Home
Suspension
Control Arm Replacements & Upgrades

BMW Control Arm Replacements & Upgrades for BMW E36 (1992-1998) M3

Clear BMW chassis

Control arms, and their integrated ball joints, are some of the most crucial components on a BMW suspension. The control arms literally control the wheel and suspension as they go through their range of motions. They do more than just keep the alignment in a constant spec - they are a vital locating component for the suspension itself. A faulty or worn control arm or ball joint is a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening problem so make sure they are inspected and replaced at regular intervals.

Most control arms for BMWs consist of an inner and outer ball joint made of plastic, rubber, Delrin, or metal and covered in grease with a rubber boot to seal it from the outside. The ball joint rotates and spins as the control arm goes through its movements and that will wear the ball joint and make it loose. The grease inside the housing can also get used up, evaporate, or become contaminated from moisture and foreign particles. As the ball joint becomes worn it can result in excess movement within the housing. Your steering and handling will become less precise and there is usually a light clunking or clicking sound. In rare and extreme cases the ball joint can separate from the control arm completely, leading to a total loss of suspension and steering control. You should have the ball joint play checked annually and replace them every 3-4 years. Most track organizations will not allow a car if they are older than three years.

Control arms also take abuse from impacts and handling forces. Aluminum control arms will generally bend and prevent an accurate alignment. Steel control arms will crack and fracture and require close inspection annually and replacement every 3-4 years.

We sell OE BMW, OEM, and performance upgrade control arms from proven manufacturers. The control arm is so important to a BMW suspension that we insist on only top quality brands and designs and will never sell a control arm based on price alone. We also have upgrade packages with superior designs and better bushing options and we have bundled these together with valuable package savings.

Sub-Categories

Sort By:

Quick Steer/Roll Center Correction Race Kit - E36 M3 S50

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:589331

Part#: 022961TMS09KT4

In Stock

$ 902.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 902.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Correct your suspension geometry, and increase your steering response and handling characteristics!

Show More Show Less

Quick Steer/Roll Center Correction Race Kit - E36 M3 S50 (w/ Z3 Steer...

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes
For vehicles with a Z3 2.7 Steering Rack installed only

T#:636994

Part#: 022961TMS012KT4

In Stock

$ 902.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 902.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Not only does our Roll Center Correction Race Kit correct your roll center and improve handling, but it also provides increased steering response and bump steer correction. Thanks to the use of our rack limiters, you can maintain the same steering angle as before, while drastically decreasing steering wheel input. After the kit was installed on our E36 M3 test vehicle equipped with a Z3 2.7 turn lock to lock steering rack, it only required 2 full turns lock to lock. A reduction of 26%! Bump steer is also correctable to virtually 0, thanks to spacers to adjust tie rods up or down. When you lower a car, it drastically changes the geometry of the suspension. While lowering a car makes it handle better by lowering the center of gravity, the roll center is negatively impacted, increasing the roll moment, which causes cornering forces to have more of an effect on the body roll of the vehicle. This is normally ignored because the stiffer lowering springs make the issue less noticeable, but ultimately grip is lost, and body roll is increased. Once the roll center has been corrected it is immediately apparent how much the performance of the vehicle had been suffering prior. By correcting the outer ball joint location with our Roll Center Correction Race Kit, the instantaneous center of rotation is raised, bringing the roll center much closer to the center of gravity, and significantly decreasing roll movement. This minimizes body roll, provides more grip, and ultimately leads to an improved and predictable driving feel. Roll Center can be a rather complex concept. Let’s break it down: On a McPherson front suspension vehicle, both the top of the strut and lower control arm sit at an angle. If you were to draw 2 lines, one from the upper strut mount perpendicular to the steering axis (line through lower ball joint and upper strut mount pivot) and another from the control arm outer and inner ball joint/pivot, Where they intersect is called the instantaneous center of rotation. This is the point about which the suspension is rotating at that instant. Now, noting the vertical center of the car, draw another line from the bottom of the center of the tire contact patch, to the instantaneous center of rotation. Where this line intersects with the vertical center of the car is where your “roll center” is. The distance between the roll center, and the center of gravity is called the “roll moment”. The larger the distance, the larger the body roll. By decreasing the distance between your center of gravity and your roll center, you can decrease the amount of body roll, and decrease suspension geometry change, and ultimately gain better handling. Features: 6061-T6 billet aluminum steering plate All specially designed, melonite coated, class 10.9 hardware Provides roll center correction for lowered cars (coilovers recommended, lowering springs and replacement shocks generally provide too much droop) Provides bump steer correction and adjustment Includes ball joint replacements (e36M 027427TMS01~A, E36/46 NM 022961TMS01~A) Kitted with high-quality FK rod ends

Show More Show Less

Meyle HD Front Control Arm Refresh Kit - E36 M3

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:372488

Part#: 311222284612KT

Back Ordered

Sale - Save 6% $ 330.99

This product was last offered at the strikethrough price on
05-08-2026

$ 311.82 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

Sale - Save 6%

$ 330.99

This product was last offered at the strikethrough price on
05-08-2026

$ 311.82 USD

Add to Wish List

This kit is for optimal cost savings when replacing front control arms on your S52-powered E36 M3. Includes E36 non-M front control arms and offset control arm bushings for close to factory suspension geometry on 96-99 E36 M3, and correct geometry for 95

Show More Show Less

Turner Front Suspension Refresh Kit - Level 1 E36 M3 S52 3.2L ...

