I am about to attempt replacing the stock front upper ball joints with the camber-adjustable ball joints from SPC ( http://iapdirect.com/item.asp?invid=1136 , front only). Looking at the stock balljoint before starting, I can see how I would disconnect it from the spindle (hub side) using a pitman tool, but it is not obvious to me how to remove the other end from the upper A-arm. It's not obvious how it is even attached to the upper arm. Any advice? Thanks.

 

I believe you are right that they are pressed in. It looks like it is pressed in from the top, down through the arm. I would have thought that it would need something more to keep it secure, especially if it is pressed in top-down.
I probably won't get to in till Sunday, and I'll let you know how it goes. Any warnings before then would be appreciated.

 

my warning would be strong worries about what that will do to the suspension geometry. Tony has some big concerns as you are moving the upper arm up quite a bit in relation to the lower one.

I'll email him this thread for his 2 bits, but I wouldn't install that device on my car.

BTW welcome to unlimited

 

 

I did some measurements and it is 1/2" taller than the OEM (3" vs 2.5"; it looks much taller in the pic because the boot isn't compressed), so the total distance between the upper and lower arm increases from about 11.5" to 12". I am not a suspension guru, but it seems that this should be acceptable since the arms on my car should have less range of movement with the stiffer suspension. I don't see this as being much different than what Tony did by shortening the upper arm....in fact, the extra 1/2" would help compensate geometrically for the arms coming closer together as you simultaneously move the upper attachment point inward (whether by shortening the arm or by using the off-set bolt and slot here), so the eventual distance between the arms may be closer to OEM. Also, all the stock alignment adjustments remain unchanged on the lower arm. I plan to basically pick a fixed, equal point (max inward?) on both sides to lock in place, then use the OEM alignment adjusters to align to desired camber. I won't be fiddling with the ball joint after installation, so it's basically equivalent to shortening the upper arm. Does this seem reasonable? It looks extremely well made.

 

Sorry, Richard, but you could not be more wrong. A .5" movement either up or down in a pick up point will make a HUGE difference. Adding 1/8" to the length makes almost zero difference. Run the numbers through a suspension goemetry program of your choice (I prefer the Mitchell software) and you will see that your roll center and IRC will be changing quite a bit. So will the amount of camber gain through suspension travel. If you actually run the S2k numbers you will not like to see what happens when you gain that .5" of hieght.

Also since you are efectively changing a pick-up point this should have a BIG impact on what class you run.

*AD*

I am almost done with the full mono ball kit for the S2k. This will press into all yur factory arms. We will also be offering a modification to the stock upper front control arm for icreased negative camber that will not change the hieght of te stock outer pick-up point. All of this will be available through Go Fast Labs.

-tony

 

Tony, thanks for the input. I agree it will result in changes, and change (in handling) is the intent. Could you explain what would be the negative vs positive (if any) impact of the 1/2" change in arm height on handling (with the increased neg. camber)? The end goal is to reduce understeer and improve handling with my current tires.

 

Should have updated this earlier.

I popped the balljoint from the knuckle with a small Pitman ball-joint remover. To press out the balljoint from the upper A-arm, I first removed the A-arm with the balljoint, removed the rubber boot, then hammered it out using a 2 lb. brass hammer and, as a receiving tube, a PVC pipe joint (used for plumbing; 2" diameter pipe joint has almost perfect internal diameter of just over 1.75" and cost only 57 cents from Home Depot). Brass hammer is soft and doesn't damage threads in case you need to re-use the balljoint (though I won't).

 

Just a point in case you have removed the top Ball joint from any of the arms (for what ever reason)

When you install them make sure you align the "Dot" marks from the Ball joint carrier/body with the "Dot" mark on the arms, as the Ball joints are not put in "Square"

These marks are not very evident because of rust, dirt or body protection.

 

Thanks.