The Correct Control Arms for Handling. - Suspension and Brake Forum

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The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, February 28, 2014 8:45 PM
I bought my 2004 Cavalier LS Sport Coupe in 2004, the window sticker said "sport suspension"... This was not the case! If you want the correct control arms for "handling with sport suspension" and not the "ride quality suspension" here are the part numbers you are going to need.

Mevotech MS50171 left side/ driver side
Mevotech MS50172 right side/ passenger side

Rockauto.com has the best prices I've found, and believe me... I've searched!

Polyurethane bushings part number: Prothane 7-234

This is what it looks like with the seams welded and the poly bushings installed...
Attachments
IMG_20140228_121733_996.jpg (783k)


Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, February 28, 2014 8:46 PM
more photos
Attachments
IMG_20140228_121733_996.jpg (783k)
IMG_20140228_121751_154.jpg (666k)

Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, February 28, 2014 8:48 PM
and more
Attachments
IMG_20140228_121839_607.jpg (764k)
IMG_20140228_121856_317.jpg (743k)

Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, February 28, 2014 10:56 PM
Did you weld the seams or did they come welded? I am confused as to what the actual difference is in the control arms between the 2 suspension options.

I prefer the aluminum ones for handling.






Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Saturday, March 01, 2014 9:33 AM
I welded the seams in my shop, they do not come like this. Mevotech has 2 different styles of control arms:

Ride quality, notice the lack of 90-degree bends at the edges of the sheet metal
Attachments
ride quality.jpg (180k)

Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Saturday, March 01, 2014 1:56 PM
Well this is new information.



Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Sunday, March 02, 2014 7:07 PM
so this was a gm option or is this "mevotech" an aftermarket company???

id still much rather go with the n-body aluminum arms to be honest. but neat find anyway!



RIP silver car. You will be missed.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Monday, March 03, 2014 5:07 AM
I have heavy SMG welded ones. They just like the ones you posted.

If I ever do it again I would go Aluminum N-body ones.




PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Monday, March 03, 2014 11:06 PM

    i Detect A Wee Bit Of Sarcasm Lol. I Made This Thread Because The Others Were Lacking Information, Part Numbers, And Pictures.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Monday, March 03, 2014 11:13 PM
Mevotech Is An Aftermarket Company. I Would Have Done The Aluminum Control Arms But Chose The Less Costly Route. I Say Costly Because Of Having To Get An alignment done. Not Only That But The Wheels I Hace On The Car Are A +35Mm Offset And Those N-body Control Arms Would Have Pushed Out The Wheels Too Far And Made My Cavy Look Like Crap.

These WilL Perform As Well As The Alums Without The Added Hassle And Cost Plain And Simple.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 12:08 AM
I was looking into the different p/n steel arms

then decided to go unmodded aluminum arms

they're hard to find sometimes, but way better than the stamped steel crap.




Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 6:28 AM
i agree with you PJ, the aluminum rms are better but for those that cannot locate them or those with similar offset trying to retain the look that has been achieved (as is my case)... and those that either do know know they will need one or cannot afford an alignment, this is the best most readily available solution.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 8:48 AM
Please forgive me, but anytime you take apart the front suspension, shouldn't you get an alignment? Or if i may answer my own question, as long as i don't mess with radius arm or any adjustment, alignment should be the same after Mevotech swap.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 9:10 AM
i dont see what is so difficult about finding the aluminum arms? even my @!#$ty yards have them here lol



RIP silver car. You will be missed.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 9:33 AM
Sadly here in Ca. there are more honda's and toyota's in the yards. Is the 99 ga gt the only one we can get these from? Those get stripped pretty quick and then the yard rmoves them wether they still have control arms or not.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 9:34 AM
well in virginia beach they had one pair and as soon as i opened my big mouth about them, the next weekend they were no longer on the car at the junk year... they were on ebay, and sold within 45 minutes of being posted (hot commodity!)

i've helped friends replace both arms with new poly bushings and they didn't need one. one buddy was skeptical so he went to have and alignment done, they told him that his car didn't need one. he had also gotten new tires 3 months prior to the install and they did an alignment then.

Even if i were able to find the arms and get it aligned after install, it would end up pushing out the whole wheel out. after toe angle and camber angle adjusted it would push the wheel out so far that it would look like i was rolling on daytons... not the look i'm going for if you follow.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 6:32 PM
topfuel, it doesn't push the wheel out nearly as much as you assume. I ran the aluminum arms for months even with 5mm wheel spacers on the front and the tires were flush with the fenders. I used my tein camber plates to knock down some of the extra camber but a lot isn't needed. its only .5" were talking about here...

calvin... they came on all 99 n-bodies. doesnt need to be a gt specifically. they may have even came on Malibu's in 99 as well but I cant remember.



