tomtom89

I recently installed a set of Spohn aftermarket A-Arms. I had originally planned on just replacing the bushings and ball joint on the factory a-arms. However, when I tried to press new bushings into the factory a-arms, I noticed that who ever tried to rebuild them before bent the factory arms. Needless to say, I decided to install aftermarket a-arms.

The a-arms lined up perfectly with the factory K-member. After greasing up the bushings, they went in with very little effort.




Now for the bad part. I had originally planned to go with the factory spring set-up. I had thought about putting lowering springs in it however I just went with the factory springs. BIG MISTAKE! I spent hours on end trying to compress the factory springs enough to try and get them to fit. THEY WILL NOT FIT!. I literally almost broke my arm after the coil spring compressor broke open after I had compressed the spring down over 5in. I can't emphasize this enough....Do not try and fit factory springs in Spohn a-arms. The pocket that they put in the arm is completely worthless.




I decided to just suck it up and go with the coil over set-up. It was much easier to install. I contacted Spohn and tried to exchange the arms that I bought for the coil over arms and they said that they would not exchange them. Never the less, they did tell me that the a-arms that I had would work with the coil over set-up.

I went ahead and installed the coil over kit. I decided to go with the 325 spring. I wanted it stiff but loose enough to make it comfortable enough for a daily driver.










After installing everything, I got an alignment done and double checked everything. I have been driving it for about 2 weeks now and I can say I am very impressed with the results. The front is much stiffer and the handling has improved markedly. I have not been getting vibrations in the steering and the wheel responds much better then with the factory set-up. I would recommend this set-up for anyone who is thinking about converting to coil over. If you decide to install aftermarket a-arms, don't waste time trying to get the factory springs in. Its not worth it. Trust me.

GCrites80s

Why not? Were they concerned that the finish was damaged by the attempted install? At my company (admittedly, not an automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer) we're much more likely to do an exchange for people rather than issue a cash refund.

tomtom89

They said that they would have to charge me a 20% "restocking fee" if I exchanged them. The only scratch they had as a tiny one in the spring pocket. They claimed that if they took it back, they would have to put another powder coat on it. I was pretty disappointed that they would not let me exchange them for the coil over a-arms. They were $100 less then the ones with the spring pocket. They really need to do a better job of explaining to people how hard it is to install the coil spring.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Frustrating since its their design that makes it incompatible with factory springs.

Im guessing you just couldnt get it compressed enough to "catch" in the spring pocket?

luvofjah

iTrader: (2)

I got the factory (aftermarket Moog) to fit...

The A arms lowered the the ride height a tad...
Moved the wheel back in the well opening some, and when doing tight turns, would rub in the back, which before it didn't do..

Sold them to a guy who I think had a Spohn K member, etc... and he reported they moved the wheels forward in the wheel well...

I went back to factory A Arms with Global West Del a lum bushings.... and all is great...

Beater79TA

I"m wondering what didn't fit with the coil spring. Was the spring perch in the arm too small for the bottom of the spring to fit into? Was the opening in the bottom of the spring too small to get the spring compressor out after installing the springs? From the picture it doesn't appear to have any obvious flaws that would prevent installation.

83HOZ

Sorry to hear about your having problems with these A-Arms, but I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one. I have a thread about spring fitment issues with these new A-Arms too.

Spohn's response was, "we've sold hundreds of these without any issues." We all know what that means, right? We're stuck with them(and that's putting it nicely lol). Maybe they have sold a lot of these newly-designed A-Arms, but they offer their new design for other makes/models too, not just 3rdgens, so those "hundreds" sold must've been for other cars because here are two of us on TGO with the new A-Arms that won't accommodate our springs.

Spohn claims they fit with factory springs. My springs were not factory, but they had the same thicknesses as factory springs, and they wouldn't fit into the spring pockets. Now you apparently couldn't get factory springs to fit into yours. I'm not surprised.

I, too, am having to make changes to my suspension in order to use them. I'm hoping they will work when that time comes.

Spohn blew it here, but nobody there will admit it. We have this problem at work too. Whenever you're dealing directly with the people who created the new plan/product, and something isn't working as well as it should be, they're personally insulted when it's suggested that their idea might not have been ideal, and they're too arrogant to admit to needing to make adjustments(and here, again, that's putting it nicely).

tomtom89

The factory springs fit into the perch just fine. The issue was it was impossible to get them to compress enough to get them to fit between the well on the k-member and the a-arm. I compressed the spring down a little over 5 in and it still wasn't enough to fit. I used an internal spring compressor to compress it and I put a 4in piece of pipe on the bottom of the compressor to get it to compress enough. Despite all of that, it still wasn't coming close to fitting. I tried to compress the spring even more only to have the compressor and spring blow up on me and nearly break my arm. After that I gave up and decided to go with the coil over.

