Front ball joint risers

[GTVeloce]

Hi all

Has anyone got a picture of what these look like? Preferably installed on the car. I am considering them for my current rebuild but would like a better idea of what is involved.

Thanks
Julian

[John A Pucak]

Hi GTVeloce, most of us purchased the ball joint risers from PACE. From memory an easy fit .

John

[Duk]

Although not bolted in correctly in the photo http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=5496.15
They are easy to fit but will require a good wheel alignment after as the camber angle could be wrong once fitted.

[Sam]

Sorry for the dumb ass question, but what the advantage of them?

[Duk]

Sorry for the dumb ass question, but what the advantage of them?

2 things:

The front roll centre height is raised so you have less body roll for the same amount of spring and antiroll bar rate.

You also get much more negative camber gain with bump travel. I measured 0.5* per 10mm of wheel travel on my car.
So when the car leans on the outside tyre during cornering, the suspension compresses less (less roll) and the body roll that does happen, with the increase gain in negative camber the wheel remain much more perpendicular to the road and doesn't go into positive camber like the standard suspension does. End result is MUCH more front end grip and more even tyre wear when using the car like it should be used through corners.

The semi-down side is that the front wheels can adopt a fair bit of negative camber during hard braking, especially as the car doesn't have any anti-dive geometry and the front spring rates are pretty soft. This can cause the front wheels to lock easier.

[Sam]

Hi Duk , Paul
thanks for the information, maybe something I should look at , is Vince Sharp the only one who sells these? are they expensive?
Sam

[Sam]

Are Ball Joint risers street legal or are these for race only?

It may be a dumb question but its based on the following ....

1) I havn't seen any so I really don't know what they look like etc ...

2) I spoke to a bloke who runs Castlemaine Hot Rods a few years ago. Amongst other things, he makes custom dropped spindles. He said they aren't cheap because creating custom suspension and stearing parts means he is fored to meet strict test and liability rules imposed by Vic Roads.
http://www.rodshop.com.au/stub_axles/stub_axles.htm

would Ball joint risers come under that category ?

[Sam]

Hi Paul,
thanks for your response.

I agree with the torsion bar and rear spring upgrades.

You won't believe it, but I was also waiting for a set of second hand 27mm+ torsion bars!
My Son has a 75 and he too is also waiting for a set of second hand 27mm+ torsion bars!
I sure hope a lot of people out there want to get rid of their old 27mm Torsion Bars :-)

Given their popularity, I think the only way is to buy some new ones from Vin Sharp ... I'll see how I go.

My interest in the Knuckle Risers is because I notice Im getting a lot of understeer, especially compared to my 14yo Falcon!.  I would hope to get similar handling at the very least.

When I got the car, it already had Koni yellows on it which are  very harsh and don't really do much for the body roll.

Furthermore, I recently noticed a small crack in the engine bay, where the passenger side mudguard joins the chassis (in the engine compartment near where the bottom wishbones attach to the body)

I live on a very bumpy road and I think maybe the shocks are just too harsh and caused the metal fatigue .

So would like to go with new springs and with re-valved shockers to match.

I just need to save some money – and convince the boss (wife) that I really need to do this .... 
Sam

[Duk]

Sam, if you aren't doing so already, running a heap of extra caster will help with tight turn under steer at the expense of adding low speed steering weight. It's a good, free (if you are game enough to do it yourself, simply turn each adjuster the same amount  ) or nearly free (cost of a wheel alignment) change while you're doing the business negotiations  .

[Sam]

Hi Duk

thanks for the advice, I have a stack of things I want to try including your suggestions.
I'll see how I go over the next few weeks


Sam