I have a set on order, will be here by the end of the week and track tested on Monday, Tuesday. Was trying to get them last year but they weren't quite ready for sale yet.

Nothing really SPL is "in-expensive." But you get a high quality part that will last! That is what I pay top dollar for.

Yep - it is my fault. :tup:

Seriously speaking, I was told that the pirelli world challange folks want/need more camber and caster - and yes I want to be able to get at least -3.5 camber out of these just like the ones that were made for the 350z's. The proto type II's just were not going to get there. Remember, Sean is a perfectionist which i love. I talked to him on the 17th and he said 2 more weeks at the latest so we will see. Trust me - I will be first in line. :tiphat:

wow they couldnt get -3.5, but you are not dropped much correct? Im looking for -3 ~ -5 with a 1" to 1.5" drop. You think that would be possible?

:iagree:

That is why I have been waiting almost 3 years for these guy's to make them. Trust me - I have been pushing.

You have to remember, I went from 19" rims (staggered setup) to a 18" squared setup (for track events) so that did a 3/4" drop right there. With the proto II arms, the car dropped another 1/2". I am now at 4 3/4" off the ground at the front bumper. My original stock setup was at just under 6" at the bumper so the current setup with the proto II's is pretty low in my opinion. Anything else and I will be bouncing off the ground on bumpy tracks. :driving:

Just so you know I am running 275/35/18 NT01's all the way around.

I will text them and see what the deal is. First I have heard of this. Total bummer if this is true. :shakes head: I am running at TWS on May 4th & 5th and wanted the final version on the Nismo.

Do let us know how they run on the track & how easy they are to adjust to different setups/track configurations during your sessions. I didn't want to go with Doran because I know the quality of what SPL produces - it might take them a while but they have been the best arms for the Z since they came out with the 350Z version- and I really like how easy they are to adjust after each session when the track/conditions change. That is what is important to me in camber arms.

There's a lot of similarities between the two designs in that they are both billet aluminum, both use spherical bushings at all 3 corners, both are relatively easy to adjust. The Doran arms use shims, so it is just a matter of knowing how many shims you need for a given setting. I would recommend that you do this when setting up the car on the alignment rack so you can see if your toe is being altered at all. My car is track only at this point so for me it doesn't matter, set it and forget it.

If the SPL parts had been ready at the beginning of the season I probably would have saved myself a few dollars and gone with those as they would have worked just as well for my needs, I have no complaints about the other SPL parts on the car. The SPC arms however had to go away. I'm sure they are fine for the street but they just get torn up on track.

Well what I call the proto III's (hopefully the final version) are done per SPL and on their way to Houston (today - being driven by Sean himself) to get electroless nickel plated. Hopefully they will be back in Austin by next Tues/Wed so I can get them on the car for the Texas World Speedway event next weekend. I will call on Tuesday and find out the status. I have my fingers crossed. :tup:

Hmmm, so all I have to do to get some nice control arms is track down this nickel-plating shop here in Houston and rob the place tonight? :)

But seriously, I hope these things are available soon. The outside edges of my front tires hate me right now.

I really want the SPL arms as they will cost half what the Doran arms are and offer caster adjustment. However if SPL keep pushing these back I will pay the extra for the Doran arms. Any idea what was done with the Prototype II? I would be willing to buy those as I don't need as much camber.

I wish it was that easy!!!!! lol Long story short – the arms are being anodized and the adjusters are still in Houston being plated. They are not ready - story of my life. Obviously I won’t have them for the TWS PDS event this weekend. Nothing that I am not used to for the last 3 years. :rofl2: Hopefully they will be ready for the June PDS event. :confused: I definitely have my fingers crossed. One would hope they will be ready in the next few weeks for testing.

