spartan

Hey guys i wasnt able to find any good information in search so wanted to make a thread devoted to suspension arms and tension rod components and everything in between, post your experience from install to ride quality anything you want to spread information on what you have. I am in need of tension rods currently for the bushing is badly ripped and causes the steering wheel to shake severly while braking. I've been searching many sites for them, the prices range from $350 to about $60 and i havent read any good reviews about any of the products. It doesn't look like a hard process to make tension rods or suspension arms, seems like the material is the most important factor aside from fitment.

I like seeing a product that offers a warranty just makes me feel all warm an fuzy a company isnt looking shady. I like seeing where a product is made, lots of products ive seen they hide the fact they were made in Taiwan or even some made in USA.

Im gonna start from the bottom an go up from the products I've seen.(Tension Rods)

1. Ebay/no name $50-$69: these are cheap as hell price wise, dont look bad at all, and some even offer a warranty. Im really curious if anyone has had experience with these. I'm leaning toward these because im on a budget and dont think it's hard to get this kinda thing wrong. Just a speculation looking for people who have had good or bad experiences.

2. God Speed Racing, Megan Racing, ISIS, Circuit Sports, or etc...$70-$115+:
These products looks great an many offer warranty, i have never bought from any of them before but look worth trying. I know of a few people that work with GSP and they have many products that make me want to spend a fortune on. Many of the products seem under priced and too good to be true. That goes for the the rest of the brands I have named.

3. SPC, Power By Max, Tein...$160-$350: I have had personal experience with SPC on my Civic. Great product, Great fitment, and decent price range.
LOVE PBM and Tein Products but why so expensive!?

Also interested in whole set suspension arms and tension rods as well, Ebay ones are about $200, ISIS and Megan Racing goes for less then $400.
My S14 is a daily and I dont feel i need to get every thing but i have been thinking of having fun at the track every now and then.

Please post any helpful information. websites, contacts, hook ups, or whatever! Thanks!

zooopreme

SPC's are great for daily driving with a not so low stance. If your car is lowered at a reasonable height, these arms are perfect. I have yet to have them fail on me.

I have PBM suspension arms on my other subframe and I think these are great if your car is really low. I mean really low. The newer ones have the ability to lock in alignment specs without slip so that's definitely a plus.

The cons of PBM arm (and maybe all suspension arms with spherical bearings) are that they aren't really daily driver friendly. At least, for me they aren't. Some people can and probably will not mind them but I like being comfortable in my daily driver. Some don't mind it.

With suspension arms, you really get what you pay for. Ebay arms typically have terrible bearings and bad welds along with low quality metal. They really should only be used for shells that roll around.

spartan

Great post!
I'm not into the whole lowered scene i prefer to only be dropped about 1.5 inches for track and daily.
I want a smooth ride quality more stiff then soft but i dont want to feel every damn bump and line on the road.
for the ebay stuff ive never really thought about that, I have emailed ebay sellers before and they dont even know what the products are made out of other will gladly tell you an know their shit.

dluevanos01

I personally have battle version. I was looking for the same information a while back. I was between SPL, PBM and Battle version.

SPL has nothing but good reviews online and they offer a "trade up" when they release a new version or when you want to buy they're product.

PBM is reputable but since I have Tein coilovers I was scared that the RUCAS would hit the coilover.

Battle version is cheaper than both, but they still have a good reputation and their quality is extremely good! I purchased tension, traction and toe rods and they are very strong and look like a quality product.

I would have purchased SPL but it was kind off out of my budget. But I am more than happy with my Battle Version suspension.

there are a lot of reviews online, it just takes time to search.

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spartan

Another great post thanks for the information, Where did you make your purchase, how long have you been rocking that setup, and how did install go?

Dousan_PG

I've had
Tein (tc)
Kazama (ruca)
eBay (tc ruca and toe)
Battle version (ruca and toe and forward)
And spl (tc ruca toe forward and tie rod ends)

Spl and bv have been m favorite due to customer support. Ended up using spl because of trade up and super easy for replacement parts

They all did the job with no problem.
Daily comfort?
Anyone going with spherical setup shouldn't expect a daily driver comfy feel. Obviously stiffer
Quality and thickness and welding on the bv and spl was superior to the others

You get what you pay for

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spartan

Cheap aint reliable and reliable aint cheap. Some times i like to believe there are loop holes, because I've been lucky enough to discover such things.
not to sound like a noob but what is TC stand for and im assuming RUCA is rear upper control arms?
I take it soft spings are the most important for a comfy ride, I drive about 2k miles a month and i just want to be planted nice haha.

zenkiset

I'm having the same problem with my S14 while braking from around 60mph+. Personally I've been looking at the ISIS and Circuit Sport Packages that are near $400. Just more in my price range, plus id rather knock out some other old arms and rods before they break or get in awful shape so i can use them as backups if i happen to have a little spill at the track and break the ISIS or Circuit's (whichever i choose).

I can give a partial review on the ISIS package. My friend bought their package deal from Enjuku and we installed them about two months ago. He hasnt had any problems out of them at all so far, and i can testify that the ride they provide is very satisfying. I've driven his car a few times since installing them and i really like the ride that these offer for the price.

I personally am probably going to go with the Circuit Sport Package for $459 from Enjuku.