I am satisfied with the set-up that I put together. Tires were in almost the exact same position as they were before. I'm not having any issues with the tires rubbing against the fender or anything. What I am upset about though is that Spohn not only advertises these a-arms as a direct factory replacement but they don't even mention how difficult it is to get the spring to fit in there. If anyone on here has successfully installed the factory springs with the Spohn a-arm, I would like to know what steps you took to get it in. I am mostly disappointed that after contacting them about the issue I was having, they made it seem like it was my fault I couldn't get them in there. I told them that people on TGO and LS1 Tech were having similar problems. They still pretty much blew off my complaint about it. After I decided to go with the coil over set-up, I asked if I could at least exchange the arms that I bought for the arms designed for coil-overs. The difference between the two is that the one for coil over doesn't have the spring perch and weighs less. I was also $100 less. They wouldn't budge at all on it even though I was buying a $550 coil over kit from them. I am very unsatisfied with their customer service and judging by the comments I have seen on here, it looks like I'm certainly not the only one. Their products seem to bee good but I don't think that makes up for their lack of customer service. I think I am going to try BMR or Detroit Speed the next time I decide to buy suspension components.

Beater79TA

The factory springs get compressed and set into the K Member pocket with the a arm hanging. Then you jack up the a arm into position while seating the spring in the perch. Once it's jacked up far enough to bolt the spindle/shock combination to the body and ball joint you bolt those on to hold it all in place. If you attempted to insert the spring after bolting the spindle into place top and bottom, then there would have been no way to insert the spring where it needs to go. The last time I installed factory springs I only had to compress about an inch to get it to fit. With lowering springs, I didn't need the compressor at all to install them.

tomtom89

I tried to do that. The problem is even if you place a spring that has been compressed over 5in into the perch, the spring still won't clear the k-member when you try to jack up the a-arm. I used the same method that was described on this site for installing the factory springs. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is impossible to install factory style springs with these a-arms.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Those spring compressors scare the crap out of me for exactly that reason. THat's why i like my crowbar method, but everyone is afraid of that, too.

Either way, I can definitely see how it'd be a nearly impossible proposition for you. I'd imagine the only good way to do it would be to somehow build a jig that you could jack directly up on the a-arm, seat hte pocket, and then bolt the ball joint and bushings in at the same time. But I've tried to compress springs by just pulling the bushing bolts out, and that's even scarier than the other way. It's VERY hard to get those bolts to line up.

PAFORM350

Spohn should be reported to BBB

tomtom89

I agree with you at this point. I have been doing more research and it seems like its not just me who has been having issues with their a-arms. I have noticed that numerous people are having issues with quite a few of their products. There are quite a few posts on TGO about how their products are not as advertised and that they do not fully explain how their products are supposed to work. I am going to file a report with the BBB. I hope others on this site, who have bought parts from them, do the same. I see complaints about them on TGO dated all the way back to 2010 and 2011. Clearly Spohn is not paying attention to their customers and they feel as if we are a bunch of suckers. Their customer service has also been pretty abysmal and they seem to really like to take their time shipping thinks. It took 5 days before they even shipped my a-arms out and 4 days before they shipped my coil over kit out.

Mirror Image

iTrader: (2)

We will not install or buy spohn anything try calling them with a problem they wont answer the phone half the time

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

this is the only thing a sphon k member is good for..moving a car...

I did get sphon to take back a set of A arms . And send me a 3rd set and only pay the.diff. no restocking fee...It was only 2 weeks apart I just told them orderd the wrong part #..

I had there K member w/coil over and A arms (every thing) even cross member.
Put it on the car for 1 hr to move my car to the new house & shop..unloaded the car from the roll back..put the car in the new shop...and put the K member & 1st set of A arms up. For sale the nexed day..
there cross member to bulky.. I was lucky I posted it on this site $750 shipped it sold in 2 days...
replaced it with a UMI K member anda 2nd set of a arms..with an BMR cross member..
then upped the the 3rd set 10 days later...got lucky just paid shipping for the return.. and for the 3rd set
i had all 3 types polyurethane ends..rod ends..and then the spendy ends...why not...right...

Tire/ wheel set back
there hack job of making there rack K member fit a standard power steering set up
your tie rods would hit..the k member if you drove the car.
When you tell them the wheels are set back almost 2 inch..they just say ....its your problem...lol

The UMI and sphon parts fit 100% no wheel set back..its sphons K Member that are ..we will say...a bit off...LOL

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

Its was on its way to its new home....

rusty vango

another "spohn is junk " thread. really ? WHO the fark is buying spohn parts anymore ?