Just wanted to post this given the poor customer service reviews SLR has been roasted with in the past...I ordered a set of 4 bilsteins last Thursday from them...Spencer Low called me right back after I had left a message on their AM indicating that I wanted to order a set. He was very friendly on the phone and said he would have the order processed and shipped by Monday. As of Monday they had not shipped and I was a bit worried but he called me personally yesterday to let me know that they had already shipped and he gave me a tracking # for the 3 day shipping package, and he picked up the tab for the expedited shipping because they did not go out exactly on monday, as I had only paid for regular ground mail. Overall I would say a friendly, fast, and competant experience!!

Damn it is good to here things like this.

NIce!

It seems that SLR is going to start winning out alot of buisness from Calmini. I've been seeing lots of bad reviews about Calmini's service and parts going bad.

But hearing the opposite about SLR-better parts and good service. Too bad they are so much more expensive!

It's good to hear that the effort that SLR towards customer satisfaction is showing.

It's allways interesting to me when people prioritize price over performance when it comes to that automotive aftermarket.

If you guys ever get bored , look arround at the number of aftermarket custom fabricatiors that produce the quality and variety of products for one brand as SLR does. Camburg, Dufco, JD Fab, Velocity fab, the Baja Shop and Donahoe Racing are a couple of places to start.

You'll find that price wise, SLR is not over the top when it comes to pricing their products.

If you compare Toyota 4x4 vendors like All Pro Off Road or Donahoe Racing and Total Chaos to SLR, you will find that quality stuff costs. A set of coilovers from Donahoe is close to a grand.

A steering set-up from TC is at the same price point as SLR. Apples to apples, SLR stuff is not that much more than Calmini and it really is in line with what else is out there.

Calmini makes a quality product and they do have the advantage of being able to make a lot of things in-house due to the overall size of their company and the variety of products that they produce not only for us but Suzuki and Isuzu and then their is their hugely popular Full Traction line which is taking a great deal of exposure as well as customers away fromt he likes of Pro-Comp, Fabtech and other large suspension companies.

Unfortuantely . smaller vendors like SLR that concentrate on one brand are in a position that they have to deal with a number of vendors to execute their designs (leaf springs for example) and that adds to the costs of their quality products.

When it comes to your vehicle though, cheaper is not allways necessarily better.

SLR stage III lift=$1685.00
Calmini lift=$979.95

That's a difference of $705.05. Yes, they are just a bit more expensive.

Skaggs

As far as i know that SLR price you get a core refund. You send back the stock parts you have taken off to put the lift on and BAM they give you a nice sizeable piece of that back.

Im going with SLR all the way.
Steering and Lift. I have yet to hear a bad word uttered about the SLR pieces. Id rather pay a few hundred more and have piece of mind than skimp and end up paying in the end

The steering system page does mention a core refund but the lift page does not. Can anyone confirm or deny? I'd like to know the final price after core refund.

I believe that the stage 1 lift is comperable to the Calmini lift...I think the Stage 3 lift gets the rear up much higher than the Calmini lift.

Skaggs

I know it does

SoCal told me about it in another borad and i believe i asked specifically about the lift.

If you send back your stock parts SLR basically buys them back from you.

How much? Is it $700 worth of parts?

I guess mabey the Stage I + some torsion bars would be pretty comparable to the Calmini in price.

Not really. SLR Stage one with add a-leaf and T-bars is 1190.00. You do get a diff drop that does little to no good. The Calmini lift is 979.95, a 210.05 delta.

Also if you go back through the posts you will see that folks have had issues with trying to get the front end aligned with their upper A-arms. This may or may not have been resolved.

-Doug

I've had better luck over all with SLR over Calmini....and I have stuff from both companies.

Calmini's 3" lift is a AAL/Shackle rear, with no upgrade to a full pack option....and a UCA swap, with upgraded T-Bars, more like the basic Stage I SLR lift, but with less capable UCA's.

