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Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
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05-24-2016, 02:44 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 346176
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Super Pro Front Control Arm Set Install on a 2013 WRX
Here I go with my first forum write-up. This will cover installation of the SuperPro front control arm set with caster adding bushings. These are aluminum complete OEM replacement/upgrades with polyurethane bushings. These fit the 2008-14 WRX and STi, I'm installing these on my 2013 WRX. They are not yet listed on the Super Pro website, but they are listed at Cygnus Performance, part # supALOY0021K. Geoff at Cygnus Performance has been extremely helpful in feeding my mod addiction over the last few years.
To start off, I drove through some wet concrete dust and down a gravel road the week before to really get the undercarriage clean, sorry about that. Tools required: Sockets: 19mm and 17mm for a 1/2" ratchet plus whatever is required for your particular sway bar end links (my Super Pro end links use 16mm and 17mm) 1/2" ratchet Needle nose pliers Wire cutters 15mm and 17mm open end wrench plus whatever is required for your particular sway bar end links (my Super Pro end links use 16mm and 17mm) Pitman arm removal tool or pickle fork Optional tools: Impact wrench Linesman's pliers Flat screwdriver to help line up bolts 1/2" drive breaker bar You will also need two new cotter pins, one for each ball joint. NOTE: If you have a WRX, you'll need two additional bolts from the dealer. Those are part# 901000377. Start with lifting and supporting the vehicle with jack stands. I chose to do one side at a time. I'm assuming that if you're reading this you already know how to take off your wheel. ----------Disassembly---------- 1. Begin by unbolting your sway bar end link; I needed a 17mm socket and 16mm wrench because I have Super Pro end links. You may need to lift the control arm or the other side of the vehicle to take the stress off the sway bar in order to remove the bolt(s). 2. Remove the cotter pin for the ball joint castle nut, I used needle nose pliers for this step 3. Loosen the castle nut from the ball joint if you're using the pitman arm tool or remove it if using the pickle fork method. I used a 1/2" ratchet with 19mm socket for this step. 4. If you're using the pitman arm tool now is the time to use it to pop the ball joint out of the control arm. This particular tool needed a 19mm socket. If you used this method you'll need to now fully remove the castle nut once you're done. 5. Remove the [nut if WRX, bolt if STi] from the control arm rear bushing. I used a 19mm socket with a breaker bar to remove this nut. 6. Remove the two 19mm bolts holding the control arm support brace to the body. Remove the plate and set it aside so you can reinstall it later. 7. Remove the nut/bolt holding the control arm's front bushing to the car. I used a 17mm wrench and 17mm socket with ratchet for this step. Sorry this photo is a little blurry. 8. Now is the time to remove the old control arm. You may need to tap on it with a hammer as it may still be stuck in place at each mounting location. It should come out with a few small taps so if it seems stuck be sure to double check that you removed all the bolts and that the ball joint is free from the control arm.
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05-24-2016, 02:44 PM | #2 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 346176
Join Date: Feb 2013
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9. If you're performing this on a WRX you'll need to remove the stud from the chassis where the rear bushing mounted. For this step I used the box end of a 15mm wrench and since it was pretty tight I also linked a 17mm wrench with it to give me more leverage.
