DIY SPC Front A Arm Install
#1
06-03-2011, 12:46 AM
DIY SPC Front A Arm Install
DIY SPC Front A Arm Install
Intro:
This is a DIY guide to install aftermarket SPC front A arms. This install applies to 2003-2007 year model G35 Coupes. It may be similar on other years and models but I’m not sure. The work seen here was done on a 2003 coupe with Skunk2 lowering springs which are rated at a 1.30-1.10 inch drop. The A arm, part number 72125, is made by Specialty Products Company. According to SPC, this arm allows you to adjust Camber -1.5 degrees to +3.5 degrees and Caster + or - 1.0 degree. Overall this job was very easy. I would say anyone with basic mechanical knowledge could perform this install. The whole thing took me a little under 2 hours. Additionally there are only a few basic tools needed to do the entire install.
Tool List:
½" drive breaker bar
½" drive Ratchet
3/8" drive Ratchet
3/8" drive 6” extension
17mm socket
14mm socket
12mm socket
Wire cutting pliers
Dead Blow mallet (Orange Hammer)
6mm Allen Wrench
17mm Wrench
14mm Wrench
Adjustable wrench (I used a 12 inch but could be a bit smaller)
Gear puller (Performance Pulley Puller Kragen part # W80653)
Link for puller:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0714&ppt=C0374
Tool List Notes: Some of these tools are not required. The ½ inch breaker bar and ratchet just make loosening bolts less difficult. The mallet makes taking some things apart easier. Shown in the picture are some ratcheting wrenches for speedy work. I would have all of these tools on hand at a minimum if you want to get the job done quickly and with the least amount of effort. The gear puller IS required. This will be used to remove the ball joint seat that is pressed onto the stud on the A arm. I found one at Kragen for about $25 bucks. It works perfectly and I would recommend this exact part.
Stock A Arm removal:
1.) Lift the car and remove the wheels. It helps to loosen all the lug nuts on the wheels before you lift the car.
2.) Remove the cotter pin from the A arm ball joint stud. Use the wire cutting pliers to do this. After the pin is removed, loosen the 17mm nut holding the ball joint stud to the steering knuckle. The A arm should separate after loosening the nut.
Before I go into the next step I will explain why it is necessary. In my case, the lowering springs on my car will not allow enough clearance for the upper bolts holding the A arm in place to be removed. In short, the A arm bolts that attach it to the body are too long, and hit the spring when you try to take them out as you can see in the picture:
There are a couple ways around this. The first way is using a spring compressor to compress the spring while on the car. This allows you to draw the spring down far enough to let the bolts to clear. This option is outlined here: https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...tallation.html. I choose to go with what I thought was a simpler option. I removed the bolts securing the top and bottom of the strut which allows it to be shifted a few inches out of the way. You also have to remove the stabilizer bar end link from the lower control arm to enable the strut enough movement. By removing A total of 5 bolts, my clearance issue was solved. It took 5 minutes to loosen all 5 bolts verses the time it would have taken me to compress the coil spring, and then work around both the spring and compressor. Not to mention, you don’t have to go rent a spring compressor as most people probably do not own one.
3.) Remove the lower 17mm strut bolt. Hold the bolt with a wrench while you loosen the nut. Then remove the 17mm nut holding the sway bar link to the lower control arm. Use a wrench to loosen this while holding the center stud with a 6mm allen wrench.
4.) Loosen the 3 12mm upper strut tower bolts. The strut will be loose at this point. Give it a tug and it will come down out of the way of the 2 A arm bolts securing the A arm to the car’s body.
5.) Loosen the 2 14mm bolts that secure the A arm to the car. Pull the bolts out now that the strut is out of the way. When the bolts are out, give the A arm a tug and it will come off. You have completed the removal process.
6.) Once the A arm is off of the car, you have to remove the ball joint seat. It will be the cone shaped black piece on the end of the A arm located around the ball joint stud. Use the puller to get the seat off of the stud. I used a large adjustable wrench to hold the puller body while I turned the puller screw with a wrench. It popped right off in less than a minute.
