Best quality replacement LR3/4 front lower control arms

[adamsanta85]

Buying an LR4 that needs a new set of control arms. 100% doing the entire arms, not just bushings. Definitely doing new hardware.

What are the best quality aftermarket replacement arms? Looking to do light off roading and beach, mostly street and highway. Would prefer something that will last me another 50k at least.

Meyle HD - These sound promising. They claim to be better than OEM, $300/pr + $50 Hardware

Lucky 8 with orange polybush - $358 with hardware

FRONT POLYBUSH LOWER CONTROL ARM KIT W/ HARDWARE

Front Lower Control Arm Kit Poly Bushings w/ Hardware LH & RH Fits: LR3 2005-2009 LR4 2010-2016 Range Rover Sport L320 2006-2013 Part Number: LCAKWPB FREE SHIPPING TO THE LOWER 48!

lucky8llc.com

Lemforder - $380 + hardware

Lucky 8 Regular - $230 <- These sound like the worst quality

LR3/LR4/RRS Front Lower Control Arm Kit w/ Hardware

Front Lower Control Arm Kit w/ Hardware LH & RH We have done this job on several Rover's here at our shop and have come to find that the original bolts do not always hold up and we usually end up having to cut them off of the truck due to them rusting to the arm and frame. The worst case...

lucky8llc.com

 

[tdhunter13]

Hey Man,

I have an '08 LR3 and used the below arms back in late 2016. Have about 70k on them currently. Do note that these are Range Rover Sport (RRS) arms which are the same but supposedly use heavier duty bushings and are used in some armored LR3/LR4's used in the UK (if I remember correctly). Also, I use Land Rover Merriam to price match parts on Atlantic British. AB is very good about price matching and have very good customer service.

AB RRS Genuine Left

AB RRS Genuine Right

Land Rover Merriam Parts (Price Match)

P.S. Here is a thread I started when I originally did all of this, hope it helps!

LR3 Control Arms

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[gabrielef]

I’ve heard about this but completely forgot. I might want to try OEM again sometime and this would be a great option. With all the weight I’m hauling around, it’s be nice to have heavier duty OEM bushings.


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[yubert]

I would skip the orange polybush bushings. I do a fair amount of offroading, along washboard roads so when the OEM bushings wore out, I replaced them all with orange polybush. My rear UCA eyelets broke a few years later. I found out I wasn't the only one that suffered broken control arms. If you look at the European forums, they recommend OEM rubber or Meyle HD. They believe polyurethane is not as forgiving as rubber. However, Atlantic-British has complete UCA with green polyurethane bushings. They're supposed to be softer than the orange so I went with that. It's been 2 years and no broken eyelets.

 

[gabrielef]

I would skip the orange polybush bushings. I do a fair amount of offroading, along washboard roads so when the OEM bushings wore out, I replaced them all with orange polybush. My rear UCA eyelets broke a few years later. I found out I wasn't the only one that suffered broken control arms. If you look at the European forums, they recommend OEM rubber or Meyle HD. They believe polyurethane is not as forgiving as rubber. However, Atlantic-British has complete UCA with green polyurethane bushings. They're supposed to be softer than the orange so I went with that. It's been 2 years and no broken eyelets.

Oh wow. I’ve heard the same too. I have orange poly’s in my LCA’s only. Everything is else is OEM. Wouldn’t mind trying green or Meyle HD though.


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[Michael34]

Superpro make specially engineered bushings for the front Lca


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[adamsanta85]

Superpro make specially engineered bushings for the front Lca


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I had full Superpro set on my Defender 90 and LOVED them.

I am very much considering this way to go.. I just wish they sold arms without bushings for them to go into. My fear is I buy the Superpro setup plus Lemforder ball joints plus new hardware which is about $300. Then we go to pull old arms and they need to be cut out, don't have arms on hand, then need to buy new arms ASAP because truck is stuck on a lift with no arms.

Otherwise I think the Meyle HD are standing out as the best "value" at about $350 for the pair, assuming they hold up.

 

[adamsanta85]

Hey Man,

I have an '08 LR3 and used the below arms back in late 2016. Have about 70k on them currently. Do note that these are Range Rover Sport (RRS) arms which are the same but supposedly use heavier duty bushings and are used in some armored LR3/LR4's used in the UK (if I remember correctly). Also, I use Land Rover Merriam to price match parts on Atlantic British. AB is very good about price matching and have very good customer service.

AB RRS Genuine Left

AB RRS Genuine Right

Land Rover Merriam Parts (Price Match)

P.S. Here is a thread I started when I originally did all of this, hope it helps!

LR3 Control Arms

Thanks,
Tyler

Thanks for that. Very tempting but nearly 2x the others...

