[kern417]

Are there any options for modified control arms/ball joints on our cars? Or possibly do F8x knuckles or similar fit our cars and have the same effect?

I paired superpro ball joints with audi RS knuckles on my volkswagen and it made an amazing improvement in front end grip, especially after lowering the car. I can't find anything so I'm just curious if I missed something, or if anyone has any leads on a company working on it? With the age of the platform and how many people lower and/or track their cars, I was surprised to find nothing when doing a search.

Edit: I went with SPL control arms for F2x/F3x models.

[kern417]

Bump. I just found out about the SPL Lower Control Arms offered for F8x vehicles. I think this would be a viable option because the length is adjustable, so theoretically you could just run it at the shortest setting so the length would be closer to (if not the same as) the F3x Lower Control Arm. No added caster, minimal added camber, and lower control arm is at the right angle. My only concern would be with running the exposed bearings for extended periods of time.

http://www.splparts.com/products/spl...t-version.html

[sspade]

Those are pretty sweet, thanks for sharing.

From someone who is strongly considering the F80 arms on my F30... these are an interesting option.

Would love to confirm these definitely would fit.

Also- interesting about the exposed bearings... I wonder if there is any added maintenance required or just simply why they didnt put a rubber boot around it for protection?!

[kern417]

Originally Posted by sspade

Also- interesting about the exposed bearings... I wonder if there is any added maintenance required or just simply why they didnt put a rubber boot around it for protection?!

Yeah my concerns are two-fold

1. Any added maintenance to extend longetivity
2. Will they get noisy overtime as the bearing surfaces wear (like camber plates)

I'm not as concerned since I never drive my car in snow and rarely in rain/crappy weather, but it's still a street car that gets 1000s of miles a year and this really is a race car part. I'm looking up details from other car forums (miata, brz, etc.) to see what those guys are doing/recommend. I figure they've probably had more offerings for longer, so someone on that end of the internet probably has some good advice.

[kern417]

Alright I think I found a solution. Some people sell seals/dust boots for spherical bearings. Kind of like this

http://roadsportsupply.com/30178-dus...-end-bearings/
https://store.034motorsport.com/rubb...eim-joint.html

I'm going to get the SPL control arms and some dust boots to go over the ball joint bearing and the chassis mount bearing.

[kern417]

Bump again. I sent them an email and Turner at SPL called me back with answers to everything.

First, and most importantly, F3x specific arms are going to be released in a month or so. He said that they made some adjustments for clearances at the chassis mount point and wouldn't recommend using their F8x offering. So with that in mind, I'm holding off on my purchase until those are out.

Also, the bearings are zinc plated and Teflon coated. The Teflon coating means 2 things.
1. The bearings are "self-cleaning" i.e. you don't need to add grease
2. Adding a boot would only trap dirt inside if any got in

Since the bearing clearances are tighter than typical OEM greased bearings/bushings, no boot is offered or needed. The typical life of the bearings is 3-4 years and it is considered a wear item. But that can vary based on your mileage, road conditions, weather conditions, etc. And they do sell replacement components.

Also, as mentioned my primary concern is dynamic camber. He recommends buying all arms to truly adjust the suspension geometry after lowering (for obvious reasons) but the order he would go in is the bump steer kit (tie rod links), then the lower control arms, then the caster kit. His position is that spacing the tie rods will make a bigger difference in that it almost acts as an upper control arm, and movement up and down with a tie rod that's parallel to the lower control arm will significantly improve the effective camber gain when turning. They also have the least effect on NVH compared to the adjustable control arms.

So at this point I'll just keep an eye out for the F3x release. He actually said they're being fitted to a car now and ready to be tested at Sebring to verify fitment and clearances don't cause any issues. More to come, hopefully soon. In the meantime I'm trying to add the tie rod links into the budget too haha.

[kern417]

I got an update from SPL. There has obviously been a delay for one reason or another, but they actually have the parts ready to go now. They're working on getting pictures and updating the website. They gave me the option to just call and buy a set now, but I think I'll wait for the official release. I'm very excited to get a set and further improve my front end's response.

[Stlthnmrdrd]

Originally Posted by kern417

I got an update from SPL. There has obviously been a delay for one reason or another, but they actually have the parts ready to go now. They're working on getting pictures and updating the website. They gave me the option to just call and buy a set now, but I think I'll wait for the official release. I'm very excited to get a set and further improve my front end's response.

Thanks for the updates, I just found this post while roaming around seeing if anyone had seen SPL.

My tension arms and control arms are shot. only upgrade I have is the UUC front sway bar endlinks. Ive been looking to buy the SPL wishbone and upper arms first, but looks like im gonna need the tie rod ends too.

Reason why I didnt go for the M3 control arms is bc it pushes the front wheel closer to the bumper tabs and thats not fun.

