FAO Skunk2 lca group buy members

[petet16]

To any one who took part in the Skunk2 lca group buy on Rovertech, it appears they may be fakes, I'll post a link shortly.http://cms.skunk2.com/id/707/Fake-LCA-Alert/

Comment 44 about 8 and 5 groove bushes, mine are 8 groove so may well be fakes, which also means that they may not be 2024T6 alloy as claimed, I wish I'd just poly bushed the standard arms, which was my original plan.

To say I'm annoyed is an understatement.

[stamford]

Great! Just what I needed to hear!

[petet16]

Me too, we await Rob's response as to the authenticity or otherwise, Im wary of them because they could be made of any monkey alloy.

[Jay-ZS+]

Bloody hell, people will copy anything these days.

[paulzs180]

i heard about some "issues" with a batch of skunk2 LCA's, couple of guys i know got sets for there 200 coupe's no-no fit :S

[Eastwood29]

As i said in the original thread pointless upgrade. They are designed for civic ek's. Plenty of cheaper copies fit on civic ek's just fine. Our arms are quite different.

[sneekyparrot]

Ahhh FFS!

this is really bad news and cant believe Rob would knowing sell on fakes!

just checked the ones i bought (Not through rob) and acording to the skunk web site these are fakes 2 :mad:

gonna let the guy know who i bought them off and notify ebay but hey now't will happen!

not a cat in hells am i fitting these to the Reyland ZS!

and to really PIS£ me off i sold a set of polybushed stock items when i bought these.

Frigging ebay really racks me off with things like this as they take no responsibility at all

[sneekyparrot]

Anyone else confirm they are fake items from rob?

quick look at the bushes will tell fakes have 8 groves.

[petet16]

There has been some info, the 8 or 5 groove bushes are a Red Herring, Skunk2 has used both.

If you go to the Skunk2 website there are good pictures of the arms so you can compare yours with the pictures, I've checked mine and the machining and finish compare well with the ones on their website, I'm 100% these are the genuine article.

[sneekyparrot]

There has been some info, the 8 or 5 groove bushes are a Red Herring, Skunk2 has used both.

If you go to the Skunk2 website there are good pictures of the arms so you can compare yours with the pictures, I've checked mine and the machining and finish compare well with the ones on their website, I'm 100% these are the genuine article.

ahhh that even more annoying as i have just emailed the guy calling him a complete Wank%^r for selling me fakes lol!

guess i better mail skunk to comfirm or has that already been done as there site says they only use 5 grooved bushes?

looking at pictures the proper items have a part number stamped on side, min don't, do the ones rob supplied have a part number on?

umm pretty sure mine are fakes going buy the pictures, mine a supposed to be black series and the pic's show no machining marks and should be satin not anodized ARSE!

[sneekyparrot]

just found the guy i bought mine from still selling these on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261082015315

i have mailed him and will await a response.

P.

[petet16]

I'd noticed that the Black series are satin black, and also that they have serial and part numbers on them, although the Gold and plain metal ones don't.

The ones Rob supplied don't have the numbers on them either, but skunk2's website is showing pictures of current items, the ones supplied may be older stock, the whole thing is a minefield tbh and short of having an arm analyzed to establish the metal content it's going to be very difficult to tell fake from genuine.

[petet16]

just found the guy i bought mine from still selling these on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261082015315

i have mailed him and will await a response.

P.

Hard to tell, the pic is very likely not the actual items he's selling, he probably lifted them from Skunk2's website, his f/b isn't great either.

[sneekyparrot]

I'd noticed that the Black series are satin black, and also that they have serial and part numbers on them, although the Gold and plain metal ones don't.

The ones Rob supplied don't have the numbers on them either, but skunk2's website is showing pictures of current items, the ones supplied may be older stock, the whole thing is a minefield tbh and short of having an arm analyzed to establish the metal content it's going to be very difficult to tell fake from genuine.

ummm be interested if rob comes back with supplier details?

kinda puts a serious doubt about fitting these unless rob can confirm supplier and that they are 100% skunk.

my fault with mine i should of checked his feed back first, no wonder they were cheap!

i have logged a complaint with pay pal and will contact eBay but doubt much will come of it :-/

P.

[Nobrainer]

I emailed the ebay guy a couple of data ago asking for some pictures including close ups of the bushes as I was considering them. He hasn't replied and boy am I glad I haven't done it! Funny thing is I'm paranoid about buying anything of ebay but was reassured by sneakyparrots dealing with him!

[petet16]

If you buy from an authorized Skunk2 dealer in the US they're $247 a set, so anything much cheaper than that are suspect, there are only 2 authorized dealers in Europe in Holland and the Ukraine, which kind of makes you think most if not all the ebay ones are knock offs.

Rob appears to have dismissed peoples fears about them being copies as a joke, I'd like to know where he sourced them from.

[stamford]

Had alot of trouble getting onto the RT website last night and this morning it is offline for maintenance.

