paulmoore

Went on their website today and guess what I found?!?! For those of you who wanted some durable tubular front control arms, look no further! Ahh, I'll just shut up and give you the link!
http://www.spohn.net/product.cfm?productid=1496

/\/3\/\/l8l3

395? what a joke

paulmoore

Well, it is a little steep but look at it this way. The PA racing front control arm spring perches are pretty rinky dink and are subject to break very easily. Not sure about the AJE racing units. The spring box idea of the Spohn's however look alot more rigid and locate the spring better. Do you want your PA racing spring perch to break when you are driving 70 MPH on the highway? Not me. Just thought that I would post it up here so you guys knew.....

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I don't have PAs control arms but I hate their K member what a pile

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

go build your own.

MrDude_1

while i agree they LOOK really slim...... no one has ever had one break...

so they arnt "subject to break very easily" they just dont look very strong.

acescarrsRS

I also like the "spring box" idea. Looks way more sturdy than the rinky dink "perches" that I've seen on other tubular a-arms made to use regular coil springs.

And although I've never had any personal on hand experience with other "tubular stock spring style a-arms", I think these look more sturdy. Only time will tell.

Maybe we could get a group purchase going if there is enough interest in the near future. Either way, way to go Spohn.


Now when is that tubular k-member with power rack & pinion gonna pop up now Spohn.......? lol!

paulmoore

No, I can't say that from personal experience that I have had one break cause I still have the fatory a arms and crossmember. However, I do know some people that have had them break, I believe that vsixtoy was one of them. But looking at the two of them side by side, you can see a difference. At least on the Spohn unit, the box perch rests on the main support of the arm. I think that it makes it stronger in that area.

conlinj

iTrader: (3)

I saw those last night, look nice but really pricey, has anyone had a pa racing setup break?? Also there is little to no weight savings switching from stock to a tubular with a spring perch. The stock weights 29lbs, the steel tubular with perch is 27, and in chrome molly 25 lbs. Unless your going to coilover doesn't seem worth it to me...

MrDude_1

nope.. as stated before by him, he doesnt have the PA ones.. he would never put them on his car.

vsixtoy helped spohn design his... he has a defiant bias of what he thinks is best... afterall, he helped make the spohn ones.

still, noone has ever had one break. but i understand his point of view..


like spohn puts down everyone elses products, dean also puts down anything not spohn... mostly because they want you to buy spohn products.. lol.

acescarrsRS

I just like the fact that we are slooooooowly getting more options & goodies for our cars.

pre

Looks like a very good product I'm not sure if the price is worth the benefits for most people, but will soon find out.

acescarrsRS

That's marketing baby! lol

MrDude_1

to my knowlage, no one has ever had the PA racing or Profab setup break.

my "stock replacement" profab a arms weighed 12lbs shipping weight.

i forget what the kmember weighs... its pretty light though.


keep in mind, it doesnt have that "crossbrace" or a beefy spring pocket... so if thats what you need, thats what spohn has.

but that also adds weight. and like you said, if the weighs high enough, its pointless unless you're going coilover.

so its a strength VS weight VS value thing....

conlinj

iTrader: (3)

i meant on the spohn's not other brands sorry I didn't specify... I just saw the weight chart on spohn's site and didn't see the benefeit going on a stock replacement approach. 400 dollars for 4 lb weight reduction, no thanks stock is fine for me...

I am thinking about the whole pa racing setup which only uses tubular control arms iirc...

nolanr0413

i like the looks of them if i was redoing the front suspension but they arent much lighter so thats deffy sucks if your looking to save weight , I also was lookin on their site and i saw that they are doing front coilovers for our cars. I cant wait to see that becasue i need new struts next year and it might be a good way to go .

Kat

iTrader: (4)

I have quite a few times. Someone was telling me that Hawks installed a set oF PA a-arms on a kids car and broke them within an hour or week. I cant remember how long the time frame was. That is just one of the many times I've heard people breaking their stuff. Pro-Fab's I've seen in person. What a freaking joke that stuff is. I've welded better with my lil pos MIG in the garage than Vern or whoever he as welding for him.

BTW Do you ever have anyting constructive to say at all? In just about any post I have ever seen you post in, you are always putting down something or someone. Not a flame just curious.

Kat

Forshock 85TA

And that was constructive? BTW im not replaying to this post again.... no matter what....

SteveSpohn

You better get your facts straight before you post something like that about me.

1. I designed the a-arms. I design every part with my name on it, no one else. Dean just happens to like my work.

2. I never talked down anyone's work. I just pointed out that a certain company likes to "clone" my work.


This is a suspension board. Keep things on that topic. If for some reason you have a personal problem with me, or any one of the other 50 people you argue with on here daily wasting bandwidth, take it to email, it doesn't belong here.

Thank You.

