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....so are the ball joints the only downfall to these Chinese A-arms? I've always been under the impression that the arms themselves were problematic. Are the Chinese arms good as long as they have good ball joints? If so, I may redo my front suspension sooner than I planned!
Doug,
Just asking is too vague to even consider. I agree that reputable reputation goes a long way, but in this case anything from cheep overseas manufacturers is questionable and highly undesirable in my opinion without published testing specifications and to what standard.
You have to verify the quality of the tubular metal they purchased, its composition, the type of bending they use and any stress relief heat treatment, the composition of their welding rods and the quality of their welding, any stress testing and at what levels.
I know this is not stuff that gets advertised in the specification sheets but this is the product development and failure analysis results that determine the quality and end use.
Next part of this equation: if you ask for verification of these tests and materials, can you get it? Can the company verify the standards they built them to? Show me - I doubt it almost all of the time.
When it comes to a critical part on your car, wait a little longer, save the extra cash, and buy something of very high quality built to a known standard. On the other hand if its a box of paper clips...well you get the idea.
I had a materials professor in college tell me once, and I will never forget it, "Cheap is just that - cheap, low cost on the other hand - is engineered".
