Cheap Tubular a-arms on e-bay for f bodies

[Tatersalad]

What's the story on these complete sets of upper and lower tubular control arms on ebay for around 300 bucks, and that's for upper AND lower. I saw some on there made by procomp for I think around 325.00, but the rest just give a part number and no manufacturer. Has anyone ever used any of these? I'm thinking there has to be a down side as far as quality at those prices.

[AintQik]

You would be thinking correctly. F bodies are so screwed up geometry wise, if you are going to go through that trouble, get some arms that actually help correct things (with a good spindle). Chinese knock offs may be ok, may be crap. Just depends on what you get when you click. Quality all over the place. Valve cover? Yeah I'd try a knock off. Control arm? I'd be a little leary.

[UMI Performance]

They are made in China, this is why the price is so low.

I haven't seen an actual a-arm failure but I have heard of ball joint failure very quickly and also a customers friend reported to us at a trade show event his 69 Camaro wouldn't align with these a-arms on his car and he was very frustrated.

Any a-arm set in that price range is basically overseas and regardless of brand name all made by the same place in China, just relabeled as what ever brand they want to be.

[Vicinity]

The welders over there get paid pennies an hour to weld.

Would you really care about quality if you got paid pennies an hour?

[UMI Tech]

Which year Camaro are you purchasing for? We have 4th Gen sets plus 3rd Gen lowers.

2nd Gen in the works but not ready yet...

Here's a few quick snapshots of a set of G-body uppers one of our welders is working on right now. We currently have five guys welding and they all take pride in their work. They know these components routinely land from a wheel stand or dump a 4000lb Chevelle into an autocross corner.

63323

63324

63325

[srh3trinity]

Those are some pretty welds.

For pieces that can break and put me in danger, I want quality. I have several friends that work for two different steel manufacturers and they send a lot of metal that doesn't meet US spec to China. I would be concerned about the quality of the work and the material. I purposely saved for a period of time so I could afford the arms that I wanted.

[Tatersalad]

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. The arms look good in the pics, but you know how pics are sometimes, once you get the product in hand it's nothing like the pics. The geometry was what I was wondering about. I'm a welder/fabricator myself and have worked under people with night and day difference as far as quality control and consistency. I've welded roll cages, installed back halfs, tube chassis on drag cars, and even got fired because I was taking my time and doing the job like it should be done. I can't speak for pro-touring fabrication, but alot of drag racing fabrication shops are very shady and I guess it goes hand in hand with suspension components as well.

[chevelletiger]

[QUOTE=srh3trinity;928205] I have several friends that work for two different steel manufacturers and they send a lot of metal that doesn't meet US spec.

Im sorry imo,i dont agree with your friends.one because they are not very many steel mfg.plants left in the us due to strict air quality laws and furthermore china produces more steel than the usa,check most mfg co. Matl. Racks and im sure youll find a chunk of chinese steel in there.im not taking sides with them just stating facts i know as i have worked in mfg my whole adult life.as for the little chinese guy not being a good welder? Id have to say if the chinese guy welds evereyday for 5 yrs hes bound to weld damm better then alot of hobby guys! Lmfao! Btw im not making fun of any of you guys on here.phil

[hifi875]

[QUOTE=srh3trinity;928205] I have several friends that work for two different steel manufacturers and they send a lot of metal that doesn't meet US spec.

Im sorry imo,i dont agree with your friends.one because they are not very many steel mfg.plants left in the us due to strict air quality laws and furthermore china produces more steel than the usa,check most mfg co. Matl. Racks and im sure youll find a chunk of chinese steel in there.im not taking sides with them just stating facts i know as i have worked in mfg my whole adult life.as for the little chinese guy not being a good welder? Id have to say if the chinese guy welds evereyday for 5 yrs hes bound to weld damm better then alot of hobby guys! Lmfao! Btw im not making fun of any of you guys on here.phil

he only said 2 plants!!!

[chevelletiger]

[QUOTE=chevelletiger;928310]

he only said 2 plants!!!
Ha!ha! I know,i read his post i was stating a fact about steel used in aftermarket parts,yhe vendors we have produce great parts but for some saying they use only us steel IMO dont always use us steel its hard to stay in the game that way.

