poser714

Hey, i was just curious if I installed the supra LCA's on my sc300 could I use the Daizen or VFT bushings with the supra LCA's since they are similar or would I just have to get bushings for the supra arms?? thanks

Project300

The supra lower control arms are made from the exact same metal castings as the SC control arms. The only difference is they have stiffer bushings, which come intalled with the new Supra arms. If you really wanted to take out the Supra bushings and install other Supra/SC compatible that would work with no problem, but it is not necessary unless you want a specific bushing. There is extra labor involved to press out the old bushings and press in the new ones. Try the Supra bushings first, you'll like them.

mikeloc24

Why? Why are you dealing with bushings in Supra arms? Are you trying to put used Supra arms on your SC? If so why? Why don't you just rebuild your Lexus control arms if you're hell bent on using VFT or DST bushings in your control arms? Do you understand why people use the Supras arms? It's so they don't have to deal with any bushing issues.

Why are you contemplating bushings if you have Supra arms? Please explain. Also, search would help you greatly.

Project300

Poser714, mikeloc has some valid questions but try to ignore his lack of tact, he means well. You can PM me if you like and I'll be glad to fill you in about the Supra control arms.

mikeloc, can we show some patience with poser while he finds info about his LCA couriosity? Remember what DaveGS4 pointed out in the last thread you started?

poser714

hey thanks for the quick responses and dont worry i dont take anything that said to me in forums personal, its all just to network and help try to understand things you dont weither its helpful information or being flamed i kno most people mean well when they post and trust me i do search. im on the board everyday for atleast a hour or two just searching random stuff , but the reason why I asked is because i know for a fact that my bushings are going and i was contemplating on weither to go straight for the supra arms or just basically rebuild my original LCA arms with new bushing. and being that my car has 135k it might be a good idea to just change the whole arm being that people say the ball joints start to go around 100k .and i heard there are 2 types of supra control arms one is cast and one is aluminum. I wasnt aware that the supra and sc's control arms were the exact same because i read in one of the threads someone said that the supra arms are shorter so thats why i asked if the bushings would fit just incase i decided i wanted to change the bushings on the supra arms.. i also read reviews that the VFT bushings dont really sacrific the original lexus ride but also improves performance a good amount which is what i would like to do because i do want to enjoy some of the luxurys of having a lexus otherwise i would of just bought a supra. all in all i just wanted some helpful feedback on what most people have done and everyone opinion and i wanted to weigh out my options. see which one makes the mose sense for me.

SCV8

People buy Supra control arms because the Balljoints will wear out, and leave you with the pleasure of doing the labor all over again.
That would be the ultimate, or close to it, in suspension crispness to have new control arms and aftermarket firm bushings.
The OEM Supra bushings are about half way between the original Lexus, and average urethane for firmness.

Project300

The 93+ supra front lower control arms and SC control arms are all the exact same size. They are all made from the same mold, but the Supras were made with aluminum instead of steel in the last year or two of production.

It will likely cost you even more to rebuild your arms with aftermarket bushings than to just buy the supra ones and install them out of the box. Plus, if you do that you'll still be stuck with the old ball joints that are integrated into the control arms.

That pretty much made it a no brainer for me and I am pleased with the Supra arms. I definitly did not want a harsh ride or anything like you'll have with the poly bushings and the Supra arms are a great balance of slightly stiffer yet still smooth. Just call up Carson Toyota and they'll ship right to your door.

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

The arms from the last two years are made of aluminum to reduce unsprung weight and costs much more than the steel ones. Did anyone in here decided to go with the aluminum ones?

poser714

This is not totally true from what I'm finding out on SF's, we're actually discussing it now and no one really has come up with a deffinate conclusion except it was to "improve ride comfort". one of the members said he ordered a pair of newer supra LCA's and they were deffinatly to heavy to be aluminum. so i dunno??

livesc400

I think 1993.5-1996 are cast iron and 1997-1998 are aluminum. Cast Iron under $200 each and aluminum $350+. In my opinion...Go with the cast. Not enough difference to spend $300+ extra for both. With that you can buy a set of SC OEM rear uppers which also go bad sometimes (not from a Supra though unless you have the rear subframe).

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Just to clarify, the front suspension from a 93+ Supra will fit the SC3/4. The rear suspension is different and will not fit, they are shorter and to use them you'll need the subframe as was mentioned above.

When you search for the Supra arms, you may come across 2 different prices. Early years go for $200. Later ones go for around $400. The main difference I have been told by Toyota dealers is that the later ones are aluminum cast while the early ones are steel. The Lexus steel cast ones cost $400. So it's your call, get the cheaper ones or spend the full amount and get the aluminum ones.

I don't think it is worth buying used Supra LCAs and pressing in new bushings. I would recommend buying the steel Supra arms and selling your old Lexus ones. You more than likely will not save money by buying used arms, having new bushings pressed in, then have the possibility of having bad ball joints.

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

Todd from TM engineering examined my ball joints after replacing them with the new Supra arms and thought that they were pretty worn. I had 140k miles on them

mikeloc24

I wasn't trippin' on him man, it's just very confusing as I can't understand what he's trying to accomplish. It appears he's already done some research as he knows about DST and other bushing options, that being the case I wanted to know why he was trying to combine aftermarket bushings with Supra arms?...the whole point of why people get Supra arms is because they already have the bushings/ball joints so there's no need to go get aftermarket bushings. Unless he's trying to rebuild some used Supra arms and put them on his SC?...but then why would you do that when you could rebuild your existing SC arms with aftermarket bushings?

...do you see now why this was so confusing without me asking those questions? He was not spoken to badly, not even close...his post just raised several questions that I needed to know before I could accurately comment. I re-read what I wrote and didn't see anything in there that showed I was speaking harshly to him, did I???

Okay man?

AME_VIP

iTrader: (2)

I replaced my LCA's with OEM supra TT arms from Carson Toyota. Now I have a horrible clunking noise over small bumps or when I brake.

I've narrowed it down to the swaybar end links. Does anyone know if the supra end links are the same as the lexus ones? They are probably half the price ha

thanks

poser714

hey again all.. just to clarify things more.. the reason why i asked is because my car has about 140k on it and its about time to change them instead of just rebuilding them since they dont sell replacement ball joints.

i was reading about the supra LCA option and about how one was aluminum and one was cast (which no one has proven yet) but at that time it interested me.. and so on.... I was originally planning on buying them and using them that way for the time being since they have beefier bushings and that would provide me with news ball joints and a little performance also, but eventually i'd like to change the bushings to increase performance. but i didnt want to sacrific comfort all that much. originally i wanted to see if the Valmos bushing would fit, since everyone said it improves performance and you get to keep the "lexus" ride.

but as far as my conclusion goes, it turns out that the bushing for the sc and supra LCA's are interchange able and i wouldnt have to buy specific bushings for the sc or supra.