GB Feeler: SLR Torsion Bar Anchors and Adjusters

Cyclemut

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
Morrison, CO
I originally started modifying them after mine folded on a trail. Installed correctly, for sure.

I was climbing an obstacle and scraped the cross brace that houses the adjusters. As the rock went past the adjuster, it bent it slightly. I went about another 10 yards or so, put the right tire on a rock and "pop". The right adjust was the one that the rock scraped and when I put more tension on it, it folded. It took us over 3 hours to bang it back into shape. I went about another 10 yards and it went again. We cut the head off a rubber mallet and shoved it between the lower control arm and the bump stop and I drove the 2 hours back home like that.

It doesn't take much to damage them and they're under a lot of tension. Especially considering the entire weight of the vehicle is supported by them.

I modify the stock ones, mine aren't new.But they're super strong and I don't charge anywhere around $600.

But I also need to speak with Dave before actually selling anything here.

I also have to go to the junk yard and get some more of the adjusters.

I could post up when I get some built, probably be several sets. No anchors though. I haven't seen a properly installed anchor fail, but it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I just don't have anything to make the splines longer on them.

If anyone wants, they can PM me, but I don't want to make David mad. He gets mean when he's mad!
 
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Silver dude

Sliders
Founding Member
That's the first I've heard of the folding issues. Generally the spline teeth strip. When the adjusters are properly clocked they are recessed pretty decently in the frame. Though I guess its really just a matter of a rock snagging the tension bolt which hangs out. Which is very possible... It really could be why people strip them rock pushes it back. Limited spline engagement. Pow.

Even if the adjuster and anchors are good the bar can still crack.

At $600 for the SLR ones I would rather invest in shock hoops and coil overs... just saying.
 

Bklyn.X

Skid Plates
Moderator
Supporting Member
Founding Member
Location
Brooklyn, NY
This is why I'm asking, I don't remember paying that much for these things. I can't find the bill but when I spoke to a friend who bought them around he said that we paid way less.
At $650 its might be worth carrying spare OEM parts although that would be a pita trail job.
 

Silver dude

Sliders
Founding Member
This is why I'm asking, I don't remember paying that much for these things. I can't find the bill but when I spoke to a friend who bought them around he said that we paid way less.
At $650 its might be worth carrying spare OEM parts although that would be a pita trail job.



Yeah I rememeber way way less like half. But I bought them as a package deal and they were the last ones he had. At the time he was looking to clean is shop of old parts.

As long as you have 32's tires or smaller breakage is not bad. Just sits on the bumpstop. I drove like 60 miles without a t bar in place. Its not great but if it broke on the trail you could get home realitively safe. I carry a spare anchor just in case as its small and can be be used left or right.
 

Bklyn.X

Skid Plates
Moderator
Supporting Member
Founding Member
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Yeah, half is what both my friend and I remember athough I have no documentation.
I think I got mine at the same time as you...just before he disappeared.
 

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
According to Spencer, just before the business went under, he was selling the anchor sets for $300 and the adjuster sets for $300 (shipped). Looking at the web archive web page from 2001, it looks like he was selling the anchors for $120 each (no shipping). An increase of $150 over eleven years seemed a little high but not unreasonable.

Do you guys think that he was quoting a bloated MSRP on his site and actually charging less? I had a feeling that he was charging a premium on these but where else can anyone find aftermarket anchors and adjusters? I really don't mind paying the $650, as I said before, it will probably cost me about that to make my own.

Anyhoo... I think that I may take a stab at making my own. Designing and fabbing heat treated billet anchors should be easy but a little expensive in small quantities. The adjusters may be more of a hassle to machine out of billet but it could be fun. Allen's adjusters sound like a good option as well; he seems to be a pretty smart guy with solid fabbing skills. He may be a better source than Spencer.

If anyone wants to contact Spencer to order a set, shoot me a PM and I'll give you his contact info and maybe you can pick up where I left off.
 
