I didn't weigh them, but if there is it is negligible. The stock control arms really don't weigh that much. I am guessing some people are confusing the control arms with the rear trailing arms.

The pillow ***** on the Megans create a very solid feel versus the rubber bushing in the OEM while not producing the chatter of the hemi joint arms like Alta uses.

 

excellent, im looking for some megans here on NAM

 

I have the Alta arms and they are noisy. I called Alta and they are sending out new style heim joints that now use teflon instead of nylon inserts. I hope it works .

 

Do some more reading on the subject, too. There's a funny picture somewhere of what a car looks like with a failed rear control arm. Also, of the failures that I've seen documented, the bend has always come in the middle, which causes some to question the design of arms with the adjustability there instead of at the ends.

For me, I had the h-sports, and they kept coming loose on me at the track. I'm sure they'd be up for street work, and I'm also sure they're up for other people's track work, too - for whatever reason, they didn't like my car. Now I have the altas. No complaints. Yet. Maybe.

mb

 

i've got the IE's with heim joints... they are gawd aweful loud. I had to grease them every 2 months for a while just to keep myself from going mad. On a buddy's recommendation i'm going to give the SPC's a shot. HE's been running his 2 years with tons of AutoX work and no maintenance.

 

I've had the Hotchkis Mini Cooper Sport Rear Camber Links on the car since September. Needed them to adjust the rear camber after installing the coil-overs. Been through 6 DE weekends with no issues.

http://www.hotchkis.net/p-727-mini-c...mber-link.aspx

Alan

 

How much do they want for those? If my Altas don't get any better those are what I was thinking of going to.

 

they are a touch expensive... but i seem to remember seeing a thread on here that had alink to a place with a great price... hmmm gotta find it.

 

detroit tuned carries them. if you infact swap your alta's i will buy them noise is not an issue.

 

It's a funny pic, but the pic is of a failed OEM control arm. The OEM control arms are a sad statement about saving pennies and wasting dollars by our friends at BMW.

I'm not aware of any Megan arms failing. I know there was a thread that debated the issue of where arms are stressed and like many things on NAM there was more then one thought about that issue.

Megan stands behind their product and so do I. FYI Cooper's built, not model year, before 05 may need after market adjustable rear arms in order to get a 4 wheel alignment.

 

I have heard the same argument against control arms that are built from the middle such as the Megans are, but I have never heard or seen any proof of their weakness either. On the other hand I have seen more than one set of pictures of the OEM arms failing.

 

Yea, I should have stated that the arms were OEM. That doesn't negate the argument against the design, however. That argument is for people who are smarter than I am.

mb

 

noise really isnt a concern so i think i would be satisfied by anything not stock

 

I went with the Ultrik arms....

 

Are you going to be autocrossing the car? Depending on the class you compete in, the heim-jointed control arms might not be legal.

 

Yes, I am merely stirring the pot...

freeskier, do you need the adjustment of aftermarket rear control arms to get your alignment where you want it - or - do you want aftermarket rear control arms just so you can add another item to your mod list?

You seemed to be on the right path by starting the thread asking if there was any benefit from adjustable control arms.

Things got confusing when people confused rear control arms and the rear trailing arm when talking about weight savings.

If you don't need to adjust your alignment, spend your money on something else.

 

i do not even post a mod list, adj rear control arms are for function only as i drive the car very hard on a daily basis and intend to autocross and track the car all summer. because my mini is lowered, the camber is off and i would also like to adjust the rear alignment. what i have gotten from this thred is that adjustable rear arms help alignment and camber and give you morew opotions. a little noise is no big deal so brand does not bother me.

 

Cool.

 

any benefit to running 4 new arms, upper and lower, as opposed to 2, just the lower?

 

What class do you plan to be in for autocrossing, and are you planning on replacing upper and lower control arms or just lower? There are different rules depending on your class about what type of arms you can use and how many of the factory arms you can replace.

 

yep

no arms - Stock
1 arm - ST*
2 arms - SM

so that 2nd arm puts you up with the lions and tigers and bears as far as i know...

 

rear AL trailing arms save about 6 lbs a side. But most of that is at the unsprung end. You do get the benefit of the lower control arm eccentric mount, for those of us with early build cars.

Didn't most of the stock control arms break where there were holes in them?

Matt

 

Yes, I have seen them just bend also.

 

when you say one are you mean one set of arms correct?

 

Yes, he means one or two *sets*. For STX, you can replace one set (either upper or lower), and I believe in SM you can replace them both. Did you ever get your pulley installed? If so, that throws you into SM anyway, so I think you can replace both sets with heim-jointed arms if you want.