Anyone running these? They started out when I was in the Nissan scene back in the day, always seem to use high quality components and I see they're making Porsche parts now. Maybe some of you who are track oriented and familiar with the ins and outs of the comparable brands could comment? Primarily interested in the LCA.

http://www.splparts.com/99-05-911-996/

No affiliation at all just haven't seen anyone on here mention them.

 

Looks like agency power type stuff. I might be willing to run them on the street but couldnt say I would run them on track.

Still trying to make sense of the lower control arm picture and how it would fit.

 

The LCAs are similar to the stuff from ERP. LCA and compression link in one.



Actually, the parts look nicely made. Now if they were made somewhere where you could be sure of the materials being used, I don't see why they shouldn't be used on a racetrack.

The pinch collar on the toe links is sort of strange: why not just a threaded shaft with a counter nut?

 

Actually a pinch nut is perfect because when you adjust the toe link it is really easy to throw off the toe when you tighten the jam nut. The pinch nut would allow small adjustments and tighten the pinch nut with minimal change. And for reference 1/16" of toe link movement is at least double at the tire tread.

 

Personally I dont use anything on my suspension thats not proven on track already, regardless of how it looks. And by proven I mean on Cup Cars and the like racing multiple seasons. I pretty much stick to Tarrett, TRG and Porsche motorsport. I regard RSS highly too but still default to my top 3. Now that the Porsche tax is fading on 996 Parts, its not worth the risk to test the limits of new designs. At least not for me.

 

Agreed heavy. The only advantage I can possibly imagine with the ERP or SPL setup is adjustability - but it seems Porsche made do just fine with their setup. And I have 4 new GT3 LCA's here for exactly that reason. That said, ERP/Carey Eisenlohr is def in a league with your top 3. He is better known for his stuff for the air cooled cars tho.

VAG: when is the last time you saw a pinch collar on a race car tie rod?

 

They are more common in shock perches from I have seen. What is the issue with a pinch collar on a tie rod? Maybe I am missing something.

 

I wouldn't put this stuff on a shopping cart. Lol. Attaching brake ducts to these things will be a pain in the **** too.

Why in the world would anyone play test pilot instead of using race proven factory suspension parts. PMNA uses pinch collars. I have the 997Cup tie rods and rear toe arms and they both use them. The work perfectly and are a dream to set up as they don't change the alignment as you tighten them unlike the jam nuts that most others use. Aligning the car with pinch collars is a breeze.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/nM4fpJ]

 

I've done plenty of alignments with both pinch and counter or jam nuts. I haven't really had a problem with either when it comes to setting the car up. I have had more problems getting tie rods with pinch collars broken free on older cars - but we aren't talking antiques here. Pinch collars are inherently less strong than a threaded arm and counter nut - meaning the split arm needs to be dimensioned to take the loads and will generally be heavier. But I defer to Porsche. When they do something, generally a lot of thought has gone into the engineering compromises made.

As far as the pieces being crap, they certainly don't look bad. And assuming they are well made, they could possibly be justified in some scenarios (which I can't think of, but who knows ). I am quite sure that the ERP pieces are good - I just don't see the need to reinvent the wheel. ERP was noted for their suspensions for early 911s - such as the 935 style front suspension. But there they were replacing a fixed steel A-arm with much lighter adjustable pieces. On the 996/7 platform, you aren't really getting that advantage. The split LCAs and adjustable compression/tension links offer all the adjustability you get with their arms. And at a lower cost than the ERP (or SLP) parts. Without the added disadvantages such as the non fitment of Porsche brake ducts (but you don't need to mess with utterly overpriced shims...).

There are many ways to skin a cat, and what is best for one person or situation is not necessarily applicable in every situation. Saying you wouldn't mount them to a shopping cart without knowing anything about them is OTT, John. They don't fit my needs and they don't fit yours or heavy's. But that is all you can say definitively.

Just my 5cents. And I've stuck my neck out for the wrong cause before...

 

Thank you all for the replies. So far the consensus seems to be 'they are crap because they are not Porsche parts' which seems a little simplistic. There is no doubt the factory parts are highly proven, I guess what I was looking for is whether they have features comparable to or beyond the more commonly used parts at a similar or better build quality and price, whether the lack of thrust bushing for caster adjustment on the LCA would be good/bad, if you think the arm would be good or bad from a camber and front track perspective, etc. Maybe that is impossible to determine without first taking the leap and trying them out.