Steve

pasky

That price is pretty steep man. Hell thats how much a tubular kmember will run. $395. I won't be getting one any time soon =/. Nice work though Steve.

cdxn4950

I seen in an earlier post that spohn will be coming out with a k-member that has power rack and pinion. Is this the 4th gen steering setup? The reason i ask is my 86z has a 305 tpi on its way out (trans already out) and a lt1 on its way in and it seems like it would be easier to just use to p/s lines off the transam i got the motor out of. Just curious.

pasky

Yes, the fourthgens use a rack and pinion setup. Im not so excited anymore after seeing the prices of the tubular A-Arms, I understand he has to make a living and these took time away from his business to develop, but sorry, thats just too steep.

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

highly unlikely it will incorporate a 4th gen rack. they are too wide.

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

maybe i only speak for myself here. but when i sit down to the think about how much time money and effort i am putting into my car i think to myself, do i really want to cheap out on something so important? not only is my life and other peoples in danger if something were to fail, but a car i just spent 1000s of dollars on, countless hours and something that means a lot to me will get ruined. i am building my car to go down the track at well over 100mph, it will be used on the highway at 65+ mph the last thing i need is to do is have a A arms or K member break and cause me to loose control and get into an accident, if that happend with a stock peice i wouldnt feel as guilt but when its something i replaced with a part that i wasnt sure of. not to mention in that case lets say some one around me were to get injured or even die. i dont want to run into that situation and im not going to let a few hundred dollars make that decision. if you all are comfortable with pro fab and pa then thats fine but some of us appreciate what steve spohn has done for the third gen market. cop out and call me bias i dont care, i believe in his products, my *** is riding on them, literally.

SteveSpohn

It's the old saying that you get what you pay for. If you want cheap parts, you get cheap parts. If you want good parts, they cost more, because they cost more to build. It's pretty much that simple. I list every single build specification of my parts because I'm proud of them.


No the 4thgen rack will NOT work on a 3rdgen. If you want a power rack, it has to be an aftermarket unit. It will be expensive, and you won't really save much weight. So why should I bother with that when you guys want everything to be as light as titanium for the price of dirt?

Some of you are missing the main purpose of a tubular spring boxed a-arm. It is not to save weight. It is for PERFORMANCE, you know, things like rigidity and lack of deflection, predictability, etc. That's why you want them. The fact that we built a spring "boxed" a-arm that is properly braced, built with appropriate materials and heavy duty quality parts and it is still LIGHTER than stock is an accomplishment, I really thought it would be hard to do.

If your only focus is weight loss, then you want the coil over set up, end of story. 12# drop with just the a-arms. Then the coil over kit puts you at over 20# off the front total.


Steve

cdxn4950

i wasn't really thinking of a weight advantage with the rack and pinion but more of the performance side of it (more feel, more response). I don't know alot about steering; just always thought the 4th gen setup was better. Seems like one could put some shorter tierods on it and be done with it but i haven't measured it; just was an idea. But if you say it won't work, i believe you


pay alittle more; get alittle more

Ram Air TTA

BOTTOM LINE IS THIS.....

THANK YOU STEVE SPOHN!!!!!!!!!!

It's because of people like you that we are ALL able to still upgrade our cars with new techology and not have just settle with what the factory felt was enough. It is because of YOU and others like you that we can still enjoy these awesome cars and thier potental to the fullest!!! So just for the record sir thanks for all you have done and and everything that you have planned for the future. :hail: :hail:

cdxn4950

i hear ya :hail:

pasky

Im not knocking your product Steve. I know you build great stuff, I have your torque arm and wonderbar. Im not arguing either, im just saying for that price, i'll stick with the stockers. I understand you run a business and business is business. Im not sure if your post was defensive or not as i've seen two people knock it already but im not one of them. I just can't warrant the cost of those for $395 considering the material cost it is to make them. Sure R&D takes money away from you and I understand you upping the premium, im sure they will come down, but honestly, if I bought those, i'd feel I was paying a premium for these parts simply because it has your name on it. Once again, im not flinging poo at you, I think they look awesome and a job well done on the boxes, I think they look fricken slick.

SteveSpohn

Believe me I didn't take any offense, I'm just telling the other side of the story. I've been doing this for 6 years, you won't find skin thicker than mine

It's not an R&D mark up, and the price will not come down, and probably won't go up for a long time either. As a businessman let me tell you, the cost of materials is a small portion of a product's cost. However, over the past 18 months the price of steel has doubled and I have not raised my prices on anything for three years. I just ate the increases.

When you are running a 100% legitimate business, the killer is the overhead. One word, insurance. Workman's compensation, health insurance, fire insurance, contents insurance, the list goes on, I have at least 10 insurance policies. I have to pay all of this for my employees. I want good workers who care about their work, and to get good workers you have to treat them good, I'm sure you expect the same when you're looking for a job. I'd be willing to bet that just my monthly health insurance premium is more then 99% of the members mortgage payment.

I also know that I am far from the highest price in this industry, and I know my quality is better then the higher priced stuff. I think our parts are very fairly priced. Believe me, I'm not getting rich, I'm just another blue collar worker who busts his *** every day just like the rest of you!

Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate them!