Installation:
1.) Set the caster angle on the SPC A arm. Do this by moving the position of the ball joint in the slotted nut which seats in the new arm. The instruction sheet will show how to reference the clocking of the ball joint for the desired caster angle. I set mine to zero as seen in the picture. I performed this for both sides prior to installing the arms.
2.) Install the new A arm. Maneuver the arm back into place and insert the bolts which secure it to the car. Screw the bolts down flush but DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM YET. At this time, you can also adjust the camber to your desired setting. I just took a guess since I was going to have the car aligned immediately after the install. You can also wait until after everything is put back together and the wheel is on to make the final camber adjustment.
3.) Position the strut back where all the bolt holes line up. This may take some patience. I recommend tapping it back into place with the dead blow hammer. It may seem difficult to get back into place but it will go. I used my ½ inch breaker bar to pry on the bottom a little also. Once all the holes are lined up and the studs are through the strut tower holes at the top, insert the nuts on top and bolts on bottom and tighten them all down.
4.) Position the sway bar link through the lower control arm and tighten it the same fashion it was removed.
5.) Place the ball joint seat you removed from the old A arm back into the top of the steering knuckle. Move the SPC arm so that the ball joint stud goes back through the steering knuckle. Install the new castle nut and washer onto the new stud. Tighten the 17mm nut and insert the new cotter pin. Bend the pin to secure the castle nut.
6.) Take a jack and place it directly under the lower ball joint. Jack up on the control arm until the vehicle’s suspension is at normal ride height and is supporting the full weight of the vehicle. Tighten the 2 14mm bolts which hold the A arm to the body of the car. The reason for this is so that the A arm inner bushings are not stretched and damaged. You want the bushings tightened at the point where they will normally rest, which should be normal vehicle ride height.
7.) Reinstall your wheels and torque to spec.
Alignment Results:
These arms WILL get you back into factory specs at almost a 1.5 inch drop. As you can see on my sheet, I had the alignment tech adjust -1 degree of negative camber into each wheel for slightly improved handling at the expense of little extra tire wear. However, the tech said that I had plenty of positive camber adjustment left to bring the camber well within factory specifications.
My 2 cents:
This product so far is everything it has promised to be. It was very easy to install. The fit was so good that I couldn’t tell it wasn’t a factory part. The price was fair and the money this part will save me in tires alone will pay for itself. I wanted to address the knocking issue. Many people have said these arms knock. I have found at my ride height this is completely false. I have pushed my car hard in corners and have tried to make these arms knock over some nasty bumps without any luck. My conclusion is that users who have experienced knocking with this product must be dropped near 1.75 inches or lower. Although this probably varies from car to car, I think it is safe to say anything dropped under 1.5 inches is safe from knocking with the SPC arm. I would highly recommend this part to anyone. A how to install video can be found here on SPC’s website. http://www.spc-tv.com/install/sports-car/78-72125.html as well as other specification information. I have a how-to similar to this for the rear SPC kit that can be seen here: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-cou...ml#post5933649 I Hope everyone finds this helpful. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions you may have and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability. Additionally if there is something I missed or that can be done an easier or a better way, please let me know and I will update or fix this guide.
Finished Product:
Intro:
This is a DIY guide to install aftermarket SPC front A arms. This install applies to 2003-2007 year model G35 Coupes. It may be similar on other years and models but I’m not sure. The work seen here was done on a 2003 coupe with Skunk2 lowering springs which are rated at a 1.30-1.10 inch drop. The A arm, part number 72125, is made by Specialty Products Company. According to SPC, this arm allows you to adjust Camber -1.5 degrees to +3.5 degrees and Caster + or - 1.0 degree. Overall this job was very easy. I would say anyone with basic mechanical knowledge could perform this install. The whole thing took me a little under 2 hours. Additionally there are only a few basic tools needed to do the entire install.
