Control arm assembly with ball joint for automotive suspension

A control arm assembly for an automotive wheel suspension, comprising:

• an elongate control arm lightweight or non-ferrous material having:
• an inboard end adapted to pivotally mount to an automotive chassis;
• and an outboard end having a transverse mounting socket, through an upper mounting surface, the transverse mounting socket having an internally threaded surface and defining an outboard wall between the mounting socket and an outboard sweep surface;
• and
• a ball joint having:
• a steel housing with an externally threaded surface and an inner chamber;
• a ball stud with a partially spherical ball head upwardly restrained within the inner chamber and a shank extending upwardly through an upward opening in the housing;
• and a bearing having a partially spherical inner surface engaging the ball head and having an outer surface engaging the inner chamber;
• wherein the housing has a laterally extending collar with a lower contact surface that engages the upper mounting surface of the control arm when the threaded surfaces are fully torqued together;
• and
• wherein the ball head has a center of rotation laterally adjacent an upper portion of the outboard wall, the upper portion having an upper wall thickness greater than or equal to a lower wall thickness of a lower portion of the outboard wall.