kohls_66

im looking at getting aftermarket lower control arms and i got a choice between adjustable and non adjustable, the adj. ones supposedly are not recommended for the street i am wondering why. i am running this car at the track but also use it on the street so i am just looking for some advice.

OBE1 95Z28

About the only time you need adjustable LCAs is if your running over sized tires and are in need to recentering the tire in the wheel well. If you like to turn any corners don't buy the poly/poly ends; they will cause suspension bind. I'm running rod end/poly; this avoids the bind issue and is quietier than a rod end/rod end setup.

kohls_66

what do you mean by oversize tires, i plan on running 26x10 slicks in the rear would that be too big?

OBE1 95Z28

Over size tires are tires with a diameter greater than the stock 26". Some guys run 27" and 28" slicks and have issues with the tire hitting the lower body.

Bud M

"Adjustable" typically means they have rod ends instead of bushings. Rod ends tend to be nooisy, especially if they are lower quality or old. They don't want to deal with the noise complaints from people who put them on their daily drivers so they designate them race only.

OBE1 95Z28

I don't agree; my Global West LCA's have a rod end on one side and it's not advertised as adjustable; it's true the rod end it threaded, by that's required to mount a rod end to the arm. An LCA that's built to be adjustable is advertised as such and most likely uses longer threaded rod ends. My PHR has rod ends and is advertised to be adjustable by UMI. For example, here's a link to BMR's site showing a non-adjustable LCA with rod ends and an adjustable LCA with poly ends, http://www.bmrfabrication.com/F-bodySuspension.htm

Bud M

That link for "MCA001 Adjustable "Race" control arms $259.95 pr."? I don't think you read it right. And I did say "typically". If Global West does things differently, well, that's no surprise, they always have. On the other hand, BMR's adjustable poly units are certainly not typical of the LCA designs on the market.
This is how 3 other popular vendors advertise their LCAs with rod ends, taken straight off of their websites:
From Spohn.net: Lower Control Arms - Adj. Spherical Rod Ended - $ 245.00
UMI: 1982 - 2002 GM F-Body Tubular Adjustable Lower Control Arms
Hotpart:1982-2002 F-Body Aluminum Adjustable Lower Control Arms

Injuneer

I had a set of Spohn adjustables with poly bushings in them. The ends that held the poly bushings had opposite hand threads on each end, and the LCA had a huge nut in the middle to allow a wrench to be used to adjust them. The spherical end LCA's are "adjustable", only if the rod ends have opposite hande threads on each end.