Aftermarket Product ReviewProvide questions and answers about aftermarket parts for the Third Generation F-Body.
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This past Labor Day weekend I went ahead and placed my order for the UMI lower control arm relocation brackets (LCARBs) that are bolt-in and go. I was tentative at first given all the trouble a lot of people have had installing these, but I decided to give it a try since I don't have a welder immediately available. I have been wanting to do anything possible to lay down some more traction at the strip, so today I installed these LCARB's as well as Moog 5665 springs and Bilstein heavy duty shocks. Here are some pictures:
The bolt-in bracket - all necessary hardware for installation was included (direct from UMI)
Moog springs, Bilstein shocks, and of course the LCARBs.
My old stock springs were pretty worn out - so were the old Bilstein's. The two middle springs are the old springs, the moog's are on the outside's for comparison.
Picture of everything installed - absolutely no widening of holes or drilling was necessary (these are installed on my 3rd gen 10-bolt):
The driver's side:
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And finally, the new ride height. People that like lowered cars will hate it, but I love the stance that the Moog springs gave. My old stock springs were sagging, and I assume they probably are in the front as well, but I love the stance.
Overall, installation from start to finish took 2 hours and 15 minutes from jack up to jack down. This is a very simple and straight forward installation.
Now, after installing everything, I took the car out for a test drive and really gave it hell to see if a difference was made - boy was there ever! The car use to wheel hop and break free even from the 3rd to 4th shift, but now it stays very, very planted. The tires still break free from launch (street tires) and from 1st-2nd, but there is no wheel hop to speak of and it hooks MUCH better. WELL worth the cost.
Final score: 10/10
NOTE: When you install the brackets, you'll find that things don't seem to quite line up. However, if you get all your bolts started and draw everything up snug, you'll find it aligns itself beautifully. I see why some people said they needed to widen their holes out, but they didn't simply take the time to start all their bolts.
I have bought 2 sets of the UMI bolt ons, I had zero problems installing these on the ten bolt but the problems come with the 9 bolt rears. It wasn't the bolt holes lining up exactly. The back of the stock LCA bracket hangs down lower on the passenger side and had to be ground off about a 1/4 inch so that the LCARB could slide back against the lower shock mount. Ryan at UMI told me that he was aware of the problem with some of the 9 bolts. I had a spare 1988 9 bolt housing and the relocation brackets fit fine on it, just not on the 1989 9 bolt housing.
I have ordered alot of parts from UMI and all of them have been engineered and manufactured very well. As a welder/fabricator and a ex-paint and body man myself, I can say that the welds and powder coat look very good also.
Way to think ahead with the grease fittings! I'm scraping some money togethor to get some for my 86 Z28. Going to get those, some control arms, and an adjustable panhard bar, all UMI. Already have some new shocks, struts, and springs waiting to go on.
Last edited by chevysquid; 09-15-2009 at 02:51 PM.
i work at a shop and i tried everything i had to grind one hole a tad bigger to get it in. not a big deal. just would have been nicer to just install them. what are the control going to hit that you have to worry about a grease fitting? suspension moves..
Rocks and other things off the road are my main concern since quite a few roads around here have pebbles on them and whatnot. What's the big issue with me tucking them up? Are you that concerned that it will take me a little longer than most of you to grease the bushings? It's just an added precaution.
your control arms should be more or less parallel to the ground.
looks like yours are at a good 20* angle lol.
i think that the spring change was all you really needed, or you could have kept the old springs and gotten the LCARBS but both at the same time is overkill and you wont hook up much better than before
The control arms should be more or less parallel to the ground if you plan on doing heavy cornering, such as in autocross or a road course. However, when you are looking for straight line traction and anti-wheel hop, a steeper angle helps IMMENSELY. The beauty of the bolt in LCARBs is that you can simply unbolt them whenever you want to hit the windy roads.
