Spherical Bearings Rear Trailing Arms

[69 Custom S Vert]

Anybody running rear control arms with spherical bearings? The claim is that they do not bind like del-a-lum, poly or rubber. What is the ride like? UMI Perfromance sells double adjustable lower and upper arms with spherical rod ends at a great price ($450). Any input appreciated.

[Derek69SS]

I have them, but won't know how the ride is for another 3 months.

Mine are solid from Wolfe Racecraft, the ones UMI sells are teflon-bushed and will help reduce NVH.

If they include poly bushings for the ears in the housing, throw them away, and either use rubber, or the spherical ones Wolfe Racecraft sells.

[Mean 69]

It is going to depend a bit on the application, but in general, rod ends are an excellent bushing for a performance oriented setup. I run all rod ends in my own car, and you will get a bit of what they call "NVH," which stands for Noise, Vibration and Harshness, but frankly I wouldn't let that scare you.

For applications such as the GM A-body cars, late model mustangs, or any other setup that uses a converging four link deal, one bushing type to stay away from is the delrin type, or poly. The reason is that the trrailing arms need to move in two different axes, and these types of bushings bind up pretty bad in those applications. For them, two choices: rubber OEM type, or rod end/sphericals.

If you are going to run rod ends, get high quality ones, the "XM" series from QA1 are excellent, strong, wear well, and are a lot more affordable than Aurora's, NMB, etc.
Mark

[McssGmachine]

I had hotchkis rear control arms on my Monte with poly bushings all around and the ride was very rough! Then I switced to currie's system and the ride is much smoother. I would highly recommed the spherical bushings.

[Kendall Burleson]

The only thing you will notice is the noise level will be a little louder in bad road.But you must keep them clean from drit & grit. I used them with rubber bushing on one end and bearing on the another.The poly give a stiffer ride

[Derek69SS]

Originally Posted by McssGmachine

I had hotchkis rear control arms on my Monte with poly bushings all around and the ride was very rough! Then I switced to currie's system and the ride is much smoother. I would highly recommed the spherical bushings.

I'm in the middle of a similar situation. I have stock uppers with poly bushings, and SSM lowers with delrins... Holy Suspension Bind Batman!

The new chassis has all Wolfe Racecraft rear arms with spherical bearings, and their spherical bearing that goes in the housing. With the springs removed, and the frame supported, I stuck a jack under the pumpkin to get the wheels off the ground. Everything articulated so smoothly and easily... I can't wait to drive it again when things work properly

[McssGmachine]

The new chassis has all Wolfe Racecraft rear arms with spherical bearings, and their spherical bearing that goes in the housing. With the springs removed, and the frame supported, I stuck a jack under the pumpkin to get the wheels off the ground. Everything articulated so smoothly and easily... I can't wait to drive it again when things work properly [/QUOTE]


Are those easy to install? I was planning on put them on my GN rearend i just bought.

[Derek69SS]

Originally Posted by McssGmachine

Are those easy to install? I was planning on put them on my GN rearend i just bought.

VERY easy. They only take light tapping with a hammer to slide them in, and a big channel-lock to tighten them. I would have put some lock-tite on the threads, but I plan to swap rear ends later, so I need it to come apart easy next fall.

[69 Custom S Vert]

I'm convinced poly/delrim is not the way to go despite it being what most manufacturers are pushing these days. Sudden oversteer due to binding release is not something I want to deal with even if its an infrequent occurrence under extreme circumstances. I've narroweds my choice down to rear arms from Wolfe Racecraft, UMI or Currie (johnny joints). Anybody care to share their preference and why?

[airrj1]

I am going with rod-ends on my A-body also. But I am going to invest in some seals for them. Not experence with them yet otherwise.

http://www.sealsit.com/rodend.asp