Best adjustable POLY UCA?

[BMR Tech]

The only way I have been able to eliminate driveline vibration completely and at all speeds is to set the driveline angles up at "net zero". I've tested this up to 187mph.

Correct me if I am wrong here but if the trans tail flange is not parallel to the crankshaft something is not right???

Interesting, what type of bushings are you using? What are your rear spring rates? What type of angle finder are you using? Is the car on a drive-on lift, or jackstands? I would never say that is not possible, as I have seen weirder things happen, but it definitely is not common.

This. I'm still trying to figure out why you're bolting all these high-end performance parts onto a car that is "99% street-driven." You're never going to even get close to driving the car hard enough to see the difference all those parts can make.

I recommend quite a few people to keep the stock upper stuff.

Now, if someone's car is lowered, I absolutely recommend an adjustable UCA. It is not good on the pinion parts. You may have "luck" for 50K miles, but it still is not good to have the drivetrain angle off.

 

[sheizasosay]

You may have "luck" for 50K miles, but it still is not good to have the drivetrain angle off.

If I had "luck" for 50k miles I would feel blessed by little 7lb 8oz baby Jesus.

 

[908ssp]

gmitch, I am not on the same page as you when it pertains to pinion angle, and actually; neither is the roddingroundtable.

It is 100% fact that, even with rod-ends, the rear end will articulate under load.

My question to anyone who thinks you should set pinion angle at 0 is, would you rather have drivetrain bind pulling into a Sonic Drive-In.....or would you rather have bind while accelerating under full power for a 1/4 mile, or on a road course?

-2 may be a little much, but is a great starting point. Fortunately, we have done testing over the years to validate the common theory about pinion angles. If you don't use some sort of device to actually monitor the drivetrain angles while driving the car, you are simply guessing, which commonly leads to leaky pinions, bad seals, and noisy bearings.

The goal is very simple. You want the pinion and the crankshaft on the same plane under acceleration. I adjust my pinion angle off the back of the crank.

I think this is old hot rod tech and no longer current. Amazing how some of this old stuff lingers on. With modern after market upper and lower control arms deflection on street tires is probably nil so having the drive flange and driven flange parallel is where you want to be. But this is really only important with old fashion double universal jointed drive shaft. The newer and better shafts with the CV at one end don't need to be aligned any different than stock. Setting it up to be perfect for 1/4 mile and slicks and driving around with constant vibration on street tires is a pretty poor solution.

 

[BMR Tech]

I think this is old hot rod tech and no longer current. Amazing how some of this old stuff lingers on. With modern after market upper and lower control arms deflection on street tires is probably nil so having the drive flange and driven flange parallel is where you want to be. But this is really only important with old fashion double universal jointed drive shaft. The newer and better shafts with the CV at one end don't need to be aligned any different than stock. Setting it up to be perfect for 1/4 mile and slicks and driving around with constant vibration on street tires is a pretty poor solution.

How many UCA do you sell a year due to people who lower their cars and suddenly get drivetrain/diff noises?

I don't want to argue, and agree 100% about CV's in todays world, but I can't help but share the info that I deal with every week-day of the year.

If someone wants to drop their car substantially, and not address the geometry change...that is fine! Those are the ones who I get calls from, the most.

 

[BMR Tech]

908ssp, so are you calling gmitch a liar?

Why does his car have vibrations at any other setting than 0 degrees?

 

[Sky Render]

I recommend quite a few people to keep the stock upper stuff.

Now, if someone's car is lowered, I absolutely recommend an adjustable UCA. It is not good on the pinion parts. You may have "luck" for 50K miles, but it still is not good to have the drivetrain angle off.

What do you considered "lowered"? My car is slightly lower than stock with Steeda Ultralite springs, which lower the rear of the car by just over an inch. Do you feel I should adjust the upper control arm angle or install a one-piece driveshaft with CV joints? Or do you think that the change in inclination by such a relatively small amount of lowering is insignificant?

 

[BMR Tech]

What do you considered "lowered"? My car is slightly lower than stock with Steeda Ultralite springs, which lower the rear of the car by just over an inch. Do you feel I should adjust the upper control arm angle or install a one-piece driveshaft with CV joints? Or do you think that the change in inclination by such a relatively small amount of lowering is insignificant?

I have seen MANY cars that are lowered from the factory, less than 1" in the rear, develop leaks from the rear-end and make louder than normal noises than they should. Said cars happen to be VERY expensive. That being said, I usually tell my customers to install an adjustable UCA if they lower the rear 3/4" or more. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to help the customer out, which also "covers my ass"

Example:

ME: So to complete your order, I have an adjustable UCA, LCA and relocation brackets. Have a good day

Customer 1 week later: Hey Kelly, I installed the UCA and now have a clunk.

ME: Oh...I should have recommended the UCM so you dont have the clunk

Customer: You suck, now I have to pay double the cost for labor because you didnt recommend that part when on the phone.

This happens when lowering too. It just happened last week. I had a customer lower his 2013 GT with 800 miles on it, with our springs. It lowered it 1.21" out back, and he called mad because the car made "intense" noise on the hwy at 80mph.... I sold him the UCA/Mount and he called me back this morning to tell me it was now perfect.

