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Ebay’s $219 tubular control arms, junk?


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Good morning all,

Since I have to replace the upper ball joints and springs in my 71 MC I have been investigating tubular control arms.  There is a set for $219 on eBay.  Has anyone used these and if so what was your experience?

I have two concerns, the first is “you get what you pay for”, considering that they are half the price of brand names, are they junk or OK?, The second is the rule of unintended consequences: when considering that the lowers have a 2” drop pocket, it seems to my uneducated mind on this subject that this is a significant change in the geometry that could cause binding or sever angles, am I correct?  If so is it something that can be overcome and how would I correct the problems it may cause?  1” could be OK but I’m not sure if a 2” drop is something reasonable.  I like the idea of better caster and camber angles as what I read suggest the dancy nature of the steering.could be addressed. With this change I plan on going with QA1 or Viking (depending on the best deal I can make) coil over shocks, and I think these shocks have enough adjustment to compensate for the ride height, but does moving the shock down so low cause other issues?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

 

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good morning I used speedway upper and lower control arms I didn't use their balljoints used moog theirs are extremely cheap front end sits 1-1/2 to 2 inches lower increased caster to 5 degrees positive didn't change camber car handles better I used regular Monroe gas shocks no problems steering not binding

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am curious about this kind of as well. I have a viking setup on the rear but haven't started the front yet. Was wondering if anyone whos done the front end viking setup, did you use stock lower control arms or go with something tubular? 

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It is said that no-name/import tubular control arms have questionable tubing and welds quality. There have been some instances of welds letting go or the tubing fracturing at the welds due to poor tempering. They also use cheap ball joints. I wouldn't trust any of them. Some folks have good luck with them but I sleep good at night.

Look at UMI, BMR, Global West, QA1, etc. for tubular control arms. All US made and they make top shelf products.

The better ball joints and steering components today are from Pro Forged. QA1 makes Delron lined rebuildable adjustable low friction ball joints in standard and longer lengths.

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thanks for the tip but I am specifically asking if they will work with a stock lower control arm. If funds allow, I will go to a decent quality set of tubular, but dont want to pull the front suspension apart yet if I cant fit the coilovers into the stock control arms

 

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The street rod shop i worked at  2016-2018 had piles of EBAY tubular control arms that customers had installed and brought to us to align and correct other issues... Almost every time they went back to stock or went with a legit brand.

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