UMI T/A & Relocation Bracket

[Jon7I2]

I am thinking about purchasing UMI's torque arm relocation crossmember and the their aftermarket adjustable torque arm to go along with it. Has anyone had any experience w/ any of these pieces? Also i was thinking about going w/ the one assembled w/ the driveshaft safety loop. Is this a bad/good idea? I do not have the kind of power to require 1 just yet, but i dont want to have to do things twice either. Is there negative aspects to these parts that i am not thinking about? Clearance issues? I know it will mount to the stock rear end as well as the one I want in the future (S 60). Any feedback would be very helpful, thanks.

[bananaman]

Hello, I just put this on my 94z With no clearance problems whatsoever. I also run the 4" exhaust and it actually gave me more clearance on the y-pipe.
Do it!

[Jon7I2]

k cool, thanks man. I think i will order the parts tomorrow.

[Jon7I2]

UMI's tunnel brace mounted torque arm w/ driveshaft safety loop is on its way. Now, to figure out how to install it. Does anyone know if the suspension has to be unloaded to install? Also, i have to remove the driveshaft to put on the safety loop, anyone know any tricks or does it simply just unbolt? Hopefully install will go smoothly w/ newly acquired Kwicklift.

[9t8z28]

You are going to have to unbolt the driveshaft. You don't need to take it out of the tailhousing, just slide it over the driveshaft. As far as putting on the torque arm, you may need to adjust it almost all the way out. Its pretty easy, just a little time consuming.

[9t8z28]

I am thinking about purchasing UMI's torque arm relocation crossmember and the their aftermarket adjustable torque arm to go along with it. Has anyone had any experience w/ any of these pieces? Also i was thinking about going w/ the one assembled w/ the driveshaft safety loop. Is this a bad/good idea? I do not have the kind of power to require 1 just yet, but i dont want to have to do things twice either. Is there negative aspects to these parts that i am not thinking about? Clearance issues? I know it will mount to the stock rear end as well as the one I want in the future (S 60). Any feedback would be very helpful, thanks.

Its always a good thing to have the DSL!

[Jon7I2]

ok, thanks for the help. i'm sure i will run into a couple of unforseen issues, but im sure it will go ok.

[lrader99]

with an adjustable torque arm make sure you check the pinion angle of the factory torque arm before you take it out else you will be shooting in the dark when you install the new one trying to figure out what angle to set it at...i had to reinstall my factory torque arm today to measure the angles cause i was a retard and didnt think about it before i took it off... i ordered the same setup as it sounds like you bought...adjustable with the trans tunnel mount and a DS loop...it took them 2 weeks to make it...i guess they are backed up...mine shipped out this morning....good luck with your install

[Jon7I2]

u know what, the UMI guy told me that the t/a come w/ set to factory presets already. so, i figured i would just bolt it up and worry about the magnetic angle finder later. However, today i just did the garden hose mod, so my car is not exatly stock ride height in the rear anymore so i dont know. Maybe i will order the angle finder sooner than i thought. Yeha they told me they were backed up too, but damn too weeks until ship out shit. WEll looks like u'll get urs in b4 me so let me know how u like it and moreimportantly how it improves traction.

[lrader99]

yea my 60 foots really suffer bad...what does the rest of your suspension look like ?

[9t8z28]

u know what, the UMI guy told me that the t/a come w/ set to factory presets already. so, i figured i would just bolt it up and worry about the magnetic angle finder later. However, today i just did the garden hose mod, so my car is not exatly stock ride height in the rear anymore so i dont know. Maybe i will order the angle finder sooner than i thought. Yeha they told me they were backed up too, but damn too weeks until ship out shit. WEll looks like u'll get urs in b4 me so let me know how u like it and moreimportantly how it improves traction.
I have never heard of the garden hose mod? What is it? The only thing I can think of is that it raises the back of the car by not allowing the spring to compress. I know that my factory 97"SS" springs have rubber tube like pieces around the springs.

