joedad

I think everyone will pay whatever it costs to do them strong and safe, which we know you will make sure of. You will not compromise your reputation and/or business in the name of sales. We'll wait, and when your ready we'll buy. ...... Joe

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

not really everyone. Sewell sells the UCA for around $500 n a lot of people are outraged about that price so they opt for an aftermarket one for $140.

Why is that no one really runs ikeya arms? its strong, adjustable, and super popular in Japan and the drift scene.. but it cost close to $1k for a set.

to sum it up, people wont pay whatever it cost regardless if its strong and safe. Price point matters a lot. especially for the mass majority who likes to skimp out on good quality parts.

I have a good feeling that FIGs will be more affordable compared to the JDM brands so that might be a good move for them. Also not having to wait many months is a plus too. I can see die hard enthusiast running these but not your average modder.

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

well said vince....

alot of people claim they want these but when it comes down to it joedad some people dont wanna spend $ on quality parts. i have personal opinions about the SPC and i wont ever use them and i would rather buy IKEYA's before i bought new OEM ones. i dont NEED these im just wanting them

nar8ta

iTrader: (14)

http://kyoei-usa.com/proddetail.asp?...nt-uca&cat=206


http://kyoei-usa.com/products.asp?cat=206&pg=5





http://www.nengun.com/handling-links/

People with the UAS bag rubbing could really use this.......



http://eliteautostyle.com/products/suspension_gs.htm

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

I still cannot beleive how much the nagisa stuff is. I mean I would love to get that back from the development buts its just excessive. Looks like Nagisa and moonface are using the same style ball joint. I think I am bringing it all together and I have a direction now so again just wait for me to get parts made for the bal joint angle adjustment. I want to make it user adjustable not pre-configured.

gs400rpg

The nagisa arms look great but for the price of them I would just keep replacing the OEM ones and cut a hole to keep from bottoming out.

Your arms looks great, I just hope they clear air bags as those are the guys who need it the most!

Thanks for the fast response to my pm! Can't wait to see the production products and prices.

mex lex

iTrader: (4)

Hey Mike, glad to hear progress is coming along. I'm running some Nagisa and GenB suspension parts and your trac and toe links have been working great. Not all hope is lost because at the end of the day there are options like Nagisa and GenB. Unfortunately, like you said, the cost is very high. But it is good that thanks to you, we now have more, high quality options. Good luck on the rest of the developments .

Yep, I agree with the rest of your post. Just to be clear though, the Nagisa stuff does not take months to get depending on who you order through . Usually its only a couple of weeks.

nar8ta

iTrader: (14)

If your lowered there is a lot of stress on the ball joints. Cutting a hole will reduce banging but will not fix the stress. Angling the arms and having adjustment will right this.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

from what ive been reading there isnt much stress on the balljoint? according to Mr. FIGS? at least for our cars. having the balljoint at an extreme angle is far worse IMO (just my opinion) compared to having it bang on the strut tower. i wouldnt know though lol

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

not much lateral stress but angular stress when lowered seems to be an issue. This is that the ball joint runs out of angle and starts knocking on the outer ring.

99 GS3

iTrader: (14)

Having a few bagged minitrucks in the past the upper ball joints were the most common piece people were breaking. As getting lots of lift and drop you end up locking up the joint to it's max and eventually they snap.

In a GS depending on drop, rca thickness, and wheel size you may be maxing the joint on big bumps but not hitting the shock tower and you wouldn't really know it with out inspecting the joint under the boot.. Breaking them doesn't really seem to be much issue with the GS but they are at quite a extreme angle on mine anyways.

Just for visualization here's a pic I took of an upper joint getting maxed out that I pulled from a static dropped truck, now these are old school DJM arm's that everyone used to use, and the manufacture was shipping the joint pressed in 90 degrees wrong. But you can see the dent the joint was hitting on, this truck was going to break a joint very soon, not an if but when. Even with the joint facing correctly when on a bagged truck that get's lots of lift/drop (my current ranger get about 11" of travel in the front) this still happens. The old fix was MOOG joints, and they work great, I still have a set in my truck now, they get a bit more travel are way stronger and are circular not oval.





Over the years MMW (www.michiganmetalworks.com) has come out with a production Ranger arm that has a high-misalignment uni-ball joint and the balljoint cup is also welded at an angle instead of flat/parallel to the arm like stock... This has completely rectified the problem for Ranger owners even when bagged and bodydropped on huge wheels that need tons of travel to untuck the rim to be able to turn the wheels. Free range motion and has been holding up to running scuba/nitrogen tanks hopping 4000lbs of truck on the pavement..





Now of course I'm talking about bagged trucks here, but the principals apply and design would be similar.


Oh and here some upper ball joint scare tactics!














This was Kristana's truck at 80mph when it broke and she was able to ease it from the far middle lane to the emergency lane without incident. What you boys know about chicks drivin broken-ball-jointed-bagged-trucks on the freeway?!

FIGS

iTrader: (11)

great demonstration of the problem. I appreciate the pics as well.
Mike

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

you sure she isnt going for that demon camber? haha jk
but yes as i have been telling MANY people here.. the extreme angle is super bad for the balljoints... thats why cutting the UCA hole doesnt now fix anything.. besides minimizes slamming UCA... it just creates more problems since the balljoint is now at a more extreme angle than before when hitting a bump.

ide rather have my UCA bang for now lol.

Lextasy671

iTrader: (1)

wow, im anxious to see this come out. a lot of info in the discussions here to take note of. thanks for sharing fellas.

joedad

People who don't want to spend the money for quality parts i.e. FIGS Upper Arms @ around $550 a pair when they come out eventually will end up paying more in the long run. I stand by my post and will wait for FIGS.
Mike, it is what it is, "Keep On Keepin' On!!!".