What benefit will I get out of replacing the stock A-Arms with some aftermarket tubular ones (my front end is shot, so I need to rebuild it anyways)? I know they are probably lighter, but am I going to notice a dramatic difference in my handling?

I see that Heidt's sells some that are about 1 inch shorter to allow a wider front wheel. Does anyone know any other added benefits or if it is a good thing to do to the car?

The car is going to be a driver, so while I want improved handling, I am not looking to build a kidney buster. I seriously doubt the car will see a road course.

Thanks for any suggestions, Lee

You need to decide what you want to do with the car. The after market upper control arms from Global West, DSE and Speedtech somewhat change the geometry of the front end, improving handling. All also recommend (I beleive) relocating the UCA mounting point. You can probably achieve substantially the same results in all but the most hard core race applications by doing the Guldstrand modification and using the high performance UCA and LCA bushings available from Global West, DSE and Speedtech. There is a lot of information available on David Pozzi's web site, and I would urge you to go there before deciding on anything.

Tubular upper A arms are a good mod. They allow extra positive caster which is good if you have power steering, the delrin bushings help too.
Tuner springs like Hotchkis are in the 650 - 700 range and while not bad on smooth roads, they are on the stiff side. A step down in spring rate would be something like a 450 to 500 ft spirng, if you don't have the widest tires, this rate will ride better.

I'd either go with Delrin A arm bushings or stay with the stock rubber bushings.
The Delrin bushings don't add very much harshness at all, actually make the suspension seem softer because they allow it to move so easily.
David

What are Delrin bushings? Are they Polyurethane bushings? I had poly's on a Chevelle once and along with Hotchkis springs. While definitely stiffer (I wasn't sure if it was the poly's or the springs that did that) it wasn't too annoying and everything was a lot crisper than before the rebuild. The only thing I didn't like about the ride is it dropped the car so much (2+ inches instead of the advertise 1 inch) it made my Hooker Super Comps bang off the ground. I went to a taller tire to sort of solve the problem. Will two inch drop cause those types of problems on a Camaro? A Two inch drop is what most of the aftermarket springs seem to be set for. I will go with stock height springs if this is going to be a problem. I plan on running a 17 inch rim with a 26 tall tire.

Thanks, Lee

delrin bushings are bushing made out of- Delrin- which is some sort ot Teflon concoction made by DuPont. Glogal West sells them under the "Del-a-lum" brand. kind of spendy, but if i had the extra $$$ a couple of winters ago, i would have gotten them instead of the stock rubber Moog bushings i got when i did my Nova. they are said to have almost zero friction and deflection, are greasable, and are supposed to last longer than the rest of the car. the stock replacement rubber is plenty tight- i can only imagine what the Delrin bushings would be like.
a 2" or so drop (from stock) with a 26" tall tire will sit about like my Nova- the lowest point on my car is just under 6" off the ground. that is at the bottom of the headers, which sit about 1/2" lower than the front crossmember on the subframe.

If not mistaken, it is acetal resin based plastic which doesn't really tell me a whole heck of a lot about it but I did just find this on the web......

Polyoxymethylene - Homopolymer

(Acetal - Homopolymer POMH)

Common Brand Names : Delrin, Tenac

Physical Properties

Density........................... 1.42 g cm-3

Flammability....................... HB

Limiting Oxygen Index.............. 15 %

Resistance to Ultra-violet ........ Poor

Water Absorption - over 24 hours... 0.25 %

Water absorption - Equilibrium .... 0.6-0.9 %

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Constant at 1MHz.... 3.7

Dielectric Strength............ 20 kV mm-1

Dissipation factor ............ 0.005

Surface Resistivity ........... 1015 W/sq

Volume Resistivity............. 1015 Wcm

Thermal Properties

Heat-Deflection Temperature - 0.45MPa ... 170°C

Heat-Deflection Temperature - 1.8MPa ........................ 135°C

Specific Heat................. 1.5 kJ kg-1 K-1

Thermal Conductivity at 23°C.. 0.22-0.24 Wm-1 K-1

Thermal Expansivity.......... 122 x10-6 K-1

Upper Working Temperature..... 80-120°C

Mechanical Properties

Coefficient of friction....... 0.2-0.35

Elongation at break .......... 40-75 %

Hardness - Rockwell .......... M94

Izod Impact Strength.......... 75-130 Jm-1

Tensile Modulus................ 2.9-3.1 GPa

Tensile Strength............... 70 MPa

Chemical Resistance

Acids - concentrated .......... Poor

Acids - dilute................. Poor - Fair

Alcohols ...................... Good

Alkalis.......................... Poor

Aromatic Hydrocarbons .......... Good

Greases and Oils ................ Good

Halogens......................... Poor

Ketones.......................... Good – Fair

I installed the Heidt's control arms on my 68 z/28 went w/ the stock width arms uppers & lowers.I can notice a big change in ride quality & handling. car really hugs the road on curves & ride seems much improved.Also upgraded to 16" wheels & tires which also helped. What I liked about their product was easy to install plus you can retain you stock brake set-up if desired it's an easy bolt in. Be prepared to drop about $1,000 for the set also it took me about 8 wks. to get mine maybe because it was a new product. GOOD-LUCK

Racermike, what size tires did you use and how wide were your rims?

69Project, sorry took so long to get back to you,my computer was down. I'm running 255/50/16's in rear & 225/50/ 16's in frnt. Rims are Torq Thrusts D's 16x8 w/4" b.s. Hotchkis springs in frnt. new 4-leaf repro. in rear car has perfect stance. Wish I could send picture but not set-up for it. Hope this helps.