Ken Smith Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Hi There Because I was getting quite a lot of axle tramp when doing power take-offs, I fitted a pair of Steeda Billett Lower Control Arms. The problem now is that I have lots of diff slap and the ride is much harsher. It looks if I am going to need to pull the diff head and get shimms fitted to take up the slap. Has anyone experienced this same issue and how did you fix the problem. Regards Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gassman Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 What is axel tramp? You should be OK with just a simple swap of LCAs. An upper control arm will greatly improve launches. You will find yourself changing out lots of rear susp. parts to get the ride/launch you desire. But, you should not have to fit any shims. Changing your rear to 3.73 will also get you a better launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangme Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Just curious but why did you only change out the lower control arms...I have learned from this forum that in order to get rid of wheel hop, you should change out the upper and lower control arms. I think i am going to have the Roush upper and lowers installed,they have rubber bushing to absorb the torque and one of our members had them installed and claimed they stopped his wheel hop issue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbypowered Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Just curious but why did you only change out the lower control arms...I have learned from this forum that in order to get rid of wheel hop, you should change out the upper and lower control arms. I think i am going to have the Roush upper and lowers installed,they have rubber bushing to absorb the torque and one of our members had them installed and claimed they stopped his wheel hop issue... I agree however I have had no problem with the steedas and you need to get their upper adjustable control arm to help that pumpkin stay in place- the steeda upper adjustable and lowers stopped my wheel hop pronto- if you do use the upper which is a good idea the instructions tell you what adjustment to put it at- my car was set at normal which is a degree steeda wants- unless you are putting out tons of torque to the rear all I would do is add the upper. Gear change should not be an issue- try one thing at a time- - I have had good luck with steeda but did both the upper and lowers at the same time. It will correct your problem and you are two thirds there already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Smith Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments. Attached are comments from a sales guy at Steeda when I asked him the same question: Hi Ken, the ride is actually the effect of the spherical, not the urethane bushing. The urethane is actually keeping things from being worse, If you had spherical on both ends things would be noticeably worse. The clunking is normal and is associated with your 2 piece driveshaft. The stock factory bushings that allow for a bunch of deflection and cause wheel hop also soak up most of the driveline slop due to that deflection. On your 2 piece driveshaft the rear joint where it attaches to the pinion flange is not a U-joint design like the front and has some rotational play in it. If you were to remove the shaft and try to turn the back end of the shaft by hand you would be able to feel the slight play in this joint. Only thing that improves that situation is a 1 piece driveshaft. This typically gets rid of anywhere between 70 and 100 percent of that issue. Also with the lighter weight of the aluminum driveshaft you typically see a 2 tenths improvement in 1/4 mile times because of the reduction in rotational mass. I take it from the above comment that the clunking in the rear is from the driveshaft NOT the diff as I assumed. As I am in New Zealand getting parts out of the US and down here just to try out is difficult and expensive. These forums are great for advise before moving on and getting the parts down to fix the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XLR8 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments. Attached are comments from a sales guy at Steeda when I asked him the same question: Hi Ken, the ride is actually the effect of the spherical, not the urethane bushing. The urethane is actually keeping things from being worse, If you had spherical on both ends things would be noticeably worse. The clunking is normal and is associated with your 2 piece driveshaft. The stock factory bushings that allow for a bunch of deflection and cause wheel hop also soak up most of the driveline slop due to that deflection. On your 2 piece driveshaft the rear joint where it attaches to the pinion flange is not a U-joint design like the front and has some rotational play in it. If you were to remove the shaft and try to turn the back end of the shaft by hand you would be able to feel the slight play in this joint. Only thing that improves that situation is a 1 piece driveshaft. This typically gets rid of anywhere between 70 and 100 percent of that issue. Also with the lighter weight of the aluminum driveshaft you typically see a 2 tenths improvement in 1/4 mile times because of the reduction in rotational mass. I take it from the above comment that the clunking in the rear is from the driveshaft NOT the diff as I assumed. As I am in New Zealand getting parts out of the US and down here just to try out is difficult and expensive. These forums are great for advise before moving on and getting the parts down to fix the issue. I've got a 1 piece and still get the clunking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Smith Posted August 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I've got a 1 piece and still get the clunking. Are you confident that this clunking is definitely coming from the driveshaft as suggested by the Steeda guy and not the diff head. Will this clunking cause any other damage in the future? Are you planning to fit an Adjustable Upper Control Arm to compliment your LCA's at some time in the future? Thanks, Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbypowered Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Are you confident that this clunking is definitely coming from the driveshaft as suggested by the Steeda guy and not the diff head. Will this clunking cause any other damage in the future? Are you planning to fit an Adjustable Upper Control Arm to compliment your LCA's at some time in the future? Thanks, Ken. As you have steeda lowers go with the adjustable steeda upper- it has a degrre angle to be set at but they give good directions and even suggest what is the correc angle- if you have the work done be sure they know they need to set it correctly- I believe it will correct your wheel hop- if you skip this step and go to a one piece driveshaft you may not correct the wheel hop- highly likely all you need is the upper control arm- not an expensive part and should be added with the lowers. I cannot tie the driveshaft into wheelhop but I may be wrong as I still have the two piece but the steeda upper and lowers did correct my wheel hop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secondo Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 All I did was install upper and lower polyurethane bushings and the wheel hop is now gone. No slap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XLR8 Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 Are you confident that this clunking is definitely coming from the driveshaft as suggested by the Steeda guy and not the diff head. Will this clunking cause any other damage in the future? Are you planning to fit an Adjustable Upper Control Arm to compliment your LCA's at some time in the future? Thanks, Ken. Yes, I am planning to add an adjustable upper along with the FRRP lowering springs. Just need to find the time to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 All I did was install upper and lower polyurethane bushings and the wheel hop is now gone. No slap. Was it a difficult task to replace them? How is the NVH since replacing them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gassman Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 I have a one piece DS, UCA, LCAs and still get some moderate "clunking". It's the nature of the beast...throw stiffer suspension in and you get better perf. at the cost of some noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secondo Posted August 24, 2009 Report Share Posted August 24, 2009 Was it a difficult task to replace them? How is the NVH since replacing them? Taking the stock bushings out was a PIA but overall it went well. It was a nut and bolt operation. I didn't notice that much of a difference in the ride. There's no vibration and the only noise is a slight bumping sound when moving slowly over uneven surfaces- like when turning into a driveway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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