front lower control arms

[alien_brain]

ok so i know there are poly bushings for control arms but is the ball joint serviceable? why arent people changing that out as well as bushings?

[MacFady]

I would just buy this kit, end thread. At that price, why service the ball joints.

[alien_brain]

well, arent OEM CAs preferable to aftermarket? also, i want poly bushings. why would these be superior?

[carmudgeon]

I personally would recommend the density line kits from 034Motorsport. Stiffer rubber without the NVH you'll get from poly bushings.

[glennda5id]

The OE style balljoints are not serviceable but should last a very long time if the boot is not torn. I suspect the companies that make the poly bushings do not sell the complete arms so you end up swapping bushings on regular style arms.

[Mad Cow]

Personally I think poly bushings on anything but a track car are a terrible idea, it's just not worth the hassle with the squeaks, creaks, constant need for greasing and short lifespan. The stock bushings are also designed to deflect in basically every direction due to how the 4 link suspension is set up, which is no bueno for stiff poly bushings. You'll end up limiting suspension travel and steering angle with poly bushings. That's one of the reasons you see all the serious adjustable control arms with heim joints instead.

[estomax]

i wasn't impressed with the FCP kit when i installed it 3 yrs ago because it seemed like good bang for the buck. the rubber seemed super soft. i had to replace my bottom arms right away because the rubber just looked like it was going to fail from the get go where the shock attaches. maybe it has improved now.

[alien_brain]

there doesnt seem to be the density line bushings available to push into the lower CAs on 034 website. are they only available preinstalled in the upper CAs?

[Mad Cow]

i wasn't impressed with the FCP kit when i installed it 3 yrs ago because it seemed like good bang for the buck. the rubber seemed super soft. i had to replace my bottom arms right away because the rubber just looked like it was going to fail from the get go where the shock attaches. maybe it has improved now.

The FCP kit is well-known to be crap, it's fine if you need to sell the car soon but they don't last. It's marginally better than the no-Name stuff you find on eBay but that's not saying much. You get what you pay for with control arms, there's no free lunch here.

[alien_brain]

found the a6 density line and ordered the lowers for my allroad with steel upright

[Hobartian]

This thread is disturbing reading for me as I replaced my lower control arms just eleven months ago with parts I bought on Ebay USA. I paid only $180 for two arms and that included shipping to Australia!

I just had another look on Ebay and saw arms which are supposed to be O.E.M. for $255 each and that does not include shipping.

I hope it is not like the front Arnott shock absorbers that failed after seven thousand miles and which I replaced with genuine OEM Audi parts which were expensive.

I suppose I have the option of replacing the rubber bushes which are apparently available as OEM parts but then they may not fit the Chinese made arms.

[Mad Cow]

The bushings aren't the issue with cheap arms, it's the ball joints and their rubber boots that fail. They also tend to be made of mystery pot metal rather than a controlled aluminum alloy, which is a bit concerning.

[MacFady]

The FCP kit is well-known to be crap, it's fine if you need to sell the car soon but they don't last. It's marginally better than the no-Name stuff you find on eBay but that's not saying much. You get what you pay for with control arms, there's no free lunch here.

They are very popular on the B6. I've had mine installed for 80K and haven't had an issue. I would say it is well-known that how they are installed has a big impact on how long they last, but I wouldn't say it is common opinion they are crap.

[NuGGet_PuFFer]

The problem with the FCP kits is that they're hit or miss, you might get Meyle arms that were made in Turkey(good) and you might get arms that were made in Taiwan/China(bad), depends on what batch they pull from when u order. So you might get lucky like this b6 guy ^ or you might get shit like me and be replacing an arm on your back in the winter in your driveway like me. Oh yeah and lifetime warranties are great and all, but they don't cover labor or alignments, so factor that in, every time one fails, gotta either do the work yourself or have it done, then get an alignment.

I will always go with OE Audi arms in the future, and I am NOT rich, in fact quite the opposite by most standards.

[das_boosthead]

I had success finding TRW's at a reasonable price since they're normally carried by big companies like Jeg's and chains like Advance where you can use a 30% off coupon.

[PaperToast]

ill say it again http://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/4...G80-V1399.aspx
RMeuropean they sell genuine TRW c-arms.
still riding on the ones i got 5-6 years ago, and prolly 75k miles

[das_boosthead]

Dont know if this is different than the TRW arms that RM sells (I like RM as well!)

But they are a bit cheaper at $103 shipped. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/trw-jtc1297

[Audibot]

The FCP kit is well-known to be crap, it's fine if you need to sell the car soon but they don't last. It's marginally better than the no-Name stuff you find on eBay but that's not saying much. You get what you pay for with control arms, there's no free lunch here.

Disagree. Like MacFady, I have them on my car (B7 -- same suspension-wise as B6). I replaced the entire set of mine with the FCP kit, and they're doing quite fine 20k later. They may have had a quality issue at one time, but I could not ascertain a difference when I installed them last year.

[alien_brain]

I personally would recommend the density line kits from 034Motorsport. Stiffer rubber without the NVH you'll get from poly bushings.

those density line for the a6 dont seem to fit the allroad even though they say they will, and are giving me a massive wheel movement when the stresses shift from rearward to forward. unless im missing something.

so looks like its buy oem allroad CAs and push in density bushings. if thats even possible

[arjun90]

But I just got my FCP Lower Control Arms :(

I keep having that feeling that PROPER installation counts

[alien_brain]

ok yeah so that was right. proper installation indeed. we didnt torque down hard enough.

also we made adjustment to the ride height the wrong way and ended up getting rid of the spring pre-tension. so ride height...check. clunks...gone. excessive movement of front wheel on braking...gone.

its embarassing to admit this but hey there is a first time for everything. its riding great now. only need to finish up the back.

this has been the funnest car to drive i gotta say.

[In4cus]

What is anyone's opinion on the Febi lower control arms?

[AllroadMass]

What is anyone's opinion on the Febi lower control arms?

Have them on my Passat and allroad and they have been great so far.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[In4cus]

How long have you been running on them? I'm on a TIGHT budget, so the Febi's are what I can afford now.

[AllroadMass]

How long have you been running on them? I'm on a TIGHT budget, so the Febi's are what I can afford now.

I lied, I'm only running them on my Passat (driving school car) and it's working great. I'm at 200k on her so we've had them on for a little over 10k miles. I ran Meyle HD and wasn't anything special and went through a few of those. Then again I am using it as a student driver's car, 1000 miles a week, we've hit so many pot holes and curbs so I'm not going to fault the product. The salt that they use to help melt the snow up here in the northeast probably doesn't help with the longevity either. I have found that no matter what brand you go with, installation is so much more crucial if you want things to last.

My wife's allroad is running Lemforder from FCP Euro which offers lifetime warranty so their price is a few dollars higher than other retailers. 9k miles so far and no creaks/clunks of any kind.

Which lower control arm are you buying and from where? Forward or rear?

[In4cus]

I am looking at the Febi's for the front. Pelican Parts has them for 78 each.

[AllroadMass]

Why are you replacing it? vibration? Clicking sounds? What I'm trying to get to is if it's not a safety thing, save up for lemforder or something from fcp so you can get lifetime warranty. Just a thought

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Audizine mobile app

[In4cus]

Why are you replacing it? vibration? Clicking sounds? What I'm trying to get to is if it's not a safety thing, save up for lemforder or something from fcp so you can get lifetime warranty. Just a thought

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Audizine mobile app

They are worn. The front is sloppy. I have to replace the upper arms too.

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