Doing the suspension upgrades this winter and noticed that both UMI and BMR had promotional sales on this week so I have to ask..... about the torque arms.

Right now I have UMI SFC, Non adjust Panhard, Non adjust LCA and I'm lookin at buying a Torque Arm...........

Since I'm not planning on lowering my car (the roads around here are brutal!!!) I guess I could just go with the standard non-adjustable torque arm right?
Is there a reason with the other components that I have that I should go adjustable???

I'd appreciate the opinions......... the sale ends this weekend

ps.... I was thinking about the tailshaft mounted version because I'm fabricating my own Tranny crossmember to fit my new custom exhaust.

 

I came to the conclusion a long time ago to forget anything that said ADJUSTABLE. On a street car once the part is in I leave it alone. Some people just love adjustable parts so they can put a wench to it and screw it up Not all the people but most.

 

i have the opposite opinion. if the parts is available in an adjustable version, get the adjustable one. It can be a real help later on. besides, most adjustable parts come preset to factory specs, so at the very least the part fits like the original.

as for adjusting them, only do so if you know what you are doing, and keep track of where it was originally so you can go back.

 

That's right you ony have to buy things once. Adjustable all the way. You'd be surprised the small tweaks that can be done to them to get great results

 

i like adjustable parts. i needed to adjust my lowers and my pan hard bar after my moser 9inch whent in.

 

If one lowers the car via 2" drop spindles in the front, and by cutting enough spring off the back to drop the car an equal 2" off the back, the car would then be lowered 2" all around... Would this require an adjustable torque arm?

 

yes

 

Damn I have a UMI non adjustable peice already installed... But I plan to lower it... If i do NOT get an adjustable one, what are the consequences and what could happen?

Thanks

 

Hello
When using our non adjustable torque arm. They have -2 degrees manufactured into them on a stock ride height vehicle. And seeing how you are looking to lower it I would highly suggest getting a adjustable to allow you to set the pinion angle. Because if you lower it with the non adjustable its hard to say what the pinon angle will be. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Thanks
Brad

 

Wow I guess i should have informed myself better before purchasing the non-adjustable peice... That's a bummer I hardly ever drove with it... There are maybe 2000 miles on it.. Hardly raced... Time to put that up for sale too...

What does the pinion angle change tho? Dropping the car 2" affects pinion angle but if the angle is off how would that affect driving?

 

i love my spohn adjustable parts


figure out what u want and u'll probly find that adjustable makes more sense

 

I had the JEGS tq arm when it first came out(non adj model) it worked AWESOME not one complaint about it!

I have since learned that the adjustability is the way. you can compensate for alot and for that i will NEVER go back to non adj....

There are a few manufactuers out there and UMI,BMR and MADMAN&co are the BEST in the industry

 

driveline vibration is the big one in my car. even at 1 degree it shakes pretty bad after 50. but thats with 4.11. im gunna change it back to 0 degrees when i get it back out this spring

 

Hello
Like I mentioned above...Its hard to say what the pinion angle would be! I am sure it puts you into the + side of the angle finder I am just not sure what setting due to everyone's set up is different. ....get a angle finder and check it out! Then you know what you have to do.
Thanks
Brad

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the opinions..........
In the end I went with the "non adjustable" Torque Arm....... & a Wonderbar.

Like I stated before the roads around here are crap at best and I don't ever plan on lowering my ride.

Just waitin on my tracking #'s

I expect that the car will feel great with the Wonderbar, SFC's, Panhard Bar, LCA's and Torque Arm (All UMI )
Lookin into my strengthening my 9-bolt now...

 

FOr you? I think you made a good choice based on what you say about never lowering the car (or raising, basically mantaining factory specs) AND since you have already commited to the other parts you listed being nonadj on the car already.

