Dare I say something and offend people that love Spencer Lowe Racing...but is the stuff really that great? It is a serious question, since I have never used any of the products, but always hear people talk about the stuff like it is the holy grail of modifications if you can track it down.
I know I have seen a few things that were unique and Xterra specific for our issues (T-Bar anchors, idler arms, etc)...but the UCA looks pretty similar to the AC UCA...and even so, AC and Calimini are slightly different design, but identical function. They all seem pretty darn comparable.
Is there any reason at all to prefer a SLR UCA over AC or Cal? Or is it just a consistency thing that you already have one, so why not stick with what you got?
As it said in the opening gambit, I HAVE ONE and so just getting one more would make it a set...so, that would be plan A.
Plan B was to go for a set of them or a set of AC UCA.
When I tested Calmini, SLR and AC waaay back in the dark reaches of X time...the SLR had the most droop, but the AC were for all intents and purposes about the same. The Calmini had more travel than OEM, but a little less than AC. Again, not a huge difference there either.
The SLR T-Bars (300M) were noticeably better than the SAW bars everyone else was selling under various private labels....as 300M is just
really good stuff.
The SLR shackles were ordinary sturdy shackles but made with cross braces to be stronger than Calmini's two simple albeit thick plates, and 6" as Calnini's were. The Revolver Shackles from AC are far better than either of the other two shackle options for the others. AC's shackles seemed to have grown longer with time, and some measured 6", and some up to ~ 6 3/4" in length...not counting the adjustable options. AC's shackles are also cross braced and stronger than Calmini's.
Calmini's stuff was "powder coated" with something akin to those colorform stickers, that flaked off shortly after mounting the parts....SLR's stuff was powder coated with a hammer tone finish that actually was really tough. AC's finish was between those two in quality, but a lot closer to SLR's in that regard.
The Deaver 3-Pack AAL used by AC and SLR was the same pack IIRC...the 2-pack Calmini AAL was worse in that it rode stiffer and robbed more wheel travel.
AC and SLR used the same Bil shocks IIRC, for the 5100. Calmini offered some re-badged POS shocks that were too short to allow full droop, barely longer than stock, and were old fashioned twin tube garbage that rode terrible and wore out fast.
SLR's steering system was bullet proof, but, so expensive, you had to be under fire to consider it. Calmini's steering was very sensitive, and failure prone, and, if you had a problem, they did not take care of you, but the price was reasonable. I don't have experience with "An AC steering System" to compare with. I did have a Calmini system, and, mine was fine...unlike my assorted buddies who had bad luck with theirs.
SLR offered some suspension stuff (Armored t-bar anchors, etc...) that no one else had, the ball joints were better quality, etc.
So, overall, especially given the prices...I'd probably be getting AC today if starting from scratch...as SLR is not really available, and the 300M stuff went the way of the dinosaurs supply-wise, etc...and Calmini treated too many friends of mine like sheeet to do further business with them....and their stuff is generally inferior from what I've dealt with. To be fair, it does depend on where the bar is set, and I have had worse jeep stuff for example, and so forth.