Personally they look good, the bushes are 8 groove but could be an old batch. There is nothing there that would make me think fake, no poor machining, no porosity of the alloy which tells me it is forged perhaps? If anything it may be a general grade alloy like 6082-T6 which isn't a bad alloy just not as structural as 2014A, however 6082 is not suitable for anodising so it can't be that. What grade did you say it was Pete, was it 2024? If so that is probably a newer version of 2014.

I am confident they are genuine and the alloy is okay.

[petet16]

2024T6 Mick, mine look fine quality wise, but I would like to know where Rob sourced them from.

[stamford]

I may check to see if our metallurgists at work are able to carry out any tests.

[petet16]

Further reading on skunk2's website reveals that a pair of genuine arms weigh 5lbs, and nearly all the fakes are heavier, I weighed mine at 4lbs 15.4ozs which is slightly underweight but I have taken some metal off the lower shock mount which would account for that.

[sneekyparrot]

I emailed the ebay guy a couple of data ago asking for some pictures including close ups of the bushes as I was considering them. He hasn't replied and boy am I glad I haven't done it! Funny thing is I'm paranoid about buying anything of ebay but was reassured by sneakyparrots dealing with him!

seems we can all get taken in, so apologies there. I swapped quite a few mails with him and he supplied pic's of the arms and the product codes all tallied up. I was told they were older stock hence the price difference.
Items i got were boxed and bagged amd sealed in skunk wrapping and looked perfect but it looks like i have been duped!

I intend to only deal with recognized suppliers from now on and pay the going rate.

P.

[sneekyparrot]

Further reading on skunk2's website reveals that a pair of genuine arms weigh 5lbs, and nearly all the fakes are heavier, I weighed mine at 4lbs 15.4ozs which is slightly underweight but I have taken some metal off the lower shock mount which would account for that.

ok that is puzzling mine weigh in a 5lbs????

[stamford]

I am struggling to find a cheap alloy as nothing comes close to being heavier than 2014, 2024 with 6082 being a little heavier but not by much.

2014/2024 being 2540 kg/m3
6082 being 2700 kg/m3

[sneekyparrot]

ok got this from the skunk website which they confirmed is an authorized seller, it clearly shows everything you guys should of got but it shows an 8 grooved bush?
i have sent a mail asking skunk to clear this confusion up!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370318877295?item=370318877295&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&cmd=ViewItem&hash=item5638b9a26f&vxp=mtr#ht_2590wt_1139

P

[Maxxed_Ross]

I'm a bit miffed at where all this talk of fakes came from. There have all the same markings as the genuine camber adjusters that i bought from a dealer in the US, they even came in an identical box!

If they are fakes then someone has gone to one hell of an effort to make them look the part

But they must be fakes going on the above picture, because i never got a sticker lol

[petet16]

Some one on RT started the fake/real debate. (They're real btw)

[sneekyparrot]

had this response from Skunk.

Paul, 8 grooves? Those are probably not genuine products. In this article the pictures have some very helpful captions to assist in making sure you don't buy copied products. "Genuine Skunk2 bushings can be identified by their five grooves placed alongside the inner diameter. Most clone LCAs include cheaper bushings that feature eight grooves and that copied Skunk2's original, older bushing design."

http://cms.skunk2.com/id/707/Fake-LCA-Alert/

dunno what to make out anymore?

still not sure if i am prepared to trust the ones i have (NOT FROM ROB!!!)

P.

[Maxxed_Ross]

That's a weird response, since i found a picture on their website of a civic arm fitted with 8 groove bushes.

I've studied all the pictures on the skunk2 site and even the machining marks are identical to the arms i have in my hand, the weight is right and everything else matches up.

Im in no doubt at all that they are genuine

[stamford]

Same here, I am not convinced they are fakes as they are quality to look and feel.

[Ritchy]

From what its saying the 8 grooves are older style, so possibly this is old stock?

[petet16]

As above, mine are the right weight, the machining looks the same as the pics on Skunk2s website, the only difference is the 8 groove bushes.

[Supercharged_Z]

pay peanuts... get fakes?

it all seems a bit hit and miss tbh

[Maxxed_Ross]

From what its saying the 8 grooves are older style, so possibly this is old stock?

that would explain why they were a bit cheaper

[sneekyparrot]

yeah i would say the ones you guys got are genuine. The response from skunk was not very clear, i even sent them a picture from a genuine supplier which showed 8 grooved bushes but they ignored that!!

I dont think i will trust mine though, with all the extra work / extra performance i have put into the vag zs i am not leaving it down to a pair of £70 LCA's.

everything else i have got is genuine Hard Race and even managed to bag the last set of spares from SPC for the camber arms.

Never realized there was so much fake sh!t around and being sold on eBay who really dont give a crap!!

P.

[sneekyparrot]

pay peanuts... get fakes?

it all seems a bit hit and miss tbh

Yep, found out the hard way:slap:

[Maxxed_Ross]

Im in the same boat as you as regards time and money spent, and i will be fitting mine... but i already have a couple of other Skunk2 items fitted. I like the fit and quality of their stuff and the cost even from a main dealer is fairly reasonable.

ok so these need a bit of tweaking to fit but what do you expect when they're for a different car.