GTP Arms

[emerald]

What is the benefit of putting GTP control arms on an SHO? What does it take to do it? Are we talking front or rear or both?

 

[Lance Cheney]

emerald:
What is the benefit of putting GTP control arms on an SHO? What does it take to do it? Are we talking front or rear or both?

Camber adjustment. Some people talk about an increase in stiffness but I don't see that happening -- the amount of metal you're compressing or putting in tension (which is what these are doing all the time) looks to me like it is actually LESS than the stock arms, and it is distributed in a tube, which is less optimal for the type of loads it gets under normal driving conditions (when cornering the force tends to try to bend the arm in the up/down direction, which is where the Ford arm is strongest). The GM one may hold up better when you get in an accident that tends to bend the control arm front-to-back, but with either arm it's likely to be destroyed if that happens.

You need a shim kit from ShoNut and 4 of the arms (about $42/ea from gmpartsdirect.com or equivalent). Also, the newer arms need to be cut slightly -- easy with a hacksaw or grinder.

I have these on my car mainly for the camber adjustment but I don't consider them a 'performance' modification from a stiffness perspective.

BTW, you can get some camber adjustment by replacing the non-adjustable arms on your current vehicle with adjustable ones from another Taurus (say, from a junkyard). This is cheaper but not as easy to adjust. I can get under my car and adjust the camber in a few minutes and with better accuracy with the GM arms.

-Lance

 

[DHMag]

the SHONut reducer sleeve kit is not mandatory if you dont mind boring a few holes to a larger diameter. i used Grade 8 hardware, 9/16". the torque box holes, knuckle holes, and one end of the GTP arm need to be resized.

ive never seen Ford Taurus adjustable arms, like Lance says. though i have seen adjustable torsion bars, for caster adjustment.

i added the GM control arms because when i lowered my SHO 2", the rear wheels looked like this ----> / \.

 

[shojuan]

DHMag:
the SHONut reducer sleeve kit is not mandatory if you dont mind boring a few holes to a larger diameter. i used Grade 8 hardware, 9/16". the torque box holes, knuckle holes, and one end of the GTP arm need to be resized.

ive never seen Ford Taurus adjustable arms, like Lance says. though i have seen adjustable torsion bars, for caster adjustment.

Two of the stock rear arms have eccentric bushings which allows for some toe adjustment. Get another pair of those from a Taurus at a junkyard and then use them to replace the non-adjustable pair that's on your car. Voila, now camber is adjustable too.

I drilled out my box and knuckle holes to 1/2" for my FPS arms with a cheap step drill bit and right angle drill adapter (both from Harbor Freight). It didn't take that long and saved me $40 or so on the reducer bushing set. It's not like the factory arms are ever going back on.

 

[DHMag]

but the eccentric bushings only provide what... .5 degrees of adjustment ? modified GTP arms provide much more than stock.

 

[shojuan]

DHMag:
but the eccentric bushings only provide what... .5 degrees of adjustment ? modified GTP arms provide much more than stock.

I'm not sure exactly, but it's not much. It's just a poor man's approach to hopefully get a rear end into alignment if it's off a little bit. You're right, adjustable length arms offer much more range in camber adjustment. Plus the pivot points remain fixed which is a desirable trait that the eccentric bushings don't offer.

The only reason to go with used eccentric bushings is if an individual can't afford better. Everybody else who needs/wants this sort of upgrade should go with some sort of adjustable length arm. That includes the cheapskate rich who are looking to save a buck anywhere. At least that's my opinion on the matter.

 

[Hack]

There is an intermediate option. You can get an aftermarket set of offset eccentrics with greater adjustability that the stock one. Prosuspension sells the kit for about $60. I bought one many years ago from FPS. Still not near the adjustment range of tubular control arms though.

 

[SinisterSHO]

Anyone happen to know the part number from gmpartsdirect.com for the rear control arms?
Thanks

 

[GR8WYT]

Part number for rear control arms

The ones I got from GMPartsDirects are:

10329687

If you search for the forums you will see several different numbers. This number IIRC supercedes some of the older numbers. When I had them installed, the tech had to trim some off the threaded end to make them fit.

As stated, the big benefit is the amount of adjustability. The adjusters on my old, stock arms were basically frozen with rust and when you install lowering springs, you need to correct for the camber change. In most cases, the stock adjusters won't bring the camber into spec.

For stiffness, you will need to add an H brace to the central attachment point for the control arms. If you are planning on tracking the car, you should consider adding rear knuckle braces as well.

Good Luck.

 

[Dave Ladely]

GTP vs. BMG control arms

BMG arms are far superior to the GM and stiffer than stock in every direction

 

[PROPHET]

With the GTP adjusteable arms and h-brace the car feels much stiffer in back, noticeable to me on daily driving, plus it's nice to not have the wheels looking like this / \ with the intrax springs.

 

[Dave Ladely]

GTP arms inferior to BNG arms

Yes, and the BNG arms are better yet, much stronger, and also much better appearance, assuming one cares about that, being under the car!

 

[GR8WYT]

Yes, and the BNG arms are better yet, much stronger, and also much better appearance, assuming one cares about that, being under the car!

You're not a dealer for these are you? :laugh_ti:

 

[PROPHET]

In all honesty Dave mine may just be BNG arms, i purchased them off of ebay, came with everything needed.

So didn't have purchase anything extra from shonut like most people do.

 

[K-Dawg]

They're B M R. IIRC, another advantage to the BMR units is that they have poly bushings as opposed to the stock GTP rubber.

BMR Fabrication Control Arms

 

[Dave Ladely]

GTP vs. BMR arms

Thanks for the correction; yes, the poly bushings are also an advantage. Few people seem aware of their availability as an option, and they are much stronger, look great even though only road **** can appreciate them, the difference in price for new arms is reasonable, especially for those SHO owners who want better quality than stock GM, and that is why I mention them.
Also Codyjawa offers some nice matching urethane covers for the threaed portion; when the covers are on, the arms look great, like skinny shocks.

 

[Aspect]

They're B M R. IIRC, another advantage to the BMR units is that they have poly bushings as opposed to the stock GTP rubber.

BMR Fabrication Control Arms

So which ones would we order if we wanted those BMR control arms?

 

[SinisterSHO]

BMG arms are far superior to the GM and stiffer than stock in every direction

As I'm kind of trying to do this on a budget, I'm looking to go the cheapest route, which appears to be from gmpartsdirect.com.

I saw something mentioned before about them needing to be trimmed to fit the SHO. Does anyone know about how much needs to be trimmed? Also, I would need a total of four control arms, correct?

 

[yamahaSHO]

As I'm kind of trying to do this on a budget, I'm looking to go the cheapest route, which appears to be from gmpartsdirect.com.

I saw something mentioned before about them needing to be trimmed to fit the SHO. Does anyone know about how much needs to be trimmed? Also, I would need a total of four control arms, correct?

cut a 1/4" off each threaded end... This will give you a total of 1/2" off. Yes, you need 4, plus the reducing sleeve kit.

 

[SHO92]

I've heard 1/2" on each side, hmm... Maybe do 3/8" each side then, lol.