[only1harry]

I am looking at these M3 upper arms on ECS Tuning here:

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E90-32...Arm/ES2622633/

Does anyone have these on their xi/xDrive? How does the car feel and handle? Do they make a noticeable difference and is TRW a good brand? Will the bushings last a few years?

Also I realize there are NO M3 parts for our AWD cars in the FRONT, but how about aftermarket bushing upgrades? Has anyone done any bushing upgrades to control arms or Tension/Thrust (TA) arms? I think Powerflex makes harder rubber bushings for the front TA's that fit our cars. Has anyone installed them on their xi/xDrive or any other brand with good results? How about the ball joint for the TA's? I would imagine those go bad eventually and develop some play in them.

I am trying to get my car's handling back to "normal" and maybe get it to handle better. The Bilstein HD install did not improve my car a lot, but it was nevertheless a small improvement. My main problem is when I brake, the steering wheel pulls left or right and I have to hold on to it tight, and I am pretty sure it's contributed to the Tension Arms/TA's, although the Dealer replaced the TA bushings (supposedly) about a year ago, but now the warranty has run out. My car braked fine and straight for 7-8 months after they replaced the TA bushings, but now it's pulling again when I brake. I wonder if the TA ball joints (or 1 of them) are bad... because I could not see any leaking in those TA fluid filled bushings when I was under the car a couple of weeks ago.
Oh I also replaced the front lower control arms and the sway bar end-links when the Bilstein HD's went in at the same time. Didn't make a difference.

My other issue is the rear is very floaty, and a bit bouncy (with new Bilstein HD shocks!) and the car still has body roll on the turns, plus when I turn from a stop the rear tires spin, even though I have new Michelin PSS (non-RFT). It did it before the B6/HD install too (springs are stock). I replaced the rear end-links which had some good play in them, but that didn't make much of a difference, and I also replaced all the shock bushings when I installed the B6 shocks. So I would like to try those M3 parts from TRW in my link above.

Also does anyone make lower control arm (stiffer) bushings in the rear for our cars, or better/aftermarket rear control arms? How about better sway bar bushings for the rear?

Thanks guys!
Harry

[matteblue3er]

You are better off doing subframe bushings first. This will get rid of most of the floaty feeling.

All of your suspension arms are bolted to your subframe. If you stiffen the mounts on the control arms, but not the subframe, you will still have a sloppy feeling rear end.

I never bothered with control arm bushings and went with heim joints.

I do have M3 subframe bushings and they made a HUGE difference in how planted the rear end feels. I also have an E93 M3 rear sway bar install but I kind of regret it.

My car easily snap/lift over steers with the E93 bar in.

I have yet to do my front sway so I am waiting to see how the car feels after doing the front sway. I may end up going with the E90 M3 bar if the snap oversteer is still an issue.

Powerflex and Whiteline make poly bushings for all the arm locations in the rear of E9x.

[only1harry]

Thanks for the info. Yes the M3 rear sway bar will make the car oversteer a lot or "snap oversteer" as you said which is more "dangerous" than regular oversteer. That's why I was just curious if they made some stiffer bushings for the rear sway, and was not looking for a bigger bar.

Does Powerflex make front Tension Arm bushings for xDrive?

Thanks,
Harry

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

You are better off doing subframe bushings first. This will get rid of most of the floaty feeling.

All of your suspension arms are bolted to your subframe. If you stiffen the mounts on the control arms, but not the subframe, you will still have a sloppy feeling rear end.

I never bothered with control arm bushings and went with heim joints.

I do have M3 subframe bushings and they made a HUGE difference in how planted the rear end feels. I also have an E93 M3 rear sway bar install but I kind of regret it.

My car easily snap/lift over steers with the E93 bar in.

I have yet to do my front sway so I am waiting to see how the car feels after doing the front sway. I may end up going with the E90 M3 bar if the snap oversteer is still an issue.

Powerflex and Whiteline make poly bushings for all the arm locations in the rear of E9x.

I did a similar thing, but with the smaller 22.5mm e92 M3 bar and also got massive snap oversteer. All went away when I put in the UUC front bar. Nice and neutral now. I installed Whiteline subframe inserts same time as the rear bar.

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by only1harry

Thanks for the info. Yes the M3 rear sway bar will make the car oversteer a lot or "snap oversteer" as you said which is more "dangerous" than regular oversteer. That's why I was just curious if they made some stiffer bushings for the rear sway, and was not looking for a bigger bar.

Does Powerflex make front Tension Arm bushings for xDrive?

Thanks,
Harry

Unfortunately they do not. I made custom ones for my car.

But Strong flex recently released a set. There is also a bearing upgrade but personally, I would not run a hard mount in that location for a street driven car.

Originally Posted by ajsalida

I did a similar thing, but with the smaller 22.5mm e92 M3 bar and also got massive snap oversteer. All went away when I put in the UUC front bar. Nice and neutral now. I installed Whiteline subframe inserts same time as the rear bar.

Thanks for this. I am hoping the oversteer reduces with the front sway. I just had to replace my front passenger axle so won't be doing front sway anytime soon but I am looking forward to it.

[only1harry]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

Unfortunately they do not. I made custom ones for my car.

