Originally Posted by jwb600

I dont think anyone is saying your stuff was junk. those monster bars look pretty well made to me. just hard to throw down $800 or $900 on traction bars, thats alot of coin. I believe you on the price of powdercoated and other little things nickel and dime you to death to build stuff. I priced powercoating and it was stupid expensive just for 4 wheels.

Originally Posted by Tacsavage

Actually someone was inappropriately accusing him of such. But I believe he has been "univited" from this great website. I know I love the stuff that he makes. Tac

Originally Posted by XLR8R

Judging from some of the posts, it's clear that not everyone has a grasp of what it takes to successfully design & manufacture quality parts, and then make them available to the consumer.

I have operated & owned successful fab shops since the 1980s, and been a competitive motorsports participant/enthusiast for longer than that. I began designing & fabricating "speed parts" in 1982, and have enjoyed the challenge of generating new & improved Bombs every year since....

Most objective criticism stems from a misunderstanding of the various forces acting upon a part or system in its operating environment, or from a lack of knowledge concerning basic business practices; so here's a few factoids that may help:

1. We use the strongest commercially available forged heim joints (perhaps the military/aerospace industry has something better? - just think of $300 toilet seats )

2. The hardware alone costs us $150 per traction bar kit...

3. Since the bars (and thus the heims) are always loaded in compression, the wear rate of all contacting joints is practically nil (remember that the range-of-motion in degrees is miniscule!)

4. Take one of these kits to the powdercoater and find out how much it costs.

5. Spend the $35 in packaging materials (and that's only if you buy in bulk!) to ensure that the kit makes it safely in excellent condition to it's destination... oh yeah, THEN give up your buddy Ben Franklin for the shipping with tracking & insurance.

6. A traction bar kit requires 192 drilling/machining operations alone - that's a LOT of shop time.

7. Everything we make is TIG-welded with stainless steel or aluminum rod - much higher quality in strength & appearance than stick or MIG welding!

8. Our traction bars have never experienced a single failure.

9. You get what you pay for - if your parts were cheap, corners were cut.

10. The sale we're having during the month of February means that LazarSmith is taking a loss on every part we ship, which I have to absorb out of my own pocket... I really enjoy designing & fabricating aftermarket parts, but our stuff isn't priced for profit - just enough to stay afloat, so I can continue doing what I love!

Originally Posted by jwb600

from what ive seen in most cases with my truck you do get what you pay for. the parts that make the power on my truck were the most expensive

Originally Posted by soulezoo

I have to take exception to this statement. I will do so with one word: Banks.

You did qualify the statement with "most cases" so I'll let you off the hook this time.

Originally Posted by XLR8R

Depends on the weight & configuration of your truck, what you're using it for, and your ride preference.

At least one turn of compression is recommended for daily driving, while 3 turns works well for competition and better handling on a heavy truck... most people stay between 1.5 - 2.5 turns.

The stainless steel indexing pins & torque bars make it easy to adjust preload to suit driving conditions, or to make trackside weight-jacking changes.... you know, transfer weight side-to-side for drag launches or stiffen the rear suspension for carrying the sled's weight.