Hey, guys.
Stephanie with americanmuscle.com here with a review of BMR's lower control arms with
poly bushings for 2005 to 2014 Mustangs.
BMR's rear lower control arms are going to be a good option for the S197 owners that
are looking for a fixed lower control arm that isn't going to add a lot of harshness
to the ride quality but that is going to help with traction and wheel hop issues.
Traction and wheel hop are issues that the factory suspension allows for, and the more
power and torque that your car's making, the worse the problem seems to get.
Lower control arms are very beneficial for all Mustangs whether you keep your car on
the street or whether it sees any kind of track or strip time.
And generally speaking, the idea is the control arms will be an upgrade over the factory stamped
steel arms and they're going to stop a lot of the flex that the stock components allow
for.
One of the main reasons why the stock setup has so many downfalls is because soft rubber
bushings are used.
The soft bushings allow for a more comfortable ride that's forgiving and it's an overall
better experience for the average driver.
However, these bushings leave a lot to be desired from a performance standpoint, especially
when you start to consider things like handling and traction.
But stiffer options are not always better.
If you take all of the flexibility out of the suspension, you're going to end up with
an extremely stiff ride quality that isn't really going to be fun for cars on the street.
The smallest bumps can become uncomfortable, and then you also have to consider the shock
that will then be transferred directly to the car and to the suspension.
So, you really need to consider what you plan on doing with your Mustang and what's acceptable
for your personal style.
These BMR lower control arms have spiral fluted polyurethane bushings.
So, they are a durometer bushing, and this bushing is used on both the chassis and the
axle side.
This type of bushing is a stiffer bushing for less deflection, which is a good thing
in this case.
Less deflection means less movement and flexibility, and therefore improved traction.
But you also have to keep in mind the compound of the bushing that you're going to be using.
Like I just mentioned, the more rigid the bushing, the more abrasive the ride quality
will be.
This particular bushing is made from a compound that's stiffer than the factory bushing, but
it also helps to dampen MBH at the same time, so you're not looking at a severely uncomfortable
ride quality.
Your other option, instead of poly bushings like these here, is to go with spherical bearings,
and BMR does have a set of fixed lowers that come with this setup if you think those are
more in line with what you're looking for.
The spherical bearings are going to have less deflection but the tradeoff is more MBH, so
a harsher ride quality.
The bearings can't absorb shock like bushings can, so the shock is then transferred directly
to the suspension and chassis.
These are a boxed steel design that's heavy duty and TIG welded for strength.
These arms are going to be a lot more rigid and offer a lot more support than the factory
stamped steel arm does, so they're a definite upgrade for sure.
And they're powder coated, so not only are they going to look nice, but they also have
some corrosion resistance, which is nice since they are a low hanging, under-car suspension
part.
When it comes to lower control arms, there are a lot of choices.
You can go with a fixed setup, or an adjustable one, or even a double adjustable arm.
One's not necessarily better than the other.
It all depends on your setup and the specific reason for the control arm.
Generally speaking, a fixed lower control arm isn't a bad option at all, where you're
really going to want the adjustable arm is in the upper control arms.
But adjustable lowers are good for lowered cars because you do have more room for adjustment
there.
But to retain the factory geometry with these fixed control arms, just make sure that the
offset end of the arm is installed on the axle side with the offset portion of the axle
side facing the rear diff.
The other thing to keep in mind here is that these lower control arms will help performance
wise with things like better traction, better hooking, and better handling, but they are
only one component of a handful of other pieces that all work together.
If you're really looking to improve things in the rear, there are a handful of other
components you should look into as well, like an adjustable upper control arm setup, a Panhard
bar, and relocation brackets just to name a few things.
But these are still a good step towards eliminating the wheel hop and getting the rear more stable,
allowing for harder launches, and keeping the suspension more consistent no matter what
you're doing with your car.
As far as price, these control arms are going to cost a little under $150.
Fixed lower control arms range anywhere in price from $115 to $400, depending on brand
and bushing setup, so you have a lot of options there.
The spherical bearing offering from BMR that I mentioned earlier is going to cost more
and they'll be about $200.
So the install here is really pretty easy, and I'll give you a quick overview of the
install so you can decide if this is something you'd like to try for yourself or not.
You're going to need to get the rear of the car in the air and remove the rear wheels,
of course.
The brake cable does run through the control arm, so you'll have to detach that so you
can remove your old control arms.
One thing to note here is that poly bushings can get noisy if they're not properly greased.
So you're going to want to make sure you really grease these before installing and after they're
on the car.
Once you grease the new control arm bushing, they're ready to install and you're going
to want to make sure that the narrow end is forward for the geometry reason that I mentioned
earlier.
And just a side note, if you're using jack stands, torquing the arms down to spec might
be a little difficult because it can be hard to get the amount of leverage that you need
for 134 foot-pounds of torque.
The process is the same for both sides of the car ,and overall, this is a one-wrench
install on our scale here and should take about two hours to complete.
Wrapping things up here, these lower control arms from BMR are a fixed control arm with
a boxed scale construction and polyurethane bushings.
These are stiffer bushings that are going to eliminate some deflection and provide better
traction, faster launches, and less wheel hop.
You can check these control arms out along with all your other options for the S197 Mustang
right here at americanmuscle.com.