And, this is why I am typing in this thread.

 

[fun4me]

I’ve been running the Metco and LOVE IT! ZERO bind and I left the stock bushing in the rear end housing so I have zero NVH. You can also get any angle you want out of it.

On the subject of angle you may want to do some research on that. -2deg is not what you want to be running on anything short of a full blown drag car with tons of power and traction. For a street/track car you want to set the angles up so the trans and rear end flanges are perfectly parallel at ride height. On these cars that ends up being somewhere about -1.5deg coming off the trans and +1.5deg off the rear end.

Read this:

http://www.roddingroundtable.com/tech/articles/driveline.html

Gmitch,
What year mustang are you using the metco w/? On the pictures of the metco, it doesn't look like there is wide range of adjustment. Did you have any problems dialing in your pinion angle w/ it? How many turns does it usually take to get the correct angle w/ a 1.5" drop.

 

[fun4me]

BTW, I'm buying expensive parts because the car doesn't leave the factory w/ them installed.
I want my car to put down all the power it has available, safely. I don't think I'm doing anything special by puting on wider tires, lowering springs w/ dampers, and correcting pinion angle, centering the rear and adjusting sway bar rate. Even on a daily driven car.
I appreciate everyone who posts their opinion, whatever it may be.

 

[BMR Tech]

I have assisted many people with the Metco UCA. There is plenty of adjustment there, for pretty much any realistic ride height combo.

 

[fun4me]

I have assisted many people with the Metco UCA. There is plenty of adjustment there, for pretty much any realistic ride height combo.

Even on +11 cars? I guess they didnt want to change a good design, so they just modified the mount. Do you think thats a drawback, since ford went w/ a longer UCA to supposedly mitigate brake hop.

 

[fdjizm]

I may be trying out an adjustable UCA I have this nasty vibration that starts at 80mph in 4th gear, thinking my oem uca may be shit or something. It's not the driveshaft, even tryed a stock one, same deal. My bumpstops are also leaning towards the rear of the car by a few degrees, they used to be inline with where the bumstop points to the frame.

 

[BMR Tech]

I do apologize, I am not 100% of the 2011+ stuff.

Whenever people mention anything about having a 2005-2010 style arm on a 2011+, I simply tell them to call the manufacturer, or let me know when they have put the proper parts on the car.

I am not sure. May want to call them.

 

[BMR Tech]

I may be trying out an adjustable UCA I have this nasty vibration that starts at 80mph in 4th gear, thinking my oem uca may be shit or something.

Check your diff bushing.

If you do not have any bad bushings or parts, I would be curious to see A: if the adjustable UCA helps your situation and B: what your hard parts look like inside the housing.

 

[Sky Render]

I have seen MANY cars that are lowered from the factory, less than 1" in the rear, develop leaks from the rear-end and make louder than normal noises than they should. Said cars happen to be VERY expensive. That being said, I usually tell my customers to install an adjustable UCA if they lower the rear 3/4" or more. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to help the customer out, which also "covers my ass"

Example:

ME: So to complete your order, I have an adjustable UCA, LCA and relocation brackets. Have a good day

Customer 1 week later: Hey Kelly, I installed the UCA and now have a clunk.

ME: Oh...I should have recommended the UCM so you dont have the clunk

Customer: You suck, now I have to pay double the cost for labor because you didnt recommend that part when on the phone.

This happens when lowering too. It just happened last week. I had a customer lower his 2013 GT with 800 miles on it, with our springs. It lowered it 1.21" out back, and he called mad because the car made "intense" noise on the hwy at 80mph.... I sold him the UCA/Mount and he called me back this morning to tell me it was now perfect.

And, this is why I am typing in this thread.

Hrm, I've got zero rear end noises, clunks, or leaking (other than from the axle vent tube, which is a known issue). Maybe I'm just lucky?

 

[BMR Tech]

You may end up being lucky for 50K miles.

 

[fdjizm]

Check your diff bushing.

If you do not have any bad bushings or parts, I would be curious to see A: if the adjustable UCA helps your situation and B: what your hard parts look like inside the housing.

I never notice the bumpstops off center before. but they are leaning back now could this mean my diff bushing is damaged? I'll see if I can record the vibration, the whole car buzzes after 80mph in 4th.

 

[BMR Tech]

They sit a little off-center.

May need to just pull the arms off and check all of the bushings thoroughly.

 

[OkieSnuffBox]

This. I'm still trying to figure out why you're bolting all these high-end performance parts onto a car that is "99% street-driven." You're never going to even get close to driving the car hard enough to see the difference all those parts can make.

Thank you for better articulating the point I was getting at.

I've never understood doing all this stuff to a street car that isn't going to see the track.

 

[fun4me]

BTW, I'm buying expensive parts because the car doesn't leave the factory w/ them installed.
I want my car to put down all the power it has available, safely. I don't think I'm doing anything special by puting on wider tires, lowering springs w/ dampers, and correcting pinion angle, centering the rear and adjusting sway bar rate. Even on a daily driven car.
I appreciate everyone who posts their opinion, whatever it may be.

^^^