control arm angles?

[grady5]

o.k. I know that the lower control arms need to be level at ride height but what about the uppers? I dont have everything together yet but its looking like my uppers will be angled up a good bit. does this matter? do i need a certain distance between the upper and lower shafts? any help would be great.

[pcmcobra]

i'm not sure about a required distance between the 2, but both of them do pivot so the distance would be however far apart they are when you get the spindle back on it.

[LONGHAIR]

o.k. I know that the lower control arms need to be level at ride height but what about the uppers?

Level? at what ride height?

[grady5]

the ride height is 4.5 in. yesterday i put them in place with the spindle and it doesnt look like too much angle to me but im not sure. i know at ride height my ball joint is about in the center of its movement. wouldnt this be about right?

[smashingchuck]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Level? at what ride height?

control arms should technically be parallel to the ground at ride height.;

[grady5]

should the upper and lower be level or can the lower be level and upper have some upward angle towards the spindle?
i dont want my tires to lean in at the top when im aired out can i avoid this with the ball joint placement or can it not be avoided?

[Twistedsteel]

Originally Posted by grady5

should the upper and lower be level or can the lower be level and upper have some upward angle towards the spindle?
i dont want my tires to lean in at the top when im aired out can i avoid this with the ball joint placement or can it not be avoided?

Yeah I was just about to post the same question. I don't want alot of camber when aired out either.


Albie

[Ivan D.]

control arms are different length, the uppers being shorter - when aired out the camber will increase towards inboard no matter what. When you set up suspension geometry you do it at the desired ride height, meaning yer cruise height - for instance my topless Lincoln is lowered in the front and jacked up in the rear, could have aired the rear out to level it a bit before getting it on the alignment rack but that ain't how I normally drive it, so I put it on as is. So yeah, figure out how high you want yer truck off the ground (both front and rear) and then take it for alignment like that.

[abadsvt]

I have a question. If having the control arms level at ride height what about when you install a drop spindel doesn't it alter the control arm from being level? I have always been told that you need to setup your suspension at ride height and your lower control arm should be level but never thought about why and what does it change if it isn't exactly level?

Josh

[pcmcobra]

the drop spindle "should" keep the same geometry as stock. If you look at a stock spindle and a drop spindle side by side, you will see where the "drop" comes into play.
As far as the arms being level, lowering springs will effect the arms being level. The springs don't compensate for the changed geometry between the upper and lowers.
Hope this is not too confusing, wish I had some pics to explain a little better.