 

I think the Porsche scene is heavily Porsche centric. So most people tend to gravitate towards Porsche motorsport because they are proven and also the factory aspect. Really, the only way to really know is run these. Because most people use what has had been already heavily vetted. And of course their is a bias.

 

Dont be so dramatic, all we said is that they arent as well known in proven reliability. Doesnt mean they are crap. Tarrett sells the ERP ones but they are made of some serious stuff. Who knows what these other ones are made of? Go ahead and buy them and report back.

Respect is earned here. We've seen shiny cheap junk come through before. So forgive us if we dont just buy in easily.

 

from their website:
The SPL billet lower control arm kit includes black anodized CNC machined billet 6061 aluminum lower control arms and 2024 aluminum trailing links that provide track width, camber, caster, roll center and anti dive adjustment. This is the ultimate tool for setting up the handling of your Porsche 996/997/Boxster/Cayman chassis for racing, track or street use. No more jam nuts!! Long gone are the days of fumbling with multiple wrenches to tighten jam nuts in place while trying to keep your bearings orientated correctly. The main arm is slotted to allow the use of pinch bolts and our rotating clamps on our exclusive hybrid adjuster lock down camber and track width settings. Our hybrid double adjuster is machined from 4130 chromoly and is electroless nickel plated for corrosion resistance. Beginning with billet 2024 aluminum hex we machine and gun drill the trailing arms to reduce weight and utilize our rotating clamp system to easily lock down caster settings. Blue anodized titanium hardware shaves even more unsprung weight from the arms, without compromising strength. Anti dive (when installed in the front) and anti squat (when installed in the rear) adjustment is achieved with stainless steel spacers for the forward mounting position of the trailing/caster arm allowing you to raise or lower this pivot point and fine tune the balance of your car. Roll center correction is achieved with stainless steel spacers that work in conjunction with the heat treated 4340 chromoly ball joint stud allowing you to lower the ball joint location at the knuckle. Finally, the use of FK rod ends and high misalignment spherical bearings eliminates the flex and binding found in the OEM control arms while allowing smooth articulation.

SPL Billet Lower Control/Trailing Arms Feature:
• Lightweight Aluminum, Titanium, Chromoly and Stainless Steel construction
• Gun drilled 2024 aluminum trailing link provides superior strength while reducing unsprung weight
• Clamp design allows for easy access to lock down your alignment settings
• Heat treated and electroless nickel plated 4340 chromoly ball joint shanks
• Low friction 3 piece Teflon lined FK sphericals and Heim joints/rod ends
• Multiple size stainless steel roll center and anti dive/squat spacers for precise adjustment
• Made in the USA

at 1600$ a set i dont think they are any cheaper or more expensive than any of the high end comparable parts. no dog oin this i already have all gmg stuff from wghen i bought my car but adding to the info in the thread

 

When you consider John has been replacing hub assemblies as a wear item and gone to the trouble to have heavier duty pieces fabricated you begin to understand the stresses involved. I can understand why he and others that race hard like him might be gunshy when it comes to newcomers in the suspension Dept. A failure in a turn or at high speed could do way worse than total a car! When you break truly odd parts and are asked to consider something that's truly unknown vs parts shaken down by yourself and a factory team yeah I can see being critical! If the pieces are really that good wait for someone they sponsor or a bold racer looking for an edge to try them first IMO.

John has mentioned the damage a hub failure (2x!) has cost him and it's pretty ugly, I'd imagine losing a control arm could be pretty expensive too assuming you lived through it...

 

I thought this would be clear despite all the peripheral discussions, but after skimming back through the thread, I guess not. Quality discussions aside:

- Adjustability: if you use fixed compression/tension links and an adjustable puck, marginal advantage in adjustability because you're not dealing with shims and setting the puck up for caster. With adjustable compression/tension arms and a solid puck, the advantage is reduced to not having caster shims
- Weight: possibly a very, very slight advantage in unsprung weight if everything is well made? Possibly a disadvantage if not...
- Performance/Function: no difference. All the same adjustments are available for OEM parts
- Price: if you use Porsche motorsports parts, no major difference. If you go with 996 GT3 LCAs and arms from Stomski Racing/Tarret/Rennline/etc. you can save money, especially if you're thinking of doing all 4 corners.
- General: you can't use OEM/motorsports brake ducts, Litronic adapters, etc.

So the potential for a gain is marginal and the potential for loss greater. I thought this through with the similar ERP parts. I see no need to reinvent the wheel for the same result at best.