[UMI Performance]

It is hard to find US steel anymore... especially tubing. 95% of our tubing is USA and we are very proud of that! It cost us extra but is worth. I know some of our competitors are using overseas tubing to save money and we choose not to. The small percentage of non-US tubing is Canada or sizes not available in the US.

[srh3trinity]

[/QUOTE]Ha!ha! I know,i read his post i was stating a fact about steel used in aftermarket parts,yhe vendors we have produce great parts but for some saying they use only us steel IMO dont always use us steel its hard to stay in the game that way.[/QUOTE]

Maybe I should have approached this from a different angle. The parts from many vendors here on the board have been proven on some level on the track and street. I don't recall any Control Arm failures from any of the manufacturers and vendors that support this board. Also, they have put the time and money into improving the geometry. Several of these companies bring cars and support to the events that we all enjoy to give validity to their products. So, the OP may benefit from buying a piece that is more of a known quantity.

Of course, the disclaimer would have to be that the quality of raw materials that these companies use is often unknown and they certainly could fail just as the Chinese arms could fail and just because a failure hasn't been reported on this board doesn't mean there hasn't been one. But the community of people that buy these type of parts is fairly small and many posters on this board are on other car-specific boards so word would have gotten out.

[chevelletiger]

It is hard to find US steel anymore... especially tubing. 95% of our tubing is USA and we are very proud of that! It cost us extra but is worth. I know some of our competitors are using overseas tubing to save money and we choose not to. The small percentage of non-US tubing is Canada or sizes not available in the US.
Its awsome you guys use usa steel and your up front saying you use 5% overseas matl. It shows your honest..i like that! Some vendors dont want to admit it.nice parts you fellows make btw ;-)

[SR71]

I also would believe that there are some american companies labeling and selling these as their own too.

[chevnut55]

I just installed a set from a usa selling e bay store. the arms look great they seem to be the same as some of the expencive ones sold..and with no lables or instructions I wonder if they are the same.
Now heres the problem...I installed them and they are not the correct lenghths. the tires tilt in 1/2" with no adjustment for alignment! also with 1" droped springs it sits too low (over 3" from stock)
So now what do I do ? I have done all the work and mess around with it for weeks and have no car to drive and no one to care. I have no $$$ to buy a good set from a real co. that would help me correct the problem.
Its cheap but not worth it!

[chevnut55]

I just installed a set from a usa selling e bay store. the arms look great they seem to be the same as some of the expencive ones sold..and with no lables or instructions I wonder if they are the same.
Now heres the problem...I installed them and they are not the correct lenghths. the tires tilt in 1/2" with no adjustment for alignment! also with 1" droped springs it sits too low (over 3" from stock)
So now what do I do ? I have done all the work and mess around with it for weeks and have no car to drive and no one to care. I have no $$$ to buy a good set from a real co. that would help me correct the problem.
Its cheap but not worth it!

[dontlifttoshift]

But look at the deal you got!!!!

[UMI Performance]

Also if they were cheap ($300-400 for a set of 4) I would be almost 100% sure they are not USA made arms.

[Jcmolina]

I installed a pair of control arms on my 71 Chevelle and the only issue I have is that I lost some turning they seem to rub but besides that I have driven the car all summer with no issues. If you think about it almost everything is being manufactured in foreign country.

[UMI Tech]

As a US manufacturer in a small town we find ourselves explaining quite often that we actually do our own cutting, machining, welding, blasting, powder coating, assembly and shipping. We also design and develop in-house and build cars, test cars, race cars and enjoy cars.

Our company motto is Made In USA, Always Was, Always Will Be.

We're quite proud of that in this tough economy...

[MCB Matt]

USA arms.....i know the "backend" of these arms and at $99 cost for a set of 4 believe me, there is NO QC at all!

We have a lot of good priced USA made arms, its well worth the peace of mind....

Let me know if i can help, we carry all the brands out there for arms!

Matt

[MCB Matt]

They are all made in china (the cheap ones) there are NO $300 american arms. The latest exciting part of the china arms is the cross shafts breaking!

Good times.....not

Matt