Since I believe both of those are OEM equivalent replacements, I don't think it will make a difference for your off road use.

 

Is there a better option?

 

Not that I'm aware of. I suppose there might be a company out there making LCAs designed for off-road use, but it's probably a small market.

 

You could try to find a 15+ WRX or STI part out local to you and grab their aluminum control arms. Don't forget the black ball joint cones that sits in between the ball joints and arms.

 

I'm not sure about these ball joint cones. Are you saying to replace them or that they are something that needs to be moved from the old setup to the new?

 

Recommend installing factory bushings. The aftermarket bushings can sometimes have a different stiffness and may result in NVH issues. But if you had to choose between the two, I suggest Moog over Mevotech.

The factory bushings are not expensive. All of the info needed to replace bushings can be found here:

('14-'18) - 2014 - Control Arm Bushing DIY Tips!

My neighbor owns a '14 Forester and asked me to inspect the vehicle due to "severely unstable handling at highway speeds." I found a failed inner control arm bushing on the passenger-front lower control arm; the bushing sleeve had separated from the rubber. As a result, the tire has a...

www.subaruforester.org

 

I would buy OEM made in Japan LCAs, Subaru oem. Cost a bit more but they will last and fit better.

 

@Theseus161 Why would you think that the Subaru OEM LCAs would last or fit better? Especially the "last" part. The ones Subaru originally installed on the car wear out prematurely, and there's no recall in place to replace them with a new, better design, so the OEM replacements are just as likely to wear out early.

 

Am I seeing the price difference between OEM and Mevotech/Moog right? With the latter being 3x cheaper? The cheap ones would have to wear out really quick to not be worth it.

Moog was $70 on RockAuto and OEM $210 from Subaru Warehouse Direct, looking for my 2016 which will need them soon

 

@asphaltaddict33 Yep, you're seeing those prices right. I figure the Moog has got to be at least as good as the really, really crappy OEMs.

 

Actually, many new LCAs have been updated or superseded with improved part. The bushings have also been upgraded. It’s just my preference. I only use OEM on MY Forester. YMMV.

 

Mevotech Supreme control arms went into mine early this summer, and are performing great. Could have just replaced one OE ball joint, but with 10 year old control arms the other bushings would have seen better days, and I would be paying for each to be individually replaced in succession over the next year or two.
In my opinion they are well made and a good buy. With regard to Moog, I think they have become more a licensing brand than the quality part manufacturer they were in days of old. The Mevotechs were made in Canada if memory serves.

 

I agree about the quality of Moog. They just aren't the same anymore. I just purchased some replacement endlinks for my dad's murano and some joints are nice and tight, others are already loose.

 

Not sure about these brands or what works best with lifts. But I recently had to replace my LCAs on my 2015 FXT. And after a lot of research I decided to swap them with the OEM STi LCAs. The bushing is supposed to be much better than the forester ones. The forester bushing aren't that great.

('14-'18) - 2015 - STi lower control arms...

I know there is a lot of information on this forum going over this but I haven't seen many photos or walkthrough of exactly how to fit these STi control arms on an SJ Forester so I winged it and took some photos along the way. This was done on a 2015 Forester XT. I bought these 2016 STi lower...

www.subaruforester.org

 

I replaced stock with moog at 50 k miles on my 2016 forester. About time to replace again at 98kmiles. I drive on not the best roads. I will buy moog again.

 

For what it's worth, after a bit less than a year and a half, both front ball joints on the Mevotech arms needed replacing. I had them replaced by better quality 555 brand Japanese-made ones. I thought Mevotech had improved their ball joints on the Supreme line. I suspect that PartsAvatar sold me old stock at the time.
I did not bother trying to make a warranty claim for the arms which came with a limited lifetime warranty. Way too much hassle and they were also saying that since I bought them over 2 years ago that did not apply. Long story short I will never deal with PartsAvatar again.
I recently had to replace a rear upper control arm and for that, I bought a Moog one from RockAuto.

 

What were the symptoms of the ball joints going bad?

 

Actually, I did not really notice it, other than the steering was a bit looser. I also noticed outside edge wear on my front tires. I found out when I went in for an alignment after replacing my struts.