Cavero

I'm thinking about replacing my front control arms on my car. I've got a bad ball joint and I still have mental scars from removing the stock joints from them. Biggest P.I.T.A. ever. So instead of dealing with that I might just get aftermarket control arms and press the new joints into those. I've been looking for an excuse to finally replace the last stock component of my suspension (literally), and this may well be it.

Anyone got any recommendations on front control arms?

Cavero

And I'd be stupid not to consider BMR's. They already have the ball joints installed

http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=p...&productid=975

ford4v429

wow- you're on your second set of balljoints? how many miles?

anyone know what balljoint bmr uses? is it a heavier duty piece/is it replaceable easily? I'm just starting to get a slight hum from the front, think wheel bearing time might be soon...wondering also about beefing it up while its down over winter...

mustangtim16

Steeda has a great set of lower control arms. They have a great reputation and many of their parts are designed/created for racing. You blow through their control arms then you have a driving problem, jk. But they make some great products. They are even backed by Ford Motor Company.

ford4v429

hmm...just looked on steedas page, only saw rear arms...

Cavero

The stock joints were fine but I replaced them with Steeda X1 ball joints to correct the suspension geometry. They've been in for 3 1/2 years or about 40k miles. I sent a vid to someone and they said don't drive it like it is, so now the BMRs are really appealing.

I don't see front control arms on steedas website, only rear control arms

ford4v429

i see... whats bad about pressing the old ones out? I saw the arm is laminated, a lot thicker than most- I assume the press fit is simply crazy tight? another question- did the rubber look bad on your old ones- mine were showing surface cracks in the rubber at 2 yrs old- still ok, but the rubbers got a lot of cracks showing now- the rear bushing too- looks like cheap valvestems might not have been the only parts sourced from china...

ford4v429

hmm...in 07 ford upgraded the arms for the gt500:

http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-f...ms-0511gt.html

fordracing at 219 a pair with heavier stampings, better joints/bushings...not bad

rereading says heavy stampings- one review says they are identical to stock...need to know part numbers for gt/gt500 to see if they are really the same part?

Cavero

Great find, now I've got a decision on my hands: cheap and reliable or better performing but more expensive. Unknown durability too. My concern is bmr makes a set of a arms that account for lowered cars which is good because that's what my steeda ball joints do and I have a bumpsteer kit installed and set for that setup. I don't know what would happen with the bumpsteer kit if I installed the gt500 arms

05YellowGT

I just recently had the GT500 control arms put on. I too had a bad ball joint and I was going to put the X5 ball joints on and replace the bushings , but since I don't auto cross Gus recommended the GT500 arms instead. They come with upgraded bushings and ball joint and are considerably less in price and install costs ...

Cavero

Did you have a bumpsteer kit installed?

05YellowGT

Yes I did , I had a bad tie rod end on the passenger side and those are things I like to replace in pairs so I went with the bumpsteer kit ...

CO_VaporGT_09

Your bumpsteer kit can be installed on even stock-height cars -- the washers allow the height of the steering arms to be adjusted to whatever you need.

My understanding is the new arms are the same pieces all around as the old GT500-only ones, I don't think there's any actual difference for the 08 up cars.
So only if you have one of the bushings go out do you really need to worry about swapping to a new arm. To reduce unsprung weight the BMR would be nice, though. Wouldn't have to worry about removing or replacing any ball joint that way.
I doubt the price difference is made up for in the labor to have the X5s swapped.

ford4v429

the ford racing page listed a set with the longer balljoints too- for lowered cars- said 18" wheels are required, and price was 4-something...

Cavero

My bumpsteer kit is already installed and adjusted for the steeda X5s. I don't know how much it can be readjusted since the shop that installed it didn't keep the rest of the washers.

See the BMR is win-win in that way. But the funny thing is that the price isn't that different. I called the shop that I trust and got a price quote. To have the steeda X5 ball joints replaced and the car aligned is $150 in parts plus $400 in labor. Going the BMR route, I install it myself so it will be $450 in parts and $165 to have it aligned. Its only $65 more to go with BMR. it will take longer to get here (5 day shipping) so my car will be out of commission for a week or so, but I'll lose 11 lbs of unsprung weight.

Steeda claims 18" required too, but my 17's always cleared with my X5 ball joints. I'm not sure why they specify 18.

CO_VaporGT_09

I think it's cause not all 17s (especially drag style) will fit, so just to be safe.

I was wondering about that cost difference, labor vs parts.
I've not heard about the longevity or quality on the BMR pieces, but it'd be interesting to hear your take if you get them. My gut says you wouldn't need to adjust the bumpsteer kit if the BMR pieces's balljoints are the same height (you might want to call them and ask how they compare to OEM + X5).

Cavero

I decided to get the BMR arms. I've had BMR lower control arms and lower control arm relo brackets on my car for 3 1/2 years and they've been problem free (and enormously effective at stopping axle hop), so I'm going to take a chance on them. They're coming tomorrow evening, so I'll be installing them tomorrow night, and getting the alignment done Thursday. Here goes the last OEM part of my suspension. Period.

I'm guessing you're right about the height being the same, we'll see tomorrow

CO_VaporGT_09

post up a pic if you can of the OEM and new side by side to show the comparison.
Wondering if you'll notice a difference in the front with that change in unsprung (or partially unsprung) weight.

I saw a study on some website I can't recall about the design and fabrication of the OEM piece, apparently was quite the accomplishment at the time, but still seems to me very crude and much too heavy.

Cavero

Sorry about the delay, with the rain we got last week, it really slowed me down getting these installed. Let me just say...I HATE ball joints. Even just getting the stem out of the spindle took hours. really seized in there. But I'm getting off topic.

Here are the pics:







I took measurements with a digital caliper. I can't remember the actual numbers, but they were about 5mm different from eachother. The speed shop I took it to (who do great work, btw) checked the bumpsteer and said it looked good, no need to adjust.

Here are my thoughts so far on the BMR control arms:
Positive:
-No noticeable increase in NVH
-No impact to ride quality
-The front end does actually seem lighter, and it is quicker to change direction, noticeable but not night and day
-The front seems more planted, less squishy in turns

Negative:
-Bushings on passenger side are sqeaking a little bit. Going to have to give them another couple pumps with the grease gun and see if it goes away. I originally gave them 2-3 pumps until I saw grease starting to come out of the flutes in the bushing, but that was before installation

CO_VaporGT_09

More details, please!!

So those are your OEM arms with the Steeda balljoints, or the OEM? Those the original BMR pieces as well?

Are there Zerks on each location? Looks like maybe on the tip of the white-bushinged piece, what about the red?