front lower wishbone, rear bushes... what to get?

J

JINGLE

Senior member
Norwich, Norfolk
as above... the time has come to get my old worn bushes replaced, am thinking of going Poly as heard good reviews and they last longer, so my question is which should i go for....

are the links below the correct bushes or will i need something else?

Powerflex bushes £88.95p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SERIES-E46-FRONT-SUSPENSION-ARM-REAR-POWERFLEX-BUSHES-FITTED-HOLDERS-MTECH-/161213234286?clk_rvr_id=767332300536&rmvSB=true

cheaper bushes £48.99p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Series-E46-M-SPORT-POLY-Front-Wishbone-Control-Arm-Rear-Bushes-Mounts-Bush-/261376383033?clk_rvr_id=767328839242&rmvSB=true

any reviews on the above or any other advice is appreciated :driving:
 
p.s i have just brought a cheap set of 3 arm pullers which should aid with removing the old 1`s so just want to make sure im getting the best replacement for my money really :thumbsup:
 
Powerflex all day long. Make absolutely sod-all difference to ride quality (despite what people will tell you) and a huge amount to steering feel, plus you'll never need to replace them again.

When removimg the old ones with the puller, they may come straight off but can sometimes be stubborn. If they start to split (the centre bit stays in place and the remainder comes away), break them off and then use the puller again on the smaller section that's left. I did mine a few weeks ago, one popped straight off, the other split. Either way, straightforward job. It takes longer getting the undertray off than it does to change them over.

:thumbsup:
 
I don't want to disagree with anyone who says go for powerflex poly as I have not tried them but they are very expensive. I have just purchased complete new wishbones with ball joints and rear bush all ready fitted plus drop links and for the rear of the car new trailing arm bushes. Also added new strut top mounts front and back, all from Ebay at a little over £300. I almost went for powerflex but 2 independent specialist advised me that they will definitely make the ride a little harder as they simply do not cushion things as rubber does, they are made from very hard poly.

I went for Meyle HD for everything as all reviews I've read consider them a big improvement in quality over the original bushes. I figured that most cars cover at least 50,000 miles from new(some exceptions I know!) before new bushes need to be considered and, if meyle are genuinely an improved quality, then that's fine for me. I am Just waiting for the weather to improve a bit and will then fit everything-hope I made the right decision.
 
jyonaudl said:
Save yourself some money and reuse the brackets and just buy the bushes

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/product-details/Front+Wishbone+Rear+Bush/1304.html

take care to get the right size, your bracket will be 60mm or 66mm diameter :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Not an option for most people as you need to press them in to the bracket.

Midhurstman said:
I don't want to disagree with anyone who says go for powerflex poly as I have not tried them but they are very expensive. I have just purchased complete new wishbones with ball joints and rear bush all ready fitted plus drop links and for the rear of the car new trailing arm bushes. Also added new strut top mounts front and back, all from Ebay at a little over £300. I almost went for powerflex but 2 independent specialist advised me that they will definitely make the ride a little harder as they simply do not cushion things as rubber does, they are made from very hard poly.

I went for Meyle HD for everything as all reviews I've read consider them a big improvement in quality over the original bushes. I figured that most cars cover at least 50,000 miles from new(some exceptions I know!) before new bushes need to be considered and, if meyle are genuinely an improved quality, then that's fine for me. I am Just waiting for the weather to improve a bit and will then fit everything-hope I made the right decision.
Click to expand...

Not the wrong option, but on the Z the ride is so hard already that poly make little or no difference. Also, most of the time the wishbones will last almost forever and it is just the bushes that wear out.
 
+1 for Meyle stuff. Put these on the E46 before it got written off. I agree you don't need the whole wishbone but for £190 for both wishbones with all three bushes already pressed in plus the 4 year guarantee they're not too shabby at all. Also used Meyle drop links etc. Transformed the E46.
 
Point taken that you don't need new wishbones, they are alloy and pretty beefy, but as Roundozo correctly states all the bushes are already factory fitted and it's just a fairly straightforward bolt off old wishbones and bolt on new job. With a 4 year guarantee and replaceable ball joints (which the original wishbones do not have so when they get sloppy it is definitely a new wishbone required) for me it was a no brainer. After all this though, having firmly placed myself in the Meyle camp, I will always wonder if the car would feel sharper and more planted with powerflex-I guess the answer must be yes. However, having ditched the run flat tyres for Vreds which improved the ride quality tremendously, I just didn't want to risk even a small regression.
 
Stratts said:
Powerflex all day long. Make absolutely sod-all difference to ride quality (despite what people will tell you) and a huge amount to steering feel, plus you'll never need to replace them again.

I used to say they ruined the ride! They don't I was wrong!!
Click to expand...
 
Yep, powerflex all the way! My Coupé feels so much nicer now I've done mine!

You have a PM.
 
thanks for your opinions guys, looks like its defo the powerflex then!!! :driving: :evil:

how do i tell if i need the 60mm or the 66mm?? ive got a 2008 2.0lt if thats any help?

thanks, Jamie
 
Should be a 66mm on a 2008. PM Me your reg number and I'll be able to check for you!
 
nfbr said:
Should be a 66mm on a 2008. PM Me your reg number and I'll be able to check for you!
Click to expand...

Could you check mine as well mate as im having mine fitted next week?

I have a Nov 2003 3.0i

Ash
 
If you are planning to use powerflex tca rear bushes those will be good option. For TCA replacement i recommend only lemförder. It is the best when we are talking about quality.
 
You have a reply! 66mm :)

AnttiO said:
If you are planning to use powerflex tca rear bushes those will be good option. For TCA replacement i recommend only lemförder. It is the best when we are talking about quality.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! Lemforder actually make the original ones for BMW and are the only after market supplier who do an exact version of the Z4M wishbone / E46 M3 wishbone.
 
I want to change parts only once, thats why i am using lemförder. For example E46 TCA´s and wishbones lemförder from factory. My fathers e46 has done 230.000km and it has almost all suspension parts still original.
 
could somebody please confirm that these WILL fit my Z4 ?? it says E46 but i got it from a link off somebody on here on another thread so assume its correct???

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SERIES-E46-FRONT-SUSPENSION-ARM-REAR-POWERFLEX-BUSHES-FITTED-HOLDERS-MTECH-/161213234286?clk_rvr_id=767332300536&rmvSB=true

thanks
 
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