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IFS Upper Control Arms
MICHAEL HAYES EXPLAINS THE RIGHT WAY TO FIT BIG LIFTS TO AN IFS UTE WITHOUT DAMAGING YOUR SUSPENSION COMPONENTS.
When it comes time to lift or modify an IFS vehicle the first sign of trouble is usually the alignment and handling of the front suspension. While minor adjustments can usually be done with the lower camber bolts, bigger lifts will need a lot more! Quite often that terrible clunk many hear turns out to be the upper control arm contacting the spring or the strut tower, once even a small lift has been fitted.
Another by-product of the lift is a steeper angle on the upper control arm which moves the steering knuckle inboard and increases the angularity on the ball joints, sometimes maxing out their movement.
With a raised suspension height, the OEM upper ball-joint is forced to operate at an extreme angle and wider tires may not clear the factory upper control arms. An over-stressed OEM ball-joint also has the potential to separate or break, leading to catastrophic failure of suspension, steering, and CV axle. Offset or extended ball joints can cure some alignment issues but the added leverage will cause failures if used in conjunction with larger tyres or bigger offset rims.
The preferable solution
Is to replace the factory arm with a re-designed upper arm, which allows greater clearance for the thicker or heavier aftermarket coils generally required to lift the vehicle. Ideally to handle the harsh Australian conditions, an arm constructed from 4130 chromoly tube and utilising Aircraft grade spherical bearings, rather than low-angle OE based ball joints is preferred.
Even the type of spherical bearing needs to be considered, the most commonly used is a COM16 which is quite strong but is only rated at 20 degrees of movement (often barely equal to that of an OE joint). The best joints are the AIN16T which are rated at 30 degrees of travel and a massive ~40% more load.
Upper control arms
With adjustable ball joints are another solution in some cases, but it pays to check as the wide ball joint mounting surface can actually have far less clearance than a factory arm which will reduce available travel and tire/rim choice. Replacement joints can also be very expensive as the adjuster and joint are one unit.
For the ultimate in both performance and adjustability
I suggest an UCA which has both a large spherical outer bearing and adjustable 3/4in chromoly heim joints on the inner mount. Fine adjustment on both camber and castor can be achieved as well as incredible strength and reliability that comes from this type of mounting.
The aircraft grade Teflon lined joints stop the squeaking and wear that sometimes occurs in bushed arms. The precision joints provide fantastic handling due to the elimination of any free play in the upper arm. This style arm is currently available from Superior Engineering for Nissan D40 Navara, NP300 Navara and Ford Ranger with more models being released shortly. The standard bushed fixedcorrection UCAs are offered for all popular models such as Toyota 05+ HiLux, Prado and FJ Cruiser, LandCruiser 200 Series and Nissan D22 Navara.
Other important features in UCAs we consider as a minimum are: greaseable / serviceable joints or uniball grease-caps to prevent wear and ensure long life and maximum performance, also mounting tabs to attach the ABS sensor lines and premium bushes combined with a greasing system.
To utilise the full benefit of these UCAs
Extended travel shocks and premium coil springs are recommended. We also recommend using a diff drop kit to reduce CV angles. Installation should be done by a professional with suspension experience. Suspension should be cycled prior to driving to avoid over-extension of steering components, CVs etc.
All Superior Engineering UCAs come with CNC machined ultra-high strength spindle adapters that far exceed the strength and operating angles of both the OE and through-bolt style taper adapters. These new adapters allow massive increases in suspension travel before binding.