2004 Chevy Monte Carlo SS
March of 2010 - UMI Performance Trailing Arms
Final Installation
OK, finally, the finished product (and the moment I have been waiting for). Admitteedly, despite how
nice and glossy black the brackets are after painting them with the epoxy paint, I found I am already not
impressed with how the paint adhered to these brackets. Now I will admit, it might be they I did not prep
the surface good enough or it might be this paint does not adhere well to POR15. But regardless of my
picky opinion, they still look GREAT (almost like brand new)!
Prior to re-assemly, even though the bolts were pretty clean, I took the time to use a brass wire wheel and clean
any debris from the threads (helping make re-assembly easier). I also lightly sprayed the bolts with
WD-40 to help everything go together smoothly.
When I began the re-assembly, I made sure to make use of the pre-lube that UMI supplied with these trailing arms by applying
small amounts to the bushing surfaces that slide in the backets or the face that presses against the bottom of the
knuckle. Since this car is not stored indoors, to help prevent the bolts for rusting to the sleeve on the
inside of the bushings, I also applied light amounts of anit-seize. The re-assembly was a snap.
I found it best to connect the trailing arm to the body bracket, then the body bracket to the body of the car and
lastly, reconnect the other end of the arm to the bottom of the knuckle. After all that, applied some
grease to the grease fittings and I was done!
Results - Mind you, these are my opinions using my Monte Carlo as a regular daily driver (I have not
track tested). In addition, I have not performed any controled environment comparison tests between the stock
and UMI trailing arms. These results are simply my observations driving the car around town.
Now, that being said, the changes I've noticed are minimal. As I said from the beginning, the "light" rear
end feel I think would be better solved with a different type of tire with a better grip (and I still believe that).
BUT, I have noticed is that from a dead stop, the car feels like it has a firmer/more aggressive
take off. And I have also noticed on the freeway, if you goose it, again, it feels like it also has
a firmer launch at higher speeds. I credit that to the fact there is no slight re-coil effect from the
stock rubber bushings and no flexing from the original U-bent steel arms.
This was simply one mod one can make in the rear suspension. I found this fun and easy to do.
I am also becoming more of a fan of products from UMI Performance. So far what I have seen in there
catalog for F-Body parts I am more impressed with the quality appearance of the engineering and the cost of the
products compared to their vendors (right now, I have a small UMI wish list for my '84 Camaro). It
was great to see, hold and install one of there products in a car that is not garaged as a project car.
Even though this mod may not mean much in street driving the car (though I get a kick out of it's stiffness at take off),
I may eventually take the Monte Carlo autocrossing in the future, and I'm sure these trailing arms will be one of
many things that help increase my fun factor then!
Driver Side
Passenger Side
Remove Old Arms (Main)
Reconditioning Body Brackets
Final Installation
UMI Performance - W-Body Parts
2004 Monte Carlo SS Page
