I have a DD 99 WS6 with a few suspension mods: Strano springs, Koni 4/4, UMI LCA, UMI PHB, UMI TA, and UMI STB. I have re-location brackets (weld-in Spohn), but I have heard that they are a waste of money. This was after I bought them. Should I install them? What should I expect if I do install them? If you have experience with these, please chime in. Thanks!

This may seem like a double post, but no moderators moved the thread for me. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

If it's the LCA relocation brackets then i would put them on. Most guys i see running low 60 foots have done this. Also you are lowered so it helps with LCA geometry, Hope that helps.

 

They are the LCA relocation brackets. I have heard that it will help woth 60 foot times by restoring the LCA geometry, but are they only beneficial to drag racing? This is my DD and I enjoy the occassional canyon carving session, will these help/hurt my ride quality at all? I probably hit the dragstrip like once a year, so that is not my ONLY focus. Thanks!

 

Once you lower the car, (and to a certain extent at stock height) the geometry is not good for preventing rear axle twist under load which is a major cause of wheel hop. So if you never intend to put your foot in it and break the tires loose, then you can omit the relocation brackets, otherwise they are well worth the time and money.

 

ttt...

 

when I was lowered on DMS springs I found the UMI bolt-on relocation brackets to be a big help. As already stated, if you already have them why not use them?

 

no one can tell you if you need them or not. here's my opinion on them. decide for yourself:

lowering a car causes the lca angle to change. also, shorter stiffer springs hurt weight transfer. if you have trouble hooking and want more traction, the brackets will help by correcting the angle. in your case, you may or may not need them. strano uses a relatively soft rear spring rate and only a moderate drop which causes less launching issues than some other springs out there.

for road racing/autox you'll want the lca to sit parallel to the ground. for drag racing, you want the lca to angle downward towards the rear. the middle hole is a good option on relocation brackets because it will be close to level most of the time. this is a good middle ground if you're looking for a balance between handling/hooking.

go out and look at your lca's how they are right now. if they're already close to level, leave them alone. if the front of them is noticeably lower than the rear, you may want to install them on the middle hole. if you mostly want traction, use the lowest hole. using the lowest hole for road racing can cause rear brake hop i believe, but i don't have enough first hand experience to comment.

I used relocation brackets on my car. my springs are a lot stiffer in the rear than stranos, and i had a lot of trouble off the line. the brackets definitely helped. i haven't run into any negatives handling-wise using the middle or bottom holes, but i don't do any real road racing. only downside to them i have experienced is extreme wheel hop in reverse, but traction in reverse is of no concern to me haha.

on a side note, i think sam strano tries to avoid them for his autox car. maybe he will chime in. or you could just give him a call.

 

I remember Sam had mentioned that he does not use them and that is why I have been reluctant to put them on. However, I do have them already and I do notice that I cannot hook for anything in a straight line since lowering. I don't autocross, but I do enjoy the occassional canyon carving drive. Tomorrow, I will get under there and look at the LCAs and I will re-post to let you know. Thanks "therealcreeper," I will definitely consider them a lot more now. I would love if Sam chimed in.

 

Put them on you won't regret it. It help me by far.

 

no problem

chances are the front of the lca will be sitting lower. having it angled slightly forward isn't a huge problem and may be a bit better for road racing but if you're having trouble hooking up i think the brackets in the middle hole would be a happy medium. for a street car with a goal of all around performance i think that's the way to go. i autox with them with no issues, but i'm not very serious about it.

they're not needed on all lowered cars, so i'm not saying install them no matter what, but it seems in your case they would help more than they would hurt anything. just my opinion.

 

not to hijack but how do you know what hole to put them in?

 

Hello
When we manufactured our lower control arm relocation brackets. We experienced you get the best performance outcome if you mount the lower control arm in the lowest setting. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will be more than glad to help.
Thanks
Brad

 

thats for drag racing, and autox as well.

 

I'll start by saying that I don't really know any of this because I've never compared two different setups...

Now.. I think that having the arms in the lowest hole causes roll induced oversteer. Since our cars have enough oversteer in autox stock, I don't think you'd want more roll induced oversteer. So in this case, you wouldn't want the arms in the lowest hole for autox. Right?

On another hand, having the LCA's in the lowest hole puts traction down in a straight line. Does this also increase traction around corners.. or basically gassing out of a corner? Is this benefit worth the drawback of the "roll induced axle toe opposite of the turn direction"? I'm guessing this is a "no" due to opinions of the majority of autox/road race drivers I've read about

I'm just trying to understand what characteristics are affected by this change. I know that people say parallel to the ground or maybe a little higher on the axle side make for a better LCA angle for road race/autox. I believe it, but I'd like to learn how to explain it too.

 

i'm with z28bryan.....

planning to switch my LCAs from the low hole to the middle hole next time i'm under the car (soon)...

i DO know that putting them on the bottom hole when i was still on stock springs made a HUGE difference in the launch...even jsut on the street.

 

my car, on DMS springs, felt like it was on ice all the time. I was afraid to give it much throttle because it would break loose very easily. For a while I thought my tires (Dunlop SP5000's) had hardened or gone bad since it sits in the garage so much, causing the lose of traction. I put on some bolt-on UMI relocation brackets (lower hole) and the traction is greatly improved.

 

^^^ how is the handling has it changed?

 

Hello
I would suggest the lowest hole for when it comes to Drag Racing. And when it comes to Auto X (and the class you are in). And also depending on the ride height. We often suggest the 2nd hole for handling. If you have any other questions leave me know and I will be more than glad to help.
Thanks
Brad

 

didn't notice any change, but traction was greatly improved.

 

It all depends on the application that your driving in. No offense to a lot of people here, but I kinda ignore most people's handling on the street reviews of modifications. I think probably a small minority of people push their car to the limits on the street and the rest think they are pushing their car to the limits but they really are not. I know I can't safely push my car anywhere on the streets like I do at autox or at the speedway (and I used to think I push my car to the limit on the street before I raced..)