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best control arms for lowered E-body #1164626 01/25/12 05:34 PM 01/25/12 05:34 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	hey guys, I have a 72 cuda that I have lowered, with the stock lower control arms I have negative caster and to much negative camber such that it wears the front tires out pretty quickly. I am looking at purchasing a set of tubular control arms to correct this situation and was wondering if you guys could recomend the best ones to fix my problems. Thanks

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164627 01/25/12 06:45 PM 01/25/12 06:45 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 31,199 Oregon A AndyF I Win
AndyF I Win A Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 31,199 Oregon	Lots of choices out there but I'd recommend talking to the guys at Firm Feel first. They've been road racing Mopar vehicles for a long time and they can tell you what will work for your setup.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: AndyF] #1164628 01/25/12 10:08 PM 01/25/12 10:08 PM
Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,491 Lethbridge, AB, Canada dangina pro stock
dangina pro stock Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,491 Lethbridge, AB, Canada	hotchkis upper a arms is the only one that corrects geometry. all others have added castor built into them. but hotchkis is twice the price of everbody else

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: dangina] #1164629 01/25/12 10:26 PM 01/25/12 10:26 PM
Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN A ahy master
ahy master A Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN	The FF UCA's have worked well on my moderatly lowered E. .75 deg negative camber and 5 degree caster... just what I was shootig for.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164630 01/26/12 04:17 AM 01/26/12 04:17 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal autoxcuda Too Many Posts
autoxcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal	Quote: hey guys, I have a 72 cuda that I have lowered, with the stock lower control arms I have negative caster and to much negative camber such that it wears the front tires out pretty quickly. I am looking at purchasing a set of tubular control arms to correct this situation and was wondering if you guys could recomend the best ones to fix my problems. Thanks Have you taken it to and alignment shop after you lowered it? Install Moog offset upper control arm bushing pn 7103. Do not install per directions, install per directions in picture below. Many others and myself have run lowered mopars with stock UCA's. The bigger issue is the distance between the lower control arm (LCA) and the frame where the bump stop is. 7037598-4644780-offsetbushingsFINAL.jpg (46 downloads)

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164631 01/26/12 09:31 AM 01/26/12 09:31 AM
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 23,268 Here J jcc If you can't dazzle em with diamonds..
jcc If you can't dazzle em with diamonds.. J Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 23,268 Here	Quote: to much negative camber such that it wears the front tires out pretty quickly. Bet the turn is pretty nice though, just make more pit stops. " All sorts of things can happen when you are open to new Ideas" Inventor of Kevlar

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: jcc] #1164632 01/26/12 03:12 PM 01/26/12 03:12 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	I did have it aligned and got it as good as it can with all stock stuff. With that alignment, both cam bolts where turned all the way to minimize the negative camber, leaving it with no positive caster. I do have the ofset control arm bushings but it seems to me if you install them to give positve caster that will fix the caster issue but will still leave me with to much negative camber, right? I know every car is different but FYI the front tires are 245/45/17 and the ride height has the front fender lip right around the middle of the tire

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164633 01/26/12 03:36 PM 01/26/12 03:36 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal autoxcuda Too Many Posts
autoxcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal	Quote: I did have it aligned and got it as good as it can with all stock stuff. With that alignment, both cam bolts where turned all the way to minimize the negative camber, leaving it with no positive caster. I do have the ofset control arm bushings but it seems to me if you install them to give positve caster that will fix the caster issue but will still leave me with to much negative camber, right? I know every car is different but FYI the front tires are 245/45/17 and the ride height has the front fender lip right around the middle of the tire Are the cam eccentrics roughly the same (all pushed outward) on both sides of the car? What was the alignment printout of the numbers you got. The front offset bushing will push the UCA outward more to give you more postive camber. The rear will push the rear inward to give you more caster, but you will loose roughly the camber you gained in the back. What front strut rod bushings are you using? Last edited by autoxcuda; 01/26/12 03:38 PM.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: autoxcuda] #1164634 01/26/12 04:07 PM 01/26/12 04:07 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	Yes sir all the cam eccentrics are in roughly the same position on both sides. I dont have the printout it has been a few years since it was done so I do not have the exact numbers It has those poly strut rod bushings in it which I was considering cutting down to pull the LCA up towards the front of the car some, or would it be better just to pay up for the adjustable strut rods? At the end of the day what I would like to be able to do is put it togeteher one time get it aligned, and not have to mess with it anymore.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164635 01/26/12 04:34 PM 01/26/12 04:34 PM
Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA Kern Dog Striving for excellence
Kern Dog Striving for excellence Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA	Improper TOE will wear the insides of the tires much faster than NEGative camber.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: Kern Dog] #1164636 01/26/12 05:17 PM 01/26/12 05:17 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	It is not a toe issue causing the wear problems, that is definitely from a camber issue