I just got back from the tire shop – had them flipped on the rims – so I can get more life out of them since as you said – “The outside edges of my front tires hate me right now”. :shakes head:

BTW – once PUCK produces a new batch of kits for the fuel starvation issue, I want to come to Houston to meet you in person – Mr. Expert!!!!!! :tiphat:

Cheers

:mad:

I am with you hombre!!!!!!! :iagree:

Well, the new (what I am now calling) proto type III arms are ready to go. I am working with Sean to get them installed ASAP for testing and then get the car aligned. Could be tough this week getting them installed and everything what with his schedule and the V8 Super Cars in town starting Friday at COTA. My goal is to get everything done no later than next week Wednesday. TWS has an all day (8 hours) open track event Friday the 24th, so I hope to have everything in place to test by then. I have my fingers crossed. :happydance:

Hurry up bud! Alot of people are waiting on you. :tup:

Dude, it is not me - it is SPL and them making time for the install/testing/alignment. I was harassing them Friday to do this once I found out everything (parts and pieces) was back in Austin at their shop. :tiphat: The sooner the better I say. I am willing, ready and able to do it now!!!!!!:driving:

Bump....Nismo09 are you gonna have this for the TWS event this Friday?

Knocking on wood

In for results! Just bought and installed SPC's but will ditch them as soon as these drop.

Sorry, we couldn’t line up anyone for the alignment in a timely fashion to make yesterday’s OTD. I am kind of glad though in hind sight because at least in Austin it rained pretty much all day. I know College Station got some rain as well.

I am scheduled to have the “proto type III” arms installed this coming Tuesday, get all the measurements done, and get the car aligned. Hopefully I can take a few “bumpy” laps at Harris Hill afterword’s depending on time. We start at 10am. The good news is that I can keep them on and test them at the next PDS TWS HPD event weekend on June 15th – 16th. So baring any rain, I can get a good feel on how they respond. Truthfully, anything is better than stock. :driving: I am totally confident they will be everything I could hope for and have been praying for for the last 3 years. I will take pictures of the arms on Tuesday and post them.

That’s it for this second. We are almost at the finish line I believe. :happydance:

Cheers.

:happydance: Hope you get to just keep it, period.

:iagree:

Well I did get the new (what I call the ) Proto III arms installed. We took every measurement possible I believe. Everything went smoothly and the car has a new alignment as well. I will post those specs. I am hoping they work great. I am not going to post new pictures since they look just like the old arms but I will show you what it looks like installed on the Nismo.

I am headed to TWS next weekend for their DE so I will give them a full shakeout (baring any rain) and that should be it. Since I will be instructing, I will drive more sessions and push them hard. As far as I am concerned, SPL should be ready to sell them to one and all. I am stoked. :tiphat:

which tuesday?

I was gonna bump this thread last night but decided to stop stalking this for once, glad that there's progress.

I see you went from 5deg caster to 7deg caster. Why the big change?

I don't know enough about the exact numbers (or suspension in general, probably), but my general feeling has been that my car's going to need some more caster as well. Supposedly more caster = more dynamic camber, so that your static, straight-line camber can be a little less aggressive (= better accel/brake performance on straights) and dynamically increases by a greater percentage when you lay into a corner.

More positive caster gives you more hight speed stability. Less positive caster gives you more agility, quicker turn in. In a nut shell.

Even going by that rule of thumb, it still seems like more caster would be nice. The car turns in amazingly, but sometimes high-speed braking is slightly squirmy (very minor steering corrections to keep it straight).

Are these things done yet?????? Aaagghhhh!!!!!

Disregard the before measurements – we had been doing a lot of testing before we hooked up the alignment machine. We actually could only get 4.3 caster (which was the setup I tested) in the proto II’s. That is one reason SPL wanted to redesign/refine the arms one more time. Now I am up to 7.0 and can go higher if I want to. I am curious to find out if I have any snap over steer issues with this setup. We shall see.

We also could only get -3.5 of camber on the proto II’s (which was a major issue) and now we stopped measuring after -6.0 degrees. I mean, come on, who would run more than that amount of camber? I kept the camber setting at -3.0 since I still have a total stock Nismo suspension system. When I get around to upgrading, I am sure I will move to -3.5 degrees - and add more caster as well.

