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Thread: Rear Suspension Refresh detail questions

  1. #1
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    Rear Suspension Refresh detail questions

    It's about time to refresh my rear suspension for the second time, and I wanted to see if there are recommendations, etc on a couple of parts choices out there.

    First, what's the best ball joint for the control arms? I see that Pelican has Febi/Bilstein for $16.50 each, while FCP Euro has Meyle or Lemforder for about $27-29. Both are OE suppliers, so which one is better? Is there something (normal) better? If there's not some dramatic reason to pay ~$50 more, I think Pelican has my solution.

    Second, I've looked at all the lower control arms, and I like the Megan Racing ones best - seem to be the best mix of price and robustness. https://meganracing.com/mrs-bm-0310.html Has anyone used these or have any feedback about adjustable lower arms, or these in particular? I know ebay ones have been known to fail on track, and these look significantly more substantial than the cheap ones, while not being totally overkill CNCed like the Rogue or Bimmerworld ones. Their brand strikes me as kind of ricey, but if it's the right tool for the job, I'm not too judgmental. They're about double the cost of the stock arms and about half the cost of the Rogue arms, and I'd like to be able to adjust my camber a little more easily, so these seem like a good fit.

    Third, I have a shelf life question. When I did this the first time I mistakenly got bushings for the bottom outside (like a non-M). I've had these things sitting in a box in the garage for ~8 years. Unused, but not exactly new. I'm happy to buy new ones since they're only $6-$7 each, but I'm not exactly just trying to throw money away, either. So, are these totally great still, or should I be getting new ones and toss these?

    ...

    I have new JT Designs RSMs and ball joints for the front control arms waiting to go in, and I recently replaced the RTABs with Garagistic's offset Delrin RTABs (yes, pockets are reinforced. I need the offset bushings to get anywhere close to zero on one side. I've checked, and the car is / wheels are 100% square, so the offset bushings seems like a decent solution and would let me run 0 toe, so there you go) and I have poly front LCABs, too.

    Anyway, I've read all the threads already out there on the topic. Just looking for some part suggestions or any unconventional wisdom on the job.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  2. #2
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    For ball joints, I used Lemforder for everything when I did it last year. No complaints at all. I know a number of others swear by Lemforder for any ball joint on these cars as well. I thought they were reasonably priced, and I believe they were the OEM supplier for a lot of these parts when the cars were built.

    For the rear lower arms I'm not familiar with the ones you linked but they look very similar to the Turner arms I use, except maybe that they adjust on both ends instead of just the outer end (if true, I'm not sure why). They are definitely cheaper, though the Turner arms are on sale pretty regularly so they can be had for $250-275 during those periods. Are they aluminum? It looks like they still have a rubber bushing in the end like my Turner arms do, which is desirable from a NVH standpoint for a street driven car. Do they provide documentation of any kind on them regarding construction, weight, adjustment range, and so forth?

    Which bushings are you talking about exactly? In any case they're probably fine but as you said they're cheap enough where if it were me I'd probably just get fresh ones and not have to worry ever again.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    For ball joints, I used Lemforder for everything when I did it last year. No complaints at all. I know a number of others swear by Lemforder for any ball joint on these cars as well. I thought they were reasonably priced, and I believe they were the OEM supplier for a lot of these parts when the cars were built.

    For the rear lower arms I'm not familiar with the ones you linked but they look very similar to the Turner arms I use, except maybe that they adjust on both ends instead of just the outer end (if true, I'm not sure why). They are definitely cheaper, though the Turner arms are on sale pretty regularly so they can be had for $250-275 during those periods. Are they aluminum? It looks like they still have a rubber bushing in the end like my Turner arms do, which is desirable from a NVH standpoint for a street driven car. Do they provide documentation of any kind on them regarding construction, weight, adjustment range, and so forth?

    Which bushings are you talking about exactly? In any case they're probably fine but as you said they're cheap enough where if it were me I'd probably just get fresh ones and not have to worry ever again.
    I'm leaning toward new bushings (for the upper inner), but if someone like Brett tells me I'm totally fine to just use the ones that have been sitting on the shelf, then I'll save the $15. Otherwise, no big deal.

    I've found these Megan lower control arms for $150, so they're pretty reasonable. They adjust on both ends so you can just crank the center part to adjust the length. I'm surprised at how little info they have on their OWN site - I"ve seen the adjustment range and it's great for what I'm going for.

    And yes, I'm mostly street so I'm definitely keeping the inner bushing for NVH.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  4. #4
    RRSperry's Avatar
    RRSperry is offline Senior Moment Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Just saying, but if you need offset rear lower control arm bushings, you have something that's really bent.
    No matter where you go, there you are...

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by RRSperry View Post
    Just saying, but if you need offset rear lower control arm bushings, you have something that's really bent.
    Haha, yeah, I know SOMETHING has got to be bent, but my arms are straight, the rear subframe is straight, the car is square, it drives great... I don't really know where else to look.

    I've decided I'll either figure it out eventually or I'll get the work-arounds figured out.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  6. #6
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    The SPC adjustable rear lower arms are another option for you to consider. They are $101ea with prime shipping on Amazon right now so it seems like they fall in between the Megans and the Turner/BW arms. I have them on my car and they are well built and easy to adjust.

  7. #7
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    I would not buy the Megan control arms. The inner jam nut becomes quite hard to access once they’re installed, with minimal swing room for a wrench. Contrast that with the Rogue Engineering design, where all the adjustment hardware is toward the outboard end. Yes they’re twice the price, and yes they’re worth it.

    https://www.rogueengineering.com/Rog...Pair_p_55.html

    Neil

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    I would not buy the Megan control arms. The inner jam nut becomes quite hard to access once they’re installed, with minimal swing room for a wrench. Contrast that with the Rogue Engineering design, where all the adjustment hardware is toward the outboard end. Yes they’re twice the price, and yes they’re worth it.

    https://www.rogueengineering.com/Rog...Pair_p_55.html

    Neil
    That's a great point - thanks for pointing that out.

    This looks tight, but not completely impossible:




    Though I guess that's your point - they're hard to access. Some of the others DO look impossible.

    Those Rogue arms look great - and the SPC billet aluminum ones look amazing, too. Maybe I'll upgrade when I hit 360k miles?

    I do love this car, and am happy to drop whatever it takes to keep it maintained, but being mostly a daily driver and only an occasional track toy makes spending big money for upgrades of questionable value to me. But definitely something for me to think about before pulling the trigger.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  9. #9
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    I have the Turner rear arms which are similar design to the Roque arms but slightly less expensive. I'm happy with them.

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