Well obviously they can be that bad! =) There are quite a few reasons why temps may have been so high. I just think that ARCs are a complete rip-off and have no proven track record, atleast that Im aware of.
Were these the ARCs that were painted black? That coating of paint would hurt the ARCs ability a little bit...
:can you see how the temps could be so high? ARC sidemounts cant be that bad.