A Arm Widening Kit

[bigbadbubba]

i mean if u want to go for it, it will be nice and good for riding, just not durable and might brake on ya

u dont want to be some ware and have it brake and not be able to get out of ware ur at

[CRACKENZAG]

I agree. Well, I may give it a try, or I may study the pic closely and fab something myself. I'm pretty good with metal. I'll have to think about it. I don't like jump the thing. I usually just like to tear ass across my father in law's field. he's got a few trails that go back off into the woods and a few mud holes, but that's about it.

[yam2stroke]

Somebody posted about these earlier, but the majority of guys on here didn't like the looks of them.

[MaineExport]

I started a thread on this product about 6 months ago. There are good points about this product and bad.

I have had several conversations with the owner of the company that makes these kits and the guy who designs them. Several possible problems came up in the original thread... and many of these issues were resolved to my satisfaction when I shot the shit with this guy.

If you want the kit (thanks to my charm and wit) E2S members get a 15% discount!!!

Anyway... here's the low down:

Obviously the kit is designed to be (#1) a cheaper alternative to wider A-arms and (#2) a safer alternative to wheel spacers. The whole point of making it wider is obviously to increase stability. At first glance this seems like a great idea.

It certainly meets #2. I have absolutely no doubt that this kit is stronger than the stock shock and arm mounts. They are built like a brick shit house... they went overboard to ensure that the kit is not going to break. The kit is better than wheel spacers because it maintains suspension geometry and maintains proper leverage against the spindle. Also... the leverage against the spring is unchanged so the ride quality isn't sacrificed.

The kit falls a little short on #1. A-arms are simply put... the best way to widen the stance of your quad and not sacrifice other important handling characteristics. The only REAL problem with the widening kit is its impact on bump-steer effect. In theory... the kit moves the pivot point of the A-arms farther off center... as the suspension travels up and down, the distance between the steering stem dog bone and the spindle increases and decreases. This results in bump-steer.... where the wheels are forced to turn in or out in reference to eachother.

When I asked the owner about the actual impact it has he had obviously done his homework. They had done most of their testing and computer analysis on a 400ex. Right from the factory the EX has plus and minus 4% bump steer from full compression to full rebound. With the kit installed it increased to 7%. Every quad has a certain amount of bump steer stock because the arms have to be slightly off from dead center. But... the closer they are to center the less bump steer.

Now... my problem is that you make the quad wider so it handles better... BUT with this kit you sacrifice a small amount of handling in the name of improving handling. Are the net results worth it? The owner says that it's absolutely worth it. They race with these kits in GNCC and GNC series... and he says they've never had one break, bend, or otherwise fall apart. He says his racers do not notice any increased effects of bump steer... and he feels it's a very good alternative for the budget racer.

My opinion... good product for the casual rider who wants that wider look without forking over a lot of cash. It's going to give you better stability, but at the possible slight detriment to handling in bumpy cornering. It's a BAZILLION times better and safer than wheel spacers. It is, however, no substitute for wider A-arms. I've never been on a quad with this kind of kit... so I can't say one way or the other if it's a good modification. My instinct says it's pretty safe... and the handling improvement will slightly outweigh the bump steer issue.

Tell the guy you're an E2S member and you'll get a discount. And tell him I'm still waiting for my free set!!!! haha... maybe he'll hook me up some day if you all keep bothering him!

[370banshee]

that kit is fuckign junk.... and dangerous....

[370banshee]

take your $275 and buy some used +3 arms... or buy some new ASR's for $349.. and a used banshee axle for about $50 and you'l be way way ahead of that pile of shit kit for $275

[chapds]

yeah, but some of us dont have all that scratch to buy used stuff, especially stuff that you dont know how it's going to be. Those people must be selling it for a reason, right ?? I e'mailed a ton of people who bought this kit, probably about 15-20 people who won auctions on e'bay. All, I repeat, all, had very favorable opinions. I even had a guy give me his phone number. I called him up & he broke it down. Now, i'm not going to race, i'm more of the casual rider guy. Trails, lines, stuff like that. I bought one, & haven't put it on yet. It was cheap & very good quality. I'll give a review when it's done & let you guys know. If you look at it, it's not really changing the geometry at all, it's just making it wider using the same lines. We'll see though. I could be wrong, but i'm not going to judge on something before I try it out. Kinda like the " FMF is junk " debate. Who cares, ride what you like, To each his own right ...

Thanx
Chap

[holtzer1]

dont buy that dangerous pile of scrap to save a buck, youll end up spending the money you saved on hospital bills when it breaks. not to mention it will handle like shit.

[holtzer1]

Originally Posted by chapds

yeah, but some of us dont have all that scratch to buy used stuff, especially stuff that you dont know how it's going to be. Those people must be selling it for a reason, right ?? I e'mailed a ton of people who bought this kit, probably about 15-20 people who won auctions on e'bay. All, I repeat, all, had very favorable opinions. I even had a guy give me his phone number. I called him up & he broke it down. Now, i'm not going to race, i'm more of the casual rider guy. Trails, lines, stuff like that. I bought one, & haven't put it on yet. It was cheap & very good quality. I'll give a review when it's done & let you guys know. If you look at it, it's not really changing the geometry at all, it's just making it wider using the same lines. We'll see though. I could be wrong, but i'm not going to judge on something before I try it out. Kinda like the " FMF is junk " debate. Who cares, ride what you like, To each his own right ...

Thanx
Chap

but why ask opinions if you just want to rebut them?

[MaineExport]

Originally Posted by holtzer1

but why ask opinions if you just want to rebut them?

He didn't ask.... he was offering his own opinion/experience to the guy who started the thread.