Best RTAB (racing trailing arm bushing kit) for HPF M3

[dreikraft]

i got both shot RTABs. the amount of play is unreal. 3 alignments in a month should have been a loud enough call for help lol. why did they design so much room in that housing IDK. i def don't want bushings there anymore unless limiters ACTUALLY hold up when she squats. Chris K @hpf recommended the spherical bearing that TMS sells. my concern is vibration transfer and $280 for bearings? go f'yaself TMS

thoughts????

[Sticky]

I don't have a suggestion or experience with this issue, bump to get some answers.

[PEI330Ci]

i got both shot RTABs. the amount of play is unreal. 3 alignments in a month should have been a loud enough call for help lol. why did they design so much room in that housing IDK. i def don't want bushings there anymore unless limiters ACTUALLY hold up when she squats. Chris K @hpf recommended the spherical bearing that TMS sells. my concern is vibration transfer and $280 for bearings? go f'yaself TMS

thoughts????

I've run pretty much everything: OEM, Polyflex, spherical bearing from Ground Control.

My preference is the bearing because it doesn't side-load the housing when the trailing arm moves. The Polyflex piece is nice, and won't wear out, but you need to be aware that you could have a fatigue failure further down the road with it. I'm running the Polyflex piece on my street car right now.

As far as cost goes: $280 isn't really that bad considering the quality of the bearings used. You should try pricing out a comparable bearing from Aura and you'll be shocked at what a high stress bearing that is water resistant goes for. I built my own control arms for my E46 at one point, and got a bit of a shock when I sourced the bearings.

[dreikraft]

vibration transfer on the bearings?

i know i'll most likely end up with the TMS bearings (do it right the first time type deal) but i'd be willing to go polyflex if they'll last a year or so before needing to be replaced and are noticeably quieter in ride quality compared to bearings.

[Sticky]

These are the TMS bearing being referenced: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-11...ign=TSU9980020

Moved to 3 series -> E46 and also edited thread title to help.

[PEI330Ci]

vibration transfer on the bearings?

i know i'll most likely end up with the TMS bearings (do it right the first time type deal) but i'd be willing to go polyflex if they'll last a year or so before needing to be replaced and are noticeably quieter in ride quality compared to bearings.

Ack! I'm not the best person to give you an A to B comparison with the spherical bearing, as every other pivot point in the rear suspension was converted to a bearing as well, and I ran billet aluminum bushings (solid) on the subframe.

I would call TMS and talk to them about the piece.

The polyflex I ran on the street for about 1 year on the 330Ci, and now I've had them on my 330i for about 6 months. They don't really wear out it appears....as they are 5 years old now!

[dreikraft]

lol, how loud is your solid metal rearend?

screw this...i want video form inside your cab. thats badass that theres no bushing back there anymore! my hero lol

i'll call turner monday.

[PEI330Ci]

lol, how loud is your solid metal rearend?

screw this...i want video form inside your cab. thats badass that theres no bushing back there anymore! my hero lol

i'll call turner monday.

[dreikraft]

hot damn

[PEI330Ci]

The GC piece:









Other bearings including upper inner control arm bearings in gold:



The goodies installed:



One thing I would recommend while you have the RTA out is to have the bracket fully welded:

[Sticky]

The GC piece:

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...DSC_0159-1.jpg

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...isWork55-1.jpg

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...isWork56-1.jpg

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...isWork57-1.jpg

Other bearings including upper inner control arm bearings in gold:

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...DSC_0162-1.jpg

The goodies installed:

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...r2008118-1.jpg

One thing I would recommend while you have the RTA out is to have the bracket fully welded:


http://www.60-130.com/images/im...ldOct258-1.jpg

http://www.60-130.com/images/im...ldOct257-1.jpg

These are great pics, excellent.

[dreikraft]

anyone got a RTAB tool they're willing to loan?
need to find one asap

[PEI330Ci]

anyone got a RTAB tool they're willing to loan?
need to find one asap

As bad as this sounds, you can burn them out with an oxy torch if you can't find the right puller tool...just make sure you do it outside.

[Sticky]

How much is the tool?

[dreikraft]

As bad as this sounds, you can burn them out with an oxy torch if you can't find the right puller tool...just make sure you do it outside.

i ended up doing this!

no special tools required, just brute force, haha

new bushings are in, lets see what thye can handle

[Sticky]

i ended up doing this!

no special tools required, just brute force, haha

new bushings are in, lets see what thye can handle

Heh, well there we go.

[3Fest]

The tool is $90. The one I know of anyway. It's made by MIS i think. PEI, great pics. I could only dream of rebuilding my rear suspension. One day... as far as welding the RTAB carrier, should that be done with polyurethanes for a daily driven car? Did you weld extra material over it or reinforce existign welds?

[GG///M3]

How did this work out. I honestly would never run solid metal mounts in a street car with the kind of power an HPF car makes without having reinforced mounting points.