SuperPro Control Arms

[Frenchy]

This is going to be a nice introduction of SuperPro Control Arms that have recently become available. Though I may specify a bit for my Frontier, things will be similar for the Ranger as they have a set available for the Ranger.

Now for those that are not aware, SuperPro is a Australian Manufacturer for Automotive Aftermarket Suspension Bushings. They are part of Zeder Corporation which includes Whiteline Performance, Fulcrum Suspension(another Australian Manufacturer), Nolathane and Formula 4x4. Some individuals on here including myself have used either SuperPro or Whiteline Bushings and have been happy with them.

Well as the Title states this is about the Control Arms that they offer now. In Australia they have both Fixed and Adjustable Control Arms available. In the US at this time we only have the Fixed Control Arms available. Regardless these will still make a difference on helping the Suspension stay in alignment Specifications after a Lift or Level.

To help give a quick understanding of how it can help, here is a Video from Zeder Corporation on the SuperPro Control Arms.



For those that want to see the Ranger Control Arms, here is the link to them!

https://superprousa.com/products/ge...er-control-arm-set-fixed-offset-lifted-trucks

Now for my Frontier I do have a Small Lift on it from Dobinsons. The lift has given my truck 1.5 inches of lift front and back. Though it isn't much, the alignment is rough especially on Caster. To put simple it has been maxed out on Caster and the Camber is a +0.9° on both sides(keep in mind the specifications for Camber is 0°). Below are the results of my last alignment and I knew I was going to have to make an adjustment.

Well the SuperPro Control Arms will add up to -1.5° of Camber depending on lift height and will add between +2.5° to +3.5° of Caster depending on lift height (keep in mind these numbers are specific to the Frontier and not the Ranger). After looking at what my option were with price and manufacturers I decided to go with SuperPro/Whiteline(same company and part, just different color).

Thankfully there was a place nearby that had them in stock and they arrived today in the mail! After I got home I decided to open the box to get a closer look! Up close they look really nice. It uses SuperPro Bushings and a nice grease able heavy duty ball joint! I can also get a service kit from SuperPro in the event I need to replace the bushings and ball joints.

Now I am planning to install these on Saturday and will give more information on them afterwards. This will also include how much the road manners change. Hopefully it makes a real nice difference on ride quality and handling. Only time will tell.

Just hang tight for the next part!

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[Deleted User 38384]

.....following

 

[jdamtb918]

Look forward to your findings ?

 

[Frenchy]

Update part 1

So I had a little bit of extra time with sunlight once I got home from work and decided to get a little adventurous. What I mean by adventurous is tackling the control arms.

I do have some pictures below showing some general comparison of the clearance advantage I got with my truck along with the general shape difference of the two control arms. Obviously we got the regular factory control arms which are technically still considered normal for most individuals. We also have the very cool looking aftermarket control arms that look badass.

As you can see with the current struts I have installed I don't have a whole lot of clearance with the factory control arms.

After installing the new control arms I do gain a little bit of extra clearance but things are still fairly close.

Something I paid attention to as well when I took the old control arms off, the bushings in these control arms were flogged. Keep in mind this truck is a 2012 and has 144,000 mi on it I also suspect these might be the OEM control arms. Let's just say that I accidentally did some very nice maintenance and I'm sure that's going to help the overall ride and control with this vehicle.

I will have the alignment somewhat close tonight, but I'm going to have things adjusted much closer on Sunday at one of my local Firestone Auto Care's. With a ride down there on Sunday before and after the alignment I should be able to feel when heck of a difference. I will let you guys know how that goes.

 

[Jason B]

Thanks for the info. I see they are available for '24+ too. So I posted a link to their site on the 6G forum.

 

[Frenchy]

Well after having these control arms installed for a couple of days and kind of driving around, I have gauged a bit of an idea on how much they have and haven't helped.

For starters let's keep in mind that my original control arm bushings were shot. A lot of this will make a difference. I don't care what vehicle you have, when the bushings are shot you will find improvement with factory or aftermarket bushings.

