Ball Joint/Control Arm Replacement - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

saza26 · 10-09-2020, 03:47 PM

Upon buying my 2013 FRS I noticed clunking noises when turning the wheels at stand-still. Mainly when navigating parking lots or driveways. I recently got new tires installed and the mechanic noted that the noise is likely the ball joints needing replacement. My novice mechanic eyes don't see any damage on them visually.

I'm going for an OEM+ type of build so I was wondering of the performance benefit vs comfort trade off in upgrading the ball joints instead of buying the OEM parts? Also, the ball joints look pressed into the control arms, is there any benefit in replacing the whole lower control arm? Doesn't seem to be any damage on the arm itself.

Any insight is appreciated!

NoHaveMSG · 10-09-2020, 04:03 PM

The only benefit an aftermarket ball joint is going to have is improving your roll center if you are lowered. If you are doing this yourself, buy a control arm with them installed already. I did mine myself, it was a PITA to get supported properly in the press.

saza26 · 10-09-2020, 07:53 PM

Any recommendations for control arms? Seems like there's a lot of options for the rears but not many for the front.

Mr.ac · 10-10-2020, 03:01 AM

Well, if you are doing a lot of auto x or track days, then yes you should consider aftermarket suspensions.
But if it's just daily driven, and having fun on the canyons oem parts is good enough.

norcalpb · 10-10-2020, 11:20 AM

OEM arms - $400
Racer-X - $600
Cusco - $700
SPL - $1,200

If you aren't sure what you want, I would just by brand new OEM arms.

grumpysnapper · 10-14-2020, 08:34 AM

Honestly, OEM is absolutely fine for the road, even for fast road. Strong and reliable.

churchx · 10-14-2020, 09:19 AM

.. and easier to find replacement for somewhere close by unlike waiting spare to arrive from overseas. So +1 to sticking with OE. There are exceptions, when aftermarket provides some lacking important feature, or when they are stronger, or when they are noticeably cheaper then OE counterpart, but this doesn't seem to be the case here.

Shark_Bait88 · 10-14-2020, 09:33 AM

I'm doing a suspension refresh on my '13 (113k miles and 6+ years of daily driving in Chicagoland). I got front LCAs and rear UPCAs for $250 shipped off a salvage '19 86 with 27k on it. Find a wrecked car local to you, either private party or a salvage business, and grab some used ones with low miles.

10-09-2020, 03:47 PM	#1
saza26 Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Ball Joint/Control Arm Replacement Upon buying my 2013 FRS I noticed clunking noises when turning the wheels at stand-still. Mainly when navigating parking lots or driveways. I recently got new tires installed and the mechanic noted that the noise is likely the ball joints needing replacement. My novice mechanic eyes don't see any damage on them visually. I'm going for an OEM+ type of build so I was wondering of the performance benefit vs comfort trade off in upgrading the ball joints instead of buying the OEM parts? Also, the ball joints look pressed into the control arms, is there any benefit in replacing the whole lower control arm? Doesn't seem to be any damage on the arm itself. Any insight is appreciated!

10-10-2020, 03:01 AM	#4
Mr.ac [insert cool phrase here] Join Date: Aug 2015 Drives: BRZ Premium Location: Central Coast CA Posts: 2,369 Thanks: 709 Thanked 1,558 Times in 930 Posts Mentioned: 30 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Well, if you are doing a lot of auto x or track days, then yes you should consider aftermarket suspensions. But if it's just daily driven, and having fun on the canyons oem parts is good enough. __________________ New daily driver - Subaru BRZ Premium Weekend fun/track car - '91 MR2 Turbo Gen3 Old daily driver - '88 MR2 Supercharged

10-14-2020, 09:33 AM	#8
Shark_Bait88 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Drives: 2013 Firestorm FR-S Location: Midwest Posts: 1,348 Thanks: 1,670 Thanked 862 Times in 480 Posts Mentioned: 12 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	I'm doing a suspension refresh on my '13 (113k miles and 6+ years of daily driving in Chicagoland). I got front LCAs and rear UPCAs for $250 shipped off a salvage '19 86 with 27k on it. Find a wrecked car local to you, either private party or a salvage business, and grab some used ones with low miles. __________________ "Shark_Bait88, the man who’s spent the most money modding his stock FR-S and it’s still stock." -@jdnguyen

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10-09-2020, 07:53 PM	#3
saza26 Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Any recommendations for control arms? Seems like there's a lot of options for the rears but not many for the front.

10-10-2020, 11:20 AM	#5
norcalpb Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2023 Model 3 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 2,296 Thanks: 1,212 Thanked 861 Times in 570 Posts Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	OEM arms - $400 Racer-X - $600 Cusco - $700 SPL - $1,200 If you aren't sure what you want, I would just by brand new OEM arms.

10-14-2020, 08:34 AM	#6
grumpysnapper Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Drives: BRZ Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 351 Thanks: 308 Thanked 605 Times in 208 Posts Mentioned: 6 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Honestly, OEM is absolutely fine for the road, even for fast road. Strong and reliable.

10-14-2020, 09:19 AM	#7
churchx Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Drives: 2014 GT86 Location: Latvia, Riga Posts: 4,333 Thanks: 696 Thanked 2,085 Times in 1,436 Posts Mentioned: 53 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	.. and easier to find replacement for somewhere close by unlike waiting spare to arrive from overseas. So +1 to sticking with OE. There are exceptions, when aftermarket provides some lacking important feature, or when they are stronger, or when they are noticeably cheaper then OE counterpart, but this doesn't seem to be the case here.

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