Going to do a review here on the front upper adjustable control arms made by skunk2.

These are the Pro Series Plus line, or the top of the line model.

Over all at first glance they look to be a solid product with free floating bushings which differentiates them from the other models in the line up.

Before I (to be frank) put them on blast. I have contacted them and notified them of the problems to which their response was "these problems do not warrant warranty claims." I got neither an apology or even a recognition of a problem. YOU DECIDE...

problems:

1. Gap between boot and stud that will allow dirt and water into joint. about 5/32nds of an inch.

2. Extremely weak looking boot with mold realease residue left all over the boot.

3. Barely any grease compared to an brand new OEM joint. I would estimate 1/10 the amount of grease the OEM Honda BJ would have

 

The gap.

 

Weak boot with mold release residue and hardly enough grease.

 

The solution, is oem ball joint boot which Skunk2 said would fit differently because its made for oem ball joint and not skunk2 ball joint, but wait Skunk2 your telling me the stud size and taper angle are different? I sure hope not or else this ball joint stud wont be fitting into the knuckle properly at all lol.

 

I would have returned them and gotten my money back to spend on HardRace... Skunk2 is a joke, esp after what has been happening.

 

Filled ball joint with oem outboard axle grease which seemed to be a dead nuts match to what was in there already.

 

They probably would have given me hell since they were opened package. I think ill be happy now that i fixed their problem.

 

Any one else with a review feel free...

 

As much as I'm not overly impressed with Skunk2 as a business right now they probably make the best camber kit there is for '88 - '00 Civics. Hardrace? Really? Come on. Just the fact that you can adjust it from underneath makes it far superior IMO.

The ball joint boot does suck, and there probably should be more grease packed in there. But I think overall it's a pretty darn good camber kit and those 2 problems are easily fixed as long as you know about them. Skunk2 has a golden opportunity to make a good product even better by acknowledging and fixing both of these issues.

 

What's wrong with hardrace?

 

You can't adjust the ball joints from the bottom. Which means two things:

1. You have slightly less travel before the arm starts to hit the shock tower because of the bolt heads (not a huge deal)
2. It's easier to adjust the camber kit if you can do it from the bottom

Besides all that, the hardrace kit just looks cheap IMO. I'm not saying that it is, but looking at the two side by side you'll definitely get that opinion. It uses regular bolts from the top, with just washers, no plates or anything (unless I just happen to be looking at a really old version) regular washers distort really badly in a situation like that.

 

On the bright side, AMR is about to start full-time production of camber kits for civics. They look amazing!!

 

Btw, I don't think I made this point clear above, but I was comparing SK2s pro series and pro series plus kits to hardrace. Their tuner series doesn't stack up as well (can't be adjusted from the top and IIRC it doesn't have the new style balljoints)

 

I heard lots of bad reviews about the Skunk2 camber kits so I opted to try the Buddy Club ones out.

 

x2 Thanks, I def. dont hate the product.

 

No love for SPC?

 

*I don't think my post actually submitted earlier!*

anyways, like i was saying, i've have used my Skunk2 front camber kit for a few years now.

i've gone through 6 ball joints in total so far as well (about 3 on each side). the last few ball joints i've bought were the 'pro-series' ones and also needed grease to be added before installing as there's not a lot in there when you get it.

i also had to shave off a few mm of material as well from the rear of the arm (where the bushing is) to clear my inner fenders. car is lowered to 1 finger gap.

i run them because they do work and do not seem to slip, but it sucks changing out ball joints every year (even though they're cheap) and getting an alignment again afterwards for my track days.

 

Never even thought of them. I have zero experience with them either.

 

SPC is nice, didn't know they made a front camber kit for these cars. Looks like a real nice design from that picture.

 

I have a set. In a box now because I wanted my full suspension travel back (see the sticky on camber kits for an explanation if needed). Forged aluminum instead of stamped steel.

They adjust caster (+-1.5*) as well as camber (+-3*). Seem fairly strong too, since I have dented shock towers and bent knuckles from slamming them into the shock towers and they show no sign of damage. They also held alignment hopping curbs at 120mph at Willow Springs.

Just remember to torque them to spec, which (if my memory serves) is 120 lbs-ft.

 

SPC BJ single mounting location does not look very sturdy to me , any with extended service life with SPC upper arms?

 

Thats what I thought too when I saw it, but I didn't see any complaints about it when I checked them out either.

 

I would have thought so too, however...

That's my test of the holding power of, well, pretty much any part.

They didn't even slip on me when I went 4 off, sideways, at over 90 mph.

Probably because I did torque them to 120 lbs-ft. Had to borrow a torque wrench that even went that high.

 

i never had a problem with my skunk2 camber kit..compared to other camber kits in the same price range these are without a doubt the best

 

I just had both ball joints go bad, and they've only been on my car a little over a year.. Seems many others are having the same problem. Sounds like they need to change something. I'm about to pick up another one today and I'm going to check the grease and boot, thanks for posting this up.