After installing the control arms and putting everything back together I first noticed how my tires were more upright versus before. This is thanks to the original control arms not keeping the wheels and tires where they need to be with the lift.

Driving it around I did notice the steering was much tighter and more responsive. This most likely has to do with the fact that the old bushings were worn out. Also probably urethane bushings are a lot more stout when new.

Going over bumps The front end somewhat feel smoother and seems to handle corrugations a little better. That said I still feel the bumps and corrugations in the road.

Did these control arms make it where the truck was riding on a cloud? Absolutely not. Then again I did buy a truck and not a Rolls-Royce.

The alignment is scheduled tomorrow morning and I will have those numbers posted afterwards.

Would I recommend SuperPro Control Arms? Absolutely I would. For the price I feel you get a good product that is made in Australia versus some cheapies we see floating around on flea Bay or Amazon that are most likely made in China. Also when compared to some of the competition you will notice that the price is nowhere near as high as others. This helps when trying to budget for a build.

 

[Frenchy]

Well I got the alignment taken care of this morning and I will say that I was impressed. With all the cam bolts as close to neutral as possible the Camber and Caster was great!! I was about to -0.1° L and 0.2° R for Camber with roughly 3.2° L and 3.4° R for Caster at the beginning of the Alignment. All of this was Green BTW! I did not get to see an after adjustment number as the printer was acting up, but it was great to see

Put simple these Control Arms allowed my truck to be right where it needed to be with a 1.5 inch lift. I think it's safe to say that it is an excellent choice for anyone that can get these control arms!

 

[Frenchy]

Well I have another update on the upper control arms. Today I decided to take some measurements while I was on some flat pavement. How's more curious to see what my total lift height was since it seemed like some of the suspension was settled. From what I could tell the front suspension is very happy right now as it sits a little bit higher. I suspect this has to do with a combination of worn out bushings that got replaced with new ones and the upper control arm straightening the front tires and keeping them where they're supposed to be.

To give you an idea the front suspension height was around 37 inches before I did the controller arms. After replacing the control arms and riding around for a little bit I found that it was at 37.25 in. Now to some that might not seem like much, but that little bit of extra clearance can make enough of a difference for a trail. The rear is currently at 37.75 in. It was at 38 in before. To say the least I am happy with the current results

 

[Cmar]

Yes these products (Super Pro) are really very good. Back in 1989 I had to take my Ford Bronco to a truck align place to remove and press straighten one of my front suspension radius arms that I had bent on a Cape York trip on a ginormous hole cunningly filled with water and looking exactly like the other 999,999 holes that were only about 1/2 as deep.

Anyway before I took it in I decided that the rubber bushings where they bolted to the chassis, were looking a bit sad, and should be replaced at the same time. I went to Fulcrum Suspensions to ask about some urethane replacements. (Ford didn't have any OEM in stock locally) Well sadly they said that as Bronco's and F150's were not that common in Australia, they didn't stock them.

But they also said the Super Pro Group were developing them and they had some pre-production units in stock and as long as I was prepared to accept the were PP evaluation units I could have them for free as long as I was happy to report back to them in a few months with my impressions.

Well the product was in fact excellent, and was still in the car when I sold it about 5 years later and I was happy to give them a good report back about both the product and the service!

 

[Frenchy]

Well after half a month of driving around including OffRoad a bit, I can say that these are nice. If anything it has made the steering way more responsive than I thought it would ever be. I suspect this to be a combination of the bushings not being worn out anymore and the Camber being much closer to 0° than before. At the moment I do still get a bit sideways on good old corrugations/Washboard roads, but I think this is due to my current Shock and Strut combination. That will be for a different thread.

Regardless I can still say that the SuperPro Control Arms are well worth the cost.

 

[Frenchy]

Just want to put it out there that SuperPro now has a 20% off sale site wide for anyone that was considering the SuperPro control arms for their Ranger.

 

[Frenchy]

Well it has been close to a year since having these installed and they have done well. If you are considering getting a set, SuperPro has a sale going on right now for 20% off store wide. Certainly worth the purchase especially if lifted

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