I had the Calmini UCA's and the SLR UCA's...and while they are dimensionally similar mount point to mount point, I could coax more wheel travel out of the SLR UCA set up....I added a diff drop to reduce CV joint angles on full droop for that reason...didn't need it for the Calmini UCA's...the Calmini UCA's did not change the wheel travel, the SLR's did.

The std SLR ball joint for the UCA was also a better version than the Calmini ball joint.

I got and installed the Calmini steering kit because for the money, it looked to be the better system. The bushing issue arose afterwards, and was for me, an unforeseen problem...and also a problem I haven't had yet....so I've ordered a set of experimental new bushings, and when the Calmini one's go, I'll pop in the New Design from XterraXcursions.

I have the AAL/Shackles in back from Calmini, and they've been fine, despite the extra armor weight, etc....and the truck works fine with the SLR front and Calmini ass.

I have SLR's 20% Extended Bilsteins all around, and the upgraded 300M 28.5 mm T-Bar's....which are great too.

So - All in all, SLR and stuff from SLR has been great, and Calmini and their stuff have been OK.

Try asking them for a sticker...I've been waiting for mine for two months now.

Are you kidding me? You'd be down on a manufacturer because they haven't sent you a sticker?? WTF?

And I can't believe someone would bring up alignment issues, literally YEARS after any problem like that has occured. Geez, you'd think by now people wouldn't bring up crap from that long ago, unless there's some recent/relevant information to add...

I sent an email to SLR about core charges and it went like this:

ME TO SLR:
Is there a core part refund on Xterra suspension lift components?
Thank you. Jeff

SLR TO ME:
Hello Jeff and thank you for your interest in SLR. We only offer core exchange for perfect parts. The Stage 4 kit we will refund money if you choose us to weld on your shock tabs on a OEM LCA. The UCA and other OEM parts do us NO GOOD.

We offer a FULL Core program with out steering solution. We give up to 75 a pitman and 119 for a Idler... PERFECT parts and we check for it!!!!!!

Thanks and have a great New year>>>>>>>>>>>SLR

I don't know

Personally im going through SLR

Ive seen what can happen when people search around for the lowest bidder to do a job.

Not saying Calmini is a bad company OR the lowest bidder. WHat im saying is you get exactly what you pay for and no more.

It has been clearly concluded that the SLR arms were re-configured for proper allignment. There have been multiple posts regarding the new arms since they have been corrected a year and a half ago as well as people who were able to exchange their arms for the new properly engineered arms that provide PERFECT allignment.

The SLR arms also provide an additional inch of travel than the Calmini arms.

They also sell the proven NISMO - Sway-A-Way t-bars that have not had any issues.

I also have as of yet not heard any problems regarding their steering system.

I know of at least two set of Nismo bars that have failed

I hadn't heard. What was the failure?

Come to think of it , I remember reading something about a set breaking. Was it an X or a Frontier?

All of my stuff is SLR and I havent had any issues with Customer service or with the parts I ordered.
I sent in my cores and my spare steering parts for cores and was given credit within a reasonable amount of time. I used that credit for my centerforce clutch purchased through SLR.

They dont give credit for stock crappy parts that you are replacing with their new fabricated parts, although that would be nice.. LOL

I wouldnt hesitate to order from them again in the future. Probably spare spherical bearings for the steering system when its time to rebuild it.

So, have you recieved your shocks yet? Is the tracking order showing that have been shipped at least? Just curious if his promise was kept. :rolleyes:

Well, I have no complaints about their parts but the least they can do is send me the sticker they keep promising so I can go on my merry way and do them a favor by using my truck as their 'billboard'.
:rolleyes:

Hell....I tried getting a decal when I ordered my steering many moons ago......I love the product, but I gave up on the sticker request after a while....seems it was too much trouble to plop a decal or two in an envelope and send it out.

