Tires rubbing. New control arms?

[huwenfut]

I just changed rims on truck and I'm having a clearance problem. Tire size is 315/ 70. My tires touch my mud flaps when I turn. When I look at the truck from the side I notice the front tires aren't centered in the openings any more. I think I need longer control arms. The question is what ones should I buy? Adjustable or not. Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[GrantP]

Yep, longer arms will probably fix that. I'm running Carli's that are 1/2" longer with 37's and I have plenty of fender clearance but I'm also using stock wheels. Wheel offset and width has a lot to do with that clearance as you've figured out. There are literally tons of options out there for control arms on these trucks. Thuren is another option. There are lots of cheaper adjustable ones too that are all very similar.

 

[AEdelheit]

Best to go with a high quality fix length arm, they can only be about 1/2" longer then stock or you will have metal on metal contact when the suspension compresses so there is really no benefit to adjustable arms and there are more components to come loose and get out of adjustment.

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

There are a couple benifits to the adjustable ones though.. they donhave their place.. One, is if you are going to come back down to stock height at some point, or go higher.. Even with going higher, you'll typically see 1\2 as the max to lengthen..

Another cool feature would be the ones that you can adjust without removing like the Synergy arms.. my opinion on that is that you have more adjustability when dialing in your alignment.. When your alignment cams start to strip or are straight up siezed.. i would imagine you can just use the arm adjustment to dial it in.. i believe you also get better control over the caster adjustment as well.. you don't end up chasing the opposite sides or the flip side of each cam trying to get them all perfect.. Youd just get a couple able finders and possibly a tape measure & go with that on each side instead of the vauge cam markings.

However, the usually suspects are always a good choice as well.. Thuren.. Carli.. Metal Cloak.. Synergy.. DT has some high clearance ones like Thuren & Carli.. Different strokes for different folks ya know? Some use different style bushings which can have an affect on road feedback etc.. but I'm not sure this is that conversation.. were just trying to get your tires out of your fenders..

I will say though, wrong wheels will eff you every time though & you'll be cutting metal..

 

[AEdelheit]

There are a couple benifits to the adjustable ones though.. they donhave their place.. One, is if you are going to come back down to stock height at some point, or go higher.. Even with going higher, you'll typically see 1\2 as the max to lengthen..

Another cool feature would be the ones that you can adjust without removing like the Synergy arms.. my opinion on that is that you have more adjustability when dialing in your alignment.. When your alignment cams start to strip or are straight up siezed.. i would imagine you can just use the arm adjustment to dial it in.. i believe you also get better control over the caster adjustment as well.. you don't end up chasing the opposite sides or the flip side of each cam trying to get them all perfect.. Youd just get a couple able finders and possibly a tape measure & go with that on each side instead of the vauge cam markings.

However, the usually suspects are always a good choice as well.. Thuren.. Carli.. Metal Cloak.. Synergy.. DT has some high clearance ones like Thuren & Carli.. Different strokes for different folks ya know? Some use different style bushings which can have an affect on road feedback etc.. but I'm not sure this is that conversation.. were just trying to get your tires out of your fenders..

I will say though, wrong wheels will eff you every time though & you'll be cutting metal..

Few things to clarify here, you can use 1/2" longer at stock height and there is more then enough adjustment in the cams to adjust caster. I deal with these trucks alot and seen far more issues with adjustable parts then fixed due to adjusters coming loose but even more so is people adjusting parts that should not be adjusted. If you go over about 3-1/2" of lift then you should not be using short arms in the first place, they are at too step of an angle and just do not work well.

While I have seen some decent quality adjustable arms there is a good reason most the high end ones mentioned are fixed length.

 

[brods]

Few things to clarify here, you can use 1/2" longer at stock height and there is more then enough adjustment in the cams to adjust caster. I deal with these trucks alot and seen far more issues with adjustable parts then fixed due to adjusters coming loose but even more so is people adjusting parts that should not be adjusted. If you go over about 3-1/2" of lift then you should not be using short arms in the first place, they are at too step of an angle and just do not work well.

While I have seen some decent quality adjustable arms there is a good reason most the high end ones mentioned are fixed length.

My truck is rotting away and one of the scary aspects to it are the sheet metal control arms that allow crap to get inside and then rot from the inside out. It makes me very uncomfortable not knowing the level of corrosion inside the arms so I plan to replace them with aftermarket sealed arms. Clearly anything hollow with openings allowing dirt and water to get in are off the list. Adding to the confusion are the different bushing styles on the aftermarket arms. Do you have any recommendations for arms that are sealed to the elements and have long lasting ends that won't cost a fortune to rebuild the ends if ever wear out?

 

[AEdelheit]

My truck is rotting away and one of the scary aspects to it are the sheet metal control arms that allow crap to get inside and then rot from the inside out. It makes me very uncomfortable not knowing the level of corrosion inside the arms so I plan to replace them with aftermarket sealed arms. Clearly anything hollow with openings allowing dirt and water to get in are off the list. Adding to the confusion are the different bushing styles on the aftermarket arms. Do you have any recommendations for arms that are sealed to the elements and have long lasting ends that won't cost a fortune to rebuild the ends if ever wear out?

