Ok, so it seems I need new front upper control arms. I posted a thread on AZ but since everyone’s nice and technical here, I thought I’d post my question here as well 
I see there’s 034 Density line, SPC (group buy) and Stern.
I’m leaning toward the 034 at the moment. Any one have feedback to provide on these three in regards to overall feel and long term reliability?
Thanks!
I’ve had Stern control arms for about 30k miles with zero issues. I doubt you would notice a difference in handling (I didn’t) but this depends primarily on settings. I picked them up mainly for greater adjustability because I was having inner tire wear issues with the oem arms while on Stasis c/o’s.
I jumped in the group buy with the SPCs. Otherwise I would have gotten the Sterns I’d say.
I can’t really give a lot of input tho. Only a couple thousand miles on them. They were a pain to get setup, but that’s it so far.
I went with the 034 adjustable uppers and my alignment guy gave me drek for doing it because the adjustments weren’t as easy as the Stern. However; it’s my understanding that
the Stern units haven’t been available for some time. If I am wrong about this, please let me know.
I also went with the 034s mainly because they seemed to be built a little better than the sterns, something about the adjuster bolt being in the middle didn’t sit right with me since I live around Chicago and some of the worst streets in the country, plus I saw in a thread somebody that bent their stern control arm right in half which probably doesn’t happen often but was enough to worry me. The other reasons I went with the 034s was they were cheaper and readily available but the sterns were on back order. The sterns are nice because you can adjust them a little bit easier, not much though, and you don’t have to put dust boots on. Adjusting the 034s is as simple as removing the wheel, removing the bolt to hold the ball joint, and loosening the nut that keeps the ball joint tight. Overall the sterns might save you 15-30 minutes at most. As for feedback on how they ride, they aren’t going to transform your car or even be that noticeable. Once they are installed there would be no way to tell the difference between the 2. If you don’t mind spending an extra $55, waiting extra time to get them, and don’t have to worry about potholes and such go with the sterns. If you don’t mind putting on dust boots and spending a little extra time adjusting them go with the 034s. Either way you can’t go wrong.
You might want to take a look at the CPT control arms as well.