You just limit the resale value of any such parts being appealing to a potential new buyer wanting to improve the performance level by lowering the car. "If you ever sell it, just consider the parts basically stock with poly bushings. Tqarms and LCAs really do not change feel much, its the bushings that do. The panhard will give a more soilid feel with a tubular unit as oppsoed to the stock one though, even if the stock one has upgraded bushing the length still flexes. A little bit of forgivenes on the TQarm and LCAs actually give a better ride, so I would just recommend keeping the stock units if you are keeping the car for daily use at factory hieght on bad roads. (As said many times by many peopleon here...Thats just my two cents)

 

At what point would you use a seperate crossmember mounted torque arm?.....the manufactures talk about possible breaking the tailshaft off the trans....is that in a drag race application?.....my car is 80% street/ 20% autocross/road race track day......down the road will maybe make 400hp max.....D

 

you put a lot of stress on the tailhousing with a factory crossmember. thats y alot of us replace trans mounts and such. when i rebuilt my tranny i noticed that my tail housing had broke at one the upper left ear wher it mates to the trans. im guessing from the torq arm. part of the reason i whent with a spohn part

 

I suggest always getting the adjustable parts. Like my rear axle was Offset. Measure to see just how centered the rear axle is, before getting a fixed-length one. I'd recommend getting the adjustable version any ways, but....

My rear axle was offset by about a full inch, despite a straight PHB, good rubber PHB bushings, stock wheels, stock sized tires & and only 1/2" lower (22yr old springs) than the brand new, stock ride height. There was no logical reason for it to not be centered already, but it wasn't.

 

I was also wondering about this... When do you need to have a crossmember mounted TQ arm? How much horsepower, how fast on the 1/4 mile? What if we do only road racing / auto x? Also, what would it do, just prevent breakage or actually improve other performance aspects? And what are the negative aspects to installing one of these, if any?

Thanks!

 

It really depends on the driver and his/her "feel" level needs. Just like you would do SFC's for tortional stiffness in roadracing (longitudinal stiffness for dragracing..{for the most part}), you need to think of a stiffer tqarm as quicker more percise comtrol of the throttle and braking actions onto the chassis. Some may want more respnsiveness if they have better pedal control, or some may wnat stock flex if they want something more forgiving.

the length has everything to do with tuning and how the throttle and brake power is applied to the chasiss vertically and where in balance when this applied power does lift ofr squat. Stiffer is always more predictable, but also sometimes less forgiving.

 

so I take it a ''stiffer'' TA would be a cross member mounted one?.......so it sounds like the tailstock breaking aspect would be a drag racing thing???

 

yes and yes

 

Great info.. Clarifies that for us! One other question... Are there any downfalls to using this type of setup? (Besides the already mentioned 'forgiving' brake and acceleration chassis flex)

 

its a louder road noise and more solid such as a shift. and thats with poly bushings theres just less flex to absorb it. for me that really isnt a down fall cause im a hopped up 383 that already makes a lot of noise and i want that harsh shift for the strip. for others it may be a deciding factor

 

I have a loud exhaust as well but will probably be putting in some hushmat or something of the like to insulate the cabin better... Road noise is terrible on 3rd gens. Decisions decisions...

 

SFC's and Dynomat makes a 3rd gen very quiet. Even though I added weight of the Dynomat, I stripped the heavy factory carpet for lighter aftermarket, as well as eliminated all padding. the car was much more solid and soundproof even without padding. the passener floorbard was actually cooler also above the cat due to the Dynoimat extreme heat layer.

As stated a few times elsewhere, I stitch welded the SFC's along the span to the floorboard and this makes a huge difference in chassis stiffness.

My seats and brackets were also far lighter weight than factory- sso this also countered the added weght if the dynomat. I highly recommend it to anyone redoing their interior.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/518752/9

 

I would like to know if any of you guys have any opinions on the "Jegster" torque arms. I read they mount in the drive shaft tunnel and are shorter than factory. Can you get away with that on the street?

 

Hello
You could get away with it on the street! But it will be noisier due to it transferring weight and being mounted right to the tunnel under your seat. Below is a link to show you what all UMI Performance has to offer!

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...rrvmaul2emiql0

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!
Thanks
Brad

 

Thank you very much. I just started "hot rodding" this car and I have a ton of questions about everything from springs to exhaust.