I was experiencing massive wheel hop between 1-2 and 2-3 shifts at the track (and broke a rear because of it) and wanted to do everything possible on a budget to remedy that - this worked for me. However, it would be a good idea for me to experiment with a lesser angle as you mentioned.
your control arms should be more or less parallel to the ground.
looks like yours are at a good 20* angle lol.
i think that the spring change was all you really needed, or you could have kept the old springs and gotten the LCARBS but both at the same time is overkill and you wont hook up much better than before
hello-the car is on jackstands. suspension droop.
__________________ 1985 IROC Original Owner.Original silver paint, Roller 406c.i., 4 bolt, Superram, accel DFI 6. serpentine setup, Factory GM 1LE brake set-up, richmond 5 speed, 1 3/4 slp, jet hot, gale banks 2OTL power pack (vintage), eibach, grey leather flo-fits, A/C delete, 29k original miles and never been driven in the rain. all original parts are on the shelf. original window sticker and build sheets. 1996 Z28 M6 LT4 kit, hotcam, obd1, C5 brakes. And then theres the road runner.
I raised the arms to the 2" drop location (1st peg down) and they are a little steeper than parallel with the ground. I took it to the track for some results, and here they are: Prior best time/trap: 9.01 @ 81mph 2.10 60', new best 8.89 @ 82.7 2.07 60'. This is with the addition of the LCARB's as well as new springs and shocks, but these LCARB's definitely helped keep wheelhop down.
Now, watch these videos and listen to the difference. The first video is before replaced rear suspension parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhseYj4OKkU Listen to how the tires violently break free and even hop between the 1-2 shift, and break free on the 2-3 shift.
This is a video from last night. Runs 2 and 3 illustrate best the new setup (run 3 there was almost no spin at all, even on my crappy worn out street tires) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFOG2Eq8tjg
I raised the arms to the 2" drop location (1st peg down) and they are a little steeper than parallel with the ground. I took it to the track for some results, and here they are: Prior best time/trap: 9.01 @ 81mph 2.10 60', new best 8.89 @ 82.7 2.07 60'. This is with the addition of the LCARB's as well as new springs and shocks, but these LCARB's definitely helped keep wheelhop down.
Now, watch these videos and listen to the difference. The first video is before replaced rear suspension parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhseYj4OKkU Listen to how the tires violently break free and even hop between the 1-2 shift, and break free on the 2-3 shift.
This is a video from last night. Runs 2 and 3 illustrate best the new setup (run 3 there was almost no spin at all, even on my crappy worn out street tires) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFOG2Eq8tjg
Overall, I'm thoroughly satisfied.
Very cool, thanks for posing your results.
question, what was your best 60 times, LCA set at 1st peg or 2nd??
i had the UMI bolt on ones on my 87 9bolt and they worked and fit great. it took alittle banging to get them on but they went on and lined up basically. had some slight offset with the shock mount holes but it does work... i did the LCARBS when i did new shocks/struts and ebach sportline springs.... MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE! i didnt weld them on (planned on swapping rears down the road) but i just did the whole car over and finnally decided to weld them on to my ford 8.8.
love UMI stuff, now tho my UMI adjustable panhard bar with spherical and poly end is having MAJOR adjusting issues... bar is in good shape but adjusting the spherical rod end is D@MN near impossible without a self adjusting pipe wrench and a WHOLE LOT of leverage (while other end is in bench vise)
this is the car with new moog5665s out back, cut 1/2-3/4coil off, and removed rubber isolators. hard to see i kno but the angle on the LCAs is not that extreme (even when on the lowest hole setting)
Last edited by customblackbird; 10-18-2009 at 07:22 PM.
1985 IROC Original Owner.Original silver paint, Roller 406c.i., 4 bolt, Superram, accel DFI 6. serpentine setup, Factory GM 1LE brake set-up, richmond 5 speed, 1 3/4 slp, jet hot, gale banks 2OTL power pack (vintage), eibach, grey leather flo-fits, A/C delete, 29k original miles and never been driven in the rain. all original parts are on the shelf. original window sticker and build sheets. 1996 Z28 M6 LT4 kit, hotcam, obd1, C5 brakes. And then theres the road runner. 