Steve

Dewey316

Steve,

Any plans to produce a version with some sort of bearing instead of poly bushings? or is the bushing OD the same as stock, so something like a del-a-lum bushing could be used?

Brock's91RS

Will my Belltech Lowering spindles work with these?
Anything I should be aware of?
Thanks
Steve

SteveSpohn

Dewey, we have spherical rod ended versions with the box or without the box. You can see the list here:

http://www.spohn.net/category.cfm?categoryid=1181

In the near future I will also be offering a delrin bushing option in place of the poly bushings. Of course, this will cost more, LOL!

Steve

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Spindle is a spindle, ball joint a ball joint in this case...they should work fine.


Ed

SteveSpohn

If they mount to your stock a-arm, they will mount to our a-arm, there's no difference in the spindle mounting.

Steve

Dewey316

I had clicked the link in this post, and never noticed all those.

Any timeframe on more info on the coil-over kit? I assume there will be another thread for that when the time comes, I'll save my long list of questions on that, for then.

Thanks,
John

SteveSpohn

John,

The details should be up next week, we're working on finsihing it all up now.

Steve

vsixtoy

For the record, I had nothing to do sith the design of these control arms. What did happen is Steve sent myself and a few others some plans on what he was doing and, like any savy fabricator would do, he asked us if it was something we liked and approved of or was there any critical feedback we could give him. I merely told him after seeing and hereing from him that I loved what he had in mind and I am interested in buying this product if he makes it.

On a final note- If I had liked what PA or Profab or AJE or Morrison has made I would have had one of them on my car long ago. Spohn happened to make a product to my liking safety wise that is more rigid and lighter than the flexing stock controlarm. You think his prices are expensive for what you are getting? Go price a new Porcshe or Vette. You can buy every product Spohn sells plus a car to build for less than half what you'd spend on a new stock Vette and the Camaro will kick the Vettes ***.

I think I made my point- I'm finished here.

cdh67

395 seems like a deal to me. It kills me to see people think that making this stuff is cheap. I have to much money in my car to buy cheaper parts. The PA and others look very flimsy and Missouri has the worst roads in the county.
List the parts:
4 bushings
2 ball joints
cnc ball joint cup
powdered coated
All welded up ready to go.
Seems like a good deal. Steve will be seeing my order soon. Now we just need to get a crossmember on the site. Any time frame Steve?
Also Steve Do you see any problems with running a Air Ride setup with your crossmember and a-arms?

CDN_87IROC

Just reading in road & track the new Z06 will be pushing 500 hp STOCK. I would be happy to keep up with it let alone kick its ***.
You did make your point though.

Justins86bird

I too would like to see those.

Justins86bird

Perhaps in straightline racing, but not on curvy streets. Until Spohn (or anyone else) makes an IRS kit for a Camaro, I'm gonna have to disagree with ya

CrazyHawaiian

Do the stock units really flex? How can you tell it flexes?

david auster

iTrader: (10)

Just curious but I don't see those heavy duty upper strut mounts on your site anymore that were made by Alloy. Did you discontinue selling them? Are they not necessary to have with your coil over and a arm setup? I'm just trying to build the strongest front end and replace any innefficient factory parts.

Thanks

Spdfrk1990

I think everyone should love his products cause he is the best thing that ever happened for 3rd gen suspension. If he just stopped making products cause everyone was complaining of the price then were stuck with the crappy stock peices or other parts of lesser value. I just dont think any other companys compare and i would be really upset if spohn ever stopped making new parts for the 3rd gen.

91formulaSS

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Dewey316
Steve,

Any plans to produce a version with some sort of bearing instead of poly bushings? or is the bushing OD the same as stock, so something like a del-a-lum bushing could be used?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by SteveSpohn
Dewey, we have spherical rod ended versions with the box or without the box. You can see the list here:

http://www.spohn.net/category.cfm?categoryid=1181

In the near future I will also be offering a delrin bushing option in place of the poly bushings. Of course, this will cost more, LOL!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SteveSpohn

I turned them off on the site temporarily because we're out of stock and there was a delay getting billet plate in to make more. They should be up on the site again in about two weeks we're hoping.

Steve

vsixtoy

You need to come ride in my car then. I am outhandling new stock Vettes and Porsches, and M3's for that matter also. On a track, I am eating them up around corners after a few laps and everything gets hot.

Look at the 1g thread and you'll see a little photo sequence I posted there.

For the record, I ride invery often, and occationally drive a 2000 Vette with Magnesium wheels. My Camaro out handles it. The Vette I have driven since it was new- it only has about 45,000 miles on it so it is still flawlessly new for the most part in handling.

91Z28-350

The price is a bit steep for me, and I don't really need it. But, it may be a good idea to have a Del-A-Lum option instead of just poly. I put Del-A-Lums in my stock a-arms, FWIW.

Zerstörer

How come you posted this quote below in the spohn thread on the socal board?

If you mearly told him that you loved it how did you have a hand in its developement? Maybe I'm not as smart as you are but something doesnt sound right.