M3 front control arms (Upper and lower) - A couple of $hundred less than everywhere

[RimasRS]

Originally Posted by flinchy

No, it's pushing the bottom of the strut out, not the wheel in, the control arm attaches to the strut

I had he same concern

Good to know thanks... Is it worth to replace also rear bits not talking about subframe bushes. How it will affect driving feeling.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by RimasRS

Good to know thanks... Is it worth to replace also rear bits not talking about subframe bushes. How it will affect driving feeling.

depends which rear bits you want to replace

some require more work/new rear struts, is worth it of course, but ends up lots more expensive for the whole set

[andrey_gta]

cant wait to see. Congrats

[Tee-Dub]

Any point to doing the M front end if I keep my stock sport suspension components? I'd like some more negative camber up front and want to firm up the ride, but not sure I want to take the plunge yet for coilovers and realize just lowering springs probably aren't the best.

[splitsecond]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

Any point to doing the M front end if I keep my stock sport suspension components? I'd like some more negative camber up front and want to firm up the ride, but not sure I want to take the plunge yet for coilovers and realize just lowering springs probably aren't the best.

Why not go for an aftermarket shocks/springs set? It's cheaper than coilovers and it'll help you firm up your ride.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

Any point to doing the M front end if I keep my stock sport suspension components? I'd like some more negative camber up front and want to firm up the ride, but not sure I want to take the plunge yet for coilovers and realize just lowering springs probably aren't the best.

yeah, you'll still see teh same improvement

it's not like you need the whole set to see an improvement, each part is an upgrade.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

Any point to doing the M front end if I keep my stock sport suspension components? I'd like some more negative camber up front and want to firm up the ride, but not sure I want to take the plunge yet for coilovers and realize just lowering springs probably aren't the best.

I upgraded tension struts to a Meyle HD and noticed improvement, so I think you will see even more with the M front end, since the wishbones will increase neg camber. That said, some fairly knowledgeable guys on the e90 forum suggest concentrating on shocks / springs as the best bang for the buck.

I have the bmw perf suspension v1, a little firmer than sport. For me, upgrading the front control arms seems like a logical next mod.

If your tension struts and wishbones have a lot of miles on them, you may be heading for replacement at some point anyhow. You could always upgrade early to this set-up or wait for your current ones to go.

[Tee-Dub]

The car only has 38k miles on it but doesn't feel nearly as planted as my E90 did on stock sport suspension. Feels a little floaty and I can feel the front wheels rolling over to positive camber on off-camber corners.

[BMW86]

Anyone else purchased the TRW parts? keen to hear if they are as good as the real deal m3 components.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by BMW86

Anyone else purchased the TRW parts? keen to hear if they are as good as the real deal m3 components.

I installed the wishbones on my daily driver 328i. Did not buy / install the tension struts as I have recently purchased Meyle HD tension struts already. I replaced my stock wishbones at 103k miles (mainly highway driving). I also needed to buy the headlight adjustment arm.

I can't compare to the genuine M3 parts other than to say the TRWs look exactly like the Genuine parts in pictures, except that the M logo is scratched off. Compared to my stock wishbones, the bushing is slightly larger, which required me to gently bend the aluminum bracket in order to fit the new TRW wishbone. If you find yourself with this issue, bend very carefully, it doesn't take much. I've been told filing the bracket or the bushing is also an option.

Driving wise, the wishbones make a noticeable difference. Heavier steering, more steering responsiveness and more stability in spirited driving. Very happy with the change. Wish they were available before I did my Meyle HD tension struts as I would guess TRWs would improve the feel even more.

[SteveAZ]

Originally Posted by BMW86

Anyone else purchased the TRW parts? keen to hear if they are as good as the real deal m3 components.

I have a set of (M3) front control arms I just got and will be installing soon. I obviously haven't had both "Genuine BMW" and just TRW arms in my hands to compare however, I think this is fairly conclusive.

My TRW (M3) arm with the ///M ground off



Turner's picture of the "Genuine BMW" M3 arm



Again my TRW (M3) arm



ECS' picture of the "Genuine BMW" M3 arm



I'd say they're the same....

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by SteveAZ

I have a set of (M3) front control arms I just got and will be installing soon. I obviously haven't had both "Genuine BMW" and just TRW arms in my hands to compare however, I think this is fairly conclusive.

My TRW (M3) arm with the ///M ground off



Turner's picture of the "Genuine BMW" M3 arm



Again my TRW (M3) arm



ECS' picture of the "Genuine BMW" M3 arm



I'd say they're the same....

Thanks mate. Ordered myself a set the other day

[SteveAZ]

Originally Posted by BMW86

Thanks mate. Ordered myself a set the other day

No problem...here's a DIY if you need it.

[SteveAZ]

installed these today and for anybody still doubting if these are the real deal...found this on one of my other arms.



Also did all my brake lines and fluids today...after inspecting the rear suspension..it's getting upgraded SOON!...bushings, arms, and I'm suprised some people are saying it doesn't need a rear sway bar....that thing is tiny! Dropping rear end didn't look near as intimidating as it sounds.

Car feels like total crap now...off for an alignment in the morning!

[flinchy]

Mine are all installed now!

It's good, handles amazingly, comfy, less body roll

Just good. I did sway and coils though so its hard to isolate changes.

[sharkatron]

Originally Posted by flinchy

Mine are all installed now!

It's good, handles amazingly, comfy, less body roll

Just good. I did sway and coils though so its hard to isolate changes.

Looking forward to doing mine!

Did you do the rear sway too? How did that affect handling?

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by sharkatron

Looking forward to doing mine!

Did you do the rear sway too? How did that affect handling?

nah, got a lot of other stuff to do later with it (subframe bushings, and since i'm doing the N54, the diff lockdown kit if it fits my diff lol).. and i'm guessing an LSD at the same time will be convenient.

[TheSt|G]

Had enough bad experiences with OEM parts that I won't be doing that again.

Think of them as factory seconds. It's the most apt description.

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Had enough bad experiences with OEM parts that I won't be doing that again.

Think of them as factory seconds. It's the most apt description.

read through the thread before saying that i'd suggest

they're 100% guaranteed not 'factory seconds', they're parts that otherwise would have been installed on an M3, no cherry picking, no defects.

That's somewhere within the first few pages in emails with TRW, talks with ECS, multiple other companies/vendors.

they're a part that's taken off the line at random after testing, had the ///M ground off, and sold cheaper without the ///M tax.

[BMW86]

I got my front control arms, it came in full TRW packaging. I can see where the ///M logos have been ground off though. Should have it installed by the weekend

[flinchy]

Originally Posted by BMW86

I got my front control arms, it came in full TRW packaging. I can see where the ///M logos have been ground off though. Should have it installed by the weekend

there's some photos where it hasn't been 100% ground off, and you can actually see ///M still lol

i'd be really interested to hear how it goes with JUST those modified, as i couldn't isolate a specific change from them alone >_<

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by flinchy

read through the thread before saying that i'd suggest

they're 100% guaranteed not 'factory seconds', they're parts that otherwise would have been installed on an M3, no cherry picking, no defects.

That's somewhere within the first few pages in emails with TRW, talks with ECS, multiple other companies/vendors.

they're a part that's taken off the line at random after testing, had the ///M ground off, and sold cheaper without the ///M tax.

You just wrote the exact definition of a factory second.

They aren't taken off the line randomly. They were taken off the line because they aren't up to spec. Just because you aren't aware of how they failed testing doesn't mean that there weren't determined to be not good enough.