Has anyone used one of these sets before?

http://amzn.com/B0096O9DYA

They look to be the same ones Hotchkis sells.

http://amzn.com/B007C75JUU

And there is Firm Feel, that has the needle bearing

http://firmfeel.com/e_body_mopar_fast_ratio_pitman_idler_arm.html

http://firmfeel.com/e_body_mopar_idler_arm_bearing_kit_2.html

What do you guys think.

Ryan

I have read that the ProForged stuff is made overseas.
Have also read that Hotchkis stuff is Made in USA.
If they look alike so who knows where they are really made, maybe Jon or Dan can chime in?

I run the Firm Feel Fast Ratio stuff & idler bearing kit on my E-Body
and I can confirm for a fact that they do not hit a LA small block on stock mounts with Hedman D453 1-5/8" headers
or a Gen 3 Hemi w/ Schumacher mounts and TTI 61HC 1-3/4" headers

America!

The Proforged and Hotchkis look the same, they even show a car with a Hotchkis sticker in their add, could be the same part.


http://www.amazon.com/Proforged/b/ref=bl...e-bin=Proforged

I used the ProForged fast ratio pitman and idler arm on my 69 Wagon.
No bad things to say about them.

I have had great luck with all of their stuff - I bought all ProForged parts when I rebuilt my front end last year.

They might be made overseas (I was never able to find anything conclusive about this except for a nasty "review" left by a competitor on pro-touring.com), but they were a way to get the performance without spending a fortune and they get good reviews.

...and they (the front end components, not the pitman and idler arm specifically) were originally recommended by Dan from Hotchkis as the stuff Hotchkis was using on their cars.

Originally I was going to buy Moog, but their quality has suffered recently and I didn't want to chance things or search ebay for old "USA made" Moog parts.

ProForged = made in Taiwan. Good quality control.

Hotchkis = uses proforged ball joints, etc, in their kits. Hotchkis switched to proforged because they are better than current production moog. I don't know about the pitman and idler specifically, would make sense they are proforged as well.

I'm wondering if anyone here is running a Borgeson P/S box with fast ratio arms?

Holy crap! That would put the steering ratio to around 10.0to 1 !!

I'm also interested in the Borgenson ps box with the longer fast-ratio arms... lighter weight (less ~15 pounds), fatser steering ratio (I' thought it becomes ~11.7:1... T/A = 12.7:1).

I once drove an '88 Camaro, it felt like a go-kart with it's quick steering ratio, compared to the stock Mopar powersteering I was used at. Really had to 'adjust' myself not to overturn the steeringwheel in corners.
Think these cars had a 12.7:1 ratio. Wonder if a Borgbox with FR arms would feel similar, if not quicker.

Would also think a shaft support kit will become pretty much mandatory for longevity of the box bearings.

Indeed, I was talking to Mitch and some others recently. Wouldn't making it less then roughly 12.0-1 make it really touche'?

I use a 13.6" steering wheel and I think its perfect with stock arms. I can navigate cones with one hand on the shifter, I know....bad technique.

I ran the Firm Feel fast ratio pitman and matching idler on my 71RR. The only problem I had was the grease zerk hitting the exhaust pipe. I was running TTI exhaust off the stock Magnum manifolds. What I ended up doing is taking a torch with a rosebud, heating that portion of the pipe, placing a 1/2" pipe over the spot and dimpling in that portion of the pipe until the zerk cleared.

I should note I was running the Firm Feel Stage II box with the fast ratio pitman. It was just a little too fast for my tastes for a street car.

I have the exact same setup and it feels great!
I would guess it would also depend on how wide your front tires are?

I had 245/60/15 on the front. Pretty much street tire

Yup exactly what I was thinking as that size tire is on the narrow side.
I would venture a guess that 275 or wider tires would feel different.

I have the fast ratio arms, idler bearing kit, boregson box and a 350mm steering wheel, its 1.7 turns lock to lock, I can chime in how it is when i get to drive it this summer, I also bought the flow control valve for the power steering pump so it won't be as twitchy

The problem when I owned the car was it was strictly street driven and totally restored. 275s would of required some sheet metal work to the front wheel openings. It had 275s in the rear on a 9" rally wheel. In addition the car was lowered from the stock height about 1".

Car is gone now to a new owner so water under the bridge.

DANGINA -- Your setup (borgsn box and fast-ratio long arms) will be extremely interesting to hear of the results, etc.

Question: You say its 1.7 turns lock-to-lock... isn't that regardless of the long arms? So, even without the long arms, its still 1.7 turns lock-to-lock? That's very, very fast to begin with. I wonder what vehicle the borgsn ps box was originally from? Jeep? Mustang? ??? I heard, if correct, the original borgns ps box was from a Jeep... then the later model is from a Mustang (year, etc???)

The factory standard Mopar ps box is 3.5 turns lock-to-lock; the T/A ps box is 2.7 turns lock-to-lock (due to having internal stops within the box). So, the borgsn ps box with 1.7 turns lock-to-lock should be very much faster for steering respons! Only hope that, at hi-rpm competition (slaloms L/R/L/R/L/R etc) that the power assist can keep up with the driver's needed reactions,... not falling off as the Federal ps pumps all do.

Keep us posted, please!!!

Yeah 1.7, seems quick but I've also been reading on protouring.com, that some of those early firebird/camaros are running the same 1.7 turns lock-to-lock and even they want it to be more quicker!

you bet mitch, I should be driving it this spring/summer whenever i get the car back from color sand/clear coat

There is also one other guy on these boards that run the exact setup as me, he is the one that told me to get the reducing valve for the ps pump as it was too "twitchy" with the stock one in

Actually, I've never heard or seen a factory ps box from any car with less than 2-turns lock-to-lock. to my knowledge, the earlier GM f-bodies (gen-1,-2 and -3, perhaps -4 and -5) had ~2.5 turns lock-to-lock as their quickest offerings in the performance models (TransAms, Z28, SS, etc).... I don't know about the later model Mustangs as to what their lock-to-locks are.

I know the AMC guys would install GM ps boxes into their Javelins and AMX cars for faster autocrossing.

For whipping through slaloms, the less turns lock-to-lock.. the quicker reactions for maneuvers available... potential reduced E-Ts.