Steering wheel shake - new front wishbones, what else?

[asbrr]

Got a bad steering wheel shake when braking, pedal is smooth (new brakes all around), diagnosed as worn out control arm bushings on the wishbones at the front.

I'm looking at this kit, as it's not much more than the standard replacements:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...rade-bmwmcakit

All other parts seem OK at the moment, is there anything else I'd require to put this kit in or that everyone highly recommends?

I've got approximately 170K kms on the car, Bilstein B12 suspension with Dinan fixed camber plates. 2010 128i.

Thx in advance.

[ShocknAwe]

Have you done the rear guide rods or a toe arm? I'd recommend doing front and rear 1M/M3 arms at the same time so as not to upset handling balance. Standard M toe doesn't fit, but there are plenty of spherical and rubber options such as Megan and Rogue Engineering.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Have you done the rear guide rods or a toe arm? I'd recommend doing front and rear 1M/M3 arms at the same time so as not to upset handling balance. Standard M toe doesn't fit, but there are plenty of spherical and rubber options such as Megan and Rogue Engineering.

Thanks - no the rear is all stock except for refreshed components when I put in the B12 kit and Dinan rear shock mounts, and Whiteline subframe bushings.

Have people been running just the front M-arms without the rear upgrades? Trying to assess the balance concern in terms of what the car will feel like with just the front. Main reason I'm considering the front M upgrade is that it was almost the same price as the stock replacements.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Thanks - no the rear is all stock except for refreshed components when I put in the B12 kit and Dinan rear shock mounts, and Whiteline subframe bushings.

Have people been running just the front M-arms without the rear upgrades? Trying to assess the balance concern in terms of what the car will feel like with just the front. Main reason I'm considering the front M upgrade is that it was almost the same price as the stock replacements.

I feel you. Yes people do the front only, I did for probably 3-4 years. That said, the rear is souh more predictable and planted if you do those. The guide rod is available from TRW. Megan toe arm is cheap.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I feel you. Yes people do the front only, I did for probably 3-4 years. That said, the rear is souh more predictable and planted if you do those. The guide rod is available from TRW. Megan toe arm is cheap.

Got it - thanks. Gonna look into it now, this year has been rough - did the AC evaporator, fresh brakes all around, etc etc. The car is bleeding me dry but I guess I'm into it for another couple of years at this point

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Got it - thanks. Gonna look into it now, this year has been rough - did the AC evaporator, fresh brakes all around, etc etc. The car is bleeding me dry but I guess I'm into it for another couple of years at this point

I also ran front M arms only for awhile and noticed nothing negative. Eventually did just the rear M guide rods. From the famous fe1rx OE vs M thread I gathered that was most bang for the buck.

[asbrr]

Thanks guys. I went ahead and ordered the kit (Black Friday discount).

I'm going to run the kit at the front by itself for now. This has not been a cheap year lol, for guide rods I'll see how it goes next year.

[momin]

Hi Asbrr, Curious where do you buy bmw parts in GTA? I am looking for new shocks etc and wondering if you can help.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by momin

Hi Asbrr, Curious where do you buy bmw parts in GTA? I am looking for new shocks etc and wondering if you can help.

Honestly - not many places. BMW Mississauga/Pfaff gives a decent discount to TrueNorth and BMW Trillium members. Otherwise mostly online for me. Check the Canada forum there was a post not long ago summarizing a few local places that had decent prices.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by asbrr

Thanks guys. I went ahead and ordered the kit (Black Friday discount).

I'm going to run the kit at the front by itself for now. This has not been a cheap year lol, for guide rods I'll see how it goes next year.

UPDATE: M3 arms went in no problems. Alignment set to -2.4 of camber up front, that's the most conservative I could get it set to as I also have Dinan plates.

Front end is definitely "tighter", downside being you certainly "feel the road" more, bumps have more harshness to them. All in all if you're not really going after that extra camber (ie only street driven vehicle) and you have rough roads, stock arms are fine and probably what I should have gone with.

The steering wheel wobble is gone, and now replaced with a new wobble. Mostly likely due to the not so high quality front discs I put in (DURA from rockauto - great because they are cheap, 2 piece, and have aluminum hats but questionable metallurgy). I think there is some pad deposit on there - will do a full re-bedding in when I have my summer tires back on....for now just living with it.

[momin]

I believe wobble should go away after re-bedding of front brakes.

I will check for parts with pffaf and online. Where did you source shocks from, if you remember.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by momin

I believe wobble should go away after re-bedding of front brakes.

I will check for parts with pffaf and online. Where did you source shocks from, if you remember.

Oh - crap I should have mentioned, try Alpha Motorsports that is definitely one source I've used multiple times for my B12 kit as well as stoptech pads and other parts. They're not a BMW specific shop but deal with most of the big aftermarket performance brands (Bilstein etc).

https://alphamotorsports.ca/