SPC upper A-Arm question

[staged67gspwr]

May be switching over from GW upper arms to SPC with the tall ball joints,the thing I'm concerned about was there is no provisions for upper bump stops on the SPC`s and in the past i had some issues with my Varishock coil overs over extending and breaking and had to put thicker stops to prevent that,any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

[exwestracer]

George,
I think they are assuming you aren't going to be getting that kind of extension under typical driving conditions. If you are really concerned about it, the best solution would be to put some sort of limiting strap on the lower arms. That would hold directly against the shock at max up travel.

[staged67gspwr]

Thank you for your quick response Ray,i guess its an idea to look at,those varishock coil overs are very short and and not much of upward travel,i don't even know why they are made so short.

[exwestracer]

On a street car we are more concerned with the shock not bottoming out. Unfortunately the space to install the coilover in the stock frame pocket is very limited. It's just one of those compromises that has to be made when working with a OEM based chassis and suspension design...

[staged67gspwr]

No got big bump stops at the bottom as well it doesn't bottom out,it over extends is what I'm afraid of.

[staged67gspwr]

Too short of a travel i think the coil over is just too short,7" springs on them.

[exwestracer]

Yeah, I was referring to the installed length of the shock being biased toward down travel, not up travel. You just can't put any longer shock in that space...

[staged67gspwr]

yea your are correct Ray,I'm a dilemma now if i should go ahead with this swap or just leave it alone??

[exwestracer]

yea your are correct Ray,I'm a dilemma now if i should go ahead with this swap or just leave it alone??

If you are happy with it in other respects, I would go with the new upper arms and limiters. You CAN build up travel stops to work with the new arms, but limiters would probably be easier.

[staged67gspwr]

Thank you for your info Ray!

[exwestracer]

No problem! One thing I would add: Figure out some way to tell if the shocks are topping out under normal (even if that means autoX, etc.) use. We use pieces of welding rod with a zip tie or grommet over it through a sheet metal plate to measure up travel. If they are topping out when you drive the car, the limiter will have a serious effect on handling, and that problem should be addressed.

[staged67gspwr]

Thanks Ray,will give it a shot!

[exwestracer]

Something like this, but you can attach it to the lower control arm and spring pocket instead of the ends of the coilover.

[staged67gspwr]

Thanks man.