Sorry...since my original thread kinda got off on a tangent here I didnt think to update when they came in...Yes...came in on Monday of this week, right when Spencer Jr. said they would....nicely packaged and very well done overall...a definate

the failure was due to chips and scrapes in the powdercoating that allowed rust to start. the bars were over 2yrs old and heavily abused, so its more my fault than anyones cause tbars should be replaced when they show signs of wear and tear.
it blew up about 300yrds from the golden crack in moab on a speed bump sized ledge.



what does a broken nismo tbar have to do with slr??

i can't believe people are bitching about a freaking sticker

I think....at least I know in my case....it was a joke....hence the laughing smilie.....Wow....
:rolleyes:

Evergreen, I mentioned a while back that we wrap ours in electrical tape which prevents them from getting chipped and scratched. I think the suggestion wasn't taken seriously but doing so might be exactly the solution to preventing the problem that occured in your case.

Hell.. if electrical tape is strong enough to stop the impact of a rock from hitting the bar then they should start sending truckloads of that stuff to our boys overseas to make their equipment better armoured.

I doubt that the kind of scratch that electrical tape will stop is the kind of scratch or chip that would cause a Tbar failure.

The torsion bars just have a layer of powder coating as protection. If a rock just chips them or scratches them past the layer of powder coating, you then have exposed bare metal which can be prone to rust.

If you tape them up, you have an additional layer of protection that will not allow the powdercoating to be penetrated.

His failure wasn't the result of a large rock or an impact, it was the result of the bar slowly deteriating over time due to the powder coating being chipped away at by rocks and whatnot and the bar rusting over time.

I'm trying to suggest an inexpensive and helpfull solution to prevent a problem. It is not a new idea. Guys have been doing it in the desert for years.

It surprises me that people who spend so much money on bumpers and skid plates and rock sliders and other armor are so sceptical when it comes to protecting the one thing that is holding the front end of their truck up with an inexpensive shade tree project.

Let's say you DO tape them. It's a whole dollar 99 spent. What's the downside?

Wow...this new "administrator" sounds alot like the old administrator...they even have the same surly disposition!!

And you remind me of that one guy that was known as a full time web wheeler. He's gone now too!

Now that you finally have some parts to lift you truck, do it and become your own expert.

As for the tape on the t-bars. If all that you are counting on the tape for is to prevent them from RUSTING then go ahead and do it. An impact on a rock will easily go through the tape and allow moisture to get to work.

If they are worn out/fatigued then its time to get new ones. You are only as strong as your weakest link. Dings and impacts will slowly effect the t-bars integrity.

I work in the corrosion industry. Taping (the kind you are thinking of) is NOT a good idea. When there are holidays (cuts / holes) in the coating (tape) you will get moisture under the tape, and it will have no way to get back out.
Here is a quick writeup on corrosion / coatings.
Topcoating powdercoating is not a good idea. As the coating is damaged, water & road salts can migrate under the powdercoating, and cause corrosion damage far from the inpact damage. sandblasting the new Tbars, then somthing along the lines of rinolining would be better.
a much easier idea is inspection after each run, and cleanup & touchup the paint that is damaged.

I just had my first experience with SLR and it has not been a good one. A total of 5 emails went unreturned regarding an order I had placed, and when I finally called, got an individual who I clearly bothered . Sadly, they have lots of great stuff on their website, but I won't buy from them again.

A quick follow up to my posting earlier today regarding my experience with SLR. Spencer himself called me this afternoon to discus my posting, and after discussing the matter, it is clear they are swamped with business, and my expectations to great. The fact that the owner of the company cared enough to call, says volumes. A lesson to others, a simple phone call is more valuable than bombarding a company with email. Thanks Spencer for the call, and when $ allows, I will be in touch!

Glad to hear that you were contacted and things were worked out.

All of the vendors on line seem to respond to the phone faster than the e-mail...I think the E volume just buries them.

its me or someting on my end, or is SLR's site down?

Not you...seems to be down...perhaps for updating??