Should I replace my A-Arms with Stock?
07-18-2010, 10:57 PM
#1
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Should I replace my A-Arms with Stock? So I've been driving my car as a daily driver for the last 20k miles and I'm completely over my suspension. Right now I have BMR A-Arms (Upper/Lower) in the front with QA1s struts and QA1 300lb springs.
I grease the a-arms every 3k miles but it's getting to be too noisy and harsh for daily driving. I just received some Eibach springs and have some Bilsteins coming for all 4 corners.
My front right is very loud regardless of how often I grease it. My question is what I should do with the a-arms? Should I replace both upper and lower with stock, one or the other, or none? I'm sure replacing the bushings will help but will it give a quieter/comfortable ride? Will replacing the springs/shocks be enough to get the ride quality that I'm looking for?
Thanks in advance!
I grease the a-arms every 3k miles but it's getting to be too noisy and harsh for daily driving. I just received some Eibach springs and have some Bilsteins coming for all 4 corners.
My front right is very loud regardless of how often I grease it. My question is what I should do with the a-arms? Should I replace both upper and lower with stock, one or the other, or none? I'm sure replacing the bushings will help but will it give a quieter/comfortable ride? Will replacing the springs/shocks be enough to get the ride quality that I'm looking for?
Thanks in advance!
07-19-2010, 08:35 AM
#2
Hello,
I am guessing a lot of the harshness and ride quality is from the QA1 set up. The QA1 shocks and springs are nice, especially for drag racing. However on the street they leave a little to be desired and can get frustrating. I don't think the shocks are the noise issue but I do feel they are a lot of the harshness. The Bilstein shocks will really help but to be honest you might not be real happy with those Eibach springs. The Eibach springs are very soft, I say this because I hate to see you install a new set up with similar results to what you have now.
As for the A-Arms, 20K miles is a lot and parts installed in them can wear out. I would suggest installing new rod ends in replace of the old ones, also double check the ball joints. Bushings should be okay but for the price they are very inexpensive to replace.
Hope that helps,
Ryan
I am guessing a lot of the harshness and ride quality is from the QA1 set up. The QA1 shocks and springs are nice, especially for drag racing. However on the street they leave a little to be desired and can get frustrating. I don't think the shocks are the noise issue but I do feel they are a lot of the harshness. The Bilstein shocks will really help but to be honest you might not be real happy with those Eibach springs. The Eibach springs are very soft, I say this because I hate to see you install a new set up with similar results to what you have now.
As for the A-Arms, 20K miles is a lot and parts installed in them can wear out. I would suggest installing new rod ends in replace of the old ones, also double check the ball joints. Bushings should be okay but for the price they are very inexpensive to replace.
Hope that helps,
Ryan
07-19-2010, 09:38 PM
#3
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Hello,
I am guessing a lot of the harshness and ride quality is from the QA1 set up. The QA1 shocks and springs are nice, especially for drag racing. However on the street they leave a little to be desired and can get frustrating. I don't think the shocks are the noise issue but I do feel they are a lot of the harshness. The Bilstein shocks will really help but to be honest you might not be real happy with those Eibach springs. The Eibach springs are very soft, I say this because I hate to see you install a new set up with similar results to what you have now.
As for the A-Arms, 20K miles is a lot and parts installed in them can wear out. I would suggest installing new rod ends in replace of the old ones, also double check the ball joints. Bushings should be okay but for the price they are very inexpensive to replace.
Hope that helps,
Ryan
I am guessing a lot of the harshness and ride quality is from the QA1 set up. The QA1 shocks and springs are nice, especially for drag racing. However on the street they leave a little to be desired and can get frustrating. I don't think the shocks are the noise issue but I do feel they are a lot of the harshness. The Bilstein shocks will really help but to be honest you might not be real happy with those Eibach springs. The Eibach springs are very soft, I say this because I hate to see you install a new set up with similar results to what you have now.
As for the A-Arms, 20K miles is a lot and parts installed in them can wear out. I would suggest installing new rod ends in replace of the old ones, also double check the ball joints. Bushings should be okay but for the price they are very inexpensive to replace.
Hope that helps,
Ryan
Would you recommend replacing the rod ends/ball joints over going back to stock a-arms? I'm really open to whatever will give the best ride without sounding like the front end is going to fall off when I hit a pothole.
07-20-2010, 08:37 AM
#4
I agree with the above recommendations. 20k miles on rod ends is more than they can be expected to last, it's just the nature of a rod end unfortunately. They are great for high-load applications that require an articulating connection but are not meant to last the amount of motion cycles 20k miles would put on them. We use the best rod ends available, QA1's XR series teflon-lined rod ends. The part number is XMR12 and can be purchased through BMR or any other QA1 dealer.
The bushings are very inexpensive also and if you are replacing the rod ends and already have the A-arms out of the car I would swap them out at the same time.
The bushings are very inexpensive also and if you are replacing the rod ends and already have the A-arms out of the car I would swap them out at the same time.
