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Can anyone with first hand experience give me their opinion of the Global West torque arm?
How is the handling, braking etc.?
Any shortcomings?
Any strength issues?
I posted this a while ago on FRRAX.com but didn't get much info.
Looking for something that doesn't require cutting the floor or my very expensive 3.5" Hawks exhaust.
The Global West appears to have the clearance for my exhaust & retain needed ground clearance for street use.
Most of the UMI/Spohn variants have a rather short arm with a straight crossmember that causes me all sorts of grief.
I'm doing engine mods that will be in the 800rwhp range, so strength is of utmost importance.
Currently car is a LS3/T56/Strange 60, but converting to a LS9 ZR1 engine with heads/cam/ pulleys etc.
Not building a typical drag car, as it is currently my street/corner carver, but it will see the strip at times.
I was hoping for some feedback as well. I'd like to my the torque arm off the transmission, and this one fits that bill. The Unbalanced Engineering arm is well done, but discontinued 2 years ago.
Now I know why you went with the S60. Boy, keeping up with the Jones's is hard to do!
Global West builds good stuff. I have some. I would not doubt them.
BMR does some one-off custom stuff. Google, "Rainy Day suspension basics" and go to Pro Touring. They discuss some stuff and working with Watts - even Norm (not the guy from Cheers) chimed in.
Now I know why you went with the S60. Boy, keeping up with the Jones's is hard to do!
A few months ago one of my friends asked my advice on buying a low mile ZR1 engine. I told him that I would buy it if he didn't. Well he bought it & then changed his mind & wanted to sell, so I gave him what he paid. I couldn't pass it up.
Unfortunately this also makes me have to start looking for a transmission to hold the power.
Now, back to the torque arm... I was hoping to hear good reviews, with no breakage or other issues. All the other BMR, UMI etc. don't leave much exhaust or ground clearance.
From what I understand and from the materials it is built from - it is a very stout piece. I know of some people using it for road racing and it works better than say a long arm part like OEM. It is illegal for most race classes though.
In your case, you might not be able to get one to fit your application. They make two models - one for the auto cars (700r4 and the like) and one for the manuals (t5) - your t56 probably won't work as the front pickup on the x-member needs to be in a certain place as per design. I don't know if that t56 matches where either the auto or manual versions have their mounts. You will want to contact GW about that before going forward.
It appears that if I get the 86-92year for a 5 speed it is the closest for my needs. The front mount would be the easiest to modify to work for my application. I'm not worried some modifications, but I don't want something that kills what little ground clearance I have.
This torque arm mount is above the trans instead of below it.
Had one of the other straight crossmember type arms on my Camaro & it actually caught the ground once. It wasn't good for the car, the pavement or my safety.
Isn't Global West the design that eventually breaks through the floor? Mounted where load cycling was never intended to occur.
Originally Posted by Lonnie P
Looking for something that doesn't require cutting the floor or my very expensive 3.5" Hawks exhaust.
I have same exhaust. UMI makes a stout mid-length arm with a hump in the cross-bar to clear the exhaust. Also sold as the "Sinister" brand by Hawks Thirdgen.
If you are interested, we can work something out...
Originally Posted by Lonnie P
What year is yours for? Want to sell it???
It appears that if I get the 86-92year for a 5 speed it is the closest for my needs. The front mount would be the easiest to modify to work for my application. I'm not worried some modifications, but I don't want something that kills what little ground clearance I have.
This torque arm mount is above the trans instead of below it.
Had one of the other straight crossmember type arms on my Camaro & it actually caught the ground once. It wasn't good for the car, the pavement or my safety.
Isn't Global West the design that eventually breaks through the floor? Mounted where load cycling was never intended to occur.
I have same exhaust. UMI makes a stout mid-length arm with a hump in the cross-bar to clear the exhaust. Also sold as the "Sinister" brand by Hawks Thirdgen.
No idea about floor breakage... that's why I'm asking for advice.
As far as the UMI, it appears that the cross member goes below the exhaust.
My car is very low & anything below the exhaust would likely suffer a quick death.
Last edited by Lonnie P; Feb 18, 2016 at 11:08 PM.
No pictures. It came out of my memory bank from 25 years of owning a 3rd gen. Sometimes the memory is good, sometimes it is bad.
We can do a quick test though. My memory is that it breaks out the driver side rear seat tub. Fatigue failure of the sheet metal. So how is that a test? I've never seen a GW torque arm, and I don't even know where it mounts to under the car. I have no way to cheat on this exam.
If it touches the seat tub then my quirky memory should get you a little nervous. If it doesn't then just call me a demented old coot.
Short torque arm acts faster for acceleration, a long torque arm helps stabilize under braking. Best of both worlds is the Unbalanced Engineering decoupled TA which they are currently taking orders for on FRRAX for a limited production run.
Oh, that's not the exhaust system I thought you had. I thought it was the Hawks LS7 kit with V-band clamps. It tucks up.
Yes, Global West is famous for punching out the floor pan.
That is the LS7 exhaust. It is tucked up tight, the car is just very low.
Originally Posted by plum92_camaro
Short torque arm acts faster for acceleration, a long torque arm helps stabilize under braking. Best of both worlds is the Unbalanced Engineering decoupled TA which they are currently taking orders for on FRRAX for a limited production run.
The Unbalanced Engineering arm does not fit 3rd gens without extensive modifications.
The Unbalanced Engineering arm does not fit 3rd gens without extensive modifications.
True, but its been done before and will be done again. The race version fits 82-02 but you have to have a cage to tie it to. The bolt in version doesn't really require "extensive" modification, really you just have to fab the 4thgen tunnel brace mounts into your thirdgen and maybe a couple spacers.
I have the GW short torque arm set up but the car is not on the road yet. I can say there are no issues with ground clearance. It is tight up in the tunnel though and I do believe the torque arm will hit where it is mounted to the rear end. My car is lowered quite a bit and I have a Strange 12 bolt so not sure if stock if it would hit. I dont think there will be any issues with the support bar bolting to the drivers side back floor pan. This is the torque arm reaction support and it extends up to the trans x member so the load from the torque arm is supported by these 2 load point. In an older design I think there was no front mounting point and the load was all transferred to the floor pan mount under rear seat.
I like that pebble reflection in your paint!
You can get the post collector flange pieces up a little further. I'm still wrestling with mine, but I'm trying to fit it around the 4L65e. I used the BMR trak pack. The cross-member bar is only a few mm from the floor pan. Hammered a flat spot on the bar and dimpled the exhaust tube (both). Then added a little button connector for support. I also scalloped the frame rail just a little and moved the trans crossmemer attachment to horizontal rather than vertical up into the rail.
I'll thumbnail a few picks from Hawks to show different stuff. These embedded pics are mine.
Before I changed the frame rail:
Here, you can surmise that the collectors flanges are the lowest point:
