I am looking at a torque arm and lower control arms both from BMR this winter. Is it really worth the money to get them in the adjustable option???

 

I will say yes to the torque arm. I just put an Edelberock ADJ arm on and I have yet to play with the adjustability of it. I'm smiles all around. The car is planting harder already. I'm chirping off the line instead of squealing and in high speed turns the rear feels less likely to break loose.

 

Unless you are trying to fit some monster tires on there, you don't need adj LCA's.

 

I would say that the biggest reason to get adjustable LCAs is that they usually have spherical rod ends in them (good), while the non-adjustable will usually have poly or rubber bushings (bad). Bushings in LCA's are only ACCEPTABLE if the car is used purely for drag racing. Even then, it still isn't highly recommended.

 

Adjustable rod ended rear LCAs allow you to get a perfect thrust alignment also.

 

I had adj. LCAs on my car and they eliminated wheel hop on a street tire. Now i put on my QA1s and i seem to have the wheel hop back. Is this becuase they lowered the rear a little? Should i adj. the LCAs a certin way to correct this? I have yet to launch the car beucase of the weather (havn't had it out) but i went WOT a few times and the 1-2 felt real bad in the rear. Is it maybe the settings on the QA1s? They are both at 3 in the rear and 4 up frot.

Please help. Thanks.

 

If the QA1s did significantly lower the rear, and you have not installed LCA relocation brackets, it may be that you LCAs are no longer parallel to the ground, and are angled up towards the axle. For optimum straight line traction, you want the LCAs at least level with the ground, while having them angled slightly down towards the axle will be even better, providing a little preload. Adjusting the LCAs will change pinion angle, which may also need to do anyway.

 

Acceptable to who? There are lots of guys happily driving f bodies with bushing equipped LCAs. True, they don't allow the suspension to operate in optimum fashion the way that rod ends do, but they also don't have some of the drawbacks of rod ends i.e. high replacement costs and noisy operation when they start to wear. They are a compromise between the stockers and race quality parts.
I would not get adjustable LCAs on a car with a stock ride height unless you want rod ends for their own sake.
As far as the torque arm, the BMR piece is a good value IMO. The lack of adjustability is justified by the price, but I would expect the u joints to wear faster driving around with its 2 degree negative pinion angle.

 

Acceptable to the people who know and design suspensions.

Just because a lot of people are happily driving around with something doesn't mean it is the best way to go. I have LCAs with poly bushings on them now, only because I didn't know any better when I got them, and I have some other upgrades to do before replacing these. The average peson would never realize that their suspension is binding, and is being hampered because of the bushings.

The trade offs of the rod ends are very little, and they do not wear out very often.

Most people still experience less wheel hop after swapping out their LCAs when still at stock ride height (myself included).

 

I never said they were the best way to go. I said they are a compromise.
Using your logic, a solid rear axle would be "unacceptable" to "people who know and design suspensions" because its not "the best way to go". And yet we get along with that okay.
I have BMR poly/rubber LCAs and I have driven my car and a stock Z28 back to back. I definitely prefer the way my car's rear suspension feels. And I don't mind not having to replace $150 worth of rod ends every couple of years.

 

If you are the type of person who thinks everything needs adjusting go with those type of suspension parts. But the majority of people never touch those parts again after installation. The only people who need them are the ones who have to put a wrench on everything or they are not happy campers. And I have Rear LCA's. Panhard bar and Torque Arm (Spohn Performance) and they are the non-adjustable type and they work very well for me.

 

I'm an owner of LGM spherical bearings on the ends of LCAs, PHB and Lower Control Arms. I've had most of them on my car since 2001 ...

No noise, no slop, no signs of wear.

In 2003, I was still running a poly bushing on a brand X PHB when it snapped the housing the bushing was in.

So, from my experience, poly bushings don't last near as long as rod ends.

"Adjustable" is really a misnomer. A rod end typically is threaded into a shaft. While this does allow for a small amount of length adjustment, it should be set to stock length and the jam nut tightened.

Finally, 99.9% of the folks who buy "adjustable" LCAs or torque arms, set them and never touch them again. Why pay for something you will rarely if ever use?

 

Mitch, how many miles have you put on those rod ends in 3 years? Is your car a daily driver or do you use it mainly for competition?

 

Does Spohn even make a "non-adjustable" torque arm? I've never seen one.

The Panhard rod makes sense, given the small extra cost. It allows recentering the body side-to-side over the axle. I had to adjust mine only after putting 315's in the back, and it was worth having the adjustable panhard rod to allow the body to be moved that tiny 1/8". Made a big difference as far as avoiding rubbing.

The adjustable LCA's can be useful for moving the axle front-to-back. I've used mine to move the axle back about 1/4" and prevent 28" QTP's from rubbing on the sheet metal front edge of the wheel arch. Unless you plan to get into that kind of setup, the adjustable feature would probably go to waste.

The adjustable torque arm is valuable for controlling pinion angle, and I would guess the more power you are putting to the rear wheels, the more you need the adjustable feature. In all honesty, there are people running 11's and probably even 10's with the stock TA. Adjusting the pinion angle correctly can reduce power loss in the driveshaft, increase u-joint life, reduce loads on the pinion bearings and trans mainshaft bearings. It can keep the rear suspension geometry more stable. Whether you need it depends on where you are going with the power level.

 

My logic does not imply that at all, especially since a solid rear axle is superior in it's own ways over IRS. That's simply a preference issue.

Please don't assume things, or put words in my mouth.