QA1 Torque Arm - Any reviews? - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

The_Bishop · 04-04-2016, 03:58 PM

Looking to swap out the adjustable torque arm on my car for a non-adjustable one. Don't need the adjustability, want to increase the undercar clearance and reduce unsprung weight.

Summit has the QA1 torque arm for $189, which is significantly cheaper than any of the other options. Anyone ever run one of these? Pros/Cons?

KirkEvil · 04-05-2016, 08:30 AM

What TA do you have on there now?

The_Bishop · 04-05-2016, 01:04 PM

Looks like it's an older UMI adjustable, was on the car when I got it. Nothing wrong with it aside from the fact that it hits the bottom of the car on hard bumps due to the car being lowered.

I really don't need the adjustability and I'd like to simplify things/lighten up the unsprung weight.

KirkEvil · 04-05-2016, 09:49 PM

I dont have any experience with the QA1 but I dont think its worth changing yours and I think the adjustability is more important since you're lowered. Work the underbody and get the clearance needed to allow the torque arm and suspension to work correctly if it is hitting.

Not sure of your rear combo, but I had to massage the underbody bucket seats and cut the TA mount to clear with an S60. It was completely worth it to get rid of the banging plus the pinion angle only needed adjustment once after that and my 60' improved both in time and stability.

The_Bishop · 04-06-2016, 11:37 AM

Honestly, I'm not too keen on the idea of beating the hell out of the floorpan with a sledgehammer to make clearance for the torque arm mount. Rear is a standard 10 bolt.

I set the pinion angle when I got the car as it was wrong and never touched it again. It's somewhere around -1 degree.

The car is driven 99.9% of the time on the street. In fact, lately it's been spending *far* too much time sitting in the garage and going nowhere... To the point that I've gone down there, looked at it, and asked myself: "Do I really need to keep this car?"

With that in mind, if I decide to part ways with it it'll be far easier to do so if there's no knocking and banging from the suspension hitting the floorboard. Also, I'm OCD about noises and it drives me nuts on the rare occasions that I do drive the car.

Also, I can sell the adjustable one and recoup some of the expense of swapping them.

On top of that, the QA1 just arrived. Looks good, should provide as much, if not more clearance than the factory arm does.

sweetbmxrider · 04-06-2016, 01:22 PM

Does the current torque arm use 2 different mounting holes? If so, the first set of holes kick the arm too far over especially with an aftermarket rear. I'm sure its close with a 10 bolt too. If the qa1 solves that mounting issues,

The_Bishop · 04-06-2016, 04:50 PM

Yeah, the mount has two sets of holes on the adjustable one, but the only ones at fit are the outers... The inners are nowhere close.

The QA1 one mounts like the stock one, so it should tuck in a lot closer. It's noticeably lighter, too. Should be able to get on the install tomorrow.

sweetbmxrider · 04-07-2016, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Bishop

Yeah, the mount has two sets of holes on the adjustable one, but the only ones at fit are the outers... The inners are nowhere close.

The QA1 one mounts like the stock one, so it should tuck in a lot closer. It's noticeably lighter, too. Should be able to get on the install tomorrow.

Nice. Kirk had cut the outer holes off so the inners would then reach and it eliminated his banging. Take some pics of the new one installed.

Paul Huryk · 04-07-2016, 07:53 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't QA1 purchase the suspension catalog of Edelbrock and now sell the parts under their own name?

The_Bishop · 04-07-2016, 08:36 AM

Yes, they did.
http://www.qa1.net/about/news/qa1-ac...uspension-line

//<86TA>\\ · 04-07-2016, 10:39 AM

So they sell the old edelbrock arm? That thing was pretty cheesy, why not just use a stock one?

The_Bishop · 04-07-2016, 12:08 PM

It's still stronger than the stock one, it has a slight pinion angle improvement, and I didn't have a stock one?

A couple of images:

First, the damage done to the tunnel from the old torque arm:

It wasn't only hitting in the back, by the pinion (the creases) it was also rubbing the tunnel. Wouldn't be an issue if the car wasn't lowered.

A comparison pic of the two, adjustable one is an older UMI piece:

Now, there's tons of room:

It mounts much closer to the differential:

Thankfully, I didn't have to change the front bushing as I already had a polyurethane one in there. That means I have a shiny new one to go with the adjustable arm when I sell it.

LTb1ow · 04-07-2016, 04:53 PM

Images are not working for me?

The_Bishop · 04-07-2016, 05:06 PM

Fark. I was worried about that. Need image hosting, thought Google Images would work.

Images are here for now:
https://goo.gl/photos/k92jfJdRk2XsGVsr9

V · 04-07-2016, 08:15 PM

Pics worked fine for me before

sweetbmxrider · 04-08-2016, 06:18 AM

The dent I see looks like the dent they all get from bottoming out. Cutting off the holes to pull the arm closer to the rear should remedy this. Let it go long enough, you get a window

The_Bishop · 04-08-2016, 07:03 AM

Window? Don't you mean trap door?!

I thought about cutting and grinding to use the second set of holes, but decided I'd leave it alone. If I modify it and it doesn't work out, I ruined it. If I replaced it, I can sell it and recoup a chunk of the replacement cost.

The new arm is a lot lighter, especially at the axle end which should, in theory, help handling by reducing unsprung weight.

The test drive today should make clear whether I wasted my time or not. At least I know it won't hit anything now!

sweetbmxrider · 04-08-2016, 09:40 AM

Yeah I understand in your case, this is the best option. I meant more as an informative post on dealing with aftermarket torque arms.

The_Bishop · 04-08-2016, 09:50 AM

Ah, ok. Understood.

Well, after a 30+ mile test drive that included windy mountain roads, some bumpy local roads, and some highway... I'm happy. No more rubbing, banging, etc. The rear definitely seems to react to bumps better which I'm attributing to the weight difference at the axle end. An 'acceleration test' revealed no wheelhop and as far as I can tell on street tires, it's grabbing the same.

Now to clean up the adjustable arm and put it up for sale...

sweetbmxrider · 04-08-2016, 10:00 AM

That's great! Your pics of Barney on the windy mountain roads aren't showing up for me?

The_Bishop · 04-09-2016, 11:48 AM

That's because it's hard to enjoy said winding roads from behind the wheel and take pics simultaneously. When I figure out how, will advise.

Also, f*** this weather.

sweetbmxrider · 04-09-2016, 06:14 PM

gopro! and 100% agree. This weather is stupid.

The_Bishop · 07-19-2016, 08:43 AM

So I'd like to post a followup to this:

No issues whatsoever. Still no noise, traction on street tires seems to be unchanged from the adjustable one. Was under the car checking the arm, nothing looks out of place and the bolts are still nice and tight.

Jersey Mike · 07-19-2016, 11:37 AM

I'm going to need you to go to the track & report back. IIRC, you 60'd fairly well for your setup. I'm curious where you're at now with the nonadjustable QA1/Edelbrock.

The_Bishop · 07-19-2016, 09:29 PM

It *should* be the same, as the pinion angles are virtually identical. Need some new(er) drag radials, though. Mine are old enough to legally drink.