[marauder]

This seems like a low price for upper and lower tubular A-arms. I'm guessing that they are made in China. Perhaps the name brand ones are made there too. Good deal or not????

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33583

[Sammy B]

Dang, that's cheap!

[arrowem]

Those look nicer than the ones I bought....dang it....

[A.J.]

Been looking at those to. Seems to good to be true if you compare with other brands on the market......

[rustedgoat]

When doing a search for rodpartsdealer gearhead enterprises I came up with some old stuff with bad customer service but not much on the quality of the pieces. The e-bay ad seems to read that they are aluminum bushings all around don't know if that is good or bad. At that price it does make cleaning up old ones not worth it but I don't know what other changes need to be done with the "improved geometry". Is this one of those that you need to change to a different spindle?

[Sporter]

These arms have been discussed on many forums and have few (if any) fans. Apparently, the metal in the arms is substandard. These also appear to be direct knock-offs of DSE and other US and Canadian products. Buyer beware.

http://www.pro-touring.com/showthrea...ighlight=china

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showth...ighlight=china

[b-man]

When the price looks too cheap you can bet the quality of the part is suspect at best.

I paid a little more than the $295 they're asking for all 4 control arms for my 2 adjustable SPC upper control arms alone. The SPC adjustable arms really are bargain-priced when compared to the tubular upper arms from other reputable manufacturers.

SPC adjustable front upper control arms (lightweight version) - $340.00

SPC tubular front lower control arms - $548.00

The good stuff costs more but it's worth every penny, when you buy quality you only have to buy it once. These proven pieces cost 3 times more than those questionable parts and for a good reason, you can trust that they won't fail on you at highway speeds and during high-performance driving.

[marauder]

Originally Posted by b-man

When the price looks too cheap you can bet the quality of the part is suspect at best.

I paid a little more than the $295 they're asking for all 4 control arms for my 2 adjustable SPC upper control arms alone. The SPC adjustable arms really are bargain-priced when compared to the tubular upper arms from other reputable manufacturers.

SPC adjustable front upper control arms (lightweight version) - $340.00

SPC tubular front lower control arms - $548.00

The good stuff costs more but it's worth every penny, when you buy quality you only have to buy it once. These proven pieces cost 3 times more than those questionable parts and for a good reason, you can trust that they won't fail on you at highway speeds and during high-performance driving.

Bart,
What's the theory with having adjustable upper arms? Also, are you planning on using coilovers?

[x-bird2]

I like that set b-man, no shims to monkey with for adjustments. Is there a max. veh. weight rating on them?

[b-man]

Originally Posted by marauder

Bart,
What's the theory with having adjustable upper arms? Also, are you planning on using coilovers?

No need for alignment shims with the adjustable arms plus added clearance for wide wheels with deep backspacing, I need that clearance for the 18X9s I'm running. No coilovers, just a good set of aftermarket springs and Bilstein shocks.

I previously had Hotchkis upper arms on the car and the wheels hit the outwardly curved rear control arm tube with the wheels turned to full lock (they actually hit before full lock), the straight adjustable 'legs' of the SPC arms solved my clearance problem.

[marauder]

"We have them made for us. They are made according to the same specs as the sets you see selling for a $1000"

[b-man]

Originally Posted by x-bird2

I like that set b-man, no shims to monkey with for adjustments. Is there a max. veh. weight rating on them?

Not that I'm aware of, but I would assume they'll more than handle the weight of any A-body GM car loaded down with passengers and luggage. The construction of the SPC arms looks to be plenty stout.

[grrr421]

The uppers are not a weight bearing part the spring pocket is in the lower and the frame
correct me if im wrong. B man some have had problems with those lower control arms from spc and scandc getting the front to low how did yours work with the ho springs? I dont know if ho is selling stuf still or not had a ho set up in a 65 gto back in the day when them and herb adems were the hot set up's. was thinking about the spc uppers and global for lowers?

[b-man]

Most of the weight is in the car as it now sits, the 400 lb. all-aluminum LS3 engine probably helps keep the car from sitting too low. SPC does offer a set of 1/4" thick shims you can put in the spring pockets under a cast aluminum spring seat (instead of the red urethane spring seat pictured above) to fine tune the ride height, I bought the shim set in case I need them later on to fine tune the ride height.

The header collectors have about 3-1/2" of ground clearance, not too bad.

After the 245/40-18 (25.7" tall) front tires wear out I'll probably replace them with 245/45-18s (26.7" tall) to gain 1/2" more ground clearance up front and fill up the wheelwell opening a bit better.

I'm pretty happy with the stance so far.

[540goat]

I just bought a set, the salesman told me they are made by Pro Comp in southern california. Speedway Motors also sells them. I have read just about everything I have on these cheap control arms and have not found any where the welds or the metal tubing have broken. The most common problems I have read are the ball joints and the hardware being substandard.
There was even one thread where a guy bought a set and had the metal and welds checked and they came out fine.
So much for chinese garbage, I guess for this low price these can be considered American garbage.

[Curly Joe]

I found the same when i researched the arms. Yes there was a guy on the chevelles board that had them inspected from A to Z,( weld, tubing, quality of metal, the works. ) results were perfect. He didnt like the ball joints and decided to replace em. Have heard the ones from KMJ had a problem with the inserts on the cross shaft. Many people using the other brand.

[grdn24]

Ok, has it been determined if theses are ok then? It seems as if they are. What is the issue with the ball joints? I'm getting ready to do a drum to disc swap on my car and looked into tubular arms since I will have these apart anyway. Thoughts on my madness?
These are a lot cheaper than I was looking at and appear to be a good product. What real advantages do the tubulars bring to the car. I need to put bushings on my stock ones anyway.

[Pontirag]

Its hard to tell where a good or bad ball joint is made anymore. NAPA sells MOOG and for an extra price you can get a very good ball joint. bt they could be made anywhere. and dont be fooled by "made in america" on the label. That could be the contents. the label or the box made in america. caveat emptor

as for the quality of the a arms. a visual inspection tells alot but it cant determine where the material come from or the quality of the materials. you would have to get heat and lot documents from the steel mill and a statement fron the tubing and metal plate manufacturer to confirm the quality of the materials used and I'm bettin nobody anywhere has that info, not even the vendors selling the tubing so we're talking subjective observations here, weather its a thouroughly inspected 200 dollar a arm or a 1000 dollar a arm.

Too bad the cheaper a arm has the cheapo ball joints in them. for a few dollars more you could be getting the primo stuff. Bean counters vs car guys.

[grdn24]

I actually just went through that made in America thing myself. I paid an extra 40$ for a wheel hub for my gtp and guy assured me it was a federal mogul American bearing. I get it home and upon further investigation it was a foreign made one. Kind of ticked me off!

I might roll the dice with the a arms. There are a few that said they were indeed top notch and just had junk for ball joints. That's an easy fix in my opinion so I'm seriously thinking of going this route. I am on the fence though with a brake kit. Either jegs or summit seem to have a pretty comperable kit and relatively the same price. Decisions decisions...

[Curly Joe]

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296058

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/body-...item27bcd6b4c2



i just checked a new set of AC Delco ball joints...the box said assembled in the USA.