When a team races at different tracks, or even as track conditions change at a home facility, it is often necessary to make adjustments to the front suspension. Different lengths of track, banking angles and quality of the surfaces often call for various front-suspension settings.
To help racers make changes while minimizing wrench time and the number of extra suspension pieces that must be carried from track to track, Pole Position Racing Products in Denver has developed an adjustable upper A-arm that will allow quick and accurate changes to the front suspension. These units, which sell for $139.95 each, are fabricated from steel to provide high strength and durability for all racing conditions. The units come with either aluminum or steel cross-shafts, are available with high-strength rod ends and screw-in or bolt-in ball-joint plates.
Most units are simple to operate; simply loosen the jam nuts, rotate the sleeves to size each arm to your preference, and retighten the jam nuts. This simple procedure can be done at the track, even with the arm mounted in the race car.
Adjustable A-arms allow any team not only to work with its static camber settings, but also the dynamic camber characteristics or camber curve. With the help of software, such as Performance Trends Roll Center Calculator or the New Suspension Analyzer, introduced early this year, a team can input the lengths and dimensions of its suspension and allow the program to calculate and display the results. Programs like these make it relatively easy to get a handle on how specific changes in the front-suspension affect suspension movements on the car.
Ray Cook drives the Brasstown Valley Motorsports dirt Late Model in the UDTRA Series. Ray and his crew chief, Gary Thompson, have found that adjustability allows them many more possibilities not as easily available in their previous front suspension.
“While many teams can make changes to the rear (suspension) of their cars, we have additional tuning changes we can make to the front of ours,” he explains.
Understanding the changes that you are making and learning how they affect the car enhances your performance. Some tracks and sanctioning bodies prohibit the use of adjustable suspension components like this, but if your rules allow them, adjustable A-arms are certainly a potential advantage you will want to consider.