Tool List:
½" drive breaker bar
½" drive Ratchet
3/8" drive Ratchet
3/8" drive 6” extension
17mm socket
14mm socket
12mm socket
Wire cutting pliers
Dead Blow mallet (Orange Hammer)
6mm Allen Wrench
17mm Wrench
14mm Wrench
Adjustable wrench (I used a 12 inch but could be a bit smaller)
Gear puller (Performance Pulley Puller Kragen part # W80653)
Link for puller:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0714&ppt=C0374
Tool List Notes: Some of these tools are not required. The ½ inch breaker bar and ratchet just make loosening bolts less difficult. The mallet makes taking some things apart easier. Shown in the picture are some ratcheting wrenches for speedy work. I would have all of these tools on hand at a minimum if you want to get the job done quickly and with the least amount of effort. The gear puller IS required. This will be used to remove the ball joint seat that is pressed onto the stud on the A arm. I found one at Kragen for about $25 bucks. It works perfectly and I would recommend this exact part.
Stock A Arm removal:
1.) Lift the car and remove the wheels. It helps to loosen all the lug nuts on the wheels before you lift the car.
2.) Remove the cotter pin from the A arm ball joint stud. Use the wire cutting pliers to do this. After the pin is removed, loosen the 17mm nut holding the ball joint stud to the steering knuckle. The A arm should separate after loosening the nut.
Before I go into the next step I will explain why it is necessary. In my case, the lowering springs on my car will not allow enough clearance for the upper bolts holding the A arm in place to be removed. In short, the A arm bolts that attach it to the body are too long, and hit the spring when you try to take them out as you can see in the picture:
There are a couple ways around this. The first way is using a spring compressor to compress the spring while on the car. This allows you to draw the spring down far enough to let the bolts to clear. This option is outlined here: https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...tallation.html. I choose to go with what I thought was a simpler option. I removed the bolts securing the top and bottom of the strut which allows it to be shifted a few inches out of the way. You also have to remove the stabilizer bar end link from the lower control arm to enable the strut enough movement. By removing A total of 5 bolts, my clearance issue was solved. It took 5 minutes to loosen all 5 bolts verses the time it would have taken me to compress the coil spring, and then work around both the spring and compressor. Not to mention, you don’t have to go rent a spring compressor as most people probably do not own one.
3.) Remove the lower 17mm strut bolt. Hold the bolt with a wrench while you loosen the nut. Then remove the 17mm nut holding the sway bar link to the lower control arm. Use a wrench to loosen this while holding the center stud with a 6mm allen wrench.
4.) Loosen the 3 12mm upper strut tower bolts. The strut will be loose at this point. Give it a tug and it will come down out of the way of the 2 A arm bolts securing the A arm to the car’s body.
5.) Loosen the 2 14mm bolts that secure the A arm to the car. Pull the bolts out now that the strut is out of the way. When the bolts are out, give the A arm a tug and it will come off. You have completed the removal process.
6.) Once the A arm is off of the car, you have to remove the ball joint seat. It will be the cone shaped black piece on the end of the A arm located around the ball joint stud. Use the puller to get the seat off of the stud. I used a large adjustable wrench to hold the puller body while I turned the puller screw with a wrench. It popped right off in less than a minute.
Installation:
1.) Set the caster angle on the SPC A arm. Do this by moving the position of the ball joint in the slotted nut which seats in the new arm. The instruction sheet will show how to reference the clocking of the ball joint for the desired caster angle. I set mine to zero as seen in the picture. I performed this for both sides prior to installing the arms.
2.) Install the new A arm. Maneuver the arm back into place and insert the bolts which secure it to the car. Screw the bolts down flush but DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM YET. At this time, you can also adjust the camber to your desired setting. I just took a guess since I was going to have the car aligned immediately after the install. You can also wait until after everything is put back together and the wheel is on to make the final camber adjustment.