RIP silver car. You will be missed.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Thursday, March 06, 2014 9:13 AM
-Z Yaaaa- this thread is not about a comparison to stamped steel vs aluminum control arms. this post is to let people know the difference between the 2 styles of stamped steel control arms that are a direct bolt on without the need for an alignment or going to a junk yard! for those living in the north where it's -5* below zero with wind chill that do not wish to freeze their ass off going to a junk yard that might not even have them in the first place.

as for the geometry... you will need an alignment with the n-body control arms, not with the arms that i started this post about.

which wheels were you using? what offset? you have camber plates, most people don't! and because no one currently is making custom camber plates for either stock/ lowerings springs or coilover setups... the mevotech control arms ARE the best option over stock. did you read the post from top to bottom???
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Thursday, March 06, 2014 4:57 PM
TopFuel wrote:-Z Yaaaa- this thread is not about a comparison to stamped steel vs aluminum control arms. this post is to let people know the difference between the 2 styles of stamped steel control arms that are a direct bolt on without the need for an alignment or going to a junk yard! for those living in the north where it's -5* below zero with wind chill that do not wish to freeze their ass off going to a junk yard that might not even have them in the first place.

as for the geometry... you will need an alignment with the n-body control arms, not with the arms that i started this post about.

which wheels were you using? what offset? you have camber plates, most people don't! and because no one currently is making custom camber plates for either stock/ lowerings springs or coilover setups... the mevotech control arms ARE the best option over stock. did you read the post from top to bottom???


Replacing the control arms with these would still require a alignment.



FU Tuning



Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Thursday, March 06, 2014 5:20 PM
riddle me this... if control arm A and control arm B are the EXACT SAME dimensions, explain how and why you need an alignment?
replacing control arm A with control arm B would be the exact same thing as removing control arm A and then re-installing it. no alignment is required since the dimensions have not changed. lets do some research on suspension geometry folks.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Thursday, March 06, 2014 5:32 PM
bare in mind that i am not referring to the aluminum N-body control arms.
control arm A : ride quality / comfort suspension stamped steel control arm
control arm B : ride handling / sport suspension stamped steel control arm

i took out my digital caliper today and measured the thickness of the sheet metal on the original arms and compared it to the mevotech arms in the pictures i posted... guess what i found? the mevotech arms have thicker sheet metal in addition to having the outer edges flared out to improve rigidity.

Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Thursday, March 06, 2014 6:42 PM
Even undoing the struts requires a alignment. Is is "needed" no, but its a good idea when dissembling any suspension to Get an alignment.

Tolerances on jbody control arms are crap.

Think of it like i replace the ball joints with stock replacements, they will not be bolted in the same exact spot, they will not be the same exact size so you need a alignment.

Will it be terribly off? probably not, will it be exactly the same? no.



Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, March 07, 2014 1:32 PM
First off, whoever told you that undoing one part or another requires an alignment was either ilinformed, talking out of there ass, or trying to get more money out of you.

Second, I am an NDT certified HT in the navy so do not preach to me about tolerances when it comes to metal. These control arms, for direct replacement, are more than sufficient.

Third, and I'll say it again... if you replace one part for another with the SAME EXACT DIMENSIONS then it will not change the suspension geometry. The aluminum ones are 0.5" longer and will require an alignment. Here's why... it will cause significant positive toe out angles. Go buy a book on suspension geometry and stop posting the incorrect information. The noobs will think the wrong things.
Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, March 07, 2014 2:34 PM
Someone's PMSing... Ask any professional in the AUTOMOTIVE industry and they will tell you that if you do anything to the front end, you SHOULD get an alignment. If you change the factory A arm with another factory A arm, is the Alignment going to be out? Probably not, but any professional, even ones that would not profit from it will say to get an alignment, more so just to confirm it is still correct.

Also, the Alum arms would cause positive toe IN angles.




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Re: The Correct Control Arms for Handling.
Friday, March 07, 2014 3:11 PM
Toe In would be the case if the steering rack was located in front of the ball joint. When the steering rack is located aft of the ball joint and the ball joint is extended out from the center point of the lateral center between the two ball joints, it will cause the wheels to point toe out. not toe in!
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