"A"Body 4 control arm suspension

[joepenoso]

Assuming you have a 1971 "A"Body 4 control arm suspension............using stiffer control arms and poly and /or delrim bushings.........in order to prevent binding is it necessary to use both upper lower control arm "J" joints???
Could you get away with using rubber bushings in either or upper /lower control arms?
Thanks
joepenoso

[chevelletiger]

Hello joepenoso,are you asking about the rear converging four link in chevy abodys?if yes then you could use a rubber bushing in the rear end side of the lowers and a joint type, ie, johnny joint,roto joint etc.and rubber in the rear ends ears and be good.phil

[joepenoso]

Yeah I am asking about the rear converging 4 links in 1971 Cutlass, Skylark, GTO, Chevelle.
Would that rubber bushing lower arm (rear end side) be as good as a plastic bushing there?
Thanks
joepenoso

[BMR Sales]

Some general observations & questions - Are changing the Ride Height? What are using the car for?

We Don't sell Rubber Bushings as the performance isn't there. We use only Poly Bushing or Spherical Bearing. The Sphericals are if you are racing. If you are changing the ride height, adjustable Upper Control Arms are ideal.

T.C.

[chevelletiger]

The roto joint or the like would go on one side frame or diff rubber on the othe there has to be some compliance,i for one wont run a delrin or poly on both sides of the arm,but both joint sides is the best but the cost goes up.look at my threads of the arms i made joe it will give you an idea.

[protour_chevelle]

No Poly period.

I have heim joints on my lowers and edelbrock uppers with spherical bushings/bearings in my diff housing. You can do rubber instead for less money.

[Marcus SC&C]

Assuming you`re working on a performance handling application (because you`re on Pro-Touring...) there are two major issues at hand. One is lack of adequate axle control (flimsy stock arms and soft rubber bushings with excessive deflection) and unwanted binding. It`s easy to locate the axle more positively by changing to rigid tubular arms with hard cylindrical poly bushings...BUT...binding when the axle articulates goes through the roof. That binding is non linear and can make the car very skittish and even induce snap over steer. That`s not good, so we need to introduce some "relief valves" into the system AKA the Johnny Joints, Rotojoints etc. The upper arms are shortest and swing in conflicting arcs so they can use the help the most. It`s not even a bad idea to run them at both ends of the uppers. The lowers are longer and nearly parallel so they tend to bind less and later than the uppers but they are certainly a benefit there as well. The flex joints have much less deflection (virtually none) than a rubber bushings so the axle stay precisely located under the car, lateral deflection (tire rub), yaw (rear steering anyone?) and wheel hop can all be controlled. Their ability to pivot smoothly in any direction frees up any binding issues and should let the suspension move very freely throughout its usable range of motion. The best of both worlds.