upper control arms

spdtrip · Mar 25, 2011

I have always heard that adding aftermarket upper control arms "binds up" the rear suspension, and simply said "dont put them in". At most just replace your bushings and only buy a good set of lowers. can someone explain why? Also other than the name brand why are some 150.00 and the so called good ones 300.00 is there that much of a diff. it's tube steel and some poly bushings how much better can the name brands be?

BTW, the car is a toy and Im mostly a street driver. I go to the drag track twice a yr @ best. and would like to auto-x and do another track day sometime with this car.
just to give you guys an idea what my car is used for.

Thanks, Mark.

Javi · Mar 25, 2011

Get FRPP uppers, you get what you pay for and if you do Auto-x i suggest to invest on some adjustable lowers such as MM.
they are pricey.

MustangChris · Mar 25, 2011

FRPP uppers are OEM equipment on 1994(or 6?) - 1998 stangs. they are only "upgrades" on 1979-1993 (or5?)

Dalamar · Mar 25, 2011

spdtrip said:
can someone explain why?

Yes:

Dalamar said:
Lastly I highly suggest you find out why you do not want solid or adjustable upper control arms on your STREET driven car!
Torque box reinforcements? if you need to reinforce the torque box, or someone says you need to, there's something wrong there....
Your suspension should not bind up and warp the floor pan of your car! these kinds of parts are cheap fixes for drag racing vehicles.

I offer this bit of information from Maximum Motorsports web site to explain why: - rear suspension - lower control arms.

Most aftermarket rear control arms use hard 2-piece urethane bushings, Delrin bushings, or steel bushings. Those types of bushings do not allow the angularity needed for the Mustangs suspension to articulate freely. The resulting suspension bind causes the rear tires to break loose very easily. Suspension bind not only causes poor handling and poor traction, but it also causes damage to the torque-boxes. As the attachment points on the chassis for the rear control arms, the torque-boxes can suffer greatly from the abuse of poorly designed control arm bushings. After all, the torque boxes are only made of folded sheet metal.....

AND

....In the Mustangs rear suspension design, whether it is still the stock 4-link suspension design, or has been modified to a Torque-arm or three-link design, the control arms do not simply pivot. The arms also move sideways, with an angular motion (relative to the pivot axis). If that angular motion is restricted because of a poor bushing design, the suspension will bind. While some aftermarket control arms may seem to improve performance because of reduced bushing compliance, it is only improved to a level slightly higher than the stock control arms. Once the car is pushed past that level, the increased wheel rate from the suspension bind will cause unpredictable handling not to mention damage to the torque boxes.

Click to expand...

MustangChris · Mar 25, 2011

wow. very nice, Dal!

spdtrip · Mar 26, 2011

Thanks Dalamar. that def. sums it up. btw I think your new rims look good on your car. white is not as easy as I thought it would be to pick rims for, and also not break the bank.