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2010 - Forester and STi front control arms information!

('09-'13) 
50K views 98 replies 29 participants last post by  Kevin 
#1 ·
This is being written to provide some information about using STi control arms on 2009 to 2018 foresters.

modifying your vehicle is inherently dangerous and you assume the risks with this information.

The 2011+ STi aluminum arms are significant because they have a pillowball in rubber for the rear control arm bushing that is less prone to failure, in my experience, than the rear bushing that plagues every subaru in recent years. When I compared geometry of the 2011 arms and my SH steel arm are were identical, there is no gained caster or track width. Additionally, the sway bar mounting ears are the same with as the steel arms. When using the 2011-2014 STi Arm there is the issue of the STI rear bushing not being as spaced down as far as the forester. The factory steel arms spacing with the double sided stud, spacer and bushing is 80mm from the body to the the lower bracket. The 2011-2014 aluminum arm spacing is 70mm, so it is about 10mm too short for the forester. Part 20126FG001 which is the rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and happens to be 10mm can be used to make up the difference. For reference the spacer on the forester double sided stud is 20mm.

STi Control arms:
-2008-2010 “GR”
, Aluminum and have same rear bushing as found in forester control arms, uses the forester style double sided stud in rear. These arms are not an upgrade in my opinion.

-2011-2014”GR/GV”, Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm short of what is needed for the forester, 20126FG001 is the 10mm rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and can be used to make up the difference to use these arms.

-2015+ “VA” , Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm longer than the 11-14 STi arms and is correct spacing forester making it a direct fit. The 2015+ WRX share the same front control arm with the STI., It is safe to assume this fitment will carry through until the STi/WRX move to a new platform, AKA body code, at which time we would have to verify fitment.

There is NO information that I have found suggesting that there is a harder rubber variant for the 2011+ rear bushing, a "group N" bushing if you will.

Rear Bushing Bolt:

901000377, The rear long bolt to replace the double sided stud

Forester Platforms:
-SH 2009- 2013
, No know issues at this time with fitment of 2011+

-SJ 2014 - 2018, One member noted they "Needed to trim/remove 2 small metal panels as the STI LCAs are larger and will get in the way". Another member noted that the Arms are shorter width than stock SJ arms and caused issue with camber, additionally the swaybar tabs did not align. more information or pictures are needed, proceed at own risk of adapting.

There is no difference between XT(turbo) and non-turbo front control arms for these years



NOTE
I have no idea about 2019 Foresters, but I would be glad to add the information if anyone finds out.

Mevotech aluminum OEM aftermarket control arms PN:CMS80181 and CMS80182 will not work with 09-18 foresters. They are narrower and meant for 05-09 legacys. Additionally, they are not the pillowball style rear, just a solid rubber bushing.
 

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#3 ·
This is being written to provide some information about using STi control arms on 2009 to 2018 foresters.

*modifying your vehicle is inherently dangerous and you assume the risks with this information.*

The 2011+ STi aluminum arms are significant because they have a pillowball in rubber for the rear control arm bushing that is less prone to failure, in my experience, than the rear bushing that plagues every subaru in recent years. When I compared geometry of the 2011 arms and my SH steel arm are were identical, there is no gained caster or track width. Additionally, the sway bar mounting ears are the same with as the steel arms. When using the 2011-2014 STi Arm there is the issue of the STI rear bushing not being as spaced down as far as the forester. The factory steel arms spacing with the double sided stud, spacer and bushing is 80mm from the body to the the lower bracket. The 2011-2014 aluminum arm spacing is 70mm, so it is about 10mm too short for the forester. Part 20126FG001 which is the rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and happens to be 10mm can be used to make up the difference. For reference the spacer on the forester double sided stud is 20mm.

STi Control arms:
-2008-2010, Aluminum and have same rear bushing as found in forester control arms, uses the forester style double sided stud in rear. These arms are not an upgrade in my opinion.

-2011-2014, Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm short of what is needed for the forester, 20126FG001 is the 10mm rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and can be used to make up the difference to use these arms.

-2015+ , Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm longer than the 11-14 STi arms and is correct spacing forester making it a direct fit. *The 2015+ WRX share the same front control arm with the STI.*, **It is safe to assume this fitment will carry through until the STi/WRX move to a new platform, AKA body code, at which time we would have to verify fitment.**

*There is NO information that I have found suggesting that there is a harder rubber variant for the 2011+ rear bushing, a "group N" bushing if you will.*

Rear Bushing Bolt:

901000377, The rear long bolt to replace the double sided stud

Forester Platforms:
-SH 2009- 2013, No know issues at this time with fitment of 2011+

-SJ 2014 - 2018, One member noted they "Needed to trim/remove 2 small metal panels as the STI LCAs are larger and will get in the way" *more information or pictures are needed.*

*There is no difference between XT(turbo) and non-turbo front control arms for these years*


NOTE
I have no idea about 2019 Foresters, but I would be glad to add the information if anyone finds out.