Here is the new bolt for the rear bushing (left) compared to the stud we removed (right). You will not reuse that large spacer/washer. ----------Reassembly---------- 10. Start with the rear bushing, especially if you have the caster adding version. I took the new bolt and put it through the support plate, through the new control arm's rear bushing, and then into the chassis. Take care to make sure the bolt goes in correctly, it should be vertical, once the bolt it started turn it a few times to hold the control arm in place while you get the other mounting points lined up. In this photo the bottom dust boot had popped off the rear control arm bushing. Make sure that you properly reinstall that before fully tightening the bolt down to prevent damaging it. 11. Loosely install the two rear 19mm bolts in the support plate. 12. Push the new control arm's front bushing in to place on the car. It make take some wiggling to get the bolt to line up. I used a flat head screw driver to help gently pry it in to place. 13. Install the front bushing bolt and nut loosely (both 17mm) you should notice that the bolt has to go in from the rear of the vehicle towards the front. 14. Reinstall the ball joint to the control arm [MAKE SURE the steel cone insert is in the control arm, it should have been zip tied into place from shipping]. Reinstall the castle nut loosely. 15. Torque down the front and rear control arm bushing bolts and the two support plate bolts. See the factory service manual for exact torque specs or trust mine, the choice is yours. Front bushing: 70 ft*lbs Rear bushing: 103 ft*lbs Support plate bolts: 110 ft*lbs 16. Torque down the ball joint castle nut. You may need an impact to tighten this bolt if the ball joint is spinning while you try to tighten it. Once it's torqued to spec (approx. 29 ft*lbs) you may need to turn the nut slightly to get the castle slots lined up with the cotter pin hole. 17. Install a new cotter pin in the ball joint. Make sure to trim off the excess and wrap the ends around the bolt or nut so that they don't get snagged. 18. Reinstall the sway bar end link to the new control arm. You may need to use a jack to lift up the control arm if you're doing one side at a time. Most manufacturers require the suspension to be loaded for correct end link installation anyway. Check with your particular manufacturer for instructions on use of spacers and torque specs. 19. Reinstall your wheel and torque the lug nuts to spec. Remember to check your lug nut torque after driving the car around as they may have come loose with aluminum wheels. Congratulations, enjoy your new control arms. It may be time for a new alignment, at least have it checked out to see if your alignment is still in spec. Here are a few additional pictures of the completed installation so you can see if yours looks correct. |
05-24-2016, 02:45 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 346176
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Here is a side-by-side comparison of the Super Pro control arms to the factory WRX parts.
DSC_0041 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0044 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0045 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0043 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0042 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0086 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr DSC_0033 by Alex hrdy, on Flickr |
05-25-2016, 08:26 AM | #4 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 103232
Join Date: Dec 2005
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: GTX3576R 05GD, GTX3076R'd FXT
Vehicle:GTX 3071R'd 11WRX PPG,4.44,LSD,E85,6spdx3 |
What are your thoughts on the upgrade? Have you put some miles on it yet? Do you feel it was a worth while investment considering they go for $750-800?
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05-25-2016, 02:57 PM | #5 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 346176
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Quote:
First of all, I noticed a pretty big change in wheel feel while braking that was totally unexpected. I have some uneven pad deposits left over from last track season and with the rubber bushings the steering wheel would shake pretty good coming to a fast stop. That is completely gone with these stiffer bushings. (there is still surging when coming to a stop so the arms didn't magically fix the brakes ) Ride wise there was a slight increase in NVH when going over sharp bumps, but driving on normal roads they feel virtually identical to stock. Performance wise I have not had them out on the road course yet, but in some spirited driving the turn it feel is noticeably improved and the front end feels more agile than before. When I do get back to the road course I plan to post a small update about how they preform. |
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05-25-2016, 03:15 PM | #6 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 447625
Join Date: May 2016
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: 07306
Vehicle:2004 WRX |
this is a great write up. helps me when i need to do the upgrade.
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05-25-2016, 04:12 PM | #7 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 130506
Join Date: Oct 2006
Chapter/Region:
NESIC
Location: new england
Vehicle:08 STi DGM |
Did your alignment change much after doing this? I'm thinking of doing this mod instead of replacing the stock bushings with oem replacements.
The dealer quoted me $800 to do both sides, so this seems a much smarter route to go. |
05-26-2016, 09:40 AM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 346176
Join Date: Feb 2013
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I haven't gotten it in for an alignment yet because we've been having severe weather every day this week and the car hasn't left the garage. I drove it around a bit and I don't think the alignment changed very much, but I won't know for sure until it's on the rack someday next week.
