Are meyle suspension parts any good?

[fo3]

Are meyle suspension parts any good? I have to do a lot of shopping around various vendors because shipping costs a lot. Some really don't care for international orders or bother to do a deal with couriers even though they can offer free postage within the USA.
EG for shipping to Australia price can vary from $100-300+
I was going to get a bunch of parts from bav auto for $200- 300 shipping costs (lemfoerder and other bits and pieces), other parts supliers are in line with those type of shipping costs for larger items. But I thought I'd try fcpeuro and I see I can get an all steel front kit from meyle for $100 shipping (the 9 pieces set itself costs $342.99 which isn't bad). This is by far the best shipping cost I can get from USA for a front end kit.

What is the product itself like?
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...9piecesteel-my

E: May as well get them before I take everything apart to change my front struts.
Other kits from fpceuro are front and rear kits, or $200+ more for other brands and it's not in my budget this week. And not wanting to know local BMW OEM prices or order from ebay.

[zubbie]

I purchased the Meyle kit from fcp euro a few years back and am satisfied. It came with the HD control arm bushings. No question the lemfoerder stuff is the best but expensive. Meyle was seen as a decent alternative although I've read some chatter recently that the quality has dropped. Not sure whether it's true.

Being outside the US I feel your shipping pain.

[cirrusblau]

I'd put them as second choice after Lemforder. Not that it's a bad thing. I opt for Meyle when I want to save some money on non-critical parts.

[M60B40Bimmer]

Lemforder for the obsessed, Meyle for the logical, URO straight into the garbage. Meyle makes great stuff IMO, strong and very durable when compared to other options excluding OEM. Meyle HD is the preferred.

I will say though, Lemforder parts are rumored to not be 100% made in Germany. Rear Lemforder dogbones are said to be Chinese. But that has little effect due to the small and fairly simple part. I'm not sure i believe it but that's just a rumor.

Chinese parts can be of amazing quality, as there are very technologically advanced factories in China, on par or above Germany. But often lesser factories are chosen for cost and brand the idea that Chinese parts are bad, there are bad parts everywhere. There are bad factories everywhere. China just has more overall factories, good and bad.

my $0.02.

[GregT53]

I look at it this way: because you are getting hit with steep shipping costs why not spend the extra money to get the highest quality? Lemforder has maintained its high quality without question whereas other brands may have slipped in the cutthroat aftermarket parts business. I am not saying Myele has slipped, but there is a reason why they offer parts at a lower price. It could be lower labor costs based on where the parts are manufactured or it could be lesser quality materials, or some combination that gets their price down. I also wonder if there are different grades of Meyle components made for different markets. For example, Toro makes lawnmowers for big box stores like Home Depot that are lower quality, and obviously price, than those sold by Toro dealers. They use more plastic components and less durable engines to get the price down. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you understand it's not the same quality lawnmower; it just looks the same. In your case especially, installing potentially lesser quality parts could mean incurring shipping costs again, not to mention the annoyance of having to redo the installation. Maybe you could take a vacation in the US and bring the parts back!

[fo3]

I look at it this way: because you are getting hit with steep shipping costs why not spend the extra money to get the highest quality?

Because the lemforder kit from that site doesn't come with the bushings already pressed in, and because there's no discount on it while the meyle kit is not only normally cheaper but also further discounted. But it's mainly the fact that the bushes aren't pre-fitted.
I saw the lemforder kit there and thought "11 pieces? what has it got extra over the 9 piece meyle? It might be worth paying an extra $200. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...11piecesteel-l
Oh, the extra 2 pieces are the loose bushes... Why pay an extra $200 to make more work for myself?

[shogun]

I usually use the thrust arms (upper arms) from Meyle in HD version, lower arms from Meyle or Febi in steel version (alu is waste of money), the rest = this from Febi Bilstein http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ering_link.htm
No problem with these brands.

As you live in Australia, make sure you get the correct center links, because there are center links for LHD and RHD, and usually the US shops do not have RHD parts. Read this thread
RHD Centre rod - preloaded ball joint - does this side go to the....... http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/1237734
In case you cannot get it in the US, buy in U.K.

Thread:' E34 steering centre tie rod: RHD and LHD the same?' is in my past post of that thread, that was also discussed on an OZ bmw forum

ETK lists
for RHD TIE ROD,CENTER 32211138865
for LHD TIE ROD,CENTER 32211138864

[fo3]

The kit I'm looking at doesn't have the centre rod, but does have the idler arm and tie rods. Do you know if they're the same in LHD and RHD cars?
I've googled and could only find mention of the centre rod drag link being different. Thanks for the heads up.