To answer Rusty’s question, wstar is spot on - I want more caster for turn in and with having more caster it will actually increase my camber on turn in (another reason to leave the initial setup at -3.0). As you know, the faster you get into and out of a corner the faster your lap times are. I just hope the car doesn’t turn into a snap over steer pig like it was with the OEM staggered Advant Sport tire setup. :shakes head:

To answer RN SHRRK – these bad boys are installed and ready to go. Read my earlier post above. I will be tracking them at TWS this weekend. We will be going CW so I should get a really good feel on how they respond. I want to try to get x10 30 minute sessions in but since I will be instructing, that might not be possible. The good news is the weather looks to be great so it should be a dry sticky track. I am stoked. :happydance:

I truly believe these arms are ready for prime time and I told Sean at SPL that 2 weeks ago but he is waiting on my report back after this weekend to decide if that is true or not. :tiphat:

Don’t kill the messenger here. It is not my decision. Remember, I have been pushing these folks for 3 years to produce these and I am just glad I am the guinea pig testing them. I am just the tester here!!!!! :yum: I would like to think I had a part in them finally making them. :hello:

Will let you all know next week how it went. I have my fingers crossed. :driving:

As far as I am concerned we are definitely in the home stretch. :happydance:

If you want to see pictures go to the first page of this thread. They are pictures of the proto II's but the proto III's look identical. :tiphat:

This guy would: Crazy Insane VIP car in Japan

:)

Well there is always one crazy Mo Fo out there!!!!!!! lol :eek:

Alright boys and girls, the proto III’s have been tested and as far as I am concerned they are ready for prime time. :happydance: They performed even better than expected – maybe waiting for them for 3+ years clouds my judgment – and were wonderful on the track. I got x8 30 minute sessions in this weekend at TWS and actually being able to keep turning into on a corner was a total trip. I definitely had to watch out for the snap-over steer monster - I just was not used to a car being able to turn in fully without using the throttle to rotate the bad boy. It took a couple of sessions to get used to the new setup (and get my head around the new feelings) but once I got the hang of it, the party started – and never stopped. I turned my fastest laps ever. Not too shabby. :ughdance:

I talked to Sean at SPL Parts today and told him they are ready for “Prime Time” in my humble opinion, so anyone who wants a pair needs to contact him. Here is their web link. SPL PRO SUSPENSION | Contact

Do let him know that you heard it from me and he should cut you a break off the retail price. At least I told him too and he said he would. :tiphat:

Thank god this ordeal is over and I get to party with the Nismo on track forever more. Happy days are here again!!!!! :pics:

I know AK wanted some video of the new camber arms in action so here is the Nismo on track with the new camber arms. It is a long video (warm up lap to fuel starvation – that’s when I usually exit stage left because I can’t perform at top speed anymore) but I made this one first (of the weekend) for my green students father – he was in the car with me on this session for a father’s day gift on Sunday. If you can bare to watch it to the end, you will see/hear my fuel starvation coming through turns 2 – 1 (a big big right hand sweeper). Thank god it happened on the flat portion of the track (which it usually does but usually not this far down the turn) and not on the 8 degree banking (20 feet away). It was all I could do to control the car from snap over steering to the left when the rear end lifted up. If I had been on the bank – well the wall sure as **** could have come into play. Damn Nissan!!!!!

I will tell you this session was run with the temps at 98 degrees (with the humidity, weather bug said it felt like 107 – and trust me it did) and the track was definitely slippery. No excuses just the facts. Dad had a wonderful time. Dad is an old drag strip racer and I showed him what road racing (and why his son loves it) is all about. Glad to be of service. ;-) It was a good time had by all!!!!! It doesn't get any better than this as an instructor.

06.16.13 TWS CW The Nismo Having Fun on Father Day - YouTube

I sent them an e-mail and got a reply back almost immediately.

"Sales@SPLParts

5:10 PM (2 minutes ago)

to me
Hi takjak2, the design is finalized, we just have to wait for the machine shop to complete them. Looking at 2-3 months ETA.

Thanks,
Sean Farrah"


2-3 months, just like 2-3 years ago

Just in time for Christmas. My new winter project. Arms and bushings in the front.