E46 330i Control Arms

[Karthik]

but everywhere in phoned, both part numbers always pointed to the same product, for all brands

was this bmw agents you phoned or aftermarket? there is no aftermarket substitute for the sports control arms, so yeah, they will just give you the normal ones to replace either part number.

either way, i replaced my sports parts with normal ones, and apart from the camber issues, have not noticed any difference yet..

This is worrying , could give other problems in the future ? Maybe just stick to OEM if you got the sports pack then ? Seen alot of E46 Sports with raised fronts . Makes you worry

 

[netercol]

it does.. but honestly, i could not afford what the dealers wanted for the genuine sportspack control arms, so i opted for the meyle standard ones..
apart from the -1.8 camber on the fronts, i have not noticed the the difference.. i am guessing that the out of spec front camber will eventually have an effect on your tyre life, but its either 14k for the real deal, or replace tyres twice..

 

[Bayn46]

was this bmw agents you phoned or aftermarket? there is no aftermarket substitute for the sports control arms, so yeah, they will just give you the normal ones to replace either part number.

either way, i replaced my sports parts with normal ones, and apart from the camber issues, have not noticed any difference yet..

What I meant was that the aftermarket agents have the non-sport and sport BMW part numbers mapped to the same aftermarket product. Whether the aftermarket one is more or less like the sport, i'm not sure.

This is worrying , could give other problems in the future ? Maybe just stick to OEM if you got the sports pack then ? Seen alot of E46 Sports with raised fronts . Makes you worry

I'm pretty sure that the majority of E46 owners replace their control arms and control arm bushes with aftermarket parts, and I haven't read any reports on them affecting the car negatively. Sure, if you go for the cheap cheap ones, they are going to wear out in no time and you will just have to spend more money.

 

[Karthik]

Guess its fine , will see when the time comes to change my control arms , they fine for now :thumbs:

 

[v1p3r]

///M Individual, have a look at this and speak to these guys, I'm in CPT & got mine from them, and they're in Durban

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=36477

 

[///M Individual]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the info. @netercol that is a worrying factor. Incomex wants R3192 for the arms and bushes. They say all the e46 models (318i to 330i) take the exact same one besides the m3. Is that true?

@vip3r thanks for that. Will check them out now

 

[AdiS]

Aren't the Meyle ones built to the sportpack spec as opposed to non-sportpack spec?

 

[Bayn46]

They say all the e46 models (318i to 330i) take the exact same one besides the m3. Is that true?

Yep, same model number - you can confirm via realoem. The M3 is where it changes.

Your only real options are Meyle HD or OEM. You also get a nice 2-3 year warranty on the Melye parts.

 

[///M Individual]

Hi guys. Just an update. Ordered the Meyle control arms, bushes and stabiliser bars from Incomex. Came to just over R3700 excluding freight. Should be here by end of the week. Thanks again for all your input and advice.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Hi

I have this sticker on my 330i's Exclusive but not on the 318i standard.

Not sure who else has these and what difference they make ?

 

[netercol]

Hi

I have this sticker on my 330i's Exclusive but not on the 318i standard.

Not sure who else has these and what difference they make ?

those are the sportspack arms.. i suspect they have a tiny bit different geometry from the standard ones..

 

[moranor@axis]

Charlie Brown could you take a few pics of the outer ball joint where the wheel hub bolts to the arm?

My guess is thats where the main difference will be to correct the control arm angle at the lowered height

 

[bimmer330]

Hi

I have this sticker on my 330i's Exclusive but not on the 318i standard.

Not sure who else has these and what difference they make ?

I changed my control arms last year and the stander ones I took off had a sticker that stated ''for individual only''.
Has anyone seen this on their's as well?