[shogun]

use realoem.com to compare, use a Euro spec car 1991 E34 525, 1 x right hand drive and then compare with the left hand drive part numbers

[fo3]

Yeah, seems the same for US and mine for pitman arm and tierods. Looks like I'll get the meyle kit from the US and chase up other parts later. I need to get these struts in and it's not going to be my last order anyway, I'm just dreading working on the rear so I'm putting that off

I've found a couple of euro sites with the RHD centre rod but seems like genuine BMW only I've found, and $250+. That's probably around what they cost locally, especially after shipping, no it's not worth buying from europe.
Looked for the aus bmw site you mentioned had a discussion on the topic and found someone in au, but out of stock.

Anyone know any UK shops for the centre rod?
Paging whiskychaser

[shogun]

you can register here on the U.K. forum, then see under member benefits http://the7seriesregister.co.uk/forums/index.php?
they have some dealers/shops where they get discount
no idea if these shops also ship overseas.

[moroza]

URO straight into the garbage.

Karlyn, too. But ok for tierods.

I will say though, Lemforder parts are rumored to not be 100% made in Germany. Rear Lemforder dogbones are said to be Chinese. But that has little effect due to the small and fairly simple part. I'm not sure i believe it but that's just a rumor.

Lemförder bushings for my VW (probably not the OE supplier) were made in Brazil and Slovakia. First I hear of them manufacturing in China, though. Got a source?

Chinese parts can be of amazing quality, as there are very technologically advanced factories in China, on par or above Germany. But often lesser factories are chosen for cost and brand the idea that Chinese parts are bad, there are bad parts everywhere. There are bad factories everywhere. China just has more overall factories, good and bad.

my $0.02.

What I've gathered, from personal experience, forums and others' experiences, and talking to people who work in the car parts industry, the problem with Chinese parts isn't quality - Chinese-made hardware is in orbit, among other things - it's consistency of quality (also working conditions, government corruption, and other unsavory "externalities"). Apparently quality control is hard to do and there are some cultural institutions weighing against it.

Because the lemforder kit from that site doesn't come with the bushings already pressed in...

Ever pressed bushings? It's pretty easy (in this case). And cheap to have it done if you don't have the tools (big table vise can sometimes suffice).

[ross1]

Lemforder for the obsessed, Meyle for the logical, URO straight into the garbage.

I pretty much agree with these sentiments. Especially given the age of our cars and the chances of the latest suspension refresh to be the last.

[M60B40Bimmer]

Karlyn, too. But ok for tierods.

Lemförder bushings for my VW (probably not the OE supplier) were made in Brazil and Slovakia. First I hear of them manufacturing in China, though. Got a source?



What I've gathered, from personal experience, forums and others' experiences, and talking to people who work in the car parts industry, the problem with Chinese parts isn't quality - Chinese-made hardware is in orbit, among other things - it's consistency of quality (also working conditions, government corruption, and other unsavory "externalities"). Apparently quality control is hard to do and there are some cultural institutions weighing against it.



Ever pressed bushings? It's pretty easy (in this case). And cheap to have it done if you don't have the tools (big table vise can sometimes suffice).

As far as a source, no. I think I had just read it from another member a few years back. Not sure if I believe it but thought i should chime in, I can try to find the thread.


Quality control was the word I was looking for in my argument about Chinese parts. Hard to get consistent quality.

[GregT53]

Ever pressed bushings? It's pretty easy (in this case). And cheap to have it done if you don't have the tools (big table vise can sometimes suffice).

I don't think he wants any extra work for himself.

[fo3]

Wow.
Yeah I don't have a work bench, vise or press. I have enough to do or pay someone else to do as it is.

[zubbie]

Wow.
Yeah I don't have a work bench, vise or press. I have enough to do or pay someone else to do as it is.

This is still an easy cheap option. Any local mechanic shop will have a shop press. All of 2 minutes. The only thing to remember is to get the bushings oriented correctly when pressing.

[shogun]

see here how to http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_26.htm

[wmrcs]

You could also just buy the Meyle HD parts from FCPEuro and have a lifetime warranty if you get a bad part..!

[moroza]

FCP's pretty good about their warranty.

[Arvin dhorai]

Hi
Could I get some assistance as to who are the retailers of the meyle parts
Looking for ball joints
Rack ends
E36 318is
1995
Thanks

[moroza]

Hello and welcome... to the wrong forum. These are E34, not E36. Some retailers are mentioned in above posts.

[shogun]

for example Autohaus AZ has them from Meyle HD, Lemfoerder etc and ships also to South Africa for your E36 https://www.autohausaz.com/catalog/k...nts?s=r&page=1