Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?

Author Topic: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?  (Read 1468 times)

Offline Archialfa

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Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« on: March 31, 2018 - 02:01:23 PM »
Why should I buy adjustable upper control arms instead of non-adjustable?

I'm looking at Hotchkis ($883) and RMS ($350) adjustable UCAs and QA1 ($285) non-adjustables. I'll probably go with 17" Year One Magnum wheels so caster/camber needs to be adjusted for radial tires.

Since it will be a street cruiser only, driven on local curvy roads, I need it to drive around bends w/out problems and excessive body roll. I am aware that if I go with adjustable UCAs they will probably be set up once and never touched afterwards, but do adjustables offer anything else compared to non-adjustables that I should be aware of?
1970 Challenger 440 Magnum

Build thread: http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=113902




Offline 1 Wild R/T

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Re: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2018 - 04:53:37 PM »
What Hotchkis offers that the others don't is a relocated upper control arm forward mounting point...., It completely changes the geometry, according to them it corrects excessive caster gain, creates the proper negative camber curve & reduces bump steer...  All I can say for sure is it completely changes the handling of these cars....  Do you need to do it?  No... The other control arms offer some of the benefit.... But if your serious about going around corners I think it's a worthwhile investment....

Oh, and if you would prefer to keep $$$ in your pocket just do the Moog offset bushings in the stock control arms.... 75% of the improvement for 10% of the initial cost & keep in mind if you spring for the Hotchkis stuff your alignment is gonna take extra time & time = money... Plus the helm joints are prone to wearing out quickly...

FWIW I invested in good shocks, big sway bars, offset bushings & a performance alignment.... I when for a mountain drive with a few friends with Porsches, obviously I didn't outrun them, but I did get a few comments about how surprised they were I was able to hang with them....
« Last Edit: March 31, 2018 - 05:09:06 PM by 1 Wild R/T »
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Offline Archialfa

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Re: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2018 - 05:24:14 PM »
What Hotchkis offers that the others don't is a relocated upper control arm forward mounting point...., It completely changes the geometry, according to them it corrects excessive caster gain, creates the proper negative camber curve & reduces bump steer...  All I can say for sure is it completely changes the handling of these cars....  Do you need to do it?  No... The other control arms offer some of the benefit.... But if your serious about going around corners I think it's a worthwhile investment....

Oh, and if you would prefer to keep $$$ in your pocket just do the Moog offset bushings in the stock control arms.... 75% of the improvement for 10% of the initial cost & keep in mind if you spring for the Hotchkis stuff your alignment is gonna take extra time & time = money... Plus the helm joints are prone to wearing out quickly...

FWIW I invested in good shocks, big sway bars, offset bushings & a performance alignment.... I when for a mountain drive with a few friends with Porsches, obviously I didn't outrun them, but I did get a few comments about how surprised they were I was able to hang with them....

At SEMA 2017 Hotchkis presented new "geometry corrected “on car” adjustable tubular upper control arms" and they cost $$$... I guess since they're adjustable makes them even better, but the price is my oh my.

I won't be doing any autocrossing, but would like to be sure about the handling abilities. It's not that I will try to conquer a mountain rally course, but unexpected things can happen and avoiding accidents come down to good suspension and brakes.

I'll be going exactly as you wrote: good shocks (just bought QA1 single-adjustables), sway bars (definitely Hotchkis front and rear) and then UCAs. I'm not in a rush, but I have some friends from the US coming over to Europe in a few weeks and I'd like to take the opportunity for them to bring some of the smaller stuff in the luggage.
1970 Challenger 440 Magnum

Build thread: http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=113902

Offline 70chall440

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Re: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2018 - 10:15:33 PM »
Do yourself a favor and reach out to Firmfeel; all they do is Mopar and know it exceptionally well. Its a family business and they are very customer concentric. You can tell them how you want to use the car and they will give you some awesome advice and guidance.
Current Mopar
70 Challenger RT 440-6 EFI, 73 Cuda 416-6 EFI
05 Hemi Durango, 01 Ram 4x4, 14 Ram 2500 4X4, 10 PCP Challenger 6 spd RT, 01 Viper GTS ACR, 52 B3B w/330 Desoto Hemi, 70 Hemi RR (under const)
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Offline GoodysGotaCuda

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Re: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2018 - 07:23:23 AM »
Why should I buy adjustable upper control arms instead of non-adjustable?

I'm looking at Hotchkis ($883) and RMS ($350) adjustable UCAs and QA1 ($285) non-adjustables. I'll probably go with 17" Year One Magnum wheels so caster/camber needs to be adjusted for radial tires.

FWIW, I paid $603 for my Hotchkis arms during their 2016 Black Friday sale, -30%. $883 sounds high...
Build Page: Goody's 'Cuda Build Page
1976 Dodge Warlock
1972 Barracuda - 5.7 Hemi + T56 Magnum

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Offline Mopar Mitch

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Re: Adjustable upper control arms - what's deal?
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2018 - 02:29:09 PM »
You pay for what you get... how fast do you want to go?

Above comments are good advice from other CC members.   Its unfortunate that the factory OE setup doesn't offer good caster/camber... so.. in today's marketplace, some much better choices do exist for us.
Autocross/road racers go in deeper... and come out harder!

See  MOPAR ACTION MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2006 ISSUE for featured article and details on my autocross T/A.