Duke

Having a stock arm fail in a high speed corner isn't even close to "an event that requires them to shear" so why would anyone think that it's acceptable and "better" than stronger arms!?
I rather be sure that everything stays in 1 piece unless it's a hard crash. Too many examples of stock arms that breaks under normal racing conditions to accept it, or worse prefer it.

azbanks

I got the link to work but I don't think it is the correct link/company.

333pg333

Yeah I'm sure you're right. I thought someone might have had some custom billet items made up.

Droops83

The stock aluminum arms are scary.

Since I have an early offset '86, I was able to backdate to the early 944 steel arms. They are cheap, have replaceable ball joints, and they may bend but they won't break. None of the 944 Spec guys that I know have ever broken one.

I bent one once when I dropped a wheel off of an inside curb at Streets of Willow last year. The arm took all of the damage, so the pickup points and subframe were OK. I limped back to the paddock, replaced the control arm with a spare (I always have a spare control arm and ball joint handy), and still had time to go out with my student a few sessions later, as well as my own next run session.

The Racer's Edge arms do look very nice and are proven, and I would consider those or a good used set of Charlie arms if I were to build an all-out race car.

67King

I drive Road Atlanta a lot. It isn't a slow track, and it lacks runoff. Turn 12 is one of the scariest turns in the States, at least until you get used to it. 110MPH or so at the apex, and the wall is about 4' from the track out point. I worked EV this weekend at the club race. The walls got moved by impacts 7 times that I can recall. None from suspension failures, but having a stock control arm let go is not something I want to even think about. I've seen several cars get hit in the wheels wiht stock arms, and the pin usually bends, but not the arm. I've seen frame damage, but I've never seen another car cause frame damage to anywhere near the extent that walls cause them. Which of course makes sense, since the walls are very, very hard to move, and the cars can move much more easily if they are hit. So it is pretty hard to envision a scenario where a weak control arm would be a benefit.

Frankly, the front control arm is probably the most or second most important piece of the suspension (tie rod). It is a known weak point. I really don't understand the concept of keeping a weak point in the car in the event you are involved in an accident. Because given their history, one is a whole lot more likley to have a failure that CAUSES an accident with major damage than to have one prevent major damage when an accident occurs.

I appreciate the concept of fuses. But one that is too small in something like a defibrillator just isn't wise. That's kind of how I see the notion of the stock arm on a track car.

As pointed out though, on the street, it is another matter. They are now powder coated, rather than plated, so they are better.

Droops83

I concur with your point. Something that is liable to randomly break due to the normal stresses of track use does not belong on a track car.

My argument for the early steel arm on a track car is that it is extremely unlikely to break or fail due to normal loads, but it WILL bend in the event of a heavy impact where the factory aluminum arm would break. It is easily and inexpensively replaced every season as a preventative measure along with the ball joint. The arm can be reinforced if you are worried about it bending, though I have had a huge Tarett sway bar twisting my stock Lemforder steel arms for the past 2 years with no problems in street and track driving.

An extremely strong and overbuilt control arm is a good idea, but in the event of a heavy corner impact it could shift the brunt of the damage to something much more difficult to repair/replace. Not saying that a strong arm is a BAD thing (far from it), just making a point.

Penguinracer

Have any of you guys using the RE arms had them powder coated or spray painted? Are they zinc coated?

Tim

Chris White

Wow - 4'....that seems like enough space for a pass! At WGI we measure the distance to the Armco in inches, not feet....

333pg333

Come down to Bathurst.

Chris White

I would love to - but I can't fit my track car in the overhead compartment!

Mark924S

I can understand where a weaker arm wouldnt cause as much peripheral damage. Not that I would prefer it over a stronger arm less prone to failure. What is a good arm to run on the street with some track outings?

LUCKY DAVE

Racer's Edge here, I've had no issues with them.
The stock arms/ball joints are feeble to say the least. With high grip and spring rate combined with a bumpy track, the stock parts are dangerous.

67King

Armco? Pft, that's for sissies. Armco gives. We put a permanent concrete wall right there. And to be sure there's no room for error, we put grass between, so if you go off, you hit it even harder. You konw, because as they say "the grass makes you speed up!"

I will say this, though. At least medical is stationed right there.

944Cup

Fir more info on the High Strung 44 control arms, here is a link:

www.facebook.com/highstrung44#