Sup bros, now I know people have different reasons as to why they put e46 arms on their cars. Maybe it's because you want a cheap aluminum arm. Maye it's because you want a wider track width for whatever reason. Maybe it's because you wanna go out and be like super-mega-drifto-man and you read somewhere on the internet that E46 arms are an upgrade and will help with your super-mega-drifto endeavor.
Well, I'm here to tell you that (aside from a weight reduction) E46 arms are actually inferior to stock E30 control arms.
Here's a little back story - I, too, wanted to be all super-mega-drifto-man with my e30, so when I read you could use E46 control arms instead of the $650 SLR units I was like, fukken sweet, let's do this.
I originally had 16x8 et0 wheels and had MAJOR problems with hitting the control arms at full lock. Even after switching to a different set of wheels (17x8.25 et -17) I was still rubbing the control arms, though it was nowhere near as bad this time around. The pictures below have the rubbing issue for the 16" wheels circled in red and the 17's circled in green. It should be noted that I had a 1/2 SLR kit installed
"Well what the fuck?", as I'm sure you're saying now, "Everything I've read online has said that E46 arms are the way to go if you wanna be all super-mega-drifto-man". Well, unfortunately, this is one of those times where the internet is stone cold wrong. What basis do I have for these accusations, you say? To you, my friends, I show you exhibit "A"
This is a pic of a factory E30 arm back to back (or ass to ass, depending on how extensive your pop culture knowledge is) with an E46 control arm. The inner ball joints and end of the control arms (through the CAB) have been lined up exactly. Notice how there's like, a fuckton more space with the E30 arm compared to the E46 arm? Yep, me too friends. Here's a close shot
and a different angle with the E30 arm propped up a bit closer to where the outer BJs would line up just so you can see the difference. So far I have yet to see a comparison pic like this on the internet, everyone just seems to only compare the lengths.
Anyway, there are people that lengthen the stock E30/36 arms to sufficient lengths, though really stock length arms + spacers would be a better option than E46 arms, at least then you wouldn't have to rock a minimum of -3~4* of camber... oh wait, did I forget about that part? Yeah, there's that too.
Now, I've already been getting flamed on other outlets about this from people saying things like "blah blah blah my E46 arms work great with 7" wide wheels plus spacers blah" so I'm gonna slightly revise my finishing statement...
If you don't want to be confined to a weeny wheel/tire setup in the front of your car, avoid the E46 arms
Hope this has been informative to someone, I sure as shit wish I knew this a year ago
Well, I'm here to tell you that (aside from a weight reduction) E46 arms are actually inferior to stock E30 control arms.
Here's a little back story - I, too, wanted to be all super-mega-drifto-man with my e30, so when I read you could use E46 control arms instead of the $650 SLR units I was like, fukken sweet, let's do this.
I originally had 16x8 et0 wheels and had MAJOR problems with hitting the control arms at full lock. Even after switching to a different set of wheels (17x8.25 et -17) I was still rubbing the control arms, though it was nowhere near as bad this time around. The pictures below have the rubbing issue for the 16" wheels circled in red and the 17's circled in green. It should be noted that I had a 1/2 SLR kit installed
"Well what the fuck?", as I'm sure you're saying now, "Everything I've read online has said that E46 arms are the way to go if you wanna be all super-mega-drifto-man". Well, unfortunately, this is one of those times where the internet is stone cold wrong. What basis do I have for these accusations, you say? To you, my friends, I show you exhibit "A"
This is a pic of a factory E30 arm back to back (or ass to ass, depending on how extensive your pop culture knowledge is) with an E46 control arm. The inner ball joints and end of the control arms (through the CAB) have been lined up exactly. Notice how there's like, a fuckton more space with the E30 arm compared to the E46 arm? Yep, me too friends. Here's a close shot
and a different angle with the E30 arm propped up a bit closer to where the outer BJs would line up just so you can see the difference. So far I have yet to see a comparison pic like this on the internet, everyone just seems to only compare the lengths.
Anyway, there are people that lengthen the stock E30/36 arms to sufficient lengths, though really stock length arms + spacers would be a better option than E46 arms, at least then you wouldn't have to rock a minimum of -3~4* of camber... oh wait, did I forget about that part? Yeah, there's that too.
Now, I've already been getting flamed on other outlets about this from people saying things like "blah blah blah my E46 arms work great with 7" wide wheels plus spacers blah" so I'm gonna slightly revise my finishing statement...
If you don't want to be confined to a weeny wheel/tire setup in the front of your car, avoid the E46 arms
Hope this has been informative to someone, I sure as shit wish I knew this a year ago
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