But Strong flex recently released a set. There is also a bearing upgrade but personally, I would not run a hard mount in that location for a street driven car.

Thanks, but anything is better than the stock fluid-filled TA bushings. I did a search and read a little about the Strongflex TA bushings and noone mentioned anything about rough ride. I would never get metal/ball bearings to replace bushings for the street. Just looking for a little higher durometer rubber so that the front can be a little more compliant, but I am thinking something else is wrong with my car and I need to find it, so I don't needlessly keep replacing parts that are not broken. So far all the Indys (and Dealer) I went to have been useless.

[ajsalida]

+1 on the Strongflex. I installed the yellow version and no issues, no harshness, much improved steering feel and response. Bitch of an install but worth it.

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by only1harry

Thanks, but anything is better than the stock fluid-filled TA bushings. I did a search and read a little about the Strongflex TA bushings and noone mentioned anything about rough ride. I would never get metal/ball bearings to replace bushings for the street. Just looking for a little higher durometer rubber so that the front can be a little more compliant, but I am thinking something else is wrong with my car and I need to find it, so I don't needlessly keep replacing parts that are not broken. So far all the Indys (and Dealer) I went to have been useless.

Yea poly is fine for that bushing. I did not notice any increase in NVH.

[skier_du]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

+1 on the Strongflex. I installed the yellow version and no issues, no harshness, much improved steering feel and response. Bitch of an install but worth it.

Same experience for me. Go ahead and skip the softer ones and get the yellow. You won't regret them at all. Because they're stronger, I feel they actually absorb impact better than softer bushings. That makes them feel even better riding to me. Not to mention the added stability and steering response; even reduced body roll because of less suspension movement. All with no extra nvh over stock. ???

[only1harry]

Thanks. Those who installed the Strongflex TA bushings, did you leave the old ball joints in place, or did you replace those as well?

Can you provide a link to purchase the Strongflex yellow bushings?

Thanks again!
Harry

[ajsalida]

I left the old ones in, no play and looked fine.

http://www.strongflex.eu/en/e90-e91-...4x4-sport.html

[only1harry]

Thanks. Do we have to order from Europe and convert Euros to US$ or does Strongflex have a US distributor?

[Dhillon92]

Dont mean to thread jack here, but is it recommended to get the m3 bits for the rear as an upgrade? I was reading the xdrive sticky and one person mentioned that he wouldn't recommend them due to them being designed for a rwd car.

I have a m3 sway, and m3 subframe bushings in the garage and grabbing kwv1(+m3 and z4 bump stops) and uuc front sway when spring comes. I will add the TA power flex bushings above to my suspension list. Any other recommendations for refreshing/upgrading while I'm doing the suspension overhaul edit: such as more failure prone bushings? Appreciate the feedback from those have gone down a similar route.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by only1harry

Thanks. Do we have to order from Europe and convert Euros to US$ or does Strongflex have a US distributor?

Just add to cart and purchase like you would normally. Converts euros to dollars. Mine arrived in a week, like $65 total including shipping.

[only1harry]

Originally Posted by Dhillon92

Dont mean to thread jack here, but is it recommended to get the m3 bits for the rear as an upgrade? I was reading the xdrive sticky and one person mentioned that he wouldn't recommend them due to them being designed for a rwd car.

I have a m3 sway, and m3 subframe bushings in the garage and grabbing kwv1(+m3 and z4 bump stops) and uuc front sway when spring comes. I will add the TA power flex bushings above to my suspension list. Any other recommendations for refreshing/upgrading while I'm doing the suspension overhaul edit: such as more failure prone bushings? Appreciate the feedback from those have gone down a similar route.

There is no hijacking. It's a valid inquiry and directly relates to my initial question and why I started the thread.

I certainly do not think installing rear upper M3 arms will hurt anything at all on xDrive models. Our suspension in the rear is the same as the RWD e90/92/93, and this is a mild upgrade anyway. The rear sway bar is a major upgrade, unlike the upper arms. All they really do is just stiffen up the suspension/connection points, to reduce the inherit movement in the rear. It can only help. It has nothing to do with AWD vs. RWD. My rear feels loose and like where most of my problems are coming from (I am sure I need subframe bushings too). So anything I can tighten up back there would be beneficial. The upper arms will not have any adverse effects on AWD and they should be easy to install. It's not like putting different size tires with a different circumference front to rear. That would be bad for AWD. This is a good upgrade for RWD or AWD and won't hurt the tranny or Diff. if that's what you are thinking of. Coincidentally, I will probably be doing Diff. bushings too using Strongflex. I want to eventually replace all the soft OE bushings on my car that were designed around the RFT's.

Harry

[tetsuo111]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...0&postcount=79

Strongly suggest that any suspension make-over begin with:

1. non-RFT tires on lightweight rims

2. tuned dampers and springs, or alternatively coilovers

3. solid RSBs

If you want to go further, skip the M3 stuff and replace the squishy OE bushings with true heim and spherical bearings

[BigHoncho]

Originally Posted by only1harry

Do they make a noticeable difference and is TRW a good brand? Will the bushings last a few years?

TRW is the OE of BMW, the only difference is that the "M" badge is stamped out. Besides of that they are exactly the same, so no need to buy those from BMW.