Aftermarket Upper Control Arms

IronVilkas · February 12, 2020

Hey all, I just purchased an Eibach Pro truck kit with springs for my 2017 . So I will be leveling out my truck to at least 2.5inches. I am wanting to get some UCAs to go with it and do it all in one go and have the angles in check.

I am looking at:

Freedom Offroad

Kryptonite

Cognito

I really like the Kryptonite/Cognito since they use the bolt in balljoint.

I want to stick with regular balljoints instead of the uniballs and something ~500 bucks or under. Any other brands I should look at? Currently Im not sure what type of gm UCAs I have. Is there anything else I should look out for? I will be running stock 17in rims for awhile before new wheels/tires are in the budget.

Thanks in advance

dcarl · February 12, 2020

I can tell you that I tried Rough Country UCA's with stock 20" wheels and had contact issues with the wheel hitting the apex on the front of the arm. I later switched out to Cognito UCA's and they did not have any contact anywhere.

With a 17" wheel, you may have trouble with any UCA without running a wheel spacer. (Not a lot of diameter to work with). The Eibach springs are pretty fat too which means you need to make sure what UCA's you go with will clear the springs on the down travel.

I had the Eibach kit for a couple thousand miles and didn't like it. I'm on Halo Lifts Boss Coilovers now and the ride is very good.

IronVilkas · February 12, 2020

I was somewhat considering the Rough Country's as well since someone in another thread said they worked good. But he had aftermarket 17in wheel.

What didnt you like about the Eibach setup? Is the Halo Boss worth twice the price?

mcglothlintoby · February 12, 2020

I found a deal on a set of open box readylift uppers today for $270. Not sure how they will do on your stock 17s. Worst case is you can pick up some wheel spacers until you get new wheels. Keep an eye on Facebook, I picked up my 18" 0mm offset wheels from a guy who wanted to go back to stock. Just paid for the mounting and balancing.

IronVilkas · February 13, 2020

I found a deal on a set of open box readylift uppers today for $270. Not sure how they will do on your stock 17s. Worst case is you can pick up some wheel spacers until you get new wheels. Keep an eye on Facebook, I picked up my 18" 0mm offset wheels from a guy who wanted to go back to stock. Just paid for the mounting and balancing.

Link? I would maybe pick them up if you didnt get them for yourself already lol

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mcglothlintoby · February 13, 2020

Amazon actually lol part number 67-3500, I just looked and they still show some from $270-297.

IronVilkas · February 13, 2020

Thanks man

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IronVilkas · February 13, 2020

Bump, anyone got info on kryptonites rubbing with stock 17s? really liking the no questions asked warranty

dieselfan1 · February 13, 2020

48 minutes ago, IronVilkas said:

Bump, anyone got info on kryptonites rubbing with stock 17s? really liking the no questions asked warranty

I just bought a set of Kryptonite UCA's for my 9"lift

Top shelf product. ✓

Lifetime warranty. ✓

Bolt in balljoints. ✓

If you want a solid no BS answer ask them.

[email protected]

I had a couple questions last week one night. I emailed and he answered me first thing in the morning.

Here's a link to the best price on eBay . Amazon has some same price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124017775070

Your welcome.

IronVilkas · February 13, 2020

Thanks @dieselfan1. I sent out an email asking them. Was just hoping to get some feedback from end users too. Appreciate the ebay link as well

dieselfan1 · February 13, 2020

Thanks [mention=193007]dieselfan1[/mention]. I sent out an email asking them. Was just hoping to get some feedback from end users too. Appreciate the ebay link as well

I'll be honest with you I've always known Kryptonite for the 2500 and 3500 trucks I had no idea they were even making anything for half tons until last week. It really never occurred to me to look. I kind of already had my mind made up I was going to go with the McGaughys since that's the lift I bought then I looked at the cognitos since they have the bolt in ball joint and they are nice but after looking Kryptonite it was a no-brainer their shit is stout.
I've had their wheel bearings on a Duramax. Very heavy duty quality.

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CovetedStyle · February 13, 2020

In my opinion (which doesn’t mean much) the control arms are all pretty much the same. Ready lift, Cognito & McGaughys (and will bet good money Kryptonite) all have almost dead nuts same angle for camber and joint angle. I’ve had all 3 sitting side by side. They are all stronger then anything you going to throw at them on road and most off-road. It really just comes down the overall look you like and the ball joint. Congnito has bolt in but some people “say” the ball joint doesn’t last, I have 10k on mine they look/ride like new. I realize that ain’t a lot but it’s what I got. Throw a moog on if you’re really worried about it but how often will you actually EVER change out your ball joint, maybe once during your ownership unless you running some super wild lift and 16 wide wheels aka ball joint killers. The McGaughys and I’m pretty sure ready lift have moog off the bat but they are pressed in. But you most likely won’t be changing those out if you take care of them. I’m switching my Cognito’s out for McGaughys simply for looks and having matching components because I’m switching lifts also but they run great. My 2 cents

Edited February 13, 2020 by CovetedStyle

dieselfan1 · February 13, 2020

CovetedStyle is right the ones he mentions are all good. It's really a matter of what you like. He has run the Cognitos and no issues. The one type of UCA'S I would avoid are the tubular . They just look cheap.

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dcarl · February 13, 2020

19 hours ago, IronVilkas said:

I was somewhat considering the Rough Country's as well since someone in another thread said they worked good. But he had aftermarket 17in wheel.

What didnt you like about the Eibach setup? Is the Halo Boss worth twice the price?

When I called Eibach, I was told the spring rate on their kit is 10% higher than stock. Although 10% doesn't sound like much it resulted in a stiff ride to the point of glancing off of bumps instead of soaking them up. After about a month of driving, they did soften up some but were still stiffer than I wanted. The coilovers are definitely worth the cost. The truck rides near stock smoothness. Going from 20" wheels with E rated tires to 18" wheels with P rated tires helped a lot too.

I've still got the RC UCA's if you're interested in them.

IronVilkas · February 13, 2020

Hey all,

So update from Josh at Kryptonite. He said that with the stock 17s there will be no wheel rubbing but there will be tire rub with tires wider than 10.5 inches. Small spacers could be used to fit bigger tires. Im going to be using my stockers for winter wheels/tires so Im not going super wide anyway and will maybe put a 1/4" spacer or none on.

He also said its a great match up for the Eibach level and the UCAs. I ordered them from Rudy Performance parts on ebay. They are an authorized dealer as per Josh.

Thanks for the help everyone. Very excited about this new setup