Lower and Upper Control Arms

SubaruWRXSTI said:

I plan on buying a set but never had either of these. Anything I should know about these besides that they control wheel hop. Any driveability issues or other factors I should be concerned about? Should I go with just the lowers or both?

Only reason I ask I read about someone breaking his upper control arm at the track and it ripped into his fuel line and a couple other things. If thats the case maybe ill just stick with the lower.

I saw UPR is offering both upper and lowers for $199 so was thinking of getting those.

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Hi STI,

I have both on my car since wheel hop was an issue the one thing I ran across is that the stock upper bracket is rather flimsy(The accident you refered to I believe was running the stock upper bracket) (Steeda sells this as a unit). So I had to replace the upper bracket with the upper control arm it's not a fun install. The lowers are rather simple and shave a little weight.

All and all the rear feels much tighter and the car has zero wheel hop. High rpm launch will just burn the tires through first though you can get a nice little 2k start on the stocks and it will hook and go nicely. I would recommend getting the panhard bar and brace while your at it. On mine the rear of the car feels good and sturdy and good on the freeway on ramp loops as well.

Hope this helps.

STI us Cali guys think alike:bigthumbsup I've also got UPR billet LCA and adjustable UCA with mount.I'm running maximum motorsports adj panhard bar with a BMR panhard brace.

Wheel hopp is gone it just hooks and books.I have some increased noise with the billet lowers but no biggy.

I've got some relocation brackets for the LCA's and subframe connectors but I have not installed them yet.

SubaruWRXSTI said:

I plan on buying a set but never had either of these. Anything I should know about these besides that they control wheel hop. Any driveability issues or other factors I should be concerned about? Should I go with just the lowers or both?

Only reason I ask I read about someone breaking his upper control arm at the track and it ripped into his fuel line and a couple other things. If thats the case maybe ill just stick with the lower.

I saw UPR is offering both upper and lowers for $199 so was thinking of getting those.

Click to expand...

SubaruWRXSTI said:

Thanks for the input. Think ill probably get both. If I get lowering springs later down the road would these be compatible?

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Definitely go with the uppers and lowers to eliminate wheel hop. If you're lowering the car and you want to be able to correct the pinion angle and center the axle, this is what you'd need:

Control arms kit with adjustable upper- 2011 Ford Mustang GT V6 Adjustable Upper & Solid Lower Control Arm Package - UPR Products This is on sale for $229 WITH the adjustable upper. Good deal there...

Adjustable panhard bar: 2005-2011 Ford Mustang Pro Street Double Adjustable Pan Hard Bar - UPR Products


^^^all parts have a lifetime guarantee and free shipping in the month of July. :cooldude:

JAJ5Point0 said:

Why are you looking at changing anything in the rear suspension? Unless you go more broadly and look at springs and shocks, you might not gain much improvement.

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I disagree. I just did some suspension testing at Sebring International Raceway and honestly, the LCAs were the big surprise of the test. They put the power down much better in the corners AND in a straight line. I was shocked! And they eliminated the wheelhop.

JAJ5Point0 said:

Why are you looking at changing anything in the rear suspension? Unless you go more broadly and look at springs and shocks, you might not gain much improvement.

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I disagree also. I am stock ride height and added aftermarket LCAs with relocation brackets and an adjustable UCA and my wheel hop is completely gone and my car puts the power to the road much more reliably in the corners as well. Just ran the car on a local road course and the car was very predictable at the limit and the rear end feels much more planted.

I would get an adjustable UCA if you're going to get one since it allows you to adjust pinion angle. My pinion angle was off when I installed my non-adjustable LCAs, even at stock ride height, and I was able to fix it with the adjustable UCA.

SubaruWRXSTI said:

I plan on buying a set but never had either of these. Anything I should know about these besides that they control wheel hop. Any driveability issues or other factors I should be concerned about? Should I go with just the lowers or both?

Click to expand...

They may transfer more noise to the chassis and will also make more noise since you won't have the soft stock bushings in the control arm. If the radio is not turned up my UCA is definitely audible (clunk).