GT Performance Mods 2005+ Mustang GT Performance and Technical Information

Installed BMR LCAs/Wheel Hop

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Old May 26, 2006 | 11:23 PM
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Installed BMR LCAs/Wheel Hop

I installed the BMR lower control arms today, hoping to eliminate wheel hop. Unfortunately, the wheel hop still exists. It does seem to be better though.

I had them install the 90 degree grease fittings. That made it nice. I found that I could not get grease in the front bushings unless I loosened the bolts first. Must be some tight tolerances there. It only took my an hour or more to figure that one out! The install otherwise was pretty quick.

Suggestions on what mod to do next to eliminate the hop? I think I will end up with lowering springs soon too as it will be the beginning of getting rid of the understeer.

Thanks.
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Old May 27, 2006 | 01:13 AM
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Originally Posted by ttbit
I installed the BMR lower control arms today, hoping to eliminate wheel hop. Unfortunately, the wheel hop still exists. It does seem to be better though.

I had them install the 90 degree grease fittings. That made it nice. I found that I could not get grease in the front bushings unless I loosened the bolts first. Must be some tight tolerances there. It only took my an hour or more to figure that one out! The install otherwise was pretty quick.

Suggestions on what mod to do next to eliminate the hop? I think I will end up with lowering springs soon too as it will be the beginning of getting rid of the understeer.

Thanks.
I had the same situation. I switched from bmr to steeda. Eliminated hop completely on street pavement. I still have to see how well it works at the track. You might try torquing the bolts to 120, see if that helps. The tech CD I got on e-bay says to torque them to 129. The bmr directions, as I recall, say 80 - 90. or install a new upper control arm.
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Old May 27, 2006 | 08:20 AM
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Nice avatar. I will torque to 120 and see what happens. What do you have your Steeda's torqued to? Why did you switch to Steeda? Did you go with adjustables instead, or thought the BMR's were not a good enough solution?
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Old May 27, 2006 | 08:32 AM
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get the upper control arm and it will all be gone
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Old May 27, 2006 | 09:54 AM
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Just did all the suspension mods in my signature yesterday. I have zero wheelhop and D@MN, it's like the car is riding on rails now. Completely different ride!!! Still playing with the D-Specs, but the options on adjusting seem to be limitless...
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Old May 27, 2006 | 10:28 AM
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The reason you had to loosen bolt before it would take the grease is because some of the poly bushings are too long or the fitting hole is not in the center. I had the same problem. I did not torque mine that tight. Some wheel hop remained until I installed relocation brackets. After that none!
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Old May 27, 2006 | 11:51 AM
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Mongoose.... is your car lowered?!?!?
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Old May 28, 2006 | 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted by ttbit
Nice avatar. I will torque to 120 and see what happens. What do you have your Steeda's torqued to? Why did you switch to Steeda? Did you go with adjustables instead, or thought the BMR's were not a good enough solution?
thanks. I had the BMR's torqued to about 90. I have the Steeda's torqued to 120. The BMR's that I received were about 1/4 inch shorter than the stock. Probably not enough to make a difference, but they weren't going to replace them for me. And as I still had wheel hop, I decided to go with Steeda billet aluminum LCAs. I bought a UCA at the same time but as yet have no need for it.
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Old May 28, 2006 | 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by nonsensez9
The BMR's that I received were about 1/4 inch shorter than the stock.
That seems scary. When I matched the new ones to stock, they looked a LOT shorter, but when I set them hole to hole, they were about right. I didn't check that closely though. I probably should have.

I do notice that when shifting into 2nd gear I hear a clunk now. It is new, for sure. It seems that it happens before I release the clutch though. After releasing the clutch, there is a click. I figured it was the LCAs, but it sounds like it is coming from the transmission. I am tempted to pull them off and see if the sound goes away. Surely nothing happened from my wheel hop tests. My '95 had seen 1000 times more abuse with no problems. Anyone else having this?

I am glad to hear of some people getting rid of the wheel hop though. Seems that either the brackets or upper is the next step for me.
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Old May 28, 2006 | 09:00 PM
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I have 275 drag radials, and i use the powerhouse lcas and uca, and i experience no wheel hop.
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Old May 28, 2006 | 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by emperorjordan
Mongoose.... is your car lowered?!?!?
Yes it is lowered with Steeda springs.
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Old May 28, 2006 | 11:49 PM
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We are not torquing head or lug bolts here. You are smashing the poly bushing and I think this is going to result in failure. I think mine are around 70 foot pounds. If there is a CLUCK under the car after the install you can bet something is not correct for sure. Recheck everything you did.
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Old Jun 3, 2006 | 07:56 PM
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I removed the BMRs and re-installed the stock LCAs. No more strange noises when shifting. Everything looked fine. I don't think the grease I used could be a problem, but that is the only thing that is variable. Installing these is not rocket science!?

Hmmmm... Wonder if I should try some relocation brackets with the stock, or try an upper link next.
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Old Jun 3, 2006 | 11:21 PM
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im not sure how these work, but you guys think I could install them, then drive 30 miles home on the freeway and grease em then? or would that damage something?
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by ttbit
I removed the BMRs and re-installed the stock LCAs. No more strange noises when shifting. Everything looked fine. I don't think the grease I used could be a problem, but that is the only thing that is variable. Installing these is not rocket science!?

Hmmmm... Wonder if I should try some relocation brackets with the stock, or try an upper link next.
I would be willing to bet something was wrong with the install however the rubber bushings in the stock arms do not transmit noise and the poly bushings do so you maybe hearing the clunk from something else. I also removed the weights on the axle housing when I installed relocation brackets.
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Mongoose
I also removed the weights on the axle housing when I installed relocation brackets.

Why? What would be the benefits? Hell, why are they there in the first place?
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Mongoose
I would be willing to bet something was wrong with the install
Everyone screws up, including myself, but 4 bolts... I have rebuilt transmissions, engines, rear diffs, put engines in cars they didn't belong in, suspension mods in fox/sn95 Mustangs, all kinds of modifications and such and I can't see where this could have gone wrong. I am always open to suggestions though.
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 12:45 PM
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I got to the track the other night. While the Steeda billet LCA's were a big improvement over the BMRs that I had, they're still not the final answer. Looks like I'll be installing that UCA I have laying around some day soon.
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by nonsensez9
I got to the track the other night. While the Steeda billet LCA's were a big improvement over the BMRs that I had, they're still not the final answer. Looks like I'll be installing that UCA I have laying around some day soon.
Good to know. Steeda says they have a "patent pending" bushing in their LCAs that reduce NVH. Did you notice a difference in noise in either install? I admit, I can be sensitive to these things, but my friend in the passenger seat noticed the noise immediately also. If someone says, this is how it is, I can live with it. I never thought my TKO was noisy in my '95 (except 5th gear), but one guy who test drove it thought it was really loud. Everyone has different ears. I was very happy with all the Steeda parts I had in my '95.
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Old Jun 4, 2006 | 08:42 PM
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Install the UCA. If your car is lowered you'll need relocation brackets to correct the "instant center" of the LCA's for best results. Here's a link to my suspension setup. My car 60's at 1.6-1.65 seconds with zero wheel hop even on street tires.http://www.svtoa-memphis.com/forums/...ead.php?t=4427
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