Front Control Arms

BMW’s are known to have failure prone front thrust arm bushings.  The flexible rubber bushings, even those found in M performance models, allow significant movement of the front wheels to maximize daily driving comfort, but also allow considerable alignment change.  This results in a disconnected and numb road feel, standing between you and a confidence inspiring driving experience.  Eventually the fluid filled rubber bushings fatigue and crack due to continual deflection and ozone degradation, and eventually the damping fluid leaks out resulting in complete failure. 

For the enthusiast looking for superior performance and longevity with a crisp, confidence-inspiring driving experience, our sealed ball joint monoballs are the best solution available!  Our experience with spherical front control arm ball joints go back to those we designed and used in our IMSA E90 328i and E92 M3 racecars (GS class Champions in 2011).  We wanted to offer E31, E32, E34, E38, E39, E53, E60, E63, E64, and E83 owners similar levels of handling precision and control for the track and street. 

The bearing housing is precision CNC machined from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum and features a knurled OD to ensure a perfect press fit, and utilize a sealed OEM BMW ball joint for exceptional quality and durability, making them completely at home on both the street and track with no compromise.  We have done extensive street, autocross, and track testing to ensure the ball joint used in this bushing design excels in each setting.  The advantage of a sealed ball joint is that it eliminates all unwanted deflection while still allowing complete bind-free movement throughout suspension travel, resulting in exceptional control of wheel alignment.  What you get is superior steering precision, turn-in response, direct braking feedback, and better handling.

In short, if you're seeking the ultimate in precise, predictable handling and control, with crisp braking response and a long service life that’s equally at home on the street or track - look no further. We have you covered.

Features:

Bearing housing

• Precision CNC machined from 6061-T6 blue anodized aluminum
• Knurled OD to provide the perfect fit for the wide range of thrust arm bore diameters among brands.
• CNC machined 304ss ball joint sleeve inserts, providing a precision fit between the ball joint and the subframe. 

Bearing

• OEM BMW sealed and greased ball joint for exceptional durability and service life.

Performance

• Nearly instantaneous, crisp steering and braking response.
• Maintenance free, long lasting performance. 
• Improved road feel without undesirable NVH.

This item is an upgrade to the following BMWs: 
2004-2010 E83 X3 X3 2.5i, X3 3.0i, X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i
2000-2006 E53 X5 X5 3.0I, X5 4.4i, X5 4.6is, X5 4.8is
1997-2003 E39 5 series 540i, 540iT (sedans and touring wagon) 
2000-2003 E39 M5 sedan 
1995-2001 E38 7 series 740i, 740iL 
1995-2001 E38 7 series 750i, 750iL 

Stock rubber front control arm bushings are designed to allow significant fore/aft movement of the front wheels to help absorb road impacts.  This soft flexible design maximizes daily driving comfort and helps to add the “luxury” feeling to your BMW, but it is far from ideal for the performance or racing enthusiast that is looking for optimal handling and braking performance.  Being a bonded rubber bushing that is constantly twisting and deflecting when in use, stock rubber bushings really take a beating and often fail prematurely, resulting in further degraded handling, braking shimmy or even clunking felt under your feet.

In the past, the only upgrade option to improve handling of your E46 M3 was to replace the stock rubber with poly bushings, or delrin bushings that wear prematurely and are not serviceable or rebuild-able.  While well-designed poly bushings can vastly improve handling characteristics and offer good road feel with minimal increase to NVH, they are still a compromise when it comes to ultimate handling and braking performance.

Introducing the new Turner Front Control Arm Spherical Bearings!  The Turner engineering team set out to design a no-compromise solution that requires no modification and offers instantaneous cornering and braking response.  Our control arm bearings utilize a unique grease-able spherical bearing that is both serviceable and replaceable, with integrated dust seals to help keep dirt and moisture out.  This bearing offers considerable improvement in both precision and durability compared to other unsealed poly and delrin bushing inserts previously available, which can wear prematurely due to contamination.  The bearing assembly utilizes the highest quality materials, precision machining quality, and components to ensure a perfect fit and longest lasting component life possible.

The result is the ultimate in terms of low friction, no binding, and no unwanted deflection, as well as exceptional steering precision, turn-in response, and direct braking feedback with minimal increase in NVH.  These spherical bearings are a must have for any track car, but are also completely street-able and are a great upgrade for any enthusiast that enjoys spirited driving.

Features:

Bearing

• Extremely robust, greaseable, double lip sealed spherical bearing (Rated for 20,000lbf Dynamic, 90,000lbf Static). 

Housing

• 6061-T6, anodized housing with needle grease zerk for easy maintenance. 
• In house designed knurled OD to provide the perfect fit for the wide range of housing diameters among brands. 

