Fatman NARROWED uca's?.. anyone running them?

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

well id like to run my 18x10s with 5.5 backspacing in the front.
i saw that fatman has 2to2 inch narrowed controll arms that shorten the track enough to run that.

i would have rather done the GW or DSEs for the caster but they dont offer a narrowed.. and if i wanted to do that.. it would have to be the subframe.. which i dont need.

so.. anyone used the fatmans?
or had any other form to ride with wider up front?

:candle:

[eville]

Don't know what your're looking at with the 10", but you can run a 9.5" without the narrowed arms. You can run at 275/35/18 on the 9.5" wheel.

[triplecap]

I'd check to see whether their arms have a mount for a sway bar end link... last I checked they didn't. You can always weld something on after the fact, but I don't know if it's worth it for an extra .5" of rim.

Eric

[baz67]

Narrowed arms will not help you get wider tires up front. It is the frame and sheetmetal that is the limiting factor in what you want to do.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

the only reason is that i have the 17/18 combo and im thinking to move up to the 18/20 combo.. i already have the 18s so itll hurt to buy a whole new set.. on top of that i waited 12 weeks for these!!!

aahhhh!.. at least i can wait for 2 til.

so.. the consensus says?.. to hell with the fatmans?

[zbugger]

...i saw that fatman has 2to2 inch narrowed controll arms that shorten the track enough to run that...

I don't think they shorten the track. They are narrow in the sense that the bars of the arms are closer together. Yes, that will let you run a wider tire in front, but the limiting factor as said before is the frame. It also states on their site that the '67-'69 arms don't accept a sway bar. There's no provision for that on the front, so I REALLY wouldn't recommend them. You should be able to run a 18x9 wheel up front with the right measurments.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

same deal with Heights also?

[zbugger]

With the narrowed stuff, it should be. What you have to understand is that the narrowing of the track width would only hinder turning radius, just as the wide tire with deep backspace does. Bringing the two tubes of the arms closer together allows a deeper backspacing while keeping some of the turning radius. Now, I don't know if these particular arms have any caster improvement, but I'd assume not, and have heard that the Fatman's don't.

[David Pozzi]

I would be very concerned about what they do to the suspension geometry.

zbugger, I believe the arms are shorter in length, not width. The idea is to move the wheel inward for more fender clearance.

[zbugger]

I would be very concerned about what they do to the suspension geometry.

zbugger, I believe the arms are shorter in length, not width. The idea is to move the wheel inward for more fender clearance.

Well, if they are, that's dumb. That makes it for show cars only, in my opinion.

[baz67]

Well, if they are, that's dumb. That makes it for show cars only, in my opinion.

They are from a hot rod shop, duh.

[83hurstguy]

My buddy with a '68 Camaro just ordered arms from global west to bring each wheel in 1.5" (change in track width). I believe he is running 18x7's on the front (might be 8's, I can't remember right now).... reason being is that he liked the wheels he has, but can't order them with any more backspace. They hit inside the fender lips badly, even after he tried clearance them....

I had a picture of 3" narrowed arms somewhere, those were REALLY extreme. I think the narrowed 1.5" arms will get him where he wants to go with the car. Its not a track car, its just a driver...

at the same time, I really wonder what happens to the front geometry. When he gets them in I am very interested to compare them to the stock arms he currently has on there. I started to think about it right now, but it is 1:40 in the morning, and sounds like a better project for tomorrow, lol.

[baz67]

I was thinking about geometry and the narrow arms last night. They would increase the scrub radius it they are used with wider rims. I bet it would be handful to handle with that large of a scrub radius and all that rubber on the ground.

[Stu Seitz]

Narrowed arms will not help you get wider tires up front. It is the frame and sheetmetal that is the limiting factor in what you want to do.

From my experience, that is not entirely true. The control arms are the first thing the wheel will come in contact with. Then, depending on your BS the next thing the tire will hit is the fender. As I stated in other posts, if you use the afx spindle you’re going to run into problems with the steering arm, it doesn’t matter what size it is; 18’s are less of a problem then 17’s however.

[68Formula]

My DSE arms clear with 17" wheels no problem. I just start to make contact tire to frame at full lock. I guess it depends on the rest of you setup.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

what width wheel are you at?

[dgoetz]

I am running 295/35x17 hoosier slicks w/ 9&1/2" rims on the frt w/ G/w Cat 5 susp coil overs. I have a 5.5' back set but use shims to get it from hitting the fram and LCA. Shorter control arms just mean you can use less back set it doesn't give you more room on the inside. My problem was contacting the fender and whl well. I had to raise the whl well lip 1&1/2" and some whl well mod to clear the tire. I also wanted to keep a very low stance. I think with 5.5 back set and 2' narrower arms you will hit the frame and LCA first plus not reach better neg camber.

[68Formula]

what width wheel are you at?

17x8 with 5"bs and 245s