Does the Meyle HD control arm fit the 330i ZHP?
 

After researching, I am still confused. I have a 2003 330i ZHP and the control arms need to be replaced.

Would the Meyle HD control arm fit?

Should I just order the OEM ZHP control arms instead?


Thank you in advance! :thanks:

Ive got Meyle, next time i will get OEM ZHP arms myself, Its up to you. OEM FTW period.

How many miles did you get out of the ZHP control arms? They should last a pretty long time.

I'd probably go with Meyle HD control arms over ZHP arms if you managed to actually wear out the ZHP ball joint.

Stick to ZHP, Wish i had gotten OEM ZHP

Care to elaborate on what you don't like about Meyle HD?

Almost every BMW mechanic i talk to says to get OEM/Lemforder. I had my car at a shop for a front end inspection due to a annoying vibration at 65+, He says the Meyle bushings are too stiff, he stuck a crow bar in there and these was very little movement, he said " ive never seen bushings this stiff", then i brought up Poly bushings, he said those are rubbish and break after some abuse. Who knows, Im going to replace the Meyle's with Lemforder's next week, Two days after i put on the Meyle's i had a vibration, Never thought it would be a brand new part. Ill let you all know.

Yeah, I'm curious to hear about the Meyle too. EDIT: just caught n2bimmer's last post.

I've got 90k miles on my stock ZHP control arms with no signs of wear yet. Whenever it comes time to replace them, I will certainly go with the stock arms again.

I've been running the Meyle HD control arms bushings for just over 50k miles with no problems (almost 15k more than the original stock) but I think they're due to be replaced again. Will be doing this once the weather cools a bit and my garage drops below 100 degrees. Ashley keeps mentioning e36 M3 CABs so I may look into going this route.

Selling brand new ZHP control arms
 

I'm selling a brand new set of ZHP control arms.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...%3AMESELX%3AIT

That's the first complaint I've heard about the Meyle. I've had them on my car for about 30k. Smooth sailing.

If it aint broke dont fix it, Stick with what you have success with i guess.

Ya along with alot of other people. Lemforder is sooooooooooooo much better than Meyle in EVERY catagory. Id love to see how long Meyle will last, also i dont think BMW uses any Meyle parts that come out new. I guess im the lucky guy having issues with them. This vibration is pissing me off, wish it is the bushing. Actually i have no issues with the Meyle arms, just the bushings.

My car was vibration free with the oem arms and bushings.Eventhough they were worn my car used to handle better but with the Meyle stuff my car feels unstable at any speed above 60 mph.My whole front end is new,the only thing that i just ordered to eplace is the steering coupling if that doesn't fix my vibration i'll get rid of the Meyle stuffs and go back to OEM.
Oem components are better than any aftermarket crap.

Some things are better kept OEM!

I had Meyle HD arms on my 328i for about 25k miles and never had a problem with them up to the day I sold my car. I think that you probably have some other problem that is causing your vibrations.

Your mechanic also sounds like an idiot for calling the PU bushings rubbish. I can destroy a set of OEM FCABs in 5-10k miles but PowerFlex bushings will last me mucccchhhhhhh longer. I've never had a set for more than 30k miles though. Most of this stuff is all about getting the install exactly right.

My PowerFlex Bushing is Still Tight....and no squeaks...:D

Really?, well atleast im not the only one.

+1 for the OEM ZHP FCA's. 140 k miles on OEM ZHP's and i drive on some real rough roads on a daily basis. Last I did suspension overhaul, control arms were something that were rock solid :)

Thank you guys for posting. The reason why I was asking is because my factory ZHP control arms failed with under 20k miles on the car...
I decided to just drop it off at the stealer and have them deal with it... BTW I'm going with the factory ZHP control arms

How'd you manage that? Presumably the problem is with a ball joint(s). Have you confirmed the failure yourself or is this what the dealer is telling you? I would readily believe the bushings failed within 20k but, unless there was some major suspension abuse, that seems really early for problems with the control arms.

+1,

I think the dealer is just BS'ing with you. You probably got a tech to look at the car who was used to seeing them fail on normal 325s/330s and doesn't realize that the ZHP has a HD part.

It's much more likely that your FCAB is shot.