Control arms/coil overs - any difference?

[g_vanlaar]

Also, if you are dead set on coil overs (may not be the best for you) Chris Alston has a bolt in coil over for your car that is IMO better than the QA1.

[mrr1999]

Will that bolt into Speed tech's UCA and LCA? There have been a few people steering me away from the QA1 coil over. Why do you think the coil over might not be the best route? Too harsh for mostly street?

[camaro2nv]

PM Blake from speedtech. Hes very helpful.
https://lateral-g.net/forums/member.php4?u=1034

[skatinjay27]

if your trying to truley get the best performance for the least amount of money the you really shouldnt bother with the lower control arms... and since you dont plan on getting heavily into racing you dont need them.
also the speedtech lowers have no performance gain over stock LCA's,the dse lowers are built with aditional + caster but you really dont need them unless you push you car to the limit...
people were probabaly trying to steer you away from qa1 due to the fact that more than less people have had negative reviews on them concerning quality control issues.

why are you set on coil-overs for your mainly street car esp. if your concerned about budget? a conventional coil spring/strut setup will be perfectly fine for you.

best performance for a lower budget for the front end I would sugest
any upper that arent just street rod pieces and are actually geometry corrected like DSE,speedtech,global west,spc just to name a few(brand loyalty ) stock lowers with delrin/del-a-lum bushings,hotckis(just example) coil springs with a bb i would say atleast 600# + ,good shocks ie: koni,bilstien,varishocks,etc(adjustable is better but thier not a MUST)
baer bump steer eliminators,a good 12:1 steering box personally i would go with a lee speq'ed box for ATS or SC&C. and if you can swing it DEFFINATLY get the AFX tall spindles... like mentioned above you can just bolt up corvette c5-c6 brakes right to them and they are a much cheaper option but will be more than enough braking power for you.
hope theres some usefull insite there for ya.

[mrr1999]

Great info! Thanks. I was leaning towards the coil-overs for a couple of reasons. One, if I decide to get more into racing, they are already there and wont have to be upgraded - granted I choose the correct set up. Second, I'm sure its a mental thing, but I didn't want to have the "I shoulda's" after I finish building the car. Now I will be totally honest, after all of these years of building cars, I have only done stock resto's, mild resto-mods and drag cars (way back). as far as a handling car, I really don't know what to expect from any of the parts I select (coils vs coil overs, 3 link vs 4 link vs lowered leafs). All I currently know is that the original set up is pretty much a death trap I guess in the grand scheme of things, I assumed coil overs were just the best way to go from the majority of cars running them.

Budget is definitely huge on this, but if there is a major improvement in feel and performance by spending $1-2K more on the build, I figure I should go for it. Thanks for your help!

[skatinjay27]

no there isnt any real big performance gain by going coilovers over conventional coil springs... all you'd really gain by going with coil overs is that youll have adjustable ride height and they weight less.even if you get into racing youll be very competetive with leafs and conventional coils...
and as far as leafs to a 3/4 link go, a car with leafs can perform just as good as a car with a 3/4 link rear suspension its just that you have to sacrifice ride quality to do so. lowered leaf springs will just have a stiffer ride.

[Blake Foster]

Originally Posted by skatinjay27

no there isnt any real big performance gain by going coilovers over conventional coil springs... all you'd really gain by going with coil overs is that youll have adjustable ride height and they weight less.even if you get into racing youll be very competetive with leafs and conventional coils...
and as far as leafs to a 3/4 link go, a car with leafs can perform just as good as a car with a 3/4 link rear suspension its just that you have to sacrifice ride quality to do so. lowered leaf springs will just have a stiffer ride.

what about the shock damping adjustibility?
and why sacrifice ride quality
the speed tech lowers have a performance gain over the stock arms in that they are far more ridgid, the bushings are delrin and they will accomidate the coil overs with out the posibility of cracking at the shock mount as for the positive caster that can be gained in the upper arm.
just something to think about
the quality issues with qa1 we have not seen and have sold hundreds, i am sure qa1 has sold a few also.
i have herd more issues with some of the other shocks you mention

[skatinjay27]

forgive me but how does a coil-over offer more shock dampening adj. over a conventional setup?
"why sacrifice ride quality" i just meant that for the rear suspension but to answer that question... $$$

unless theres something I'm missing all you gain by going coil-over is adj-ride height, less weight, and a more modern look bundled up in a neater smaller package.

I was just answering his question about people mentioning to stay away from QA1 and suggested maybe that why they said that... no need to be condescending.

I dont want you to take it as I'm bashing your product, but if the guys saying he wants to keep the budget down but looking for the best performance for the $$$ then why spend the extra for coilovers and LCA but have doubts on getting the spindles?

[JRouche]

Hey Mike, feeling dizzy yet LOL I feel yer pain, SO many options to go with. And just as many opinions too. Options and opinions, DIZZY!!

But.... You are getting some good ideas Im sure. And in the end you will go with what suits you, cost, performance, upgradability, looks, ease of installation, and other stuff.

Ok, some more opinion fer ya The advantage of going with one supplier of all the components you want is they have gone through the issues of compatibility. You may pay slightly more (worth it for compatibility testing), maybe even get a better deal than piece mealing a system together. And IMO even if a part isnt gonna add mountains of performance, say the lower CAs, if they match the uppers then the aesthetic value can be worth it. Looks are more important on a street car than a track car. So if the arms match, it looks like a package, not a half azzed approach to getting some improvements. And the aftermarket lowers do add in strength besides looks. Remember, the entire front end load is placed on them. The uppers just control the uprights placement.

Coilovers? I dont have them but I would have them over stock springs. Tunability means alot to me. More spring rates available. And again, they just look better.

And I would get the AFX uprights while yer at it. Dont know what the cost of them are but they appear to be the hot ticket.

All about the money really. Its kinda an endless road with the parts available but the wallet will dictate alot of what happens. Cant wait to see what you come up with. JR

[Vegas69]

I'd just go with a DSE subframe. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned a Hotchkis TVS kit. Then you could do a gulstrand mod for camber gain and an upper like a speedtech with more caster.