Specs on +2 a-arms

[fourwhls]

This is just my professional oppinion, so take it as you see it.

I just bought a set of +2 arms. I did extensive research into the companies, designs and how the products were fabricated. I can't say that I looked at every company that makes a-arms, but I did look at quite a few. I looked at American Star racing, Burgard, Houser, Magnum, JD performance, PRP, LS, Roll Design, & Walsh. The price range went from $445 a set for the JD's all the way to $1100 a set for the Walsh.
I called every manufacturer and got the specs for their arms. I asked for the following specs:
-Material used (4130 or else)
-Tubing diameter top tube
-Tubing diameter Bottom tube
-Tubing wall thickness
-Adj Camber or Castor?
-Ball joint shaft diameter
-If caster was fixed, what angle was the caster set up at
-Bushings or Bearings
-Zerk fittings
-of course PRICE

My conclusions:

The best set up on the market is tied between Walsh and LS race arms.
They both have the larger ball joints, 1" tubing top and bottom, adj castor and camber, bearings and zerks. Most of the companies had the 1" tubing on the bottom and 3/4" on top. Most had 14mm ball joints instead of the larger 16mm. The rest of the specs fluctuated.

I have found that unless you are a pro rider looking for any advantage possible, you will not need the adj castor. The 3/4 top tube will be fine. I wouldn't recommend the heim joints (which are the joints that make castor adjustment possible), esspecially on the bottom arm (American Star. They become the weakest link.

I also looked at the bottom arms where the shock mounts. I liked the way the LS race had the extra support.

Anyways to make this long story short, I went with the Houser arms. They mimiced the LS race with the extra support on the bottom arm, They were 1" top, 3/4 bottom, had bearings, fixed castor at 4 degrees, 14 mm ball joints, zerk fittings, 4130, and a resonable price, $525.
I work as a mechanical engineer by trade, so I was kind of skeptical when looking at paying $500+ for a-arms. I know I went a little extreme and probably a tad anal, but I feel I got the best arm for the money I wanted to spend. I hope you guys can also benifit from the research I did.

[86atc250r]

Good info, thanks for the post...

Do you have a "grid" of specifications you could post on the various arms, if so, surely Leo would move it to the "Best of" section.

i was thinkin bout getting the american star a arms...i've seen them on a pro's quad and they look strong...could you please post some info on them for me

yea a chart would be great to help people make decisions

[jmoney45]

Originally posted by fourwhls
This is just my professional oppinion, so take it as you see it.

I just bought a set of +2 arms. I did extensive research into the companies, designs and how the products were fabricated. I can't say that I looked at every company that makes a-arms, but I did look at quite a few. I looked at American Star racing, Burgard, Houser, Magnum, JD performance, PRP, LS, Roll Design, & Walsh. The price range went from $445 a set for the JD's all the way to $1100 a set for the Walsh.
I called every manufacturer and got the specs for their arms. I asked for the following specs:
-Material used (4130 or else)
-Tubing diameter top tube
-Tubing diameter Bottom tube
-Tubing wall thickness
-Adj Camber or Castor?
-Ball joint shaft diameter
-If caster was fixed, what angle was the caster set up at
-Bushings or Bearings
-Zerk fittings
-of course PRICE

My conclusions:

The best set up on the market is tied between Walsh and LS race arms.
They both have the larger ball joints, 1" tubing top and bottom, adj castor and camber, bearings and zerks. Most of the companies had the 1" tubing on the bottom and 3/4" on top. Most had 14mm ball joints instead of the larger 16mm. The rest of the specs fluctuated.

I have found that unless you are a pro rider looking for any advantage possible, you will not need the adj castor. The 3/4 top tube will be fine. I wouldn't recommend the heim joints (which are the joints that make castor adjustment possible), esspecially on the bottom arm (American Star. They become the weakest link.

I also looked at the bottom arms where the shock mounts. I liked the way the LS race had the extra support.

Anyways to make this long story short, I went with the Houser arms. They mimiced the LS race with the extra support on the bottom arm, They were 1" top, 3/4 bottom, had bearings, fixed castor at 4 degrees, 14 mm ball joints, zerk fittings, 4130, and a resonable price, $525.
I work as a mechanical engineer by trade, so I was kind of skeptical when looking at paying $500+ for a-arms. I know I went a little extreme and probably a tad anal, but I feel I got the best arm for the money I wanted to spend. I hope you guys can also benifit from the research I did.

Great info on the arms, but i disagree with your statement on heim joints. I think they are as strong, if not stronger than ball joints. They use heim style joints on some heavy duty industrial equipment and they are rated very strongly. Just my 2 cents.

[boogiechile]

He is not talking about heims for ball joints. He is talking about heims at the frame mount end so that caster is adjustable. I agree that heims are extremely strong and I would rather have them so I can adjust caster. And yes heims for ball joints are stronger than reg ball joints. If the right heims are used.

Jmoney45
You said Walsh was a top pick but then you said you dont like heims at the frame, esp. the bottom. Walsh arms used to use heims at all four mounts top and bottom. Do they still do this?

Good info though, a chart or list for folks would be great to save someone a lot of research.

[zzbudzz]

well, i'm glad i picked these.....now i gotto figure out how to put'em on:confused2 lol.now i'm just sitting around waiting for my shocks to come in.....:rolleyes:

[QuadTrix6]

yea me too

[ralph2]

i always liked houser,, and still do, but some poeple say that they have horrible ball joints, and with u saying that they use 14mm instead of the big 16mmsort of leads me to believe that this is true? is it?

[d-14 rider 27]

alright man, you obviously done your homework, came up with an excellent choice for your purchase, but you left out one MAJOR thing when calling around, that is customer service, will the manufacturers repair/replace inferior products? will they do it quickly? will they help you out with any questions you may have? now i see you picked houser, excellent choice, because with that i believe you will be gettin good customer service. now with me, thats all i look for, everyone makes a decent product, but given the time, im gonna break whatever im riding on, and i want my stuff fixed up and ready to get asap when it happens. good choice on the housers man, hope you like them !

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by d-14 rider 27
alright man, you obviously done your homework, came up with an excellent choice for your purchase, but you left out one MAJOR thing when calling around, that is customer service, will the manufacturers repair/replace inferior products? will they do it quickly? will they help you out with any questions you may have? now i see you picked houser, excellent choice, because with that i believe you will be gettin good customer service. now with me, thats all i look for, everyone makes a decent product, but given the time, im gonna break whatever im riding on, and i want my stuff fixed up and ready to get asap when it happens. good choice on the housers man, hope you like them !

Yea customer service is a big role when i buy stuff. I had a problem wih my housers were one sleeve in the a arms was to small. I called them, the girl picked up second ring i let her know what happened she took my address and overnighted one the same day i called for free. Thats service.

[Dave400ex]

This is a great thread I have never seen it until now. Houser is a very good choice. Seems like about everybody on here runs Houser or Herrmann. I would like to know the Spec's like that on the new Laeger's, Burgards, Herrmann, and the Arens when they are done...

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by x20blaster02x
some poeple say that they have horrible ball joints, and with u saying that they use 14mm instead of the big 16mmsort of leads me to believe that this is true? is it?

i believe houser chose there ball joints to be the weak point in the a arms so the ball joints will break before anything else, if they do break there cheap to replace