FCP Groton 7 Piece Control Arm Kit

[dchun]

i heard FCP greatly improved their products.
are most of the negative reviews recent? i remember hearing about their poor quality a few years ago.

[aldur99]

I have had this setup for a year and no problems. Tight and the parts seemed decent for the money. Mind you, my car is a daily and never tracked.

[FLG]

Where did you find em for that price?

[Mossman]

Only beef I've had with FCP was a few years ago so they probably have cleared it up, but I installed a full 10ish piece set on a buddies E24 and the tie rods, even with both adjusted as short as possible, provided a hair too much toe out. They were simply too long for the application. His original ones weren't shot so we reinstalled. Rest of the stuff is going strong as far as I know.

[5Toes]

See, no problems.

And eBay got me them for that price. I was the only bidder

Looks like they dont sell on eBay anymore.. but other sellers seem to have the same kit. I would message them and ask

[Mr. Burns]

just wanted to add that I bought the same kit as the OP did.
put over 5KMiles and not a single hitch or issues whatsoever.

mind you, mine is a summer only car and does not see rain/snow/salt or any other naughty business mothernature has to offer.

if I was looking to make my 22 year old BMW a daily driver, and needed it to last the test of time, I would certainly invest in something OEM or equivalent.

[Jean]

Don't know about the FCP HOUSE BRAND parts for E30, but for the E34 they are still crap according to many recent reviews (from the updated product), the bushings and balljoints don't last even half a year.

Of course they do sell Meyle HD and Lemf, but their made in china house brand is not very good.

[monoblanco]

Interesting thread. I am researching my options and what caught my attention about FCP is that they claim to have a lifetime warranty on all their parts:

"FCP Groton now offers a Lifetime Warranty on all of its products. Please visit FCP Lifetime Warranty"

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/110766/nm/BMW_E30_7_Piece_Control_Arms_Poly_Bushings_Kit_1984_1992/category_id/540

I am also considering Meyle. The difference in price is not that much, but the Meyle warranty doesn't inspire that much confidence.
"Meyle Heavy Duty parts have a 4 year warranty. Standard Meyle replacement parts have a 1 year warranty."

http://store.bimmerworld.com/bimmerworld-e30e36z3-front-suspension-overhaul-kits-p879.aspx

[5Toes]

I didnt sign up for the warranty. Should of, but I never got around to it

[KenC]

You have to buy the warranty.

[DREWHALL]

Just thought I would post in here since I am bored at work. I have this kit, about a year now since I installed it. No problems as of yet, the car gets thrashed pretty regularly. Well worth it IMO even if it doesn't last forever.

[Delraco]

I bought a kit from them a little over a year back.
One of the ball joints was pretty loose upon receiving it.
The boots are not lasting too well at all. Steering is still pretty crisp, but I don't know how long that will keep up. Tie Rods were pretty loose compared to lemfs or moog.

I used to drive my car A LOT over extremely rutted back roads and even some off-road use. *pizza delivery in a rural area*
And they didn't explode.. That being said, I will be replacing them with Lemfs soon. FCP is a quick fix for a DD, not a long-term solution.

[kwill22]

no problems with mine so far. i think some people just get a bad set or somthing.

[mr.vang]

i ordered two control arm for my previous 318 and they sent me two R instead of a L and R. i called them up and they sent me a L arm without any question asked.

[5Toes]

Okay I have come to this concusion about the kit

everything is good, except the CA's.

The CA's seem to be alright, it is just that the boots are shit. Mine are all cracked right now (both sides, at the subframe ball joint and on the spindle)

so cheap fix kit - it served its purpose for me