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164637 01/27/12 01:28 AM 01/27/12 01:28 AM
Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN A ahy master
ahy master A Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN	Quote: Yes sir all the cam eccentrics are in roughly the same position on both sides. I dont have the printout it has been a few years since it was done so I do not have the exact numbers It has those poly strut rod bushings in it which I was considering cutting down to pull the LCA up towards the front of the car some, or would it be better just to pay up for the adjustable strut rods? At the end of the day what I would like to be able to do is put it togeteher one time get it aligned, and not have to mess with it anymore. I went a "couple rounds" on the alignment with mine. With the poly LCA bushings I have, strut rod length needs to be perfect to keep everything in place. Mine wasn't on one side which had +/- 1/8" slop and threw the alignment off. I considered cutting the strut rod bushings and decided to go with the adjustable rods (Firm Feel) instead. Same reason you are thinking... I didn't want to tear it apart several times while I adjusted the bushings on my belt sander by trial and error. If you do go with adjustable rods, use the adjustment sparingly... too much pull forward will bind up and wear out the LCA bushings. In my case, they worked beautifly. I was able to tighten up the left side that was sloppy and the alignment cam in as desired.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164638 01/27/12 04:18 AM 01/27/12 04:18 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal autoxcuda Too Many Posts
autoxcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal	Quote: Yes sir all the cam eccentrics are in roughly the same position on both sides. I dont have the printout it has been a few years since it was done so I do not have the exact numbers It has those poly strut rod bushings in it which I was considering cutting down to pull the LCA up towards the front of the car some, or would it be better just to pay up for the adjustable strut rods? At the end of the day what I would like to be able to do is put it togeteher one time get it aligned, and not have to mess with it anymore. It would be nice to know how much "off" it is to see how much adjustment we need to add to the system. I think cutting the rear poly and offset UCA bushings would do it. How many miles have you driven it since the alignment? How much additional inside wear has it got in those miles? (I know, tough question) I ran this alignment for about 3 years with cut strut rod bushings, poly LCA bushings, and Moog 7103 UCA bushings. No wear issues. I drive agressive. 7039199-4_6_07CudaAlignment0113Sm.JPG (21 downloads) Last edited by autoxcuda; 01/27/12 04:22 AM.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: autoxcuda] #1164639 01/27/12 12:08 PM 01/27/12 12:08 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	I have it took all apart now so no readings will be had, probably should have had someone throw it on the rack to get some intial readings to go from. Oh well. But with the alignment where it was it would wear the inside of the tire down to almost blistering in 10-15 thousand miles, considering this isnt a daily driver thats not terrible but it would be nice to get it right. You got that much caster with just offset bushings and a shaved down strud rod bushing? I have a 16 to 1 flaming river box I would assume that much caster would make it a little tough in parking lots?

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: phil4161972] #1164640 01/27/12 12:50 PM 01/27/12 12:50 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal autoxcuda Too Many Posts
autoxcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 27,548 So Cal	Quote: I have it took all apart now so no readings will be had, probably should have had someone throw it on the rack to get some intial readings to go from. Oh well. But with the alignment where it was it would wear the inside of the tire down to almost blistering in 10-15 thousand miles, considering this isnt a daily driver thats not terrible but it would be nice to get it right. You got that much caster with just offset bushings and a shaved down strud rod bushing? Yes. Correct. Quote: I have a 16 to 1 flaming river box I would assume that much caster would make it a little tough in parking lots? Probably. I have power steering. There is a theard on how much caster with manual steering here.

Re: best control arms for lowered E-body [Re: autoxcuda] #1164641 01/27/12 01:48 PM 01/27/12 01:48 PM
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC P phil4161972 OP member
phil4161972 OP member P Joined: May 2005 Posts: 164 NC	If I where to install the offset bushings such that it yeilds a gain in camber (to minimize the negative camber and tire wear)and to shave down the poly strut rod bushing, would it then be possible to have enough adjusment in the UCA cam bolts to yeild roughly 2 degrees positvie caster? I know you cant tell for sure untill its done but does this seem plausible?

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