3.) Position the strut back where all the bolt holes line up. This may take some patience. I recommend tapping it back into place with the dead blow hammer. It may seem difficult to get back into place but it will go. I used my ½ inch breaker bar to pry on the bottom a little also. Once all the holes are lined up and the studs are through the strut tower holes at the top, insert the nuts on top and bolts on bottom and tighten them all down.
4.) Position the sway bar link through the lower control arm and tighten it the same fashion it was removed.
5.) Place the ball joint seat you removed from the old A arm back into the top of the steering knuckle. Move the SPC arm so that the ball joint stud goes back through the steering knuckle. Install the new castle nut and washer onto the new stud. Tighten the 17mm nut and insert the new cotter pin. Bend the pin to secure the castle nut.
6.) Take a jack and place it directly under the lower ball joint. Jack up on the control arm until the vehicle’s suspension is at normal ride height and is supporting the full weight of the vehicle. Tighten the 2 14mm bolts which hold the A arm to the body of the car. The reason for this is so that the A arm inner bushings are not stretched and damaged. You want the bushings tightened at the point where they will normally rest, which should be normal vehicle ride height.
7.) Reinstall your wheels and torque to spec.
Alignment Results:
These arms WILL get you back into factory specs at almost a 1.5 inch drop. As you can see on my sheet, I had the alignment tech adjust -1 degree of negative camber into each wheel for slightly improved handling at the expense of little extra tire wear. However, the tech said that I had plenty of positive camber adjustment left to bring the camber well within factory specifications.
My 2 cents:
This product so far is everything it has promised to be. It was very easy to install. The fit was so good that I couldn’t tell it wasn’t a factory part. The price was fair and the money this part will save me in tires alone will pay for itself. I wanted to address the knocking issue. Many people have said these arms knock. I have found at my ride height this is completely false. I have pushed my car hard in corners and have tried to make these arms knock over some nasty bumps without any luck. My conclusion is that users who have experienced knocking with this product must be dropped near 1.75 inches or lower. Although this probably varies from car to car, I think it is safe to say anything dropped under 1.5 inches is safe from knocking with the SPC arm. I would highly recommend this part to anyone. A how to install video can be found here on SPC’s website. http://www.spc-tv.com/install/sports-car/78-72125.html as well as other specification information. I have a how-to similar to this for the rear SPC kit that can be seen here: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-cou...ml#post5933649 I Hope everyone finds this helpful. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions you may have and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability. Additionally if there is something I missed or that can be done an easier or a better way, please let me know and I will update or fix this guide.
Finished Product:
Last edited by Silver tiburon; 06-11-2011 at 06:39 PM.
#4
06-03-2011, 03:45 AM
#5
06-03-2011, 07:13 AM
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G35 sedan w/ too much money in mods
OP great job, but you left out the hardest part of the SPC arm install, the shims and ABS sensor relocate bracket. This part of the process is what gives most DIYers the most trouble. did you not use the shims??
#6
06-03-2011, 04:59 PM
#7
06-03-2011, 06:57 PM
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#8
06-03-2011, 09:41 PM
Lol. OK thanks. I'll see what I can do about that.
I agree that the shims are the most difficult part of the install. I did not install the shims because I was able to get my camber back into spec without them. Although I didn't include it in my write up, the video on SPC's website does a pretty good job explaining how to install them.
There's already a thread stickied with this information. https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-...tallation.html
OP great job, but you left out the hardest part of the SPC arm install, the shims and ABS sensor relocate bracket. This part of the process is what gives most DIYers the most trouble. did you not use the shims??
OP great job, but you left out the hardest part of the SPC arm install, the shims and ABS sensor relocate bracket. This part of the process is what gives most DIYers the most trouble. did you not use the shims??
Last edited by Silver tiburon; 06-03-2011 at 09:55 PM.
#9
06-03-2011, 10:03 PM
#10
06-12-2011, 07:57 PM
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