anyone installed the Aluminium lower control arms?

[John 535is (Sydney)]

I was going to order lower control arms from BMA.
There is an option for aluminium at a slightly dearer price (by the time I frieght them to Australia the cost difference will probably be made up in reduced fright weight). So- whats the benefit? (if any).
thanks

John 535is (now with new Bilstiens and zender springs, 17'BBS, etc)

[genphreak]

I did went alloy with the same thinking- but not much result as best as I can tell. I bought the cheapie $115/pair ones which I think were made by Meyle. FCP Groton sell them. They have translucent ball joint boots and seemed to be excellent quality.

They look nice when you get under the car, so your mechanic will see an aesethic benefit...

I would have been smarter to have got E31 arms (a la 840/850csi), I hear that they have sperical bearings in them and fit e34. Perhaps you should check them out- do let us know what the cost is tho! No-one has posted this info yet.

BTW; jic; M5 thrust arm bushings are the go, unless you get yourself a set of Grunt's bushings pressed in there instead.

I'm sure you know but quality can vary a lot; For example I have to get some sway bar links right now, the WorldPac ones I got 3 months ago are clanking as the boots disintergrated shortly after installation... :D Lemforder here I come...

:) Nick

[Bruno]

When it comes to suspension parts, I would stick to Lemforder if you do not want to do the work twice. Meyle said that they changed the design of their arms... I do not trust that company anymore.

The Aluminum control arms is designed to lower the unsprung weight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsprung_weight

Basically if you don't plan on driving the car super hard or on the track, you will probably never see the difference.

As for thrust arm bushings.... nothing (urethane being the worse) works for the track. So we will start experimenting with modified M5 bushings and maybe spherical bearing homemade bushings.

[Zeuk in Oz]

I was going to order lower control arms from BMA.
There is an option for aluminium at a slightly dearer price (by the time I frieght them to Australia the cost difference will probably be made up in reduced fright weight). So- whats the benefit? (if any).
thanks

John 535is (now with new Bilstiens and zender springs, 17'BBS, etc)

I think Pundit might have installed alloy control arms.

[John 535is (Sydney)]

I decided a long time ago to stay with Lemfoerder, and why I ended up buying most stuff from BMA and frieghting it to Aust. Over here there are all sorts of odd brands.
Unfortunately Lemfoerder make both Aluminium and steel. I checked your site Bruno, and there is a comment about the aluminium arms, but no information as to why we should or shouldn't use them.
If lemfoerder made the top arms and other parts in Aluminium I would understand the unsprung weight theory, but it seems odd to only have one part, and becuase its a control arm, actually only half that is technically 'unsprung'.
Have you tried the E31 arms with the different bushes?

John

[Bill R.]

street car. The forged steel ones are much stronger and the weight penalty is slight. Over on the 7 series e32 board there have been posts of broken aluminum arms in the past.





I decided a long time ago to stay with Lemfoerder, and why I ended up buying most stuff from BMA and frieghting it to Aust. Over here there are all sorts of odd brands.
Unfortunately Lemfoerder make both Aluminium and steel. I checked your site Bruno, and there is a comment about the aluminium arms, but no information as to why we should or shouldn't use them.
If lemfoerder made the top arms and other parts in Aluminium I would understand the unsprung weight theory, but it seems odd to only have one part, and becuase its a control arm, actually only half that is technically 'unsprung'.
Have you tried the E31 arms with the different bushes?

John

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

and since we drive on the street, no body notices the differance in ride.

[genphreak]

Yep, Lem are the go. I take risks trying others, but the Lem alloy arms were not available when I got mine, and from FCP Groton these were so cheap I opted to risk it.

After 6 months I'm still happy, but heck they are not stock BMW spec and if I was hitting gutters like some maybe it'd be a different story...

[NovceGuru]

My car had the aluminum lower arms when I got it, which have been worn out, so I won't be able to make a comparison when I order the steel lemforders :\


NovceGuru

[tim s]

my mech. says they will be more responsive than steel. i never heard of one breaking, but anything will break if you try hard enough.
tim s.

[BillionPa]

only the cheap ones break, lemforder arms are supposed to be significantly stronger than say, Karlyn arms.

[theirongiant]

I am buying a set of Lemförders (Upper and Lower) with M5 bushings pressed in for the front of my 525i. What tools will I need? I've got the Bentley manual, but they're not always specific about which sizes of sockets to have on hand. I borrow tools from friends to fix my car.

[The Bigfella]

I borrow tools to fix my car.

Hmmmm - hope you supply the lenders with beers

[theirongiant]

Hmmmm - hope you supply the lenders with beers
Of course! So, what tools will I need to do this job?

[Ross]

The aluminum is less unsprung weight so a minor difference in ride and handling as the dampers are better able to control movement due to less inertia of the unsprung mass.