the spending only starts there. Once they are
installed in the car, in order to make an adjustment you have to
disconnect them from the hub carrier, then turn the adjustable doohicky
in our out some number of turns, put it all back together again, hook
all the equipment up again, and re-measure. It's a very
time-consuming, labor-intensive, and thus very expensive proposition.
On the other hand, fixed-length A-arms that are slightly longer can
deliver the desired result with no difficulty at all. Just pop your
ball joint out of your stock units, swap them over, bolt them on (if
you have poly bushings they will transfer over easily, otherwise you'll
have to buy four new stock-style bushings and have them pressed in),
and then you simply adjust your alignment in the conventional manner.
These things are available from both Hall:
http://hallpantera.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=hallpantera-inc&ite
m=22521
And Precision Pro-Formance:
http://www.precisionproformance.com/sc2020.php
Note that while they achieve the same thing in the same way, they
appear to be different designs. Also note that the Precision
Proformance model is slightly more expensive AND requires you to
exchange your old units, which incurs shipping cost plus you lose your
old ones.
I've helped install Hall units on several cars, and they worked
absolutely great.
Having said all that, realize that the Hall/Precision Proformance
adjustable chassis stiffening kits can have a profound effect on wheel
alignment. If you get too rambunctious expanding the lower rear piece,
you can create negative camber by spreading the main chassis rails
apart from one another. And by the same token, if you get aggressive
with the upper portion, you can potentially dial out all of the sag
that may have set into your chassis and return it to its original
location (although if one is too aggressive, paint damage could
possibly result?)
So before you spend money on expensive (and expensive to set up)
adjustable upper A-arms, first look at your existing chassis components
to see if you have accidentally manufactured your problem, or could
correct it. If not, then seriously consider taking the simple and
inexpensive route by using longer-length, fixed A-arms?
Let us know how it turns out!
Mike
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