aja540i 1906 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 So the M5 failed its WOF on excessive play in a lower front control arm, Continental cars sent me a video showing significant movement of the front wheel (by hand) due to the rubber bush giving up. I replaced the front control arms a few years ago with new Meyle HD units and i am aware that big heavy BMW wagons like to eat suspension bushes, but i am seriously considering changing to a spherical bearing type set up using the Turner motorsport kit to try and get a bit more life out of them. Has anyone done this conversion, and if so what are the pros and cons? My main concern is putting more stress on the chassis at the suspension mounting points as they were designed to work in conjunction with rubber bushes not spherical bearings, but i suspect i am being overly cautious and they will be fine, thoughts? Price wise the kit for both sides is within a few dollars of 1 new genuine BMW control arm, but considerably more that 2 new replacement rubber bushes, so i am happy to spend the money if they last a decent amount of time. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1680 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 Not E60 or front control arm specific but ive read about multiple failures of TMS spherical bearings, the joint and the fitment, they aren't all created equal no doubt. I would think there would be less stress as they don't twist and deflect like rubber. Quality aside the only issues seem to be additional harshness on certain road surfaces. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TonyT 48 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 I've used monoballs on the front of my E92 M3 with no issues. No increase in NVH, but steering response is sharper and quicker (a good thing IMO). Would definitely recommend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jon dee 500 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 What he ^^^^ said. The M3 replacement/upgrade front LCA's use a monoball on the inner end of the straight arm. Never noticed any difference apart from the fact that the turn in was much improved over the OEM e92 arm due to the added camber Cheers... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twistee 461 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 @aja540i How many kms did you get out of your current set of bushes before they wore out? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1906 Report post Posted December 17, 2022 Not sure exactly, but somewhere between 10 and 15 thousand Km sounds about right. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1906 Report post Posted January 21, 2023 (edited) Bit the bullet and bought the Turner spherical bearing kit, decided it was worth a punt since they have the lifetime warranty. Kit arrived yesterday and I spent this morning putting them in, out with the arms and pressed the old bushes out, new bushes ready to go in, first one went in no problem, second one took a couple of tries to get it started square but went in fine, arms go back in as per usual, but hardware can be torqued up with suspension droop as the mono ball just pivots when the weight comes back on, so nice and easy, will book for wheel alignment and WOF re-check next week. Now, to see how long they last.... Edited January 21, 2023 by aja540i 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1072 Report post Posted January 22, 2023 Mmmm. Shiney. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
