Next Generation LCA's Illuminated | Superior Engineering

Lower Control Arms Illuminated - Billet 7075-T6 LCA's

Posted By: Superior Engineering Published: 20/08/2024 Times Read: 201 Comments: 0

Strength versus weight. It’s the age-old battle every 4X4 owner has to fight during their build. You want things to be beefy enough to handle the knocks off-road, but you also don’t want to be driving around in a Sherman Tank unnecessarily affecting your GVM, fuel economy and increasing general wear and tear on your vehicle.

However, when it comes to rear lower control arms, you no longer have to choose between low weight and high strength, now you can have both.

Here at Superior Engineering, we’ve developed control arms that are CNC machined from billet 7075 T6 alloy that’s super strong, is way lighter than equivalent steel lower control arms and they look the goods too. Oh, and they’re available for pretty much every vehicle that has coils in the rear too – needs some control arms for your Patrol, Cruiser or even coil-converted 79? We got you covered.

Rear Coil Suspension – A Quick Rundown

With a couple of exceptions, most coil-in-the-rear 4X4s run a variation of a 5-link set-up. This is where you have two control arms mounted lower on your diff that run to your chassis, another two arms (or links) mounted higher on the diff running to the frame, and a Panhard rod running laterally between the diff housing and frame to control the side-to-side movement under flex.

This is a tried-and-true suspension system that offers a great amount of articulation off-road while retaining decent on-road manners. As with all suspension set-ups, though, they’re not without their compromises.

The Importance Of Lower Control Arms

One of the big ones is the proximity of the lower control arms to the terrain you’re driving over. The upper arms and Panhard are tucked up high and out of the way, but the lower arms ramp down lower than the chassis rails. This leaves them susceptible to impact damage from rocks; and nothing spells the end of a wheeling trip quicker than bent lower arms.

The traditional method of adding some much-needed strength is to fit a pair of heavier wall steel arms, which offer a decent increase in strength but also weight – especially unsprung mass. And while they do the job there’s a much better way.

7075 T6 Alloy & Why IT's Awesome

This stuff is nothing short of amazing. It’s been used in the aerospace industry in high stress applications for decades and is considered to be the pinnacle of lightweight yet super strong materials without being prohibitively expensive.

The impact resistance of 7075 is off the charts as well, with it being equal to or better than many steel alloys, with the added benefits of corrosion resistance and that massive strength-to-weight ratio. Given the hits lower control arms regularly take, it’s pretty much the ideal material for them. Superior’s lower control arms are also built in an innovative pocketed H-beam design so that unsprung mass and overall weight are even further reduced without affecting the structural integrity or strength of the arms. They’ve been CNC machined for unparalleled precision and consistency and are designed to handle high load applications while optimizing both handling and performance wherever you’re driving.

OEM bushes are retained, so reliability is preserved and sourcing replacement parts in remote parts of the country are no problem. And if you’re the type of wheeler who enjoys pushing their vehicle’s limits off-road, the arms can be fitted with a stainless-steel slider that further increases resistance to damage, wear and corrosion, extending the life of your control arms significantly.

Get In Touch

The 7075-T6 aluminium control arms are available for a huge range of vehicles, from 200-300 LandCruisers to GQ/GU Patrols as well as coil converted 70-series `Cruisers and most dual-cab utes. Oh, and of course 80 & 100 Cruisers.

Head on over to our website now for price and availability on a huge upgrade for your 4X4’s lower control arms today.

www.superiorengineering.com.au