Poly Control Arm Bushing Group Buy

[jrcook320]

Josh there are 8 of us here at Attila's house right now all excited about this. You can count me in on a set!

This is awesome!

Awesome, I'm really excited too. You guys have a great time at bimmerfest. I wish I could be there with you guys. *sniff*

CJ, is the 323i >'80?

Honestly, I'm a little bit concerned with my choice on the Meyle control arm and ball joint durability now. I've always heard good things about the meyle, maybe I had them confused with mahle. Obviously the stock bushing longevity is of no concern. I've certainly had good luck with Meyle arms on the e46, and the machine work and material looks to be very good on the ball stud. Maybe for the price of the arms it's worth a shot.

I may look into a set of Mahle control arms and adjust the design accordingly, if any change is necessary. At the minimum, I would love for some guys on the forums to pipe up with some caliper measurements and what brand they have just to see what kind of variance there is.

[blitzed310]

Yeah the 323i is an 82. I dont have an measurements for CA's but I have used Meyle and they have proved to be quality. The ones I had were from Turkey.

[jrcook320]

Hopefully they don't come in the box from Turkey with a made in Mexico sticker on them.

Jester, thanks for the advice. They come in the box that says Meyle - Germany with a sticker that says made in Turkey.

My current control arm ball joints are shot so I can either return these and go mahle or see how long they last. With autox that I do I guess I shouldn't expect ball joints to last more than a few years anyway. Again, where is a good supplier of mahle? I haven't found one yet.

Updated List:

jrcook320
Big John
Schnit
Layne
Jchristians
fullswing
Marquinho
DrewDude320i
Anton3
sporkfan
ewwmax
Cereal Killa
Beam318ti
blitzed310

[monster man]

i'll take a set too!

pm sent

[jrcook320]

BMAparts sells OCAP for $73 and Meyle for $85.06, Pelican sells Meyle for $58, Autoparts wearhouse sells Febi for $75and Moog for $124, Walloth U. Nesch sells an un-named brand for $77 each, Bavauto and BMP don't list the supplier.

I'll just stay with the Meyle and see how it goes.

[jrcook320]

Updated List:

jrcook320
Big John
Schnit
Layne
Jchristians
fullswing
Marquinho
DrewDude320i
Anton3
sporkfan
ewwmax
Cereal Killa
Beam318ti
blitzed310
monster man

[sisith]

Im in as long as the 320i CAB is the same as the 323i. Im also in Tucson so Nick let me know if you ever need a hand with anything. Im free most weekends.

[BruceH]

Put me down for a set.

Bruce

[Jester323]

I think W&N sells Mahle. Honestly I don't remember where I got those now. John could probably pipe in on where he found them. However, the sway bar bushing opening and the subframe busing opening should be standardized between all brands, as would the front to back spacing of the openings in order to meet OEM specs. I don't have my Mahle arms anymore, they went with my totaled 320i. Now I have the German Febi arms. From what I understand Febi has mfgs in both Germany and in Mexico, most of the ones that end up in the US have the Febi box but are made in Mexico, but if you look & try hard enough, it is possible to get the ones made in Germany, and there is a big difference in quality between the two.

I think it's great that you guys have taken this on, not everyone wants to take the time or effort to cast custom bushings out of urethane, most just want to swap them out, plus you have the benefit of swapping them to new arms when the ball joints do wear out.

Good luck with them!

[waferman]

I think W&N sells Mahle. Honestly I don't remember where I got those now. John could probably pipe in on where he found them. However, the sway bar bushing opening and the subframe busing opening should be standardized between all brands, as would the front to back spacing of the openings in order to meet OEM specs. I don't have my Mahle arms anymore, they went with my totaled 320i. Now I have the German Febi arms. From what I understand Febi has mfgs in both Germany and in Mexico, most of the ones that end up in the US have the Febi box but are made in Mexico, but if you look & try hard enough, it is possible to get the ones made in Germany, and there is a big difference in quality between the two.

I think it's great that you guys have taken this on, not everyone wants to take the time or effort to cast custom bushings out of urethane, most just want to swap them out, plus you have the benefit of swapping them to new arms when the ball joints do wear out.

Good luck with them!

My arms are of unknown vintage or type- when my 'new' Meyle's failed I just swapped your old ones from your 323i in, Jester! Except for the urathane mod, of course

I ordered mine from autohausaz, and they came bagged in OCAP/Meyle bags...Im wondering if they gave me some stuff from a different supplier?

[bflan2001]

i'm in for a set if there's still some available!

[mxl556]

I''d take a set , or preferably 2 sets , if possible.

Thanks
Max

[bastianblessing]

Please put me down for a set.

[jjgbmw323]

Count me in on a set as well, i take it the old style control arms are no problems.

[wayfast]

Count me in on a set as well, i take it the old style control arms are no problems.

THESE BUSHINGS ARE DESIGNED FOR MEYLE CONTROL ARMS FOR THE '80-'83 E21!

[jjgbmw323]

THESE BUSHINGS ARE DESIGNED FOR MEYLE CONTROL ARMS FOR THE '80-'83 E21!

Yep I missed that, sorry, finding stuff for the old control arms a PIA.

[gregg7230]

count me in for a set,and a few more if left over,got 3 e21's plus my boy has one.

[vibranthenarot]

FOR SURE! Count me in on a set, I don't have PayPal but I can do a money-order like the old days, Joe M.

[jrcook320]

The 323i and 320i use the same control arm.

the sway bar bushing opening and the subframe busing opening should be standardized between all brands, as would the front to back spacing of the openings in order to meet OEM specs.

I would tend to agree, though Fred claimed otherwise on his website. In my mind it's unlikely manufacturers would deviate from OEM specs on a machined surface for no reason.

Updated List:

jrcook320
Big John
Schnit
Layne
Jchristians
fullswing
Marquinho
DrewDude320i
Anton3
sporkfan
ewwmax
Cereal Killa
Beam318ti
blitzed310
monster man
sisith
BruceH
bflan2001
mxl556
bastianblessing
gregg7230
vibranthenarot

[melloh]

Well, now that I finalyl got the car running (in large thanks to JR himself), it's suspension time. $25 sounds like someting I can spare for a few experience points under my (very light) belt.

Also, I wouldn't mind paying more to compensate for all the time spent... say 30 +SH? No, I am not rich... far from it. But I also know that this price is basically the same as buying stock parts, but going to last much longer with performance benefits... Also, if I get these, it would force me off my lazy arse and get under the car to figure out why it sways side-to-side on rolling bumps! So yeah, if you make a double-run, I am pot commited. Can pay through PayPal.

Anyway, thank you Nick and JR for offering this to the group. (You may want to post on tricords site too, maybe?)

[Bobby Newport]

$25 for a set? im in. money orders accepted?

[Franchise]

i'm in if possible

[ridg300]

hi I will take a set also. tia ridg300

[JDB]

Well more than 7 jumped on this!!
As it is a great plan..
I would love to have a set of these also if that works out that Nick feels like making this many.

Jeff

[Cereal Killa]

I agree with Melloh on this, if you guys want a little more cash Im down for that since so many people want these.