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spartan

How long did the isis kit take to install and how was fitment? Why go with circuit sports package instead?

zenkiset

we took our time on the install lol, we honestly spent around 5 hours doing it. fitment is nice. one of the hardest parts for us though was putting the energy bushings in.

why go circuit? honestly, for the zilvia community. im willing to take a risk on my own money in order to provide a complete write up and review on them. havent seen an in depth, clear desciption of them yet and not just a biased sounding "opinion" because thats what the person decided to spend their money on.

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The Dude

You can easily make your own toe/traction arms. I bought some hex rod from coleman racing (which is where BV gets theirs) and rod ends from QA1. I think I may have $100 or just over that in both sets.
If you're good at fab work you should be able to make pretty much all your own rods. I'm not, so the rest of my arms are from spl. The new stuff is good but their first generation stuff oxidized on me almost immediately.

spartan

I wish i had the time to fab my own that would be ideal, Very good information thanks for sharing!

Croustibat

Circuit sports arms are way above godspeed ones. Had them both. Cant remember the seller but there is one that backs the CS arms it sells with lifetime warranty.

i also had emusa arms, which frankly should never be even considered, except if you are planning to suicide. Not only are they made from an alloy of metal and cheese, but the welds are rubbish, the misalignment spacers are at best oval and not to the right size. There is also a ton of play in most threads - which sometimes are not even straight (traction arms) nor round ! (oval shaped RLCA threads, guess what happens when a ball joint that gets a lot of efforts are attached there ? )

How about a couple of RLCA seized ball joints after 50 miles ? how about RUCA and traction arms ball joints that develop a 1mm play in 50 miles ? Well i only spotted after 50 miles, which was basically a one way trip to my tuner.

How about front and rear LCA studs with the wrong taper, too ? Not for S13, not for S14 either. Just not for nissans.

I bought the whole package. Granted it was cheap, i think that was 600€, something like 800$ at the time... But in the end it is all useless. They are going to the bin, and i wasted so much time, money and efforts on it i will tell everyone about this. And i will make public videos and photos, because it looks like they got friends here that dont like people telling the truth and calling me a liar.

Now i heard they got quality control people ... the way i see it, i got something that has not been controled at all, or i was sent rubbish parts because i live too far to send them back, and they didnt want to bin them. Either way, this is unnacceptable from any company.

spartan

Thanks so much for sharing! I've actually delt with EMUSA/SPEEDY RACER products before on my Civic, There are over a dozen members that have been running the K series turbo kit for years with ZERO issues. I myself run the EMUSA turbo on my K Series and spools every day like its new. But im glad to know they dont share the same quality with Nissan because i was considering them.

Croustibat

I dont know if it applies to anything else than suspension arms. They dont build anything, they just label cheap chinese made stuff, so maybe the suspension arm stuff is terrible and other parts are better.

It still is no excuse for "quality control" though.

whyteboi

Save up and buy nice arms. I went the ISIS route and they are not terrible, probably fine if you are just daily driving. After a year of drifting I bent the toe rods on the subframe (they did warranty them though) and the joints might make it through another season, but they are not as tight as they were new. I will be slowly upgrading to PBM. I make shit money so I understand when you have to save a ton to get nicer parts, but it's cheaper in the long run. Wish I would have listened and started with nice parts from the beginning.

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spartan

Isis sounds good for me not great for the average drifter/racer thats awesome that after a year they warranty the parts still. I read they use their own parts on their race car so thats also a plus in my book but im sure the tansfer is 100x eaiser when that need to replace parts.

Dousan_PG

Tc rods
Tension control rod

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Aaron
Pink GodziRa
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Zerolift Autolab

The Battle Version arms are by far the best quality for the money.
We have been using their products in our race vehicles for a few years.
And with their recent changes and updates to some of the
products, they are better looking and stronger than in previous years.

The BEST part about Battle Version ... If you bent a link and need to
replace just the "Tube" you dont have to purchase a whole arm.
Battle Version will provide the Center Section of the arm for significantly
less than purchasing a whole arm.

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spartan

Thats great looks like these are in the top running for my next purchase.
Where did you buy from?

Zerolift Autolab

We're a vendor for the Battle Version products if you're interested
Please contact us.

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whyteboi

They are not terrible. If you need somethibg quick then buy them to get you on the track but if you can wait I'd just buy better arms.

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spartan

I cant seem to find a good site to buy battle version set, the main website is very expensive.

whyteboi

Get hold of Nick at EliteJDM. He runs them on his FD car.

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spartan

Thanks man!
I'm considering these great price but most items are for rear. i guess thats a plus tho.
*ISIS Suspension Arm Package - Nissan 240sx 95-98 - Enjuku Racing Parts, LLC

whyteboi

Well, that replaces everything except the LCA. Nick sells those as well.

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spartan

I doubt ill get that, those are really expensive and i really dont think ill need them. maybe later down the line i will, thanks for letting me know tho, hopefully another member will be able to take advantage.

spartan

Actually i dont even think ill get that ISIS package lol I'm just going to buy Megan Racing OE spec replacment bushings, i really cant afford more atm, how pathetic lol.
Keep posting if you can everyone this thread isnt just for me there are plenty of noobs that will find these posts very helpful!

Croustibat

If it is just for caster arms, change the bushings. They are big and easy to do.

Just dont get cheapass megan racing ones, you need bushings that can actually move a bit. Megan are usually just PU bushes, that will put a lot of stress on the chassis as they will resist a lot.

This would be a nice solution, i didnt know it existed.
whiteline bushes, with added caster. You want more caster, so get them.
Whiteline KCA331 Radius/strut rod - to chassis bushing (caster correction)

tengo240

the isis toe rods will hit the subframe if your car is really low correct?