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rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
And for those who may be curious, here's a copy of the email from Spencer:



My old pricing was 300 pair for adjusters and 300 for anchors. Plus shipping.
Like I said, pricing has increased
650 shipped is a good price with shipping and paypal fees.
If you can get 5 sets together I will do them for 600 set of adjusters and anchors. And ship all to 1 location.
Thanks
SL


On Jun 5, 2012 7:33 AM


[FONT=&amp]Hello again,[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Depending on the price, I may be able to get five people together for this. $650 is a little high for some and they are curious what the price break may be for five or more sets. If the price is right, there’s a good chance that I will be able to get an order together for more than five sets. What do you think the price break will be for five sets (or more)? [/FONT]



[FONT=&amp]From:[/FONT][FONT=&amp] Spencer Low
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 8:07 PM
To:
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Torsion bar anchors[/FONT]



Hello and thanks for the interest.

I can machine you a set, but all pricing has increased from materials to shipping.

I will do anchors and adjusters for 650 shipped, paypal transfer, heat treated and powder coated.

Anchors only 450

Adjusters only 400

I only have the laser plates in stock and will need to machine the parts.

I might be able to drop cost if we can get 5 sets or so.

The parts are done on a cnc machine and they don't like to set up for 1 or 2 parts.

I would say 2 to 4 weeks.

Thanks
SL


On Jun 4, 2012 6:44 AM


Hello,

I’m curious if you are still producing the SLR torsion bar anchors for 2000-2004 Nissan Xterras? If so, how much do they cost and what is the expected turnaround time on these? We may be interested in buying a few sets. Thanks!
 
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Bklyn.X

Skid Plates
Moderator
Supporting Member
Founding Member
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Rokdaddy and all;
It was inappropriate for me to ask cyclemut about his modified parts, for me to question today’s price of the SLR parts you guys are trying to buy and to quote a price that I thought I paid especially without any documentation within your "group buy" thread, I apologize.
The discussion went a bit off topic and I went with it and even made it worse.
The SLR parts I have are great and all of my posts were to let you know my experience with them and then curiosity and discussion took me off track without thinking…
Again sorry, I got carried away.

I don’t think Spencer mis-quoted the price although (he has never done any wrong to me or anyone I know) he does not have the greatest reputation.
I think a few folks got in on a better price when some bad stuff was happening with him. Like I said, I don’t really remember and have no documentation. It was a feeling I had, backed up by a friend and then by “Sliver Dude”.
 
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rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Rokdaddy and all;
It was inappropriate for me to ask cyclemut about his modified parts, for me to question today’s price of the SLR parts you guys are trying to buy and to quote a price that I thought I paid especially without any documentation within your "group buy" thread, I apologize.
The discussion went a bit off topic and I went with it and even made it worse.

No need to apologize man... ALL of your comments are welcome. You (and Silver Dude) started modding your rigs long before I started messing with mine and your input has been very useful. I think that this is all healthy discussion for a GB "feeler". I think it's important for folks to know about pricing history and alternative options before making a decision. $600 is a good chunk of change for a lot of us and the more we know the better.

The more I think about the details around having my own made, the more I realize that $650 isn't all that bad. I doubt that I could even get the four splines cut for less than a few hundred bucks. Even though it sounds like a fun project, I may still have Spencer make me a set. If anyone thinks they may be interested in a set, just let me know and we can work something out directly with Spencer.
 

TKDx00

Lockers Installed
Founding Member
I spoke to Cyclemut and some others whos opinions I trust. All I will say is "Do some research" into why you need to buy these before you make a decision. Are you a hard wheeler who strips the splines normally or are you buying these items just as a precaution? Is $650 a good investment for a precaution or would it be more reasonable to spend less?

I am by no means knowledgeable on what parts to buy nor am I advocating for anyone persons product over another, but then again I tend to think logically.
 
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rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Is $650 a good investment for a precaution or would it be more reasonable to spend less?

That's a good question... and the answer is always going to be slightly different depending on who you ask. There are probably a lot of people reading this who think that any price is too much; they would rather spend their money on other things. Then there are others who are willing to pay quite a bit for what may turn out to be nothing more than peace of mind.