Carli, Thuren and Metalcloak come to mind, I know they all offer rebuild parts when the need arises!

 

[Ozymandias]

The updated OEM Arms are sealed too.
OEM Rubberbushing last longer then every aftermarket, thats why I'm back to OEM, no fun to rebuild the super-duper bushings every other oil change.

 

[brods]

The updated OEM Arms are sealed too.
OEM Rubberbushing last longer then every aftermarket, thats why I'm back to OEM, no fun to rebuild the super-duper bushings every other oil change.

Good to know, thanks. I'll have to check them out.

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

Few things to clarify here, you can use 1/2" longer at stock height and there is more then enough adjustment in the cams to adjust caster.

If you go over about 3-1/2" of lift then you should not be using short arms in the first place, they are at too step of an angle and just do not work well.

Ugggh.. i just lost my reply.. forgive me if I'm short with examples..

Anyhow..
I was not aware of being able to use them at stock height.. So... You say there is more than enough caster adjustment left to get the alignment where someone needs it.. i don't disagree.. However, by doing so on a stock truck, isn't that going to put someone further out towards one end of the caster spectrum?? I mean if they had to for whatever odd reason, roll the cams full tilt positive without tuning into the bumper?

What about in a scenario where
they are running an unconventional wheel setup & have the alignment dialed in where they want it but are getting raped by the front bumper, your not always going to want to use your castor as a means to move the axle back as it's going to mess your alignment up.

I'm not saying your advocating using the castor for that reason, im mearly stating an there's a few different issues can where a set of adjustables will be more use than a solid arm.

Now if we're talking about a perfect world where the person is running a tiny negative offset on a 9in wheel or a positive offsett, then yeah, everything should be just fine with a set of solids.. but not everyone wants or even likes a 9in wheel, ya know what i mean?

I'm just saying that there are benifits in certain situations to having adjustables.

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

My truck is rotting away and one of the scary aspects to it are the sheet metal control arms that allow crap to get inside and then rot from the inside out. It makes me very uncomfortable not knowing the level of corrosion inside the arms so I plan to replace them with aftermarket sealed arms. Clearly anything hollow with openings allowing dirt and water to get in are off the list. Adding to the confusion are the different bushing styles on the aftermarket arms. Do you have any recommendations for arms that are sealed to the elements and have long lasting ends that won't cost a fortune to rebuild the ends if ever wear out?

I think Metal Cloak & Synergy use similar bushings.. i swear I've read the same marketing phrases between on each of there pages..

Durometer? Metal Cloak really goes into detail with the stuff.. supposedly it absorbs road vibes better than your conventional style.

I have a set of adjustable Pure Performance arms.. what sux about those is they want you to buy they're special Rated NLGI grease that you can really only find through they're sister company Rock Crawler. I think Schaefer's had something close but I've never bought it.

 

[AEdelheit]

Ugggh.. i just lost my reply.. forgive me if I'm short with examples..

Anyhow..
I was not aware of being able to use them at stock height.. So... You say there is more than enough caster adjustment left to get the alignment where someone needs it.. i don't disagree.. However, by doing so on a stock truck, isn't that going to put someone further out towards one end of the caster spectrum?? I mean if they had to for whatever odd reason, roll the cams full tilt positive without tuning into the bumper?

What about in a scenario where
they are running an unconventional wheel setup & have the alignment dialed in where they want it but are getting raped by the front bumper, your not always going to want to use your castor as a means to move the axle back as it's going to mess your alignment up.

I'm not saying your advocating using the castor for that reason, im mearly stating an there's a few different issues can where a set of adjustables will be more use than a solid arm.

Now if we're talking about a perfect world where the person is running a tiny negative offset on a 9in wheel or a positive offsett, then yeah, everything should be just fine with a set of solids.. but not everyone wants or even likes a 9in wheel, ya know what i mean?

I'm just saying that there are benifits in certain situations to having adjustables.

The upper control arm locates the axle front to rear, the lower just determines caster. If you want longer arms for tire clearance from the rear fender then you need to address the track bar bracket hitting the coil and coil bucket as well as the track bar hitting the diff cover first. At full factory bump stop travel which most high quality 0-3" kits have there is very little room for the axle to move which is why the good fixed length arms are all similar length, about 1/2" over stock.

 

[AEdelheit]

The updated OEM Arms are sealed too.
OEM Rubberbushing last longer then every aftermarket, thats why I'm back to OEM, no fun to rebuild the super-duper bushings every other oil change.

Have you put every manufacturer of aftermarket arms on your truck to be so certain about how crappy they all are??? I am guessing not........

 

[Bob4x4]

The updated OEM Arms are sealed too.
OEM Rubberbushing last longer then every aftermarket, thats why I'm back to OEM, no fun to rebuild the super-duper bushings every other oil change.

I am going out on a limb here and say you are comparing oem bushings to aftermarket bushings all in stock arms not aftermarket high quality arms.

 

[Ozymandias]

Well it is MY Experience with Aftermarket Parts, everyone can decide this for himself, for ME i wont soend any money again in such things.
For a stock truck is a stock control arm the best for the money.
We do not talk about a baja racer or a rock crawler.