Bearing Insert Arm adapter

• Precision CNC machined Delrin, providing a tight fit between the bearing and the control arm. 

Performance

• Instant, crisp steering and braking response.
• Easy to maintain, long lasting performance. 
• Improved road feel without undesirable NVH.

Grease before installation and with each oil service with high quality Moly grease for maximum service life.  Need a Grease tool?

BMW’s are known to have failure prone front thrust arm bushings.  The flexible rubber bushings, even those found in M performance models, allow significant movement of the front wheels to maximize daily driving comfort, but also allow considerable alignment change.  This results in a disconnected and numb road feel, standing between you and a confidence inspiring driving experience.  Eventually the fluid filled rubber bushings fatigue and crack due to continual deflection and ozone degradation, and eventually the damping fluid leaks out resulting in complete failure. 

For the enthusiast looking for superior performance and longevity with a crisp, confidence-inspiring driving experience, our sealed ball joint monoballs are the best solution available!  Our experience with spherical front control arm ball joints go back to those we designed and used in our IMSA E90 328i and E92 M3 racecars (GS class Champions in 2011).  We wanted to offer E31, E32, E34, E38, E39, E53, E60, E63, E64, and E83 owners similar levels of handling precision and control for the track and street. 

The bearing housing is precision CNC machined from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum and features a knurled OD to ensure a perfect press fit, and utilize a sealed OEM BMW ball joint for exceptional quality and durability, making them completely at home on both the street and track with no compromise.  We have done extensive street, autocross, and track testing to ensure the ball joint used in this bushing design excels in each setting.  The advantage of a sealed ball joint is that it eliminates all unwanted deflection while still allowing complete bind-free movement throughout suspension travel, resulting in exceptional control of wheel alignment.  What you get is superior steering precision, turn-in response, direct braking feedback, and better handling.

In short, if you're seeking the ultimate in precise, predictable handling and control, with crisp braking response and a long service life that’s equally at home on the street or track - look no further. We have you covered.

Features:

Bearing housing

• Precision CNC machined from 6061-T6 blue anodized aluminum
• Knurled OD to provide the perfect fit for the wide range of thrust arm bore diameters among brands.
• CNC machined 304ss ball joint sleeve inserts, providing a precision fit between the ball joint and the subframe. 

Bearing

• OEM BMW sealed and greased ball joint for exceptional durability and service life.

Performance

• Nearly instantaneous, crisp steering and braking response.
• Maintenance free, long lasting performance. 
• Improved road feel without undesirable NVH.

Since BMW recommends the control arms be replaced for every other bushing change, we prefer to sell these as a pre-assembled set, and are available separately here if you would prefer that option.

This item is an upgrade to the following rear wheel drive BMWs: 
2014+ F22 BMW 228i 230i M235i M240i - Coupe
2014+ F23 BMW 228i 230i M235i M240i - Convertible
2012+ F30 BMW 320i 328i 328d 335i 340i - Sedan 
2014+ F32 BMW 428i 435i 440i - Coupe 
2014+ F33 BMW 428i 435i 440i - Convertible 
2014+ F36 BMW 428i 435i 440i - Gran Coupe

The front control arm bushings are a key piece of the suspension. They are constantly in motion and take abuse from impacts, potholes, rough roads, and general cornering/wheel motions. To give a quiet and smooth ride, the bushings are made of rubber with a metal sleeve insert. But the rubber can only withstand so much abuse before they become loose and spongy. This results in vibrations and possibly a shimmy when driving. A visual inspection will usually confirm that there is too much flex in the rubber or the rubber has cracked and torn. And if you're installing new control arms, always install new bushings to avoid duplicating labor costs.

This is a replacement stock LEFT FRONT (Driver's side) control arm bushing with the mounting bracket.

OEM Lemförder is an engineering company that focuses on high-quality, precision manufacturing of critical suspension and steering components. Providing exceptionally high quality parts directly to BMW, as well as 50+ other big name automotive companies, such as Mercedes and Audi, their history of reliability and variety of offered parts makes them one of the biggest names for a go-to OEM parts provider. Lemförder parts place an important emphasis on design, production, and assembly, ensuring maximum reliability. They even coat all parts possible with corrosion protection for extended longevity.

As a leading source of high performance BMW parts and accessories since 1993, we at Turner Motorsport are honored to be the go-to supplier for tens of thousands of enthusiasts the world over. With over two decades of parts, service, and racing experience under our belt, we provide only quality performance and replacement parts.  All of our performance parts are those we would (and do!) install and run on our own cars, as well as replacement parts that are Genuine BMW or from OEM manufacturers. We only offer parts we know you can trust to perform!

This item fits the following BMWs:
2001-2006 E46 BMW M3