This conversation reminds me of the recent discussion on steering systems. There are some who think that anything more than a Grassroots center link (~$230) is a waste of money. Then there are others who think that paying Spencer Low $650 for one of his steering kits will get you the best bang for your buck. Finally you have the group that says screw it... I'll just get the Total Chaos kit (~$1250), deal with the big price tag and never look back.


None of these approaches are wrong, and in practice, they may all turn out to be true. We all need to decide for ourselves what works for each of us. It's interesting though, how the "don't waste your money on the expensive stuff" crowd seems to be the most outspoken. It's not often you hear the guy with the TC steering kit (or the SLR) telling the Grassroots guy that they didn't spend enough money on their system.


This discussion has brought up three observed failure modes in the anchors/adjusters and for me, that’s a potential weak spot that I would like to work on. $650 is within my price tolerance so I’m willing to consider it. I'm just looking for ways to strengthen the whole LCA assembly, and as of today, there aren't many options out there.


Allen’s reinforced OE adjusters sound appealing but they are still an unknown for now; he has caught our attention. He seems like a sharp guy and a good fabricator too, it will be interesting to see where this goes.
 

NMTerras

Suspension Lift
Location
New Mexico
^^^this. And, if youve ever been on the trail, broken, you know the value of peace of mind. Everyone has to weigh costs, benefits and risk tolerance in their own way. I, for one, do not want to be shoving a hockey puck under my uca and limping off the trail if i can help it...


Sent from my brain using technology
 
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Cyclemut

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
Morrison, CO
I don't want to pull anyone from this group buy, so I won't continue to comment as to anything on the SLR units.

There will be "another" vendor making the adjusters, but not the anchors. They will be a vendor on XN shortly. ;)
 

The Chech

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Kaneohe Bay
And when might this other vendor come into play? I my self blew an adjuster last week. It was a pita because I had to order another cheap oem adjuster and do not wanna go through this again....
 

TJTJ

Skid Plates
Founding Member
Location
NJ
I have a set of SLR adjuster/anchors...not yet installed, as I got them (Used) as trail spares in case I messed up the OEM ones. They are pretty beefy, but I would not have bought them at the above price points, given that the OEM's can be braced adequately as is...much as Cyclemut described.

It might be a good price for the WORK DONE to make them...but, I don't think its a good price point given the cost/benefit ratio.

Jason/BlueX for example, who's adjusters are perpetually twisted into pretzel-like shapes due to a chronic lack of cross member tucking...could benefit perhaps...but for the same $ he could build a cross member bump out - or, heaven forfend...crawl under the rig and tuck the adjuster back up into the cross member further.

:D
 

The Chech

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Kaneohe Bay
Well I wont lie I was going a little faster then I should have been on a trail and my front right happened to find a small ditch and me slamming on the brakes didn't help the fact either. It wasn't the part that is welded to the tube that broke it was the splines inside the tube that just got totally blown out. At that point it was smooth there were no more splines any more. But the new adjuster wasn't to bad though it was only 74$
 

Cyclemut

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
Morrison, CO
The new "vendor" should be up by the beginning of next week. Had to wait for some stuff to get finished up before stepping up to the plate.
 

BlueX

Test Drive
Founding Member
Location
Manassas, VA
This is why I'm asking, I don't remember paying that much for these things. I can't find the bill but when I spoke to a friend who bought them around he said that we paid way less.
At $650 its might be worth carrying spare OEM parts although that would be a pita trail job.

I thought about getting these but can't see paying that kind of cash for them. I have had problems w/ rocks finding mine and folding them up. It is much cheaper to find used or even OEM ones and use those as spares.
 

NMTerras

Suspension Lift
Location
New Mexico
Since this group buy was closed I hope this post is ok. If not, let me know and I'll remove.

I have a set of the SLR's in my garage. They are brand new and have not been installed. Anchor's have powder coat, adjusters don't.

I'm not using these as I've gone SAS. I have no interest in raping anyone over the pricing, so make me an offer. I can hand deliver in person to GONE.

Thanks,

RX

Rokdaddy....
 
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