New style rear control arms that will offer better and smoother articulation
- Thread starter LandCruiserPhil
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Glad to help
My only comment on rear trailing arms (I'm assuming the LHD vehicles use the exact same ones as RHD) is that while poly bushes are really nice in terms of how they appear, they aren't in any way compressible/flexible like rubber ones, so any/all articulation due to road surface variations transmits direct to the chassis instead of being 'absorbed' to the flex/resistance that the rubber bush design offers. I'm about to get rid of super-pro poly bushes from my 80's rear trailing arms and re-fit original rubber ones.
Pretty much everyone is aware of how poly bushes are bad for front radius arms (basically for the same reasons).
But if there any sort of new joint type which has the simple ruggedness that rubber provides, give it a go and report back after enough real-world use to show it has proper commercial viability.
Pretty much everyone is aware of how poly bushes are bad for front radius arms (basically for the same reasons).
But if there any sort of new joint type which has the simple ruggedness that rubber provides, give it a go and report back after enough real-world use to show it has proper commercial viability.
Please indulge me if this is a naive question.
Why is it necessary or desirable to have an altered length lower control arm on a lifted 80?
Don't those big ol' 37" tires swing back up and stuff into the same ol' fender?
And - don't both the front and rear fender edges barely clear, with a stock length LCA?
Yes they do and will require trimming the aft lower fender well no matter what so why not maintain or exceed the factory wheel base and cut a lil’ bit more.
Perhaps I'm not the one to argue these fine points, as I have not yet mounted 37" tires, but based on what I've read here...
Some LX450 folks are keeping the stock fender flairs, with just a bit of aft flair edge trimming, no metal trim, and 37s.
Very close to rubbing metal on the aft edge, true, but apparently not in actual conflict. So they say.
No margin for error, and choice of tires is sure to matter, but still, just barely OK is still OK, right?
My understanding - this is based on heavy re-sleaved LCA at stock length.
And - does less than 1% wheel base reduction really matter enough to need fixing? What does it effect?
Some LX450 folks are keeping the stock fender flairs, with just a bit of aft flair edge trimming, no metal trim, and 37s.
Very close to rubbing metal on the aft edge, true, but apparently not in actual conflict. So they say.
No margin for error, and choice of tires is sure to matter, but still, just barely OK is still OK, right?
My understanding - this is based on heavy re-sleaved LCA at stock length.
And - does less than 1% wheel base reduction really matter enough to need fixing? What does it effect?
I currently still have stock lower control arms & have 37s stuffed in the fenders just fine, NO cutting, just a hammer massage & no driveline vibration. The low price point of these none adjustable control arms are what drew me to them. The only thing is the rubber quality on these??? How long will they last? Time will tell.
How long is a piece of string? How elastomeric is a piece of Japanese rubber sandwiched between two steel sleeves? OEM designs are a compromise between absolute performance and cost-effectivity of manufacturing. I don't know if manufacturers ever consider long-term servicability outside of a 'standard design life' of about 20 years when it comes to conceiving how to design and make parts and systems.
Remember that when a vehicle is actually in active production the costs are ultra-low if you were to take a single item (such as a rear trailing arm upper or lower bush) and come up with a figure for it's cost-price to Toyota.
These bushes sell for around US $20 to $25 through Partsouq, or about double that in A$ through Amayama, and that's today, in 2019.
Very few if any of us have access to enough information to find out if a new OEM trailing arm bush was manufactured this year, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago. But you can bet that if/when Toyota orders new runs of 'consumable' parts, they are doing it in such volume that the price at-cost to Toyota is still incredibly low. And perhaps only a handful of times during the projected 'active support' life cycle of the vehicle. And it might not even be Toyota 'proper' - it could be a subsidiary business that solely looks after continuing supply of parts with enough demand to be justifiably kept supplied as OEM product.
Then, as we see a lot now, parts begin to disappear out of OEM stocks never to return.
Remember that when a vehicle is actually in active production the costs are ultra-low if you were to take a single item (such as a rear trailing arm upper or lower bush) and come up with a figure for it's cost-price to Toyota.
These bushes sell for around US $20 to $25 through Partsouq, or about double that in A$ through Amayama, and that's today, in 2019.
Very few if any of us have access to enough information to find out if a new OEM trailing arm bush was manufactured this year, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago. But you can bet that if/when Toyota orders new runs of 'consumable' parts, they are doing it in such volume that the price at-cost to Toyota is still incredibly low. And perhaps only a handful of times during the projected 'active support' life cycle of the vehicle. And it might not even be Toyota 'proper' - it could be a subsidiary business that solely looks after continuing supply of parts with enough demand to be justifiably kept supplied as OEM product.
Then, as we see a lot now, parts begin to disappear out of OEM stocks never to return.
Last edited:
Thread resurrection.
How did the spc lower arms turn out for u?
Great, still have them on the rig.
I did have my buddy weld on some 1" angle iron on the bottom, so they wont bend on a rock. See posts fall of 2020.
IMHO the best reason to keep the stock arm length is it's easier to find a replacement if you need it out on the trail. and easier to find a trail spare.
My Metal Tech rear arms are made of .290 wall DOM. They have taken a beating for several years now so I don’t expect a problem. Besides this, being adjustable, the length of any temp replacement arm can be matched.
If you use factory rear arms the quality of the bushes is that of genuine toyota. Do *NOT* ever use poly bushes for those! Or the front arms, or panhards, or swaybars.
Last edited:
