Kit Vexed Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 i live here in good ol' salty, snowy, pot-holed new england! since winters are ruff, i picked up a high miles 850 turbo as a winter/spare car. due to the high mileage, it rides very loose and clunky.. my full time car was a stage III T5-R with HD's iPd sways/links and H&R's. i want to upgrade the R and swap it's suspension to the winter car. my plans are to get yellows, another set of H&R's (unless ya'll think a diff set with yellows?), and kaplhenke adj control arms. i guess i couldve just asked this question and spared the intro: how are they? how long have any of you had them? they noisy? wore out quickly? stiff ride? sharper turning/steering response? any of you replace the spherical rod ends yet? expensive to do so? how easy was the ball joint to replace? or was it like fused to the arm over time? are you gaining anything via adjustments? tire wear issues? ANYTHING you have to say about these from EXPERIENCE, not opinion ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owned Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 I can't think of anyone that has them off hand. If you're not even going to go as far as coilovers then I don't see why you would want these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 coilovers are super expensive (not that these aren't lol)and a tad *too stiff.. but for obvious reasons like solid bushings and replaceable balljoints.. i dont know anyone with an 850 that likes buying a complete control arm everytime the balljoint starts going - which is a lot! and going cheap on control arms has already been discussed here as much as spark plugs ) i wanted to step up even higher from Volvo genuines and make these my last pair EVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 how often are you replacing ball joints? they should last over 100K, the most common reason for failure is incorrectly torquing the bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95 854 t-5 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 100k on a go kart track maybe if your trying to save $$ down the road get the 93 aluminum control arms and put some poly bushings in them. Better performance replaceable ball joints and alot cheaper than the adjustable ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 on a set of volvo genuine's, i started hearing the clunking @ full clock after about 10k mi.. i went through every suspension component so i know it's not bad tie rods, spring seats, etc etc. i'd read a lowered/stiffer suspension is tougher on ball joints.. as for the 93' aluminums, lol, anyone wanna chyme in here about their weakness and bending?? i want stronger arms, not weaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitsofrage99 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 the suspension has got to "give" somewhere. i think you might have to make everything solid in this case, not just 1 element of your suspension system...but then again I'm only saying that from experience with my fathers formula atlantic. and why all the negative ratings? that's what intimidates people from asking questions...i don't think this is a stupid question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 lol, i agree - what's with the negatives?? didnt know i was cutting anyone down or asking something unworthwhile? and seeing as nobody who actually has the Kaplhenke control arms has contributed anything to this post, it must be from ppl who do NOT have them? in that case, why give me negatives on parts you have no experience with? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHEIII874T5M Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I remember a couple of people getting those... had issues, car holding alignment, etc. Not to mention the company's ability to really provide support/service at the needed level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 100k on a go kart track maybe absolutely not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-R Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was going to order them, but down time is 2-3 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owned Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I think I remember Doug putting these on his yellow build and he had a lot of issues. Not to say the car was without issues separate from this part, but I still tend to believe these didn't help. How can you say all coilovers are too stiff? That's like saying all paint is shiny. This statement alone shows you haven't done much research in terms of suspension. You will get more for your dollar with other upgrades. Period. That's one of the two reasons these never became popular, the other being that they are prohibitively expensive for most people to justify buying it to simply add another mod to their car when they need to replace the OEM version. I hate to say it but in this instance the general VS opinion is accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 im actually suprised to hear this... solid spherical bushings, boxed design, and replaceable balljoints? what's to dislike other than the price?? this is why i said 'experience' and NOT 'opinion' cause i knew ppl would say they were overpriced (and they are) and base a decision solely on the fact they couldnt afford them or chose to put the $$$ elsewhere.. and i dont believe im the only person on here whose said/feels coilovers are very stiff and expensive.. remember,kw coilovers are $2000.. even the kaplehenke setup is $1450, but to use them, you HAVE to buy the camber plates which are $350. these arms are $850, so this IS a cheaper route to stiffining up the front end and an investment in the long term as far as balljoint replacement... i've yet to hear from someone who has them. i dont know Ben personally, but ive read his parts ARE quality and he races his cars so i can't imagine testing your stuff any better than putting it through the paces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the commissar! Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Give them a go and write us a review... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 i'd read a discussion posted back awhile on swedespeed with these arms and what i gathered was basically ppl hating on the price and not necessarily on the product... how could you if you dont have them ya know? then a few ppl bought them but never said anything afterwards (good or bad). this is basically why i posted the question on here... i mean, anything is great when it's new, but i wanted to hear from ppl who had them over a long period of daily driving, racing or both.. if Doug has/had them, (i remember seeing him get the Kaplhenke coilovers as well) why hasn't he posted anything ripping Kaplhenke or his products? i'll tell you right now, if i got these, and ANYTHING went wrong with them; outside of a few yrs of wear and tear and ball joint replacement - i'd be on here crucifying Ben.. nobody's done that. not with ANY of his products. so let's get over the price and down to actual FACTS about these please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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