Awesome , thank you.
 
#17 ·
I just installed these lower control arms on an 2014 Forester 2.5l Premium. Basically a strait forward install, without a ball joint removal took it took much longer beating the ball joint out of the steering knuckle.

I also replaced the sway bar bushings & end links which I needed to cut the studs to remove.

After I got everything installed I noticed that the sway bar links looked like the top end was kicked outboard more so than the lower end. I took a measurement from the lnboard face of the link mount on the control arm to the bolt that attaches the front of the control arm to the car. Seems that the link mounting plate is ~1/4” closer to that front mount bolt than the original control arm Configuration. This is form memory but I will measure it again to make it clear to me.

The brackets that have been mentioned on the 2014+ I removed because it looked to me that it was just touching the
control arm & I wasn’t sure if it would be worse when the suspension was fully loaded. I couldn’t figure out what they are for , nothing attaches to them yet they are right there in the middle of all the bracing & mount. Looking at the size of the steel bar that forms the bracket shape I’m thinking that it there to protect that mount bolt from getting hit with debris. A solid shot would shear that control arm mount bolt . The bar in that bracket is substantial . I was going to leave them out but now I’m just going to massage the area that may touch the control arm on the bench grinder.

The car now handles much better . Prior I had the wash board effect on sweeping right hand bends at 60 and above and general a raggedy harsh ride quality , to be expected with 118k miles .

I do have a banging or hard tapping on right turns only all other maneuvers is firm and quiet. I’m thinking end links binding .

Anyone else have an end link misalignment like mentioned above ? Maybe end links from the wrx would be a better
fit ?

Lower control arm used was the last mentioned above for the 2015+ wxr.
Here are some pics of the installed arms. Notice the light colored area adjacent to the pillow bushing, that is the location of that bracket. You can see the thickness of the steel bar used to form it. Kind thick no?
 

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#29 ·
I just installed these lower control arms on an 2014 Forester 2.5l Premium. Basically a strait forward install, without a ball joint removal took it took much longer beating the ball joint out of the steering knuckle.

I also replaced the sway bar bushings & end links which I needed to cut the studs to remove.

After I got everything installed I noticed that the sway bar links looked like the top end was kicked outboard more so than the lower end. I took a measurement from the lnboard face of the link mount on the control arm to the bolt that attaches the front of the control arm to the car. Seems that the link mounting plate is ~1/4” closer to that front mount bolt than the original control arm Configuration. This is form memory but I will measure it again to make it clear to me.

The brackets that have been mentioned on the 2014+ I removed because it looked to me that it was just touching the
control arm & I wasn’t sure if it would be worse when the suspension was fully loaded. I couldn’t figure out what they are for , nothing attaches to them yet they are right there in the middle of all the bracing & mount. Looking at the size of the steel bar that forms the bracket shape I’m thinking that it there to protect that mount bolt from getting hit with debris. A solid shot would shear that control arm mount bolt . The bar in that bracket is substantial . I was going to leave them out but now I’m just going to massage the area that may touch the control arm on the bench grinder.

The car now handles much better . Prior I had the wash board effect on sweeping right hand bends at 60 and above and general a raggedy harsh ride quality , to be expected with 118k miles .

I do have a banging or hard tapping on right turns only all other maneuvers is firm and quiet. I’m thinking end links binding .

Anyone else have an end link misalignment like mentioned above ? Maybe end links from the wrx would be a better
fit ?

Lower control arm used was the last mentioned above for the 2015+ wxr.
Here are some pics of the installed arms. Notice the light colored area adjacent to the pillow bushing, that is the location of that bracket. You can see the thickness of the steel bar used to form it. Kind thick no?

Did you end up sorting out the sway bar end links? Mine look like yours and are on an angle when loaded up. Thinking might need some adjustable ones...
 
#19 · (Edited)
No this is a pretty old thread but have just replaced the front lower control arm in a 2014 XT with the aloy0017 from super pro with help from this forum. Didn’t realise these had additional castor built in (0016 is the standard) but looks as though this is just a 20mm space to top of the rear bushing which means you don’t need to use the old 20mm spacer from the original double ended stud. Having said that after putting these on something is way off whack with the alignment. Looks like massive toe out and excess positive camber. For others who have done this is that expected? I was going to get it aligned anyway but it’s barely driveable.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for the reply. I did an alignment as best as I could by eye (without any specific alignment tools). Camber needed to go negative to the highest setting (first line with the big gap to 2nd mark on the bolt). For toe, I turned the tie rod both sides in by 6 turns until the wheels looked straight. Feels much more driveable now and will get me to an alignment place.
 
