Which monoball RTAB to go with?

[ethan]

ethan They have switched - I confirmed with John and then I put the BW's in over the winter and have driven ~1,000 miles with them. No clunking. Press-fit of the aluminum carriers is tight! I need something substantial to press them into the trailing arm. I haven't even thought about them since installing, which is a good thing.

👍 Good news.

[Bimmer777]

Just got SDWs on Obioban's recommendation. Hooping to install and align car next week.

[Grke46m3]

I went with turners because they where on sale. They use a oem lemforder Benz ball joint. Went in nice as easy and you can tell it’s snug. But you can’t go wrong with any of the companies that use a oem balljoint.

[ethan]

In a similar discussion on m3f, someone had linked to the MOOG sealed RTAB mod over at e46fanatics:

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1227852

Figured I'd make mention of it for posterity's sake, though it's probably not the right path for most M3 owners. I do use MOOGs on my 330xi though.

[duracellttu]

Syncro Design Works on my car. I did not notice any increased NVH but I did notice the huge improvement in how planted the rear end feels. Great customer service too.

https://syncrodesignworks.com/products/rtabs

MJ

+1 for SDW. I have their monoballs on the thrust arms in my e39 M5 and they have been great. Solid product!

[Lip]

• Turner
• SDW
• CMP
• DINAN

All seem similar

You can't go wrong with any of these. Someone also mentioned Fall Line which may be a good option.

Most people will no NVH increase, but I drive on shit roads in LA and there is some NVH (very little) when I switched from 60k mile OEM RTABS to my SDW. I would still recommend it but not to anyone looking to keep stock ride quality.

[cdnabroad]

I had DINANs in when replacing the RTABs. Now they are not cheap but the handling and feel of the rear end is just night and day.

[STAATS]

+1 for SDW. But they should all be about the same providing they use an OEM ball. Not sure which I prefer for replacing the ball in the long run... I like the cut outs for a pulling tool on the CMP that the SDWs don't have.

[oceansize]

I just ordered the CMP RTABs and subframe bushings. Total including shipping was $500 US dollars which I think is a good deal. The RTABs by themselves with shipping to TN are only $257 US dollars.

[911Fiddler]

In a similar discussion on m3f, someone had linked to the MOOG sealed RTAB mod over at e46fanatics:

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1227852

Figured I'd make mention of it for posterity's sake, though it's probably not the right path for most M3 owners. I do use MOOGs on my 330xi though.

Hi, any further info on the MOOGs? Am particularly interested in whether you had to modify the OD of the MOOGs in order to get a snug fit...(you may want to answer in the new post Ive just created, @May 13th 2020)

[ClevoCapri]

Ive been running CMP monoballs for over 12 months of daily driving and track work. Easy to install and do what a monoball should do!

[malacai17]

Fall Line Monoball RTABs on mine. 2 years, some DD, and ~1,500 track miles later: zero issues.

[Johnvu]

+1 for SDW too. They made the rear end feel planted and nice. I asked the company about rebuildability and they can provide the joints but likely won't be needed for a long time. Their test car had around 40k miles with track time and were still solid, so that was some good news!

[ZHPizza]

ethan They have switched - I confirmed with John and then I put the BW's in over the winter and have driven ~1,000 miles with them. No clunking. Press-fit of the aluminum carriers is tight! I needed something substantial to press them into the trailing arm. I haven't even thought about them since installing, which is a good thing.

Thanks for this. I bought a set from Bimmerworld in May and the bearings look...weird. Do you know if yours had a clear grease boot like this?

Hi, any further info on the MOOGs? Am particularly interested in whether you had to modify the OD of the MOOGs in order to get a snug fit...(you may want to answer in the new post Ive just created, @May 13th 2020)

Yes, I was the one responding in that e46f thread about shaving the diameter/leading edge down and stretching the brackets a bit. I'm planning to help a friend install another set soon so I'll have a better idea of what's truly necessary to make them fit.

[ethan]

Thanks for this. I bought a set from Bimmerworld in May and the bearings look...weird. Do you know if yours had a clear grease boot like this?

Yes, I was the one responding in that e46f thread about shaving the diameter/leading edge down and stretching the brackets a bit. I'm planning to help a friend install another set soon so I'll have a better idea of what's truly necessary to make them fit.

Those look like the Indian joints that came prefozen in my BW set, so proceed with caution. I found some Lemforders new-old-stock on eBay which have black boots and look a lot like the other 2 trailing arm BJs. Obioban published the part #s for the real deal a while back. Can probably dig it up if you don't have it.

Re: MOOGs, I recently installed a set in my DD M3 using some custom made M14->M12 adapter sleeves. Also turned the outside of the MOOG down to get a proper interference fit with the arm and shaved 0.5mm off of each side of the inner race so it would fit the stock bracket correctly. Will report back after some miles.