Peak350

iTrader: (6)

I just wanted to give a plug for (and a quick pre-install review) the new SPL arms that are out.

I think I've got one of the first sets (if not the first set) and I haven't seen anyone else post about them so I figured this could be good information for someone who was looking for suspension upgrade options like I was.

First thing I noticed, lower price $510 shipped (approximately) which is a great deal considering the quality of the parts and the reputation SPL had. I decided it was worth the cost of Cusco (or similar) to me.

As soon as I called, I realized I was making a good choice, when the arms arrived I was not disappointed.

For starters, these are similar to (never seen, so basing on descriptions) the old Nismo arms that were available, and use a "shim" to adjust camber. This means that the front camber can be changed without re-aligning the car, and the adjustment is exact. They come with a .5, 1, and 2 degree shim, it will be very easy to make a .25 and .125 size shim if I find "fine" adjustment necessary, but because there is caster adjustment built into the arms, I think I can make any necessary fine tuning in that.

They are billet aluminum, and quite light for their beefy sizing.

The adjustment seems smooth and easy, the parts look great and you can tell a lot of effort went into designing a stellar piece.

The only negative comment I can make, and this is minor, considering the solution I would have made the same design compromise...you have to remove the arm from the car to adjust caster, I believe this means pulling the strut brace and strut's out (down) to release the arm.

Since most arms have no ability to adjust caster, I don't see this as a detriment to the product at all.

On to some pictures, I'll update if I encounter any issues during install.








And all the stuff I need to install (maybe this weekend )

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

I really like the arms. If my megan arms die , i will get a set of those.

warmmilk

iTrader: (5)

soooo... i guess i'm a noob, i don't see where the caster adjustment is...

also, so it only has 3 set positions? whats its adjustment range?

Peak350

iTrader: (6)

Stock is the 2 and the .5 block. You can add positive by adding the 1 degree shim block, or remove up to 2.5 in .5 degree increments. The spherical ball joints (better than heim joints) are threaded with a lock nut. Move the front one out and the rear one in to add caster, they can also be used to balance camber side to side if your car is tweaked in some way (keep in mind factory arms don't allow this...not a biggie).

The arms have to be removed to adjust the bearing thread point, and 8 degrees is a LOT of caster already, I think I'm gonna stick with stock, get the toe set front and rear once I get everything in, and run -1 street, -2.5 track for front camber. Maybe ~-1 for rear camber, I'm not a huge rear camber fan.

Peak350

iTrader: (6)

I should also note, if my camber is out by small amounts I'll make a set of shim blocks made to fix that rather than play with the caster adjustment. I have access to a mill though so its like 20 minutes of work and like $10 in material.

I also may make a .125 and .25 set of shims (maybe) if I feel like more fine adjustment would help. Frankly, I NEEDED extra negative camber.

The drop will be .3" all around roughly, so I'm not doing this for anything other than ADDING negative camber. I'm going to see how the rear falls for now, I may end up with a set of SPC rear arms and toe bolts.

warmmilk

iTrader: (5)

how difficult is it to change out the shims on when its already installed?

this may actually be pretty sweet, you can run aggressive camber at the track and mild on the street without guessing. you'll have 2 (or 3) set camber settings. i think i'll have to pick up a set...

Peak350

iTrader: (6)

Looks like 5-10 minutes with the wheel off. You loosen the gold-ish bolts to remove/add shims, and loosen the other two small bolts near the outside edge of the sliding part, add/remove shims, and tighten everything up.

I got really really excited when I learned how simple this is, the intent is that you can adjust camber without needing an alignment (camber adjustment minimally affects our toe) so you can track a DD.

Edit -and I can say so far, there isn't another A-arm setup I've seen that I like better. The Evo 350's are the only ones that are really close in my book.

Keep in mind, these technically class you out of BSP in Solo if you plan to autoX. Locally noone in my class cares, so I went with the better product, but spherical bearings instead of bushings FTL on that one.

warmmilk

iTrader: (5)

i autox just for fun, i don't care what class it puts me in or if i win or lose. i don't go to enough of them to actually get somewhere in a season. but thanks for the heads up. looks like these are the camber arms to get

Peak350

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, I'll let you know how install goes, hopefully Sunday.

Should be a cakewalk, but the instructions call for grinding off a limiting bump, so that has me a bit nervous.

steven37

iTrader: (19)

I just got the new SPL arms yesterday and I might install them next week. Can you make a diy on installing them when you do the install?

LaoSiFu

iTrader: (97)

Where did you guys pick it up from?

~Robert

steven37

iTrader: (19)

I got mine from Kyle(Houston). He's a vendor on the site. He was the one that told me about these arms when SPL was still doing the R&D on it. I've been waiting for these arms since January, but it was well worth the wait.

kuah@splparts.com

iTrader: (10)

Thank you for the comments! We spent alot of time and money in the R&D of this new design, with 4 goals: increasing the rigidity of the arm under braking, improving the durability of the ball joint, simplifying the adjustment mechanism to reduce user error, and to reduce cost. In the end these arms did not really cost us less to produce, but we are hoping at the new price that they will find greater acceptance.

With the 0.5deg shim, you will be able to hit any target camber setting to within +/- 0.25 deg. Generally that is about as accurate as you need, there will be negligible performance in getting camber accurate to less than 0.25deg. However if you do want that accuracy, one simple solution would be to use 0.5" bore washers instead of custom machining shims.

kuah@splparts.com

iTrader: (10)

BTW, I wanted to mention that owners of our existing v1 front upper arms will be able to upgrade to this version at a subsidized price of $199 (note: we will re-use the inside rod ends from the old arms). However because we made very few sets in our first production run, and we do not have enough arms to meet demand, upgrades will be available with the next production run (ETA mid-late June).

Also a future retrofit kit/option may be available to allow caster adjustment on car. It was one part of the design that did not make it into production because we had trouble keeping costs down enough to meet our target selling price.

Tac-M

iTrader: (17)

ok, that's it ! i am ordering a set.... i have been looking at all of the other options, and non feel as strong and durable as this. SPL - FTW !



edit: order placed !


another edit: peak, are you doing roadcourse now ? i thought you are more of a dragstrip guy ? lol !

Peak350

iTrader: (6)

Just doing both now. I'm going to be making alignment marks in the rear once I get rear arms in so that I can self adjust my alignment.

I enjoy motorsports - not just one kind

Tac-M

iTrader: (17)

sweet !

idrive_MD

iTrader: (8)

i seriously consider them, but they were probably overkill for what I needed and how I drive...always love their products though, had quite a few on my Z32.

Eddie K.

I ordered these arms back in January. When I first ordered them they I was told they were in the middle of doing the R&D on them. Now that some are getting them now mybe I will get mine soon. My Z & KW3 coils awaits them.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

nice pickup - Kuah mentioned these to me a few weeks ago, they look sweet. Can't wait to give a set a try