indisposible_teens

I am ordering some suspension parts and I was wondering what to order. I am definitely ordering the c/c plates. What I was wondering about was the Ball Joints. Does anyone have them on their car and does it make a difference over the stock ones? I have asked people and half say to get them and the other half say not to worry about it you can't tell a difference.

I am either ordering the ball joints or some front and rear LCA's. I know that I will be able to feel the difference with the LCA's but I don't know about the ball joints. Are they just a recommended upgrade or are they something that is needed to correct steering and help with handling?

PRO50SC

If yours are not worn out, why replace them? If their not worn out, you won't notice any difference.

cliffyk

If you are referring to the Steeda extended ball joints, they are intended to correct bump-steer problems that might develop on radicially lowered cars--if this is your case, then they will work to help returnsteering/handling to the original specs.[/align][/align]If not radicically lowered (I.e. 2" or less) they wil not hurt anything, but won't make much difference; if the ride height is stock they would likely create bump steer...[/align]

texas_stang02

if you have your car lowered, i'd recommend the ball joints and a bump steer kit. or if you think the ball joints are going to need to be replaced anyway then go ahead and get them. basically, when you lower your car, the front suspension geometry is thrown out of whack. specifically the front roll center, or moment center (they mean the same thing, just depends on what you wanna call it), is moved, and along with this you also introduce bump steer because the tie rods will travel a different arc than the rest of the suspension. if you plan on doing any kind of road course racing, DEFINITELY invest in the ball joints and bump steer kit (and if you've got the money i'd do the rear control arms too).. it will make a huge difference in handling because adjusting the front moment center and reducing bump steer can make all the difference in the way a car enters and holds its line through the turns (of course a poor rear suspension will make it hard to get traction coming out of a turn but this is more managable than a car that won't turn-in). when the car is lowered, the tie rods will travel on a differenc arc than the control arms, which will cause dynamic toe-in or toe-out, depending on the suspension geometry. your toe-out is set statically when you get your front end aligned, but it will increase or decrease with suspension travel if the suspension geometry is off. if you don't plan on making hard right and left turns, i'd invest in the rear control arms. but if you have the time/money i'd really recommend doing both.

indisposible_teens

My car is lowered so I didn't know whether I should get them or not. I plan on starting to road race this summer but I didn't know whether I should get them or they would be a waste. I plan on ordering the front and rear LCA's next week if I order the ball joints this week.

Thanks for the advice. I was a little confused about the difference between the stock ones and the longerSteeda Ball Joints.

texas_stang02

if you've got the Feb '08 issue of MM&FF (Bullitt on cover) it has a great write-up on page 164 on the ball joints and bumpsteer kit. they havea diagram there, i can't find it online, but it shows the effect that lowering the car has on front suspension geometry. basically, when your car is at stock ride height, the front lower control arms are near level, but when you lower it, they're angled downward (with the pivot points at the spindle being higher than at the frame of the car). the ball joint corrects this by bringing the control arm closer to level again, and also bringing the front roll center back up closer to the car's center of mass (the farther away it is from the center of mass the more your car will want to "roll" in the turns, making stiffer springs and/or a stiffer sway bar necessary). the bumpsteer kit is also a good idea if you're going to be road racing, cause even with the roll center corrected, excessive bump steer will make your car a nightmare to handle. but if you don't know how to adjust bump steer then either find someone who can, or just leave it alone, cause you can make it worse if you don't adjust it right. but good choice on the control arms and ball joints, they're a wise decision even if you're not going to be racing.


EDIT: here's a diagram i found that shows only one side of the front suspension. it doesn't give a whole picture because thecar's roll center can only be found by finding the instant center on both left and right sides, but this diagram shows how the angle of the control arm changes when lowering the car. sorry if i'm confusing you, but if you're going to be road racing you'll need to learn this stuff sooner or later cause it will make a huge difference if you know what's going on with your suspension.

indisposible_teens

I understand what you are saying. lol I somewhat understood what the websites were implying but you explained it a lot better than most websites or people do. Thanks