[DeTomaso] Adjustable upper rear A-arms

[Tony DiGiovanna]

That's why I love all you guys so much.  That is completely true.  Cool.

-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of Mike Drew via
DeTomaso
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 10:26 PM
To: tonydigi at optonline.net; detomaso at poca.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Adjustable upper rear A-arms


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