 

[Michael34]

I had full Superpro set on my Defender 90 and LOVED them.

I am very much considering this way to go.. I just wish they sold arms without bushings for them to go into. My fear is I buy the Superpro setup plus Lemforder ball joints plus new hardware which is about $300. Then we go to pull old arms and they need to be cut out, don't have arms on hand, then need to buy new arms ASAP because truck is stuck on a lift with no arms.

Otherwise I think the Meyle HD are standing out as the best "value" at about $350 for the pair, assuming they hold up.

I think Brit part sells the Lca without bushings


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[Michael34]

I think Brit part sells the Lca without bushings


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Group buy potential here


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[DiscoNels]

After owning my LR3 for the last 8 years and trying different arms and bushings. I would have to say stick with the Meyle HD, or go with RRS arms as @tdhunter13 stated above. Stay away from Poly bush all together whether it's the stiff Orange or the softer Green. They simply aren't flexible enough to support the heavy weight of the LR3/4 models and cause cracked arms. I installed full orange Poly all around on mine and have been replacing with stock items as the arms crack. So far, both rear uppers and recently the front lower left.

I also have a friend who purchased a used LR4 in 2020 and installed brand new AB arms with green polybush and found out he cracked an arm when we were out in Moab in September. Not even 3 months old with less than 5k miles on them.

This was my latest front left lower arm failure, as you can see the collar around the orange bushing is completely gone. I loved the stiffness of the polybush on road, but failure is not an option when out on the trails.

 

[Shigeta]

If anyone is interested in the OEM parts without paying Land Rover prices, I was able to cross reference the Land Rover part number and find the Lemforder part number.
(For those who don't know, Lemforder is the supplier (OEM) of control arms and sway bar end links for the LR3.)

Note: These are LR3 part numbers, not RRS. I attempted to do the same exercise for the RRS arms, but couldn't find enough information about the cross-compatibility to feel confident in going RRS arms.

Front Suspension:

Part	Quantity	Land Rover Part #	Lemforder Part #
Lower, Right Control Arm	1	LR028245	211460
Lower, Left Control Arm	1	LR028249	211459
Upper, Right Control Arm	1	RBJ500222	3822701
Upper, Left Control Arm	1	RBJ500232	3822601
Sway bar end link	2	LR014145	3671101

Rear Suspension:

Part	Quantity	Land Rover Part #	Lemforder Part #
Lower, Right Control Arm	1	LR051592	4007201
Lower, Left Control Arm	1	LR051594	4007101
Upper, Right Control Arm	1	LR051622	3993901
Upper, Left Control Arm	1	LR051623	3993801
Sway bar end link	2	RGD000312	2959201

Looking at my receipts from a recent suspension refresh, I paid $1278.39 shipped from Trodo.com back in October 2020. I bought bolt kits from AB, but otherwise everything came from Trodo—the only supplier who I found who had all of the Lemforder parts.

 

[adamsanta85]

I think Brit part sells the Lca without bushings


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Indeed they do... Looks like they are about $110 each + ship from UK. They are listed for LR3 only... wonder why the LR4 has different part number.

LR028249NB
LR075993NB

 

[Michael34]

Hey Man,

I have an '08 LR3 and used the below arms back in late 2016. Have about 70k on them currently. Do note that these are Range Rover Sport (RRS) arms which are the same but supposedly use heavier duty bushings and are used in some armored LR3/LR4's used in the UK (if I remember correctly). Also, I use Land Rover Merriam to price match parts on Atlantic British. AB is very good about price matching and have very good customer service.

AB RRS Genuine Left

AB RRS Genuine Right

Land Rover Merriam Parts (Price Match)

P.S. Here is a thread I started when I originally did all of this, hope it helps!

LR3 Control Arms

Thanks,
Tyler

Any idea if it the bushings are just better or is the actual control arm stronger structurally ?


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[tdhunter13]

lll

Thanks for that. Very tempting but nearly 2x the others...

Fair enough. Looking back through my receipts and emails, I price matched the arms at about ~$270 each which made it more reasonable. Also, the MOOG or Mevotech option in the below link may be worth considering.

Any idea if it the bushings are just better or is the actual control arm stronger structurally ?

Going through my old thread and comparing on Rock Auto, it seems the bushings are just better. You can find some of the Lemforder bushings below and they specifically say 'Armored Vehicle'. Also, when cross comparing full front lower arms between LR3 and RRS, I do not see any part numbers that match up. Which leads me to believe the bushings are better (or at least different) since we know the physical arms fit between the models.

Generally not a big Rock Auto fan, but they have a rather decent selection across the board for LR3 items.

Rock Auto