Spindle+Tall Ball Joint clearance issues?

[307 Regal]

I'll be doing some front suspension work this spring and I'm trying to figure out what my current options are with stock A-arms. The rear of my car is lowered two inches so I plan on getting the front at least level with that. The coilovers I'm using have adjustable height but I wanted to use drop spindles and install them with taller ball joints.

-Will drop spindles with at least one taller ball joint on each side cause any clearance issues within a stock 15 inch wheel?
---Can I replace both the upper and lower ball joints with taller ones and still have clearance within the wheel?
------Will the upper A-arms now have clearance issues of their own in regards to the wheel well or anything in the engine bay? (I'll be using a Buick V8 which will at some point have headers.)
------Is this overkill? Will it cause too much negative camber or reduce the available amount of suspension travel too much? (I'm using an aftermarket front sway bar and the spring rate on the coilovers will be 550lbs but I still intend to use the car on the street with the shocks on low settings.)
------OR will having taller ball joints on both the top and bottom positions actually negate the effects of changing them in the first place?

-Can anyone recommend a trustworthy 2 inch drop spindle that can be used for aggressive driving (other than the AFX spindle which I'm under the impression that I'll need new front brakes for?)

 

[UMI Sales]

I'll be doing some front suspension work this spring and I'm trying to figure out what my current options are with stock A-arms. The rear of my car is lowered two inches so I plan on getting the front at least level with that. The coilovers I'm using have adjustable height but I wanted to use drop spindles and install them with taller ball joints.

-Will drop spindles with at least one taller ball joint on each side cause any clearance issues within a stock 15 inch wheel?
---Can I replace both the upper and lower ball joints with taller ones and still have clearance within the wheel?
------Will the upper A-arms now have clearance issues of their own in regards to the wheel well or anything in the engine bay? (I'll be using a Buick V8 which will at some point have headers.)
------Is this overkill? Will it cause too much negative camber or reduce the available amount of suspension travel too much? (I'm using an aftermarket front sway bar and the spring rate on the coilovers will be 550lbs but I still intend to use the car on the street with the shocks on low settings.)
------OR will having taller ball joints on both the top and bottom positions actually negate the effects of changing them in the first place?

-Can anyone recommend a trustworthy 2 inch drop spindle that can be used for aggressive driving (other than the AFX spindle which I'm under the impression that I'll need new front brakes for?)

A tall upper ball joint tends to be OK.

We are testing tall upper and lower on our Green Machine so we'll have first hand knowledge of that soon. I'm happy to throw a stock wheel on it as early as tomorrow to check.

I doubt you'll have enough camber gain with tall ball joints to exceed 0.8/0.9 deg per inch. In other words, you won't have too much. Not overkill.

More soon after testing on the Green Machine.

ramey

 

[307 Regal]

Thanks, Ramey. I'll keep an eye out for updates.

 

[pontiacgp]

If you use a tall lower ball joint you won't have any issues on the Green Machine but if you are using the stock lowers you need to fold in the lip of the lower control arm. The lower control arm rides in the void just above the braking surface on your rotor. A tall lower joint will made the lower ride on the rotor and cause a groove in the rotor if you don't fold the lip down. I have an almost new set of camaro rotors for sale with just a little grove on the inside brake surfaces. 😳

 

[UMI Sales]

Here's the lower UMI arm with 1/2" taller ball joint. You can see what GP means when he says a factory lower arm lip may rub the brake rotor. I've heard of the "folding" the arm lip before.

The upper UMI arm with 1/2" taller ball joint gets a little close to the tire at FULL DROOP but is about 1/2" away at normal ride height.

We'll be looking at some 17" wheel and tire combos next.

ramey

 

[307 Regal]

Thanks for the pictures, Ramey.
As far as bending that lip, can I heat it up with a torch and hammer it or could I even just trim it off? Do you guys think that would adversely affect the rigidity of the A-arm?

 

[UMI Sales]

I've heard you can just "adjust" it with a hammer, no heat. Others may have heard differently.

 

[pontiacgp]

I just used a hammer....