Great thread, after years fiddling with aftermarket stuff, I've come around to the idea that OE/OE+ type setups are absolutely the best for street focused cars.
Great thread, after years fiddling with aftermarket stuff, I've come around to the idea that OE/OE+ type setups are absolutely the best for street focused cars.
Depends on which bushings and what you are trying to get out of the car. For control arms there isn't much choice, just the the OEM control arms (left, right) that are correct for your car.
For FCABs, either get the Meyle HD, which are stock specs but solid rubber instead of fluid filled, or get Z4M FCABs (left, right), which are solid rubber with about 1° more caster. There's nothing wrong with getting the OE style Lemförder FCABs, but I had this style of bushing before and it only lasted me 3 months with my driving style and the roads that I have to drive on. My solid rubber Meyle HD has lasted for almost 3 years now.
For RTABs, the Camry spherical bushings are by far the best option for the money. They're functionally the same thing as those $200-300 spherical aftermarket bushings, except they only cost about $25 per bushing. Installation isn't easy but absolutely worth it.
For subframe bushings, people will argue over what is best. One of the first companies to figure out the issue and offer reinforcements/repairs was MK-Motorsport in Germany. Part of their solution was to install solid subframe bushings, which spreads out the forces acting on the RACP and basically adds another layer of reinforcement from the bottom. So while I would recommend their aluminium subframe bushings (pre-drilled for weight reduction), any solid subframe bushings will do the job.
For rear controls arms, the non-M E46 will already have spherical bushings in some locations but rubber bushings in others. What some people do is replace all of them with the OEM spherical bushings. There are a few part numbers for inner/outer/upper/lower so I won't list them all here, but you can find what you need on FCP.
330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT
I'm leaning on these RTABs for my ZHP and M3 when I change mine out...
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ign-works-rtab
Pricey, but at least you get that lifetime warranty! I went with the Camry spherical bushings just because it was so cheap. But with the SDW RTABs there is a much larger area to press on, and you don't have to mess around with sanding the bushing housing down.
I came across this video showing the installation of the Bimmerworld sphericals with the free Autozone tool, which was why I borrowed it as well. But a combination of the significantly smaller press area, along with my tool being bent (not sure if they're all like that) made for a very fun time installing it.
Did you find that you get ALOT more bump steer with the Z4M FCABs. I find that my car will not steer straight without constant correction and thats with several alignments and a completely refreshed suspension. Even if I'm coming to a stop at a light with lumpy pavement, my wheel will turn pretty dramatically in accordance with the road. I just don't remember experiencing that with the stock FCABs. I guess thats what happens when you increase castor for that improved turn in but I'm not a fan.
2004 Titansilber Metallic BMW 330i ZHP
I'm don't have Z4M FCABs but I do have the E36 M3 strut mounts, which add about 2.5° more caster. I don't really have bump steer or if I do, I don't notice it at all. The stock E46 only runs about 5° of caster which I think is very low. Modern cars run between 7-8° (GTI, Mazda 6 for example), which is also what I'm running on my car right now.
330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT
If you ask me my car would probably feel like it had more bump steer than yours if you drove it. My guess is that I'm just not sensitive to it or rather that I expect/want the car to behave that way. Maybe I would also notice it more if I had a direct comparison by driving a stock E46 and my car back to back.
330i Base | Mysticblau | Slicktop | 6MT