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zambon
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upside down ball joints

Post by zambon »

I have seen threads with loose references to upside down ball joints. What is involved with this modification? Is it a good way to lower the center of gravity in the front without changing suspension geometry? What are the negatives?
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TS_turbo
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Post by TS_turbo »

with upside down balljoint u must use big wheels 16-17
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Micke
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Post by Micke »

It DOES change the geometry. Luckily for the better. With this I mean higher roll center and more camber gain.

Mine easily fits into a 14" wheel but the brakes don't.
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Post by TS_turbo »

Micke wrote:It DOES change the geometry. Luckily for the better. With this I mean higher roll center and more camber gain.

Mine easily fits into a 14" wheel but the brakes don't.
pics please :) i cant imagine this mod to fit 14" wheel :?
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Post by Micke »

Here. For reference the brake disk is 298 mm.
Attachments
Front suspension.jpg
Front suspension.jpg (62.26 KiB) Viewed 10995 times
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Post by pancho »

I still dont understand what that pic is showing. Can someone explain is easy to understand terms pls :oops:
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zambon
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Post by zambon »

Micke,
Is that a custom upper control arm? Is it to aide in fitment of the coilover? It looks to me like the lower balljoint is upside down, while the upper one is in normal position. Correct?
I was thinking of flipping both upper and lower ball joints to maintain the same geometry, but if this geometry is better...
Very interesting stuff.

Pancho,
I will try to post a photo of the stock arrangement for comparison. I have the front wheels off of my parts car.
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Post by Micke »

Yep. Custom.
It's lighter, bigger hole for the shock, uniball inner end and length adjustable.

Keeping the "normal" upper ball joint adds camber gain and has the same effect as the famous knuckle raisers in the 105 cars.

The steering arm is bent to reduce bump steer.
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Post by zambon »

Do you know what size heim/uniball you have on the inside of that arm? I think I am going to have such a piece made.
Thanks so much,
James
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Micke
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Post by Micke »

Sorry. It's 10 years ago and I can't remember. The same size as the bolt anyway.
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Post by SydneyJules »

So Micke, for a street car like mine, with 105 castor rods, and bilsteins, as opposed to coilovers, would you recommend going with the upside down route, or knuckle risers?

PACE sell the knuckle risers for $250 AUD, so not too expensive for a straight fit, with no other mods.
Fixing it bit by bit....
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Post by Micke »

For street I wouldn't do either.

For track, the upside down way. Call me strange but I don't like the knuckle raisers much. Adds camber gain but doesn't help roll center. Actualy even makes it slightly worse.
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Post by Barry »

Micke,I see your running droop straps on the FRONT suspension...Now thats a first for me..Were you unloading any of the driven wheels that you went this route??

Without droop straps (or cable in this instance)I still lift a front inner wheel..

On the front wheel drive gta`s we limited droop to 5mm to trabsfer weight to the opposite front wheel...

Explain your use thereof??
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Post by Micke »

The droop stops don't touch in driving. They are just there to prevent the springs from falling when lifting the car.

I don't lift any wheel with the straps. I have similar in the rear as well.

I do have a plan to make them stiff enough and easily adjustable to use in cornering. This might work as it would have an aerodynamic advantage (reduced ground clearance while cornering). Has to be tried though.
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Post by Mats »

Don't, it's the worst panic modification ever. If you try to do it both in the rear and front you will get a car that will go from pig understeer to wild oversteer and vice versa in a split second. I have tried it, and I will never try it again.

Barry, I'm assuming you are talking 105 chassis here? You still had the std geomery in the rear suspension?
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