Once the fronts complete, I will slowly upgrade all the rears. for the rear I only have megan racing upper arms. Can't wait to completely finish handling mods

[kern417]

Bump. Looks like SPL added our control arms to their website, but it's almost $200 more than the F8x offering. Not sure why but it makes me want to wait for other options. It's pretty disappointing since I was really looking forward to it.

https://www.splparts.com/products/fr...w-f2x-f3x.html

[FaRKle!]

I've been thinking of playing with the positioning of my KMAC camber bushings and setting them to the highest position (effectively moving the subframe pivot point up) to see how that affects my roll center once the Millway camber plates I ordered come in. That could be another way of doing it...

[kern417]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

I've been thinking of playing with the positioning of my KMAC camber bushings and setting them to the highest position (effectively moving the subframe pivot point up) to see how that affects my roll center once the Millway camber plates I ordered come in. That could be another way of doing it...

I actually found another seller that has them less than $500. I'm going to pull the trigger before the price changes.
https://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensi...xoCkSgQAvD_BwE

I think the camber bushings would have a similar effect though. The control arms just provide a more dramatic change, albeit for much higher cost.

[kern417]

The control arms came in. Bimmerworld shipped quick, so they must keep them in stock. I def recommend going through them if anyone is interested. I appreciate the gummies

It'll probably be a while before I install them. No use doing it while weather is crappy, but we'll see.

[andino]

Those look good! Looking forward to see how they feel after you put them on. I'm pretty hesitant since those bearings will probably make a lot of noise pretty quickly which would be tiresome for me since i put a lot of miles on. But if you find a really big difference with them, I might consider them.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by kern417

The control arms came in. Bimmerworld shipped quick, so they must keep them in stock. I def recommend going through them if anyone is interested. I appreciate the gummies

It'll probably be a while before I install them. No use doing it while weather is crappy, but we'll see.

Just curious, what's the Cg height of your vehicle?

[kern417]

Originally Posted by andino

Those look good! Looking forward to see how they feel after you put them on. I'm pretty hesitant since those bearings will probably make a lot of noise pretty quickly which would be tiresome for me since i put a lot of miles on. But if you find a really big difference with them, I might consider them.

Yep if it sucks i'll swap back and sell. Not worth it to me, but everyone on the F8x forums say it just increases road noise and no rattles. We'll see.

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Just curious, what's the Cg height of your vehicle?

No Idea. For reference it's a 6MT RWD 440i. I lowered it past a point of reason, so the goal is to correct suspension geometry and eliminate minor rubbing that I experience when the wheels go up into the fenders over undulations. I feel like a correct camber curve will allow it to tuck in like our rear tires.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by kern417

No Idea. For reference it's a 6MT RWD 440i. I lowered it past a point of reason, so the goal is to correct suspension geometry and eliminate minor rubbing that I experience when the wheels go up into the fenders over undulations. I feel like a correct camber curve will allow it to tuck in like our rear tires.

Wow, with your LCAs pointed like that your roll center looks below ground level. You definitely need some correction, but I think finding (even if it's the approx) Cg is pretty important since the goal is to get the roll center close to the Cg.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Wow, with your LCAs pointed like that your roll center looks below ground level. You definitely need some correction, but I think finding (even if it's the approx) Cg is pretty important since the goal is to get the roll center close to the Cg.

Would be nice but my car isn't ever going to see the track. I'll never get it corner balanced or anything like that. I just want to improve the front end feel and get rid of some rub. If the control arm never goes past horizontal when turning then i'll be satisfied.

[kern417]

Bump. I noticed SPL raised the prices of all the control arms now, as well as the bump stop kit. I went ahead and got the tie rod ends from Bimmerworld too since they're still at the lower price. I figure at least those 2 will be needed to properly square up the front end's geometry.

[kern417]

I finally got everything installed and made a DIY video.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1711839

[kern417]

I just wanted to add some comments after driving with the arms for a while - they 100% work.

I had to dial back my camber from 2.5* to 1.5* and I'm still chasing the rear end a bit. This is with 245/275 tire stagger and 2.5* of camber in the rear. I also had to raise the height on my coilovers because it seemingly reduced the clearance to the fender. So it had a bit of a lowering effect for the whole suspension geometry, and raising the coils brought it back to the original ride height.

No noise so far in ~500 miles of city/highway/backroad driving. I highly recommend this for anyone that wants a car that rotates but still has good street manners. Just be ready to make the necessary adjustments to bring the car neutral.

[SD Convert]

Originally Posted by kern417

Adding a boot would only trap dirt inside if any got in

They'll also trap any wear byproduct. These boots are designed to be used for greaseable joints, where the grease pushes the crud out of the joint, and eventually out of the boot.