e34 owners feedback on FCP Groton 10 piece suspension rebuild kit

[iwantspeed]

Hey Guys,

A buddy of mine has a stock 1992 e34 Alpinweib II black leather 5 speed

And was thinking about getting the FCP Groton 10 piece suspension rebuild kit.


He has the 55mph shakes
even with the tires that have recently been balanced.

here is the link

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/14044/nm/BMW_E34_10_Piece_Control_Arms_Kit_1989_1996_FCP_Brand_/category_id/540

here is his car next to my previous e30

[Need4Speed1299]

Seems like a good deal. He should get an alignment done after.

[E30-M3]

Sorry to say, but its OEM or nothing, so that really just means Lemforder or nothing, unless you want to be doing this every two years.

I have 91 M5 and I used Meyle HD thrust arms and they were worn out again in about 2 years. This past summer I just bit the bullet and rebuilt the entire front end using Lemforder only I expect this to last 5times longer.

[quickervicar]

^^This. Everything I've read & experienced backs this up.

[e30lov]

I bought that kit and had no issues with it. The control arms felt kinda cheap though, almost like i could snap them in half by hand, and the sleeves around the bushings looked like it was made from saran Wrap

[b*saint]

Its a good kit. I've used them 3 times. The only time I had an issue was on my current bimmer with treehouse bushings. I had to trim the derlin. I compared them to OE and they look good.

[sharky]

Guys just so you know FCP can get you oem suspension parts (obviously the price is higher than this setup) but thier priceing is very good as well as service. I use them alot as they are right down the road from me.

[CorvallisBMW]

Damn, that is a killer price.

I don't personally have experience with FCP Groton parts, but considering new OEM thrust arms w/ 750i bushings are around $200 from blunt, I have to question the quality of a kit with 5x more stuff at the same price.

The '55mph shakes' are usually caused by worn thrust bushings, the rest of the suspension may be OK. If you do the front, also replace the rear pitman arms ('dogbones'), they're $14 each and take all of 3 minutes to swap out. Helps keep the rear end tracking straight.

[FCPGroton]

Hello There,

The FCP Kit is a great deal, and even greater with the current Pre-Launch Sales going on through our new beta site - www.fcpeuro.com.

One thing important to consider when getting this kit or any other kit is the set-up of your car and your driving needs. Most people find that with larger wheels, more aggressive set ups like lowered springs and sports shocks, it may be better to go with something like a Meyle Kit. The FCP kit is targeted more towards stock set ups.

Just so you also know, there is a current 20% exclusive discount on our Meyle Front Suspension Kit as part of the launch of the new FCP Euro Site. You are welcome to take advantage of that. Feel free to email me at michaelo@fcpgroton.com, or just drop me a PM here if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Michael.

[iwantspeed]

thanks for the feedback guys

[Jaxx_]

got a set of FCP parts for my e30, i regularly use them for the volvo. Tell them someone from volvospeed sent you over and they probably can hook you up.

[e34john]

I'm going with Meyle HD when I do my car or maybe Lemforder if I get my bills paid off soon. Blunt said he would hook it up, it will be like his E30 complete suspension rebuild kit except with a lot more components. Damn E34s and their suspensions and the fact that they get the shimmys.

[txtorquemade]

I used the FCP kit on my e46 330i. Subbed poly FCABS for rubber. No complaints. Ive done about 3k miles on the set up.

[Jean]

There are some reports on BFC of fcp parts failing and have to replace them 2-3 times... personally if that is true (search) I would save the hassle and do the labor ONCE and pay more for OEM parts.

[GDA]

I would suggest you only run Lemforder parts (except for the center link which OEM is a TRW part) as even Meyle front ends barely seem to last over 50k when running 17s and even less when running 18s or doing a few track days.

I only got 12k out of a set of Meyle thrust arms on my M5 after doing 2 track days one year. My current all Lemforder front end upgraded with 850 csi arms is going on 30k miles and is still as tight as it was with 1k on it.