#23 ·
I used a little more rudimentary method with a straight edge on the outer surface of the tyre (Most negative camber position, 6 turns in on both sides for Toe). Apparently got it pretty close as the wheel aligner said they only made minor adjustments and it was pretty good. So for anyone that is interested you can use the aloy0017 from superpro on a 2014 forester instead of the STI arms. I had the 2015+ STI arms priced up from partsouq.com to Australia at around $960 AUD, got the superpros for $780 delivered from fulcrum suspension. I did have to order 2 of the STI bolts 901000377 from partsouq.com for $36 delivered. Everything was a fairly straight forward install (susbcribed to access the service manual for 3 days from https://techinfo.subaru.com/stis/) however when installing the passenger side rear bushing support bracket I crossthreaded one of the short 19mm bolts and had to retap the hole which worked fine and I was able to torque it up. Also with the aloy0017 you don't need to use any spacers. I did not take the 20mm spacer off the old double ended stud as the superpro arm is already a 80mm profile at the rear bushing. Hope thats useful for others.
 
#25 ·
This is being written to provide some information about using STi control arms on 2009 to 2018 foresters.

modifying your vehicle is inherently dangerous and you assume the risks with this information.

The 2011+ STi aluminum arms are significant because they have a pillowball in rubber for the rear control arm bushing that is less prone to failure, in my experience, than the rear bushing that plagues every subaru in recent years. When I compared geometry of the 2011 arms and my SH steel arm are were identical, there is no gained caster or track width. Additionally, the sway bar mounting ears are the same with as the steel arms. When using the 2011-2014 STi Arm there is the issue of the STI rear bushing not being as spaced down as far as the forester. The factory steel arms spacing with the double sided stud, spacer and bushing is 80mm from the body to the the lower bracket. The 2011-2014 aluminum arm spacing is 70mm, so it is about 10mm too short for the forester. Part 20126FG001 which is the rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and happens to be 10mm can be used to make up the difference. For reference the spacer on the forester double sided stud is 20mm.

STi Control arms:
-2008-2010 “GR”
, Aluminum and have same rear bushing as found in forester control arms, uses the forester style double sided stud in rear. These arms are not an upgrade in my opinion.

-2011-2014”GR/GV”, Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm short of what is needed for the forester, 20126FG001 is the 10mm rear spacer from the non lifted subarus double sided stud and can be used to make up the difference to use these arms.

-2015+ “VA” , Aluminum and have pillowball (heim joint) encapsulated in rubber for rear bushing, spacer on top of pillowball is 10mm longer than the 11-14 STi arms and is correct spacing forester making it a direct fit. The 2015+ WRX share the same front control arm with the STI., It is safe to assume this fitment will carry through until the STi/WRX move to a new platform, AKA body code, at which time we would have to verify fitment.

There is NO information that I have found suggesting that there is a harder rubber variant for the 2011+ rear bushing, a "group N" bushing if you will.

Rear Bushing Bolt:

901000377, The rear long bolt to replace the double sided stud

Forester Platforms:
-SH 2009- 2013
, No know issues at this time with fitment of 2011+

-SJ 2014 - 2018, One member noted they "Needed to trim/remove 2 small metal panels as the STI LCAs are larger and will get in the way" more information or pictures are needed.

There is no difference between XT(turbo) and non-turbo front control arms for these years



NOTE
I have no idea about 2019 Foresters, but I would be glad to add the information if anyone finds out.
Really appreciate you starting this thread @TSR85 !! Was at the shop the other day having the Cucso Front Lower Arm Bars(Type I) installed on my MY13 2.5xt, which bolt up to the front lower control arm rear bushing double sided stud and the mechanic mentioned that I should replace the rubber bushings (said they usually just replace the whole assembly). I've read around about the oem bushing rubber being pretty terrible and was looking at an upgrade,Energy Suspension or Whiteline, so finding this post is really helpful. Had a quick question though.

When you say that the 2015+ VA(part # 20202VA000) is a "direct fit" can it still be installed with the double sided stud or is the rear bushing stud(901000377) required?

I ask because of the control arm bars I have installed use the locking washer of the double sided stud to fasten to the control arm.
 
#28 ·
The all rubber bush uses a stud and is completely incompatible with the pillowball style. You need the “traditional” big bolt to run the OEM pillowball a-arms.

There is nothing wrong with running a spacer, in fact your car has a spacer inbetween the body and the double sided stud.

I have not used a set of 15+ arms, how ever my research and the testimony of others, it’s a direct fit, you just need the other bolts for the rear point as mentioned before.

Yeah, I mean if your handy, it could be cheaper to just put in STi arms than pay someone to swap the OEM rubber bushes assuming your paying full shop labor rate.
 
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