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05-28-2016, 07:19 PM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 446285
Join Date: May 2016
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Great write up agreed. I replaced my Impreza bushings with energy suspension kit and greatly saw improvement. Was a pain in the ass for a first time job but was worth it.
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01-03-2017, 07:03 PM | #10 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 311622
Join Date: Feb 2012
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Pa.
Vehicle:2020 WRX Lapis Blue |
Totally want a set of these!
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10-16-2017, 11:25 AM | #11 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 476147
Join Date: Oct 2017
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Rear bolt size
What size bolt did you use and where did you get it? I was able to determine it is a M14 - 1.5 (please correct me if that's wrong) but no one around me carries anything close.
I picked up the Mevotech control arms for my 2011 WRX and ran into the issue of the bushing not fitting over the oem stud. Last edited by Larowenj190; 10-16-2017 at 03:30 PM. |
12-13-2017, 11:37 PM | #12 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 309841
Join Date: Feb 2012
Chapter/Region:
BAIC
Location: Nor Cal
Vehicle:2012 WRX 5 Door Prem Pearl White |
Quote:
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12-26-2017, 11:27 AM | #13 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 460590
Join Date: Jan 2017
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Quote:
You'll need one for each side. I'm installing my Mevotech aluminum arms tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked about it. |
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02-01-2018, 05:29 AM | #14 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 321995
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Erie, PA
Vehicle:2011 WRX premium Dark Grey Metallic |
Arani rey - Great writeup! This will be a big help as I am dealing with some worn rubber bushings on my 2011 WRX. I am not going to press them out
so plan to replace the whole arms with Aluminum. I am currently debating between: Superpro Part # ALOY0017K $699 from rallysportdirect or Mevotech Aluminum - maybe $280 for the set or Dorman Aluminum 524-595 and 524-596 from carid for $250 ish https://www.carid.com/2014-subaru-wr...444947080.html All 3 arms should be nearly identical geometry-wise and would need the mounting bolt replaced (subaru p/n901000377 (x2) . Obviously the superpro has upgraded bushings but the others appear to be similar to the OEM rubber on the WRX. Any feedback from others who have swapped LCA's out? I enjoy my WRX but to be honest it is a DD. Hondabaru and Larowenj190 -How did the Mevotech install go? |
03-12-2018, 01:48 PM | #15 | |
Former Vendor
Member#: 201606
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: http://cygnusperformance.com
Vehicle:2013 STi Hatch PBP |
Quote:
Thanks, Geoff |
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03-13-2018, 01:40 PM | #16 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 390
Join Date: Oct 1999
Chapter/Region:
E. Canada
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2020 Forester Sport Dark Grey |
this wasn't an option on my 11wrx and ended up installing 11sti control arms. easy swap overall and everything bolted up.
it was an improvement over OE but still have a few seasons of autox, i blew out 1 of the spherical pillow ball mount on the STI control arms. Bushings were OE Sti ones... hopefully this is rectified in this control arm from superpro. 11wrx (well 11-14 gen) was a disappointment overall in suspension - way too soft. now 18wrx and night/day different. |
04-18-2020, 12:49 AM | #17 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 513861
Join Date: Apr 2020
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Dam wish I found this post a week ago. Awesome write up. Have just installed the super pro aloy0017 on a 2014 forester. A lot of people do the 2015+ STI arms but as these were suitable replacements I used these. Was almost an identical install as above. Careful not to cross thread those two rear bushing bolts for the bracket. I had to retap one.
Issue I have now is the wheel alignment is miles out. Barely driveable. Looks like massive toe out. Can’t understand where I might have gone wrong. That spacer off the old stud definitely doesn’t need to be moved over to the longer STI bolt? |
04-18-2020, 10:15 AM | #18 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 443043
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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The rear bushing pivot is eccentrically located unlike the stock bushing which alters the control arm position. I'd do an alignment pretty much anytime a control arm comes off the car.
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