A-Body upper a-arm attachment.

[Grum.man]

First off hello, first post here. I have a 65 Buick special that I am doing a mild pro-touring build to. I'm not looking to build an all out g-machine right now but something that will handle back roads better.

I ordered Viking coilovers and the .9" upper a-arms from UMI. I suppose it's my fault for missing it, or maybe the tech support guys for omitting it, but didn't realize they only came with rod ends to attach them to the car. I have heard lots of stories about rod ends making a bunch of noise and being rough. UMI tech guy said that is the case on other suspension components but not so on upper front a-arms. I'm not sure I buy what he is pitching me so figured I would ask. He says the delrin bushing a-arms are just as rough riding and wouldn't less noisy since the rod ends are quite.

What are your thoughts, debating sending the entire order back and going with BMR equipment with poly bushings.

[pitts64]

3243

[Schwartz Performance]

We use rod ends on our chassis' suspension attachment points. There are all different kinds of quality rod ends out there, we've experimented with a lot.
Typical noisy rod ends are the cheap Chinese made ones with either no liner, or a weak liner between the ball and body.

Poly bushings will deflect and wear out over time as well. If UMI uses decent rod ends then I don't think you'll have an issue, nor will you notice noise or ride quality changes, compared to a poly setup.

-Dale

[UMI Tech]

As Dale mentioned above, this is why we don't use poly bushings in the upper a-arm. There is very little NVH transmitted through the uppers so we use either Delrin which will probably last the life time of the arm or we use quality rod-ends that will help alleviate shims that are used during alignment.

Craig

[Grum.man]

Well Craig, I owe you a public apology. I took the car for a test drive today and did not get any noticeable NVH from the rod ends. The handling is much better even without an alignment and the Vikings set to the comfort cruise mode. Speaking of the Vikings... WOW I am really shocked at how well they ride. I was expecting a harsh bouncy ride but once again you were correct. They are every bit as compliant as the stock springs with none of the floating.

I will continue to say that the directions were very well written and perfectly clear. I really like that both the control arms and the vikings included suggestions for alignment and settings for different types of driving conditions. I will also say that UMI tech and customer service were the best of the companies I spoke to. I will be a returning customer for sure when I am ready for the next upgrade!

[UMI Tech]

Glad everything worked out for you! If you need anything feel free to give me a call.

Craig