[Jon7I2]

yea my 60 foots really suffer bad...what does the rest of your suspension look like ?

The rest of my suspension is pretty much stock except for sphoon weld in subframe connectors, but i am looking to get UMI's lca's and panhard par real soon as well. How about ur's?

[lrader99]

mine is a royal nightmare:
Hyperflex bushing kit
Prothane Engine & trans mounts
BMR SFC
Edelbrock STB
Lakewood LCA's
J&L LCA Relocate
BMR Adjustable PHB
UMI Adjustable Torque arm w/ DS and tunnel mount...should be here in 2 days
Bilstein HD's
Eibach Sportlines

i still have my factory sway bars...i dont have any body roll so i didnt waste the money to change them

[Jon7I2]

I have never heard of the garden hose mod? What is it? The only thing I can think of is that it raises the back of the car by not allowing the spring to compress. I know that my factory 97"SS" springs have rubber tube like pieces around the springs.

From the factory out cars come w/ a rubber isolator about 3/4" to 1" thick. It is located ontop of the spring, and prevents metal on metal rumming. U can simply drop ur spring out and remove this rubber. Now u can't just put the spring back in there w/ nothing ontop of it because the metal on metal rubbing would eventually wear away at the car's body point where they contact. So, u take a regular 5/8" garden hose and slide it over the top ov the spring. Then, reinstall, and presto u've just dropped the rear of ur car about 3/4" - 1." I did it becaue i currently run 275/35/18's on all corners and i did not like the wheel gap in the rear of the car. I am much more pleases w/ the appearance after this mod. For me it was definitely worth doing. After the whole project only cost $5 for the hose.Here are a few pic's i took of the project and car afterwords.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2251848/2

[Jon7I2]

mine is a royal nightmare:
Hyperflex bushing kit
Prothane Engine & trans mounts
BMR SFC
Edelbrock STB
Lakewood LCA's
J&L LCA Relocate
BMR Adjustable PHB
UMI Adjustable Torque arm w/ DS and tunnel mount...should be here in 2 days
Bilstein HD's
Eibach Sportlines

i still have my factory sway bars...i dont have any body roll so i didnt waste the money to change them

Nice set up. Y did u call it a nightmare? lol, just because u have all different brands? I am probably gonna end up having a simmilar setup. And i definitely agree w/ u about the sway bars. I always thought they would kinda b a waste of money. I seriously doubt u would feel any diference, unless u were in auto cross or something like that.

[Eugenio_SS]

the nightmare comes from the combination of the sportlines and HD.
HD are meant for stock springs... Sportlines are very progressive and offer almost no suspension travel... so chances are he was bottoming out frequently, and the ride was very harsh.

As for the sway bars, you notice it a lot on the street... it affects the balance on oversteer vs understeer, keeing everything else equal.

[lrader99]

its a nightmare because of the way i drive the car and have it setup...once i get my aligments set its great but getting this car on an alignment rack is not easy and it takes forever because everything is adjustable...plus i run some crazy alignment angles like 6 degrees of caster in the front....i know thats its a lot but when your doin 170 i need my front wheels to stay glued to the ground having that much caster drives the front wheels into the ground and makes my steering very stable...lets just say its takes less effort to steer in a parking lot than on the highway, other than that i just have to be really careful...like i end up switching lanes a lot on the highway cause if i hit a bridge at the wrong angle or too much incline ill come off the road...just because the suspension is soooo stiff, but i have no body flex, the engine doesnt rock back and forth and everything is very stable...the worst ive done is i broke an O2 sensor...came down on the road too hard and actually drove a bolt through the sensor. by the way i do autox it and i also drag the car. it is a little stiff for drag racing because of the rear spring rates...even though they are variable its not enough, i plan on bagging the car in the next year its going to be expensive but i will have the ability to adjust ride height for the highway and set it up for whatever course i want to run on

[lrader99]

and you assume wrong Eugenio_SS i have only bottomed out once...and thats cause i hit a bridge at a 165 and came off the road...and yes the ride is extremely stiff...you dont get in my car with a full bladder cause it will make you want to find the nearest bathroom, besides the fact that i had the HD's revalved..

