J'sWorld

If you get on their list they will send notifications on closeouts and sometimes the deals are just stupid! Last time for me it was wiper arms. Said unbranded but they were ultra premium @ like 1.50 ea so I bought wipers for life lol.

Someone be sure to report back on the quality of that $17 API lower arm.

Dilberto

Stock TRW LCA on 955/957 is actually..... cast iron.

J'sWorld

You may want to read the thread!

deilenberger

TomF

Just received my closeout arm from Rockauto. It looks to be of decent quality although there are no markings other than a stylized "R" on the unit.I think it's is the same unit as the Centric. I'll post pictures when I can. Man, that arm is seriously light compared to the steel one. Less unsprung weight, here I come!

Cheers,
Tom

J'sWorld

Yes sir! The rear bushing is quite a bit larger, solid, and non fluid filled. In stock form it seems to be a great upgrade Add the poly bushings and..... I just got my full suite of Powerflex Poly bushings. I'm pretty pumped to drive the difference. I think its going to be pretty serious overall. After looking at the UPPER arm bushings again it is painfully obvious they are wayy under-engineered for the application. I'm so sick of the uneven tire wear. Overall it should make a big difference in cornering and braking.

TomF

I will probably install the Powerflex bushings when I change out the control arms. Interesting to note that Powerflex also has a replacement bushing for the torque arm. At $47, it is a no brainer compared to replacing the whole arm- increased stiffness and longevity.

Best,
Tom

MarkGolf

Not to divert the topic here but I recently fitted a powerflex bushing to my torque arm. It made a night and day difference, it feels like sport mode is engage when initially accelerating. I used to think the lag was just how the car was, now it just pulls away. Best thing I've done yet.

I have a thread on a UK forum where you can see my thoughts and pics of fitting.

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=133062&start=0

J'sWorld

At minimum I think the alum arms and poly upper arm bushings will make a very noticeable difference and probably last well over 100k miles. The larger solid rear bushing in the alum arms is substancial on its own. The upper arm bushing are just a complete joke from the factory. They are really only half the size of what your eye is telling you. If you run 21's or 22's I think the upper arm bushings in poly will make a huge difference in tire wear.

You aren't crazy! I said it somewhere else here, the transmission shifts are faster with a solid bush in the torque big end! I'm all about saving a buck too so I will say I think you could achieve the same result by using 3m window weld on the big end. I am using shore 80 liquid poly that I poured in but the 3m is really good too and it sticks like crazy. Be prepared for a mess and DO NOT itch your face! The Powerflex stuff isn't cheap but its superb quality. Time will tell.

Brainz

I window welded my old, sheared engine strut bushing a few months back as a test. It has seemed to make shifts a bit snappier, without any extra NVH. Considering what they charge for that thing, you can't go wrong filling the bushing with a $20 tube of WW and letting it cure for several days. So far, I'm only getting about 25k miles of driving out of the stock, unmodified ones which seems ridiculous.

Brainz

BTW, when I redid my front suspension earlier this year, my original plan was that I was going to save a buck and press factory CTTS bushings into a quality aftermarket LCA. Ultimately, however, I got tired and didn't want the extra side project of installing the bushings - - I just wanted to be done. Knowing what we know now, I should have bought the aