I don't want to beat a dead horse or thread, but has anyone tried both the ALTA and H-sport control arms? It seems like the H-sport needs a strong bushing. I am thinking about picking up some control arms and would like to select the best ones. Any additinal information would be helpful. Thanks!

 

Just an FYI: My H-Sport control arms are still holding up after 53k miles of abuse, I just looked at them tonight. The adjusters are rusted solid after 3 salty winters, but that's to be expected for installing them w/out anti-seize! LOL

 

I have upper and lower ALTA. No problem of bushing issues. they "tighten -up" the rear end.
If you lower your ride and dont at least do upper controll arms your CAMBER will be WAY off. (those who don't do this are the ones who have tire wear.)

The lower control arms adjust TOE IN. When lowering the toe in is only very mimimally changed.

Auto crossers like a bit more toe in than road or track drivers.

The best is to do upper and lower then go have a thrust alignment with camber also set to srock specs.

Use paint pen or a marker and mark the nuts and rods in this position.
(I put arrows on mine that indicate Longer or Shorter)

for track days 1 turn in (shorter) the uppers gives me the extra camber for high speed turns.

for autocross I take 1/2 a turm of camber OUT (from stock) and toe in 1/2 a turn

every other weekend I am doing one or the other.

Every now-and-then you need to regroup and go get another alignment.

Not an absolute just what has worked for me.

If you have auto adjustable headlights remember that the rear unit is on the driver upper controll arm.

(look for a post on headlight adjusting for some info here)

 

The Lower arms adjust camber. Upper arms adjust toe.
Jim

 

Sorry ... YES ... I was backwards

 

Steves arms look like Ireland arms to me. Just a different color. If they are Ireland control arms I can attest that they are well made and easy to adjust for alignment.

 

Either upper or lower adjust camber. It's the combination of the two that adjuat toe. Toe can also be adjusted with trailing arm, so you don't need both uppers and loweres to do so.
It's the combination of all three that can adjust 'track', and also help with fitting those wider wheels without too much plastic cutting.

 

I have seen a set of H-Sport bushings fail on a Spec Racer. That's why I went with the Helix control arms w/heim joints. Did the install myself (about an hour) and will get alignment tomorrow. But unless you add camber plates to the front you won't be able to adjust your front camber at all anyways. I have the RDR/Helix camber plates. Very Nice .

If you aren't going to track or autocross your car then allow your alignment shop to set the car back to stock settings. They should have that info somewhere as a reference. If you are going to track then I would suggest spending some time finding the link on this site to that info. I will have to find my numbers but I think it's something like Front: -1.7 camber, 0 toe Rear: -1.5 camber, 0 toe. If you have the stock springs or coilovers you should be able to get -2.0 camber on the front which is actually a little better. I have the H-Sport springs and without hammering in the wheel well on the drivers side I can only get -1.7. H-Sport springs are a little thicker.

Good luck. I will also keep an eye open for the alignment settings thread.

Found it!
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nment+settings

 

I used the Alta rear control arms, and are very happy with them. I have Koni front struts & springs{installed with RDR plates} and they also require a little clearance work with a hammer on the left inner fender skirt in order to get -2.0 degree camber.

 

I also have the Alta lower rear control arms with the stock upper ones. I personally can't tell any difference in noise or handling. The only effect they had on me was my $150 dollar credit card bill. But I don't regret it.

 

Cooper99;

You have the ability to set rear camber now. If that hasn't been done (alignment) do it and you will notice a difference in performance, I suspect.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention that I like how I can now easily adjust the rear camber; I guess that is their main function . Infact I did several comparison runs on the Dragon's Tail with different rear camber settings. I like how the car handles best with a tad bit negative camber in the rear. Too much negative camber increased understeer and a almost any positive camber made the rear end too "slick". If I had some front camber plates to match...that would be nice. I hate it how your journey with car mods never ends and gets more addicting as you progress. Hell, in a year from now there will probably be about 100 people from NAM.com with as many mods as SpiderX. lol

 

You must be around -3 in the front then? I hope your not -2 in the rear and no camber plates in the front.

 

Sorry if I jumped from rear to the front without explaining very well.
I have the Alta rear control arms {4} in the rear.
I also have the RDR camber plates on the front.
My comment was in responce to adis_daddy, saying he couldn't get 2 neg front camber without modifying the fender skirt with a hammer for clearance while using H-Sport springs. I had the same problem with Konis.
My alignment is -2.1 camber front 1/16 total toe out.
rear -1.2 camber 0 toe out.
This is a compromise for street & autocross use

 

H-Sport has updated there control arms and put a stiffer bushing in them. I also run the H-sport control arms with out any problems. Hope that helps

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

The pictures of Steve's, Ireland Engineering, & Webb Motorsports control arms look the same. Do you think it's all the same manufacturer?

Anyone heard of Ultrik?

Ultrik Control Arms

cheers

Amit

 

Thanks for the info Chad. I'm looking at the H-sports. I am looking for a little better performance on those twisty canyon runs... Looking for improved ride all around. I guess the age old issue of street vs track setup. I think that I intend to track/auto-x the car someday.... when I get time.

Thanks for the helpful information everyone!

 

I went with these billet aluminum ones from Promini and haven't had any problems

 

Does anyone have a how to on installing the lower & upper control arms? I've been searching around NAM for a while and I can't seem to find anything...

 

I noticed that too. Steve's are $190, IE's are $210, and Webb's are $290. Has anyone tried the Webb control arms? Are they worth the extra money?
I believe Ultrik is the in house brand for Mini Mania.

 

I just installed Altas last week. No complaints.

I actually like the increased noise transmission. I get a lot more aural feedback about how much of the rears' grip I'm using. It's not bothersome (even with RF's) during regular driving.

On a slightly different note, how tight should the locking nuts be? Locking compound?

 

when adding coilovers, do you need to install adjustable endlinks for the front sway bar too??? will the stock ones be ok atleast for awhile till i can get adjustable ones. thanks

 

I have and like the Irelands http://www.bmw2002.com/ I think he makes these himslef although they do look like Untrik.
Wes

 

can someone share the torque spec. for the rear adjustable control arm for r53?

 

74 ft lbs.