i decided to look into founders LCAs and since they are cheap im considering replacing them. what are the benifits from going from the stock peice to a founders non adjustable? are there any? im just DD this car and it is a v6 so input please

For a DD I's say there's no worthwhile benefit over stock items.

in my case, the stock stuff was dried out and rotted away, so anything was an improvement. between new bushings, paint, time, effort, and having someone install the new bushings, it was cheaper to go with newer lcas

Hey evil.

Our third gens are getting a bit old nowadays. The LCA's aren't so robust to start with and age doesn't help. The main benefits are improved strength resulting in a more stable feel and improved bushings which keep things in line a bit better.

For a daily driver, fabricated LCA's with new bushings are just a nice, solid foundation improvement.

ramey

Well I'm gonna go ahead and swing for them. I'm planning on an lt1 swap in the future so it's too insurance

Before you pull the trigger on any specific brand or even type of LCA, make your decision about whether this car is going to be oriented more toward the dragstrip and other straight line performance or if it's going to be more of a corner-carver.

The type of LCA that works best for either one of those general modification directions may not work as well in the other. All poly is best used in dragstrip/straight line/moderate cornering applications where cost is a factor. At least one spherical pivot per LCA will make for nicer cornering behavior usually at a higher price point.

In my honest opinion, especially any tubular or boxed LCA on a car that sees some hard use in both the above categories should have at least one spherical pivot. And no matter what sort of aftermarket arms you get, the [poly] bushings or the sphericals should be considered "wear items" that will eventually need maintenance and/or replacement.


Norm

It's going to be on a dd and I'm going to replace the lca, panhard bar and relocation plates because iv seen on my buddy's car with an lt1 that he has and it wheel hopped bad. I don't want that on mine

For the PHB, go adjustable so that you can center the rear end under the car with probably isn't centered with the stock bar.

for a daily, i would do rubber stuff personally. if not that, all poly. dont get spherical anything for the street. rain water/dirt/salt/etc will kill them with a quickness, and they make more noise/transfer sound into the chassis than rubber and poly bushings.
get an adjustable panhard as suggested above, so you can center the rear.

Poly can bind in the corners if driven hard. And I've had double rod-ended LCAs & PHB for about 1.5yrs now with no obvious wear from increased noise or anything else. I thought the same thing about the rod ends and got them anyways, but don't regret getting them at all. I know 1.5 yrs is FAR from the life of Poly or Rubber, but just wanted to say that they will fall apart "over night".

As far as the "increased noise"? Not really. On the very drive drive I kinda thought that too, but never really gave it a 2nd thought. Not even the railroad crossings give me any grief/extra noise. Might be there, but not enough to even take notice of. All this on 35-series 17s.

If you can find some LCAs with either Johnny Joints or Roto-joints (UMI) in one end, you'll have nearly steel spherical behavior minus most of the extra NVH. I believe that either of those joints is rebuildable.

There is also a hard rubber rod end replacement that you could use in one or maybe both ends of an LCA designed to use Heims/rod ends. Last I knew, a guy over on a couple other F-body sites had them on his 4th Gen road course track toy. He's into handling deep enough to make his own adjustable rear sta-bar and I think lower the PHB, so these rubber pieces aren't giving up much performance to steel sphericals.


Norm

If I go fourth gen rear disk I need the adjustable to center it don't I?

Only if you lower it. Or raise it I suppose.

You "need" it, regardless of which rear. Mine was bone stock PHB & springs (not worn or big sagging, only .25" lower than the brand new height measurement) but was off center by just over an inch. When I went to put on 17"x9"s & 275s, it became obvious.

So it's either adjustable or non adjustable? Which is better for strictly street? The only thing I really want to do is a few fast take offs and maybe open her up every once in awhile. It's really just gonna be my dd. no track time

Also no lowering or raising. Stock normal hight besides the new v8 springs

For just DD, just go Poly on everything & Adjustable on the PHB.

Just remember that in the future if you decide you want it "to do more" (autocross/twisty roads fast)? You might be wanting "more" later & you'll hafta buy again...& the better stuff. Cheaper to do it once. But do what your budget allows & don't over extend yourself. I wanted 335s & better tires, but I "had" to go with the Sumitomo 315s & bought the cheaper/smaller tires. I should have waited & regret not waiting. But my rear tires were bald so in that case...Not much real choice.

so do i need an adjustable PHB or LCA? just trying to figure out whats needed to get, like i said after i drop that lt1 in i dont want to get in the gas then feel my entire car start vibrating like hell lol. also on the relocation brackets, are weld in or bolt on better? is bolt on easier?

Bolt in is easier if you don't have a welder.

An adjustable.panhard bar will not hurt. Its hard to say where the.axle will be sitting now after 20 years, and with the adjustable piece you can correct any possible misalignment. You don't need adjustable rear control arms unless you are ultra **** or truely need the adjustment for alignment, tire fitment, or for the particular ends used only in the adjustable pieces, ie rod ends or delrin bearing setups. Honestly though, the factory 1le bushings in the stock arms will stiffen things up without the noise of a bearing and without the bind of poly.

There are other options out there as well for bushings and combinations of bushings.

bolt on it is, so i need an adjustable panhard, and non adjustable lower control arms? sounds reasonable. is the body on adjustable panhard fine?

In which case you don't "need" any after market parts, adjustable anything or poly bushings. These cars are fine with good condition stock parts. They ride and handle more than well enough in normal use. But you should do what makes you happy. That's the ultimate goal.

The reason I'm swapping to aftermarket is becUse like I said up above my buddy has stock on his 88 with his lt1. If he gives it any gas at all he starts to wheel hop. I'm trying to precent this from happening on mine

You can always weld them on later (or have it done).


Specifically because you have mentioned installing relo brackets, I'm going to suggest you give a bit more thought to adjustable LCAs. The reason is that the fabrication of the relo brackets might not be perfect, and the installation might not be perfect either (I know of cases where each has happened). Adjustable LCAs will allow you to get the axle squared up in the chassis regardless, and you won't notice a slight difference in LCA length. I'm not trying to scare you into thinking that all relo brackets might be "off", only mentioning it as something that could happen, and that you can plan ahead of time to accomodate it in case it does. Beats buying non-adjustables first and finding out you do need the adjustment come installation and alignment checking time.

Without the relo brackets, there is rarely any need for adjustable LCAs on a torque arm suspension. Maybe if the car has been in an accident that bent the chassis.


On-car adjustable is more convenient, but not quite as good from a structural point of view as a PHB made from the same tubing that you have to unbolt one end to adjust. Keep in mind that you'll most likely adjust this thing only once (unless you're going to start changing rear springs like you do your underwear). If you absolutely must have on-car adjustability, get one with the adjuster located closer to one end. Right in the middle is the worst possible place (structurally) to break the bar in two and insert a connection between the pieces.


Norm

Reason I asked about the on body is its cheap but do I have to worry about it coming lose all the time? And the adjuster is near the end of the shaft.

that's what the jam nuts are for; once adjusted, the nuts are tightened to keep the correct adjustment

Okay good