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:594529

Part#: 311222284612KT12

Back Ordered

$ 431.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 431.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Turner Front Suspension Refresh Kit - Level 3 - E36 M3 S52 3.2L ...

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:582933

Part#: T31122228461KT

Back Ordered

$ 853.99

This product was last offered at the strikethrough price on
08-25-2026

$ 852.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 852.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Eliminate the most common sources of suspension slop with our all new Turner Suspension Refresh Kits that feature only OEM parts! We do not include any "cheap parts" in our refresh kits to ensure long-lasting reliability and noise-free suspension.

This Level 3 kit replaces:

Control Arms & Bushings
Outer Tie Rods
Sway Bar End Links
Strut Tower Reinforcement Plate
Strut Mount & Gasket

Show More Show Less

Front Control Arm Bushings (FCAB) - Offset Rubber - E30, E36, Z3 (Pai...

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:338063

Part#: 31129064875

Back Ordered

Starting at $ 208.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Starting at $ 208.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Anytime that you replace your front control arms (which should be often), you must replace your control arm bushings. The reason is because it's hard to tell if you're bushings are really bad and they are often destroyed when removed. These bushings have the hole off-center to give your car a little more track, caster, and camber. They are a solid rubber bushing that is great for the street. These came as standard equipment on E30 M3s (8/89-later) and 1995 E36 M3s.

For convenience, we carry the steel bushing carrier brackets (part# TSU9995PB3) with new hardware which will save you downtime caused by pressing out the old bushings and pressing in the new bushings.

This item fits the following BMWs:
1984-1991 E30 BMW 318i 318is 318ic 325e 325es 325i 325ic 325is M3
1992-1998 E36 BMW 318i 318is 318ti 318ic 323is 323ic 325i 325is 325ic 328i 328is 328ic M3
1997-2002 Z3 BMW Z3 1.9 Z3 2.3 Z3 2.5i Z3 2.8 Z3 3.0i M Roadster M Coupe

Show More Show Less

IRP Lock Kit Pro Drift Suspension Kit - E36

T#:401479

Part#: IRPDK36-2

Special Order: No Guaranteed ETA

$ 1,567.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 1,567.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Looking to upgrade your front suspension to increase the strength and your steering angle for the track? IRP has you covered with their BMW Lock Kit. This kit includes new control arms that are stronger than stock, are a chromolon tubular system, and have monoball ball joints, new tie rod ends that feature steel monoball ball joints as well, new offset control arm bushings, fully adjustable camber plates, roll center/bump steer correction plates, and all new hardware. This enables this kit to be fully plug and play, giving you a much more adjustable front suspension, and increases the total amount of steering angle up to 70 degrees.

This kit is perfect for those looking to build a drift car and ensure their suspension is ready to take on the challenge.

*This Pro kit offers reduced weight control arms that help this kit shed 2.9 lbs from the standard kit while still remaining just as strong thanks to their chromolon tubular design.*

Kit features:

CNC Laser Cut Components
Plug & Play - includes all needed hardware
Increase to 70 Degree (or more) steering angle (5 degrees more than standard version)
Includes Camber Plates
Stiffer offset control arm bushings
Roll Center and Bump Steer Correction Plates
High Strength chromolon tubular control arms with steel monoball ball joints (2cm wider than standard version)
Increased length steering tie rods with steel monoball ball joints
DriftAllstar- & EEDC-Tested
Total weight of all components included: 12.2kg / 26.9lbs (1.3kg / 2.9lbs lighter that standard version)

Fits the following BMWs:
1992-1999 E36 BMW All Submodels

Show More Show Less

IRP Lock Kit Standard Drift Suspension Kit - E36

T#:401478

Part#: IRPDK36-1

Special Order: No Guaranteed ETA

$ 1,209.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 1,209.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Looking to upgrade your front suspension to increase the strength and your steering angle for the track? IRP has you covered with their BMW Lock Kit. This kit includes new control arms that are stronger than stock and have monoball ball joints, new tie rod ends that feature steel monoball ball joints as well, new offset control arm bushings, fully adjustable camber plates, roll center/bump steer correction plates, and all new hardware. This enables this kit to be fully plug and play, giving you a much more adjustable front suspension, and increases the total amount of steering angle up to 65 degrees.

This kit is perfect for those looking to build a drift car and ensure their suspension is ready to take on the challenge.

Kit features:

CNC Laser Cut Components
Plug & Play - includes all needed hardware
Increase to 65 Degree (or more) steering angle
Includes Camber Plates
Stiffer offset control arm bushings
Roll Center and Bump Steer Correction Plates
High strength control arms with steel monoball ball joints
Increased length steering tie rods with steel monoball ball joints
DriftAllstar- & EEDC-Tested
Total weight of all components included: 13.5 kg / 29.8 lbs

Fits the following BMWs:
1992-1999 E36 BMW All Submodels

Show More Show Less

Front Control Arm Bushings - Offset Rubber - Kit - E30, E36, Z3 ...

10X Entries Into Our F80 M3 Sweepstakes

T#:348335

Part#: TSU9995PB3.875KT

Back Ordered

$ 208.99 USD

Add to Wish List

Qty

$ 208.99 USD

Add to Wish List

1
2

Select Vehicle

Purpose

Category

Control Arm Replacements & Upgrades

Brand

View All Brands

Price

Special Offers

On Sale (21)

Shipping