[Eugenio_SS]

your caster won't change the stability @ high speeds. caster only takes effect when turning the wheels.
what is your toe-out or toe-in ?
usually, one would use toe-out for fast steering response, or some toe-in for high speed stability... but toe kills the wear on the tires.

[lrader99]

what did you just say...caster doesnt affect steering only when the wheels are turning..isnt that steering....

[lrader99]

if its harder to turn the wheels cause of soo much caster then that affects how stiff the steering wheel is...and the faster you are going the harder it is because of the PS pump...the faster the pump turns the less assistance it gives

[lrader99]

sorry didnt mean to jack your thread man.

[Eugenio_SS]

and you assume wrong Eugenio_SS i have only bottomed out once...and thats cause i hit a bridge at a 165 and came off the road...and yes the ride is extremely stiff...you dont get in my car with a full bladder cause it will make you want to find the nearest bathroom, besides the fact that i had the HD's revalved..

HD revalved changes the situation... but still... i'm pretty sure you ride on your bumpstops quite often, more often than you can thing, making the equivalent of increasing the spring rate, make the ride quite harsh.
Been there, done that... and killed a set of Koni DA due to sportlines.

[Eugenio_SS]

usually when going 165, you're pretty much in straight line... hence not turning.

[Jon7I2]

sorry didnt mean to jack your thread man.

I could care less, thats what this site is all about working out problems to come to the ultimate answer.

[lrader99]

ive only had them in there for about 7k mi ill keep in mind your thought...ive been thinking of going to a pro kit for the rear...but its soo hard to find just a set of rear springs. i agree that its very stiff, and you would be suprise how much i really do turn goin 165...every once in a while ill get out on lowes motor speedway or atlanta motor speedway and run, plus i want to try and runa couple track days at VIR and Road Atlanta this year...if i can get the time

[Eugenio_SS]

caster will basically have the effect of adding more camber when turning on the outside wheel and make the inside wheel turn more... @ the expense of more stress on the power steering unit.
This has a few advantages, such as not needing as much negative camber, helping a bit on the wear side, but there is the power steering issue.

[Eugenio_SS]

just remember that when you hit the rear bumpstops, it increases the rear spring rate, making the rear even more prone to just oversteer... just due to lack of suspension travel.
I've had sportlines and @ the time thought they were great until i got to try other setups that work much better.

[Eugenio_SS]

in other words, you'll find that the car is not predictable... sometimes, it will just make your rear-end let go without much notice... and predictability @ a track and knowing the limits of what you can bring the car to is quite important.

[Eugenio_SS]

my apologies as well for hijacking :$

[Jon7I2]

like i said don't worry about it.

[rickssz]

So did your UMI parts come in yet or are you still waiting?

[Jon7I2]

believe it or not im still waiting on them. Hopefully they will b in soon, though.

[pocheasy]

how are the chasis mounted T/A's on DD's? does it make the ride too harsh or anything?

[Jon7I2]

Well, I recieved the t/a a couple of days ago and installed it today.I dicked my pinion angles all up and i have no idea what it is set at right now. I am not pleased w/ the ride quality. By the way, does any1 know the torque specs on the 4 bolts that mount the tunnel brace? I think the ride may be "loose" because of not having the proper pinion angle. Would not having the right angle result in shitty ride quality?

[Jon7I2]

I finally got it on there after much frustration. I running the pinion angle at -2 degrees. I am pretty happy with it's rigidness and general performance.

[Mr. Luos]

I think I have mine at -1.5.
Ride doesn't seem bad at all.

Congrats, I am sure it will help keep that rear planted.