Buddy Club front control arms
 

Is anyone here running the Buddy Club front control arms? I just ordered the rears and am considering doing the fronts. What benefit would there be?

From the product description, it sounds like they take an OEM control arm and press in their own ball joint and bushings. The ball joint apparently corrects suspension geometry on lowered cars. I'm currently running HKS coils with a 1 3/4" drop.

Anyone?

So I ordered the fronts and installed them this morning. The install was pretty easy, but it threw my alignment way out (no surprises there).

Just a heads up to anyone who is thinking of getting these front control arms, I feel like Buddy Club doesn't do that good of a job in letting you know what you're getting. They're pretty much OEM control arms that are powder coated white with Buddy Clubs own bushings and ball joints pressed in. It's still good value for the price that you pay, but don't expect any weight savings.

I'll post impressions when the car is done with it's alignment

edit: I should also mention that the included "instructions" are as JDM as you can get. Also known as completely useless and un-readable. One thing to note is that you can't re-use the factory clip from the OEM ball joint. You'll have to find and use your own cotter pin to lock down the castle nut.

Here's some pics for anyone that is interested. If you do the install yourself, make sure youre near a shop that does alignments. It's way out

I had the fronts installed and aligned before the rears so I drove it around for a day or two. I'm not sure if it's placebo effect or not but the front end feels a lot more compliant and settled. Grip through highway turnoffs and roundabouts feels like the car isn't trying as hard to maintain traction. I didn't notice any additional NVH from the stiffer bushings. I won't be putting it on the track or autocross for a couple of weeks so those impressions will have to wait

One thing I did notice while installing the rears is how beefy they are compared to stock. The stock rear arms feel very flimsy in comparison. Weight is similar I guess, but even if it added weight, it would be worth if for the additional rigidity imo. If you're installing these at home, I would suggest you try and match the stock arm length with the new ones prior to install. I didn't pay to much attention to that and as a result, my toe was WAY out. The drive to the shop to get it aligned was terrifying haha.

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Thanks for the info. Did you notice how much roll center correction the Buddy Club FLCA's have?

Looks great. How do you like the rear Lower Control Arms?

I have been shopping around for a pair and have narrowed it down to these, the Cusco, and the Stance (Prob. not Stance as I am strictly auto-x and hpde events but have not heard anything bad about them so still considering). I like the prices of these compared to the others but have not really seen many reviews around of them so Im curious what you think after a track day. They seem solid and I love that they match my Whiteout FRS.

Sorry for the late reply, I just saw this now :)

The rear LCAS are fine. They will allow you to run 0 toe and about -1 to -1.5 without adding toe arms. The build quality is nice, and I like the white finish. There are also two shock mounts to chose from to help your suspension deal with larger than normal drops. Overall I'm satisfied.

I tracked them at Brainerd in Minnesota and also at the smaller 1.5 mile track here around Winnipeg. The larger range in camber/toe adjustment made a noticeable difference.