Hey all,
After exploring an F8x tension strut swap or a monoball setup, I discovered Meyle makes a pair of tension struts from their HD lineup. So far these appear to be Europe-only, and I had to buy them on ebay.
The part numbers are:
316 050 0066/HD -- Left
316 050 0067/HD -- Right
I found them for about $67/each, plus $25 in shipping each.
As you can see from the below pic, the bushing is quite a different design from the factory one. In general, it looks much heftier. The bushing seems to have more support in the common directions force is applied to it. What you can't tell from the picture, is just how stiff the rubber is. It is significantly stiffer than the OEM piece.
The pictured stock TS in the picture only has 10k miles on it, and I can already squish the center piece around with my hands. I could not get the meyle one to budge. Anyway, on to the actual review.
Immediately I noticed that the steering is more precise, and less affected by imperfections in the road. Both steering and braking feel more predictable.
You do feel and hear these imperfections a tiny bit more, but it's well worth it considering the change in handling. The car feels more on rails and is less upset by bumps than before.
One of my main gripes with this car has been that with my wide and sticky summer tires, I had to fight the steering wheel a bit over bumps on the highway. Which in northern virginia, is frequently.
In conclusion, if your tension struts need to be replaced soon and you aren't willing to step up to monoballs or try the M3/M4 swap, I highly recommend these. Hopefully we get these sold in the US soon.