Author Topic: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?  (Read 1621 times)

Offline DMZ73

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Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« on: December 30, 2011 - 11:14:37 AM »
Just curious,
I am running a set of stock uca on my 73 Challenger.
I have seen many people run a set of tubular arms to attain more adjustability for larger wheels and a lower stance.

Any recommendations for those on a budget?

Thanks!
dmz73
One E body saved, 7 years and counting.




Offline HP2

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2011 - 11:51:58 AM »
Moog offset bushings for use in your original control arms. I believe they are something like $50 a set and they allow increased caster adjustments, which are sorely needed on a mopar, that come with the tubular versions.

After that,  most tubular arms are going to run around the $300 range, give or take a bit, except the SPC and Hotchkis versions which I believe are around $400 and $500 respectively.

Offline 72bluNblu

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2011 - 12:47:01 PM »
HP2 is right on with the offset bushings, probably the easiest way to improve your handling and deal with the limitations of the stock UCA's. And unless you really start to push the car handling wise, you'll probably never notice any flex or bump steer.

Tubular UCA's are nice, they do offer some advantages that the stock arms don't as far as adjustability, strength, and improved alignment numbers, but they're pretty expensive. I think the Hotchkis uppers are by far the best as far as design, they relocate the front frame attachment point to reduce the anti-dive that the factory put in for the station wagons and reduce bump steer etc. But they're also the most expensive, and they can be more difficult to set up because they replace the front camber bolt with a non-adjustable mount, so all the adjustment has to be done with the heim. Magnumforce makes a "double adjustable" UCA that gets around the problem of setting up the heims, allowing you to make adjustments with the arms still on the car. It's a way nice feature, but if you're only going to set the car up once or twice its probably not worth it.

There's quite a few other makers out there, FFI, Just Suspension, RMS etc. As long as you stick with a well known source, all of the arms are pretty high quality. I would say to pay attention to the shape of the arm though. Some of the UCA's out there are shaped more like a "U" than an "A", and that reduces the amount of clearance you have for rims and tires. For stock sizes its not an issue, but if you want to clear larger rims with more backspace the "U" shaped UCA's can be a limitation. I had a set that I had to remove just for that reason, they interfered with my 17x9" rim with 5" backspace. But, that's a pretty big rim.

Offline DMZ73

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2011 - 03:13:35 PM »
Thanks Bryan, those are some very usable pointers.I am with you on the A shape, it would totally give more clearance.
I am running 18x8s with 2" adapters up front, and
I'll be reducing my spacer to 1.5" this spring, and would really like to take care of the control arms to boot.
So, as far as which one to recommend..I like the idea of adjustability, and consider it along term feature.
My use would be a summer daily driver, sprinkled with some event driving.
Dmz73

One E body saved, 7 years and counting.

Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2011 - 04:08:50 PM »
while they maybe lighter & more adjustable I am not convinced they are stronger , I have seen a few fail along the welds , at least the factory arms are one piece

Challenger - You`ll wish You Hadn`t

Offline 72bluNblu

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2011 - 09:25:09 PM »
while they maybe lighter & more adjustable I am not convinced they are stronger , I have seen a few fail along the welds , at least the factory arms are one piece

Which brands?

The only ones I've seen fail are the ones formerly made by CAP, and that was a quality control issue with their welding, not really a design problem. CAP has since been bought out by QA1, so I would guess that those issues should be a thing of the past, although you may be able to get CAP made arms still from Mancini, not sure how many they had in stock. I also ran the CAP made arms for a couple of years and probably close to 20k miles without issue, other than they hit my new rims, its one of the U shape styles I would avoid now anyway.

I've "heard" of one Magnumforce UCA failure, but I don't know which type of UCA it was (they make several), and I wasn't able to actually confirm that it really happened (pictures etc). Just 3rd hand on the 'net. Their double adjustable arms are their top of the line, and fully TIG welded.

From a design standpoint, all of the tubular UCA's out there far exceed the strength of the original stamped UCA. The problem comes because they are constructed, so while the original arms may bend and flex, they rarely fracture unless they've really been abused. So, your wheel is unlikely to come off with a stock UCA failure. A tubular UCA failure is more likely to be a fracture, and therefore a lot more catastrophic, but this is a welding issue. Ie, if welded properly, they are FAR stronger than the originals.

If the Hotchkis arms on my Challenger ever break, I would suspect that it would be the very least of my worries, because whatever caused the arm to break would do a lot more than just break the UCA. IMO, there are a lot of other things to worry about before you concern yourself with tubular UCA failures (as long as you don't buy CAP UCA's). Torsion bars have been known to explode, as well as clutches, torque converters and transmissions. Not to mention drive shaft stuff. All would be higher on my list.

Offline wally426ci

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2011 - 07:51:28 PM »
I'd be interested in buying your stock A-arms if you switch them out if the price is right.  :cheers:
{OOI====I====IOO}
      '71 Challenger
      [O[]=====[]O]
      '68 D100

Offline 72bluNblu

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2011 - 11:06:45 PM »
I'd be interested in buying your stock A-arms if you switch them out if the price is right.  :cheers:

I've still got my original A-arms if you want them. Shoot me a PM with an offer, they're just taking up space...

Offline brads70

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2012 - 07:41:47 AM »
I'd be interested in buying your stock A-arms if you switch them out if the price is right.  :cheers:
Hey I owe ya one! If you need them for your car and can wait till Carlisle you can have mine that I took off. No rust ( CA car) Shipping from here would be nuts?
Brad
1970 Challenger 451stroker/4L60 auto OD
Barrie,Ontario,Canada
Proud to own one of the best cars ever made!!!!!

My restoration thread 
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=59072.0
 My handling upgrade post
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=73985.0

Offline wally426ci

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2012 - 09:41:50 AM »
Brad that would be awesome. I can definitely wait. I don't mind paying since there more expensive than an ash tray!

Thanks for the offers all!  :wave:
{OOI====I====IOO}
      '71 Challenger
      [O[]=====[]O]
      '68 D100

Offline brads70

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2012 - 10:31:06 AM »
Brad that would be awesome. I can definitely wait. I don't mind paying since there more expensive than an ash tray!

Thanks for the offers all!  :wave:
No problem there yours then. I've had a few members help me out on here so consider it payback! :grinyes:
Brad
1970 Challenger 451stroker/4L60 auto OD
Barrie,Ontario,Canada
Proud to own one of the best cars ever made!!!!!

My restoration thread 
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=59072.0
 My handling upgrade post
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=73985.0

Offline dodj

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2012 - 06:35:45 PM »
Any recommendations for those on a budget?

Thanks!
dmz73
I'm going with the Moog offset bushings. Just don't see the tubular stuff worth $500 -$600  - unless I was competing on a regular basis.
 :2cents:
Scott
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Offline wally426ci

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Re: Best recommendation for upper contol arms?
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2012 - 12:52:45 PM »
No problem there yours then. I've had a few members help me out on here so consider it payback! :grinyes:

 :woohoo:
{OOI====I====IOO}
      '71 Challenger
      [O[]=====[]O]
      '68 D100