BMR Torque Arm and Tranny Crossmember installed... Impressions
#1
BMR Torque Arm and Tranny Crossmember installed... Impressions
Well I just finished installing these two pieces today. I got them on Tuesday and they are very nice looking. Very stout. I got the tranny crossmember too with the torque arm relocation kit. I was planning on going with a tunnel mounted TA but it would not fit with my custom exhaust. So bought what I needed to have a long style torque arm without it being mounted on the tranny.
The install took awhile. I had to remove the y-pipe because I couldnt access the crossmember bolts with it on. The crossmember bolted right it. It fit great! It hangs a little low, but my exhaust hangs lower so I am not worried. The torque arm mount on the cross member is adjustable so you can change your instant center. I spoke with Lee at BMR and he explained to me how it worked. 3-4 holes from the top is the stock location, so I did two holes from the top. Lee said this would give the rear end a little more bite. However, when it came time to install the torque arm... major clearence issues. The top bar on the torque arm was rubbing the transmission tunnel in the back and in the front. I did a lot of "clearencing" with the hammer to make room. I finally got it in and pushed the rear end up and down to make sure there wasn't rubbing.
The torque arm bolted right up also. The holes on the tranny lined up perfectly. I went ahead and set my pinion angle to -1.5°. This is what took the most time because the pinion angle concept to me was pretty confusing. The instructions have very poor wording on how to set the pinion angle.
I also got out and drove it a little today. There weren't any odd drivetrain vibrations, but I only got up to about 50 or so. The rear end is more clunky now, probably because of the solid mounts. The shifter feels WAY better. It doesn't move at much whenever you get on it. It seems smoother, less vibrations too. The car bites much better now. On a flat road I can't even break the tires loose in 1st! This might be due to my stock air lid though. On a soft launch the rear grabs very nicely. It even bogged a little bit.
I am very happy with these products. Now I need my turbo kit to put them to the test!
Last edited by Ferocity02; 08-25-2005 at 06:48 PM.
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Thats odd that it is more clunky now since I was under the impression that the set up should be very similiar to the stock location. I have a tunnel mounted TA and its very clunky.
How much lower is the tranny crossmember than stock?
Lee, what are the advantages of having the height adjustment on the front of the TA?
How much lower is the tranny crossmember than stock?
Lee, what are the advantages of having the height adjustment on the front of the TA?
#5
Originally Posted by No Juice
Thats odd that it is more clunky now since I was under the impression that the set up should be very similiar to the stock location. I have a tunnel mounted TA and its very clunky.
How much lower is the tranny crossmember than stock?
Lee, what are the advantages of having the height adjustment on the front of the TA?
How much lower is the tranny crossmember than stock?
Lee, what are the advantages of having the height adjustment on the front of the TA?
The height adjustment on the front changes your instant center. Thats all I know. Moving it up or down can give you more grip on the rear end. The only problem is that there isn't enough room to move it up another notch. It also changes your pinion angle so you have to readjust it if you move the front up or down. Moving it up will increase your pinion angle, down will decrease your pinion angle.
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Could you take a pic from the side of the car to see what kind of clearance issues it will have? Interested in this setup also, just dont want any more clearance problems. TIA
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Originally Posted by No Juice
Lee, what are the advantages of having the height adjustment on the front of the TA?
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Originally Posted by PonyKiln
Could you take a pic from the side of the car to see what kind of clearance issues it will have? Interested in this setup also, just dont want any more clearance problems. TIA
Ferocity do you know how much lower than the stock crossmember it hangs?