Subaru Aluminum Arms Classificator

So you are about to buy Aluminum Arms for your Subaru. Maybe you bought a set and you are not sure if they will fit you car or not? I am going to explain how you can classify a set of arms.

We are going to look into Arms for models up to 2014. During 25 years Subaru have made 3 generations of Front Suspensions.
Of course there are also 2 newer generations but I haven’t done much research on these.

 

Generation 1 (1989 – 2003)
Legacy/Outback BC, BF, BD, BG, BK, BE, BH (1989-2003). Impreza GC, GF, GM (1992-2000). Forester SF (1997-2002)

This was the very first generation of the front suspension that supported Aluminum arms. They came standard on most GC GF WRX and WRX STi versions, Twin Turbo Legacy BE BH and 3 Liter versions, JDM Forester SF STi.

These arms have 3 mounting points. Large Aluminum Bushing mounts on the chassis. Smaller One to the crossmember, and Ball Joint on the Knuckle.
Identify your arms: 1) Hole Shape should be like pictured (NOT OVAL) 2) End link mount must be Square in shape with rounded edges

Make sure your Arms are coming with Cone adapter for the Ball Joint, otherwise they will be pretty useless. Spot 3

Important: In Order to fit these arms to Forester SF Or Any Outback you have to replace the Chassis bushing as it is lifted. Simply take off 22mm Bolt and replace it. These Cars are lifted, applying stock height arms would ruin your suspension geometry.

 

Generation 2 (2000 – 2008)
Impreza GD GG 2000-2007, Forester SG 2002-2008

Gen 2 arms are similar and can be applied to Gen 1 Suspension (not other way around), that type of mod is popular for race cars cause Gen 2 arms are slightly wider.

Note: Chassis mount aluminum Bushings and their holder are identical on both Generations. 05-08 Xenon headlights models would require special mount on the side marked * in order to fit automatic headlight adjustements (Doesn’t apply to USDM models)

Generation 3 (2003 – 2014)
Legacy/Outback BL BP (2003-2009), Impreza GE, GV, GR, GH (2007-2014), Forester SH (2007-2013)

Generation 3 arms were presented on Legacy BL BP on Japanese Spec B Versions. 3 Generation Impreza and Forester shared same front Suspension.

This time large aluminum chassis mount was replaced with large integrated bushing, everything else remained pretty much the same way.

Note: Again make sure that your Facelift xenon version has a small spot on the side where you can mount the light adjusting sensor. It is crucial.
In many cases large bushing can be a bit damaged cause its not easy to remove it from the car and it has to be pulled back and forth to take the arm from the car. No wonder Subaru returned to gen 1-2 bushing type on their latest models.

These arms does not require any different bushings if you have Forester or Outback, you will have the spacer on your car already.

Rear Aluminum Suspension
Legacy/Outback BE, BH, BL, BP 1997-2009

Rear Aluminum Suspension Came on Legacy BL, BP Spec B Versions in Japan. 2 upper arms, 2 knuckles and 1 differential bone arm. In order to actually replace your stock iron pieces with aluminum you have to make sure seller gives hub bearing bolts with this set, otherwise installation would not be possible.

Legacy BE BH never had a factory aluminum suspension on the rear axle. Though it has same rear suspension as BL BP you might need to make some modifications in order to install knuckles properly.