I'm about to order a set of PA Racing Tubular A-arms, and I'm thinking about ditching the poly bushings for the Del-A-Lum bushings. Do any of you guys have experience with these bushings? I've got to place my order soon, or I wont be able to take advantage of the $40 discount they have goin right now....

Also, in looking at this picture: , it looks like I'll have to drill a hole in the A-Arm to access the grease hole for the bushing. Am I on crack, or is that what needs to be done?

 

They are the ultimate for the street, but you will have to have them professionally pressed in. There is no way in hell you can do this yourself without the proper machinery. Send them to global west in Fontana, Calif., they will sell you the Del-a-lum parts and install them for you on your arms.

 

I have access to a press, not sure on the specs of it, but I'm sure its a pretty hefty one. A friend of mine is in Auto shop at a local community college and he can get me in the shop, do you think I can install them with that?

 

I have them installed and am pleased with them. I used a friends help and his hydraulic press. Evidently we didn't properly support the A-arm while pressing in the bushings. The A-arm seemed a bit compressed and wouldn't install. I solved this situation with either 3/4" or 5/8" all-thread rod, washers and nuts from Home Depot. I put the rod through the bushing and the a-arm and used the nuts and washers to spread the a-arm enough to install it onto the car. I returned the all-thread and nuts after. I especailly like that the Del-a-Lum are greasable. I got grease fitting covers for all the 27 grease fittings on my suspension. I began stocking the grease fitting covers for sale since then as well.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

 

Ive been reading about Del-a-lum bushings and they sound pretty good.....therefore I MUST have them for my car. But I havent been able to find an answer for the orginal question that was asking in the beginning. How do you install the grease fitting?? I dont see any way to do it except drill a hole in the a-arm....

TIA

Dan

 

On stock A-arms you just orient the grease fitting down so you'll have access to get the grease gun on it. In your case with aftermarket tubular A-arms you'd have to remove the grease fitting, determine where the fitting will locate once installed, then drill or mill a larger hole in that location. Then make sure you have the fitting hole lined up to that new hole and press in the Del-A-Lum bushing. Then reinstall the grease fitting.

Lon

 

Lon~ I think you misunderstood me (somewhat). I am opting for stock A-arms not aftermarket ones. So just to clarify what you're saying is that IF Im using stock a-arms I DO NOT need to drill holes for the grease fitting??? I'll take your word for it but I guess I really gotta see it all together to get the big picture. You wouldnt have any pictures would you??


TIA..

Dan

 

I'm replying with the answer to my own post You do not need to modify your STOCK A-Arms to run Del-A-Lum bushings. Just point the grease fitting hole down and you'll be able to access it easily. I used to have a picture of how they were installed, but I cant find it now I may have the link kicking around at work. If I find it I'll post it.

Scott

 

actually today i work i had a pos camaro and looked at the a-arms. I understand now how the grease fittings are installed. Thanks for your input though Scott.

Later...


Dan

 

I've installed a couple sets.

Install the zerk straight down or slightly outboard so you can access it.

They are more challenging to install than rubber, so I would suggest getting a spare pair of arms to install them on, as a precaution and to minimize downtime. Stick them in the freezer before you install them and stick the arms in the sun.

Matthew

 

I thought Del-A-Lum bushings where like spherical rod ended bushing. And therefore harsher right more road nose.
Anyone wanna prove me wrong. Seriously do it. I want a set. But don't want the rid from hell feel.

 

I have two cars that are pretty similar. Their LCAs are the same as a 3rd gen except for one of the bushing ODs. I have Del-a-lum bushings in the 86. I have Moog high durometer (stiffer than stock replacement) rubber in the other. The DAL car rides pimp as hell and is not harsh. I've been running them since 1999. Just keep them greased and you'll be happy.

They're not like a spherical rod end; a rod end has spherical motion; a DAL has two dimensional motion and aren't all metal.

Keep in mind, with DALs the arms move *easier* through their range of motion than rubber as they are a true bushing, and a rubber acts more like a torsion spring at times with its binding.

Poly is absolutely the dumbest bushing material you can use of the three. For anyone who wants to say "But I have..." ... do you also have rubber and DAL for comparison? Didn't think so.

Matthew

 

Thanks for the imput man.
Ok how about this one. Global west has they're rear control arms with airplane bearings? Are these the same as spherical rod ended bearings? I was told that rod ended was for race only, but they don't seem to be the same think. Help!

 

Don't know on the LCAs & noise. I'd call up Doug at Global and talk to him. It's hard to get a straight answer without trying them out - When I ordered mine early 99, he told me the DAL would be cool in the front end; other times someone will call and get a "yeah they're fine for street but you'll get some noise." Personally I'd run the spherical / spherical; Global Wests theories and unique chassis solutions have always seemed to be well thought out.

Matthew

 

I would appreciate it. I was told forget it. It would be to load. For race only. I don't care about feel as long as it hooks but I do care about nose.

 

jmd~ Could you tell me what you mean by car rides pimp as hell???


Later..

Dan

 

It's rock solid at 140mph.

I can take Mom Christmas shopping in it.

 

I installed the Del-A-Lum bushings in my RS a couple years ago.
Not any more harsh than any performance bushings I've had and they move so freely, you'll feel the difference immediately.
They are a little tough to install.
I used a ball-joint press to get mine in.
-Rich-

 

You guys say good things about the del a lum bushing and I think i'm gonna get a set. But what about the upper control arms. The global west DAL are only for the lowers right. What would be comparable for the uppers

 

when you find the upper a-arms on our car, let me know.

 

My bad major brain fart LOL. Thats probably why they don't have them huh. I dunno what i'm thiking of.

 

Try these for the uppers!!!


http://www.spohn.net/product.cfm?productid=1452

 

Alloy,

are those washers a new addition to the package?

I got the strut mounts a few weeks ago for my 85. They are working out great.

I also have the DAL bushings. They will give a smoother ride. I also have LCAs with high quality rod ends. Combining those two will give you a smooth-*** ride.

 

here's a pic. The zerks are installed pointing down.

 

I'm very glad to hear your mounts are working well for you. Thanks for letting me know!!

Yes the nuts and washers are a new additon by Steve Spohn. He was able to find them where I was not.

I've had the DAL bushing in my car for several months now. They do make the car a lot louder (more road noise) on the freeway, especially a cement freeway that's worn down and rutted. And, the car isn't very forgiving either. But I've got the DAL's, 3 point strut bar, SFC's, Spohn torque arm with spherical front rod end, solid tie rod sleeves by me, and my own panhard bar with rod ends I made. Not to mention my own billet strut mounts and 36mm and 24mm sway bars.

You can't let you guard down for a second with this car or it will grab something and pull you out of your lane. But, with the race tires on it's a dream to drive. Very tight, precise, and predictable. Takes a little geting used to, but I enjoy driving it. And it stops on a dime and gives you 9 cents change

Something I might mention is tire quality plays a big part on how a car drives and handles. I've got new Goodyear RSA Eagle Z rated tires on my car, and didn't know how good they were until I picked up a handle out a pair of finger nail clippers in my rear tire. It destroyed the tire, and they didn't have another one in stock. So they gave me a "loaner" tire and the car is now almost un-driveable. The flat was on the rear, but the loaner was worn to aobut 50%, so I put it on the front so I wouldn't put added wear on the zexel posi. The handing changed so drastically I looked over and under the car for any kind of problem. After looking and not finding a problem, I swapped the rear eagle for the front loaner tire and took a spin. The car was completely back to normal with the Eagle on the front. So I swapped them back and will just live with it until the new tires comes in.

So, moral of the story is, don't mix and match different brands of tires on you car. It's dangerous!!

 

I have some thoughts to share on these bushings...

I installed these bushing in my A-arms during the summer along with Bilstein Struts, shocks, springs ect ect. I havent had any problems with road noise (but then again i dont drive the car that much) but I dont think the car rides any better or worse with these new bushings installed. But I do like the overall design BETTER than poly bushings/O.E. rubber bushings. Just my .02.

james_85Z28~ Are those your A-arms? and if they are how did you paint them?

Dan

 

I dropped of the a-arms to global west and they pressed in the DAL, installed new ball joints, and painted them for me. They are just painted but the a-arms were pretty clean as Tom of House of Camaro (where I bought the a-arms so I wouldn't have any downtime) usually cleans his stuff pretty good before shipping or selling them. GW is about 40 minutes away from me.

 

I've had Del-Alums in my car for over ten years. Just recently I removed the front A-arms while I was doing some work on the car. I checked the bushings for were or any damage. They where still PERFECT ! Thats after many years of auto-x activity also. You can't go wrong with these bushings in your car.

 

Ditto...mine have been in for about six years no problems whatsoever. Most of the really quick ESP ( Autocross ) guys and Mod guys are using the DAL bushings. An excellant product. Can't say that I noticed any appreciable road noise increase when I installed them...but it was a long time ago.