E46 lower arms, advantages? Issues?

[324tdi]

Hello

First off, I know nothing about suspension....I race e30's mostly in Spec e30 but also have raced BM, DM, KP in BMW CCA and e30's in vintage. Spec e30 suits me great because there is nothing to adjust, hence nothing for me to screw up.

I have a GTS1 class e30 I am racing at the NASA Nationals at Road Atlanta, it is time for new lower arms, plus I am thinking about doing an e36 rack while everything is apart. The struts are small tube with Alpina/Bilstein sport inserts, coil overs with fully adjustable upper mounts.

What are the advantages of the e46 arms? I understand weight....I also have read that Meyle arms have replaceable ball joints, which would be a big advantage over shelling out for BMW e30 arms.

What bushing is best? Again, this is for a track car but more concerned with geometry over "raciness"...meaning yes spherical ball with threaded body remote reservoir strut is best but might not help me...

I appreciate any input on this, looking to order parts and get this together for some testing.


Thanks

Rev. Alonzo Graham Taylor
Scuderia Gonzo Alonzo

[jalopi]

e46 control arms are alot longer than the e30 control arms. The bottom of your wheel will move out quite a bit with them. Without camber plates you'll be rocking -5* (roughly) of camber. Also, the angle of the e46 arm is closer to 90* than the e30 arm, so you're also decreasing your caster by quite a bit too. Offset bushing are also a must to compensate for this.

IMO e46 arms aren't ideal for anything but a drift car. Your front wheels will poke out an extra (roughly) inch once you correct the camber.