Today’s pleasant experience aligning Liang’s car had a lot to do with his decision to use SPL adjustable suspension arms. In addition to providing increased range over the stock eccentric bolts, the SPL arms were precise and super easy to unlock, adjust, and re-lock. It’s a bit of a secret for some, but I’ve been a fan of the brand for years, and I use them in my own cars.
That said, not all aftermarket arms are made the same. In fact, I’m seeing more and more alternative designs when it comes to locking the adjustment in place. Back in the early 2000s, the most common adjuster used jam nuts — where you’d literally jam (tighten) the nuts together to keep them from moving. More recently, and in Liang’s case, I’m seeing locking collars, and I’ve gotta say, this makes adjustment quicker and easier. Super cool! Although, there’s some rumor that this style tends to have problems over time. Although, so far so good.
In the past, I’ve seen arms that use a combination of jam nuts and locking rings. That’s the kind of stuff I have in my personal cars currently. But perhaps it was a transitional design before certain manufacturers decided to go completely with the lock rings. In some oddball cases, there are arms that require unbolting from the car to make adjustments prior to reinstalling them, checking the alignment, and then doing it all again until the measurement is correct.
I won’t quite say who makes BAD arms (mostly because I don’t remember the names of junk), but I will say whose arms I’ve had positive experiences with — there’s SPL whom I mentioned earlier, Ikeya Formula, Nagisa Auto, Cusco, and a few other brands that don’t make arms anymore, so I’ll refrain from mentioning them. Regardless, no matter whose arms you use, if you do decide to add them to your car, it’s a good idea make sure to pick ones that are built with quality and have outstanding reviews from the people who use them AND the people who install and adjust them. Extra points if the bearings are replaceable.
