I somehow bent both rear control arms..

[Cannon]

I knew I pushed the car hard, but come on.

The car is my wife's daily driver. It is a completely stock 60K mile '97 M3 running on used up A032R's. I've never hit anything, and the worst thing I've done at the track is get two tires off. I do like to use the curbs through the Bus Stop at Buttonwillow, however:). Could that be enough to bend these things? If so, I'm going to have to change my driving style somewhat.

I also find it amazing that I managed to bend both sides. I haven't seen them yet, but when I pick up the car today I'll take a look. They are saving the parts for me.

This inspection 1 is going to end up costing a bit over a grand! Ouch.

Have any of you guys ever bent a rear control arm?

Chris

[UD///M]

I would have asked for proof first!

[jayhudson]

I currently have a bent left lower. It was done before I got the car. I'm told they break/bend frequently. I just got the new parts from my dealer. Less than $100, with discount. I'm going to replace it at the same time I install my new sways. BMP makes a nice set of adjustable lower control arms for $299. If you race, they'd be a good idea. I'll probably be sorry I didn't get them, but I'm not sure if I'll see much track time. Jay

[Cannon]

Yeah, now that I have the old ones in hand, I would have just kept them on the car and gotten a set of BMP adjustables. The dealer got $90 a piece for the stock replacements. The old ones are not bad, but they're definitely bent (both arms are a slightly different shape, and neither is straight). Of course, replacing the lower arms necessitated an alignment as well, so this little ditty cost me $457 in parts/labor + $125 for the alignment + the rest of the inspection... Whoa.

Before you guys go crazy on this dealer, I must say that they have been great to work with so far. They have gone above and beyond for me on many occasions, so I don't really mind the cost in this case. I am super picky about my car, and no matter how clean the car is when I leave it there, it always comes back even cleaner. I have always gotten the car back sooner than quoted, and in every case other than this one, the cost was lower than the estimate.

I did make them keep the old parts so I could see them myself, and I also got a copy of the alignment paperwork. They did a great job, as both rear tires are w/in .01 degrees of each other in camber. I'll probably set a little less toe, however. They've got it set at .12 degrees total positive, and I much prefer 0 on the track.

Chris "thin wallet" Cannon

[Jim O.]

Has your car ever been towed? If the tow truck operator doesn't know what he's doing, he'll use your lower control arms to tie down the car, usually bending them...

Jim

[Cannon]

I did just have the car dyno'd, but I don't know where they attached the straps. I know that one of the straps was on top of the parking brake cable. They couldn't get the rollers moving on their first attempt because the parking brake wouldn't release due to the squished cable. Does that cable run along the lower arms? I can't remember.

Hmmmmm..

[AlexT]

I bent both of mine on an auto-X. It's not hard to bent the 2 stamped steel. I went for a BMP set for $299 both. The extra $100 ensure me that they will never be bent again. I have heard of these are prone to benting. Checkout my site for some pics.

[RobH]

Were those my old A032R's you had on the car? How are they holding up? I bought another 95 M3, so I should have kept the wheels and tires for the track. Now I have to buy some more.

I just had to have four of my 5 motorsport wheels straighted at about $120 bucks apiece. They are now officially perfect again. I don't want to risk them on the track.

RobH
95 M3