[adamo]

So would using a set of .5” taller upper and .5” taller lower ball joints in the factory an arms in my 69 GTO be a good idea even if it’s just a street/ strip 500hp car. I was thinking of going with Afco low friction ones and figured I would get the taller upper and lower while I was buying new ones.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by adamo

So would using a set of .5” taller upper and .5” taller lower ball joints in the factory an arms in my 69 GTO be a good idea even if it’s just a street/ strip 500hp car. I was thinking of going with Afco low friction ones and figured I would get the taller upper and lower while I was buying new ones.

I would not do that for use in factory arms. Depending on the car's usage, it's ride height and how stiff the springs are, you can put the ball joints into bind. You either tear the joints out of their mounts, bend the arms, or in severe situations, snap off the ball joint stud. None of that is a happy day when the car is in motion.

If you are keeping your factory arms, stick with the .5" tall upper ball joint only and focus your improvements via the alignment.

When people say street/strip car, that typically means drag raced. For a car that is mostly cruised around town and then is taken to the drag strip, the tall ball joints are probably pointless. If you are replacing ball joints anyway, the tall upper isn't going to hurt you, so I would throw that in there as part of your suspension maintenance.

I'll reiterate what I usually tell people. You won't feel the .5" tall ball joint in factory arms when leisurely driving around town or doing light to light or drag race stuff. You start to feel it as additional grip in faster sweeping corners, like you may see while doing some canyon runs etc. If you don't drive your car that way, there's no need for them.

[PontiacMatt72]

Originally Posted by 69gtocv

So how do you like the set-up once you got it on the road? What did you end up with alignment stats? Can I ask what you ended up with cost wise? I read you already had your upper control arms. I'd need those too, so I'm guessing I'd be pushing $3700 or better? I'm currently running 18's with 1" lowered CSS coils and bilsteins, so that's less I have to buy. Jeff

I have only taken one short test drive to make sure the car would stop and stay together. I still need to get an alignment done. I believe the AFX stuff came with suggested alignment specs that I intend to work with the alignment shop to try to achieve.

As for final cost… the spindles were about $1,400. The steering arms another $450. I already had the upper control arms, the eBay lower arms were I think about $200, and I replaced the ball joints for about $60. New tie rod ends were another $150, give or take. Roughly $1000 (including shipping) for the new brakes. So what’s that, ballpark of $3,260? The upper arms I had purchased a couple years ago secondhand for about $400 iirc, and I replaced the upper ball joints for $60. So that would put my AFX spindle/front suspension and brake upgrades in the ballpark of $3,700. And I also had already purchased my 18” wheels and tires.

[PontiacMatt72]

Originally Posted by vertigto

Looks much better to me in the lower stance...congrats!

Thanks! I agree…

[69gtocv]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

I have only taken one short test drive to make sure the car would stop and stay together. I still need to get an alignment done. I believe the AFX stuff came with suggested alignment specs that I intend to work with the alignment shop to try to achieve.

As for final cost… the spindles were about $1,400. The steering arms another $450. I already had the upper control arms, the eBay lower arms were I think about $200, and I replaced the ball joints for about $60. New tie rod ends were another $150, give or take. Roughly $1000 (including shipping) for the new brakes. So what’s that, ballpark of $3,260? The upper arms I had purchased a couple years ago secondhand for about $400 iirc, and I replaced the upper ball joints for $60. So that would put my AFX spindle/front suspension and brake upgrades in the ballpark of $3,700. And I also had already purchased my 18” wheels and tires.

Thanks for the info!

[69gtocv]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

Thanks! I agree…

Forgot to ask, what size tire did you end up using in front? I'm currently running 245/45/18's

[PontiacMatt72]

I believe I have 245 40’s up front. I’d have to look, I done forgot! Lol

[PontiacMatt72]

Speedtech alignment specs for the AFX spindles are:
(Driver side) 4* positive caster, 0 to 1/2* negative camber, 3/32 toe in
(Passenger side) 4-1/2* positive caster, 0 to 1/2* negative camber, 3/32 toe in.

Y’all agree/recommend these settings?

[HWYSTR455]

That looks like what I'm using on both cars. I might have 5 degrees on the caster on the Judge, but would have to go back and look.


.

[adamo]

Could I use a .5” taller lower ball joint on my stock 1969 GTO front end? I already have 1” drop springs but I wanted just a hair lower and wondered if this was something that would work with my factory stock a-arms?

[adamo]

Could I use a .5” taller lower ball joint on my stock 1969 GTO front end? I already have 1” drop springs but I wanted just a hair lower and wondered if this was something that would work with my factory stock a-arms?

[Joe-Touring]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

Speedtech alignment specs for the AFX spindles are:
(Driver side) 4* positive caster, 0 to 1/2* negative camber, 3/32 toe in
(Passenger side) 4-1/2* positive caster, 0 to 1/2* negative camber, 3/32 toe in.

Y’all agree/recommend these settings?

Pretty good, however I’d say put the camber at -0.5*, and nothing less. Camber helps quite a bit and as long as your toe stays in spec, your tire wear should be minimal.

For example, if you wanted to go auto-x, 1-1.5* of negative camber would be nice. Camber is one of those things that give huge performance benefits, at the cost of increased tire wear. But half a degree will make the front stick noticeably better.