Recommended suspension parts manufacturers

[highburyhartley]

Hi all - hoping someone on here would have a view on which manufacturers of parts are worth considering and which not.

I need to replace the front wishbones on my 2015 forester xt.  Subaru main dealer has quoted 192 GBP per side for the parts.  However, there are plenty of aftermarket parts available, and a variety of different costs.  I know little to nothing about these things, so does anyone have a recommendation over which pattern part manufacturers it is worth considering, and which not?

For example, Superpro look like the best option, but they are out of stock till april and i need the repair done.   I'm assuming that the super cheap parts (Moog, Stark, Ridex etc) are all rubbish.  However there is a middle tier of parts (Japanparts, Spidan, Ashika) that look like they might be reasonable.

Any suggestions?  Or just get the Subaru one.

[Scoobyfoz]

ICP have pattern parts, I've just used these on my daughter's 2015 Forester:

https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/product/icp-front-bottom-arm-subaru-20202sg010/

[highburyhartley]

Thanks for the response - I appreciate it. 

My concern on anything that costs a third of the manufacturers part is "why is it so much cheaper", 'cause the answer can't just be the OEM mark up.  The last thing I want to do is mess up the handling because I used a cheap part.   

What was your impression of the quality of the part compared to the OEM, given that you've just been handling them?

[Scoobyfoz]

4 hours ago, highburyhartley said:

Thanks for the response - I appreciate it. 

My concern on anything that costs a third of the manufacturers part is "why is it so much cheaper", 'cause the answer can't just be the OEM mark up.  The last thing I want to do is mess up the handling because I used a cheap part.   

What was your impression of the quality of the part compared to the OEM, given that you've just been handling them?

ICP are well respected for quality parts among Subaru owners. The difference in price is due to Subaru's mark up and supply chain. It's not a complicated part, just the arm, bushes and balljoint. The quality of these is the same as oem.

[Mr B]

Aftermarket quality in suspension parts is a major concern .
It also a major safety factor and impacts driving/performing quality of vehicle .
ICP aftermarket part quality is a bit hit and miss as they not as fussy as use to be and the aftermarket manufacturing quality is down the toilet these days even on previous well rated major car part brands .
So if buying from ICP you wise call them and ask what brand/manufacturer the part is rather than assuming it good .
What I do on these if the original arm is not seriously rusted is fit new bushes and new genuine subaru ball joint too.
We get the original balljoints for example for about 16 quid so it not worth buying aftermarket to save few quid on a part that serious safety component and needs be proper quality have half a chance of decent service life .
For complete arm you could look at ACKOJA, they made in Korea by OEM's for car parts so quality not the worst .
MOOG is another option for suspension parts that not the worst .
We have to deal with this poor quality part concern every day and aftermarket part quality is the biggest problem we face today, takes lot of knowledge and time keep on top of what good/bad and price effective, you also always getting customers wondering why part bill what it is when they could of got it off eBay or Amazon for 3rd of the cost lol .
Lot of the cheap parts are trash straight out the box and either don't fit, fit/function poorly or pretty much failed in 12 to 18 months ...
Buy wisely and refurbish original parts when possible .