I received my new lower control arms from BMR at noon today and had completed the installation by 3 pm including a lunch/beer break. Mr. Ford and Mr. BMR could not have made it easier! Below is a comparison of the new arm with the stock arm. Notice the stock arm bushing is not only soft rubber, but it has deep slots cut in both sides. I can only imagine how much it was moving around under hard accelleration. Since I don't know how to put more than one picture on a post, I'll put the others in sepparate posts.

The Boss Hog

 

Here is the location were the control arm goes. The 21mm bolts came out very easily and the nuts were captive.

 

And here is the new arm installed. I took it for a quick ride and it really felt more "connected" than before but you will hear more road noise from the rear tires. It was not loud enough to bother me, but those of you who like your cars with a minimum of road noise might want to think twice before doing this. I'll let you know how it works at Moroso drag strip after they open up again but I really expect these bars to cure my axle tramp/wheel hop problem.

The Boss Hog

 

nice to see the comparison photos, can't wait to see real world results. keep us posted.

 

Boss Hog,
Thanks for the pictures & info, will be interesting to see if this cure our ills.
Did you notice any whell hop driving on the street prior to swaping these out; or was it just at the strip?

They look like quility pieces.

 

Actually the stock Ford arm looks to be a much stiffer/stronger design. Couldn't you have just swapped out the bushing?

 

Is it just as easy as take the old bolts out, swap the arms, put bolts back in.

 

Forgive my ignormace. Is the purpose for a better hookup to the road ? Wheel hops ?

 

[QUOTE=2005RedGT,December 31, 2004, 9:19 AM]Forgive my ignormace. Is the purpose for a better hookup to the road ? Wheel hops ?


Yes, better hookup to the road or at the track. The aftermarket bars that Boss Hog installed have a much stiffer bushing then the stock units, the stiffer bushings will tighten up the rear end and help prevent wheel hop (Hopefully Boss hog can confirm this).

I have a manual GT and when I'm getting into it my rear tires start to spin, when they start doing that I get wheel hop, it also happens going into 2nd and 3rd. 2nd gear being the worse.(this only happens when really laying into the gas).

If your asking what wheel hop is think of it as a wheel REALLY out of balance. you get a vibration and a shake coming from the back of the car. Most of this is due to the stock bushings, in the arms Boss Hog replaced. It is also a very bad condition to have, Because it can cause all kinds of broken parts.

You can also improve this condition by changing the pinion angle on the rear end.
(again in theroy). There are a couple places that already have adjustable upper control arms available with the better bushings.

Hope this helps.

 

What FordRacing said is correct. At the drag strip, when I would attempt to clean off the tires, the axle would wind-up and bounce soo badly I thought I was going to break a u-joint. Even on the street it would start hopping if I got into it too hard. I want Ruby to feel solid and well planted no matter what I'm doing.
I'll let you know how they work when Moroso opens up .

The Boss Hog

PS 2005RedGT, with your change in springs and the fact that yours is an auto, I have no idea if you will have the same problem with the same fix or not

 

I had wheel hop when I had stock gears and springs, BUT since I now have taller , wide tires, 4:10 gears and lower stance - I never have wheel hop. I can almost take off with very little tire spins as well.

This combo hooks up like da poo.

-Bryan

 

lol, 'da poo' - nice filtering

 

These look like they are adjustable. Do you just make them the same length as the stock ones or is there some alignments involved? Thanks!

 

Hi Boss

Do you know the size of the heim joint they are using on those arms?

Its hard to tell in the pics. The threaded adjuster going into the arm looks like it could be an area that may fail. The threaded end of any heim is the weakest part. I would keep an eye on it, also the heim side may wear fairly quickly in a street application.

Get a can of penetrating oil that has Teflon in it & spray the heim on a regular basis, it will help

 

The instructions told you how to adjust the pinion angle if desired or said just make it the same length as the stock ones. Since I did not have an angle measurement gage, I just set it to stock length. We will see if I need to change it later.

The Boss Hog
(Happy New Year . . . . . . )

 

Pony,
Thanks for the heads up. I will keep an eye on it at least until I get some confidence in it. Here is a quote from the BMR page:

" All of our control arms utilize either greaseable polyurethane bushings or Teflon lined HD spherical bearings by QA1. Our CNC machined adjusters are made from 4130 chromoly and have rolled threads. All rod end spacers are 304 stainless. "

I just now went out and measured the diameter at the threads as 11/16 inch. I should be able to see them start to bend if there is a problem although the main load will be in compression, not bending. Living in Florida, you learn all about corrosion so I sprayed them with corrosion prevention from West Marine.

The Boss Hog
(Happy New Year . . . . . . . . . . )

 

Hey Boss

Be sure you have the lengths of the arms correct or you could induce toe in or out on the rear. Not a good thing for a street car.

I guess what I don't like about the arm is they used the long adjuster & stepped it down a size. I would have designed the arm to be longer so the heim end was also the adjuster. This way you use the bigger threads of the heim going into the arm directly. Or at least have made the adjuster the same thread size on each end.

Have fun & let us know how they work.

 

I'm just guessing from photos and a bit of mechanical knowledge but here it goes:

The ford unit appears to be stamped, the aftermarket part is tubular steel.

The control arms in this car don't control anything but fore-aft placement. As such, the tubular aftermarket item should be plenty strong.

 

Thats nice!! Looks like you're gonna take the gloves off now!! Can't wait to see what they do on the track!! B)

 

1. I was not aware a solid axle was subject to toe changes. Changes to being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car, yes, but toe changes, no.
2. Thread diameter on the helm joint and the adjuster are both 11/16 inch.


Yes, Pony, I got the idea you don't like them. Fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can only suggest you go ahead and design your own. I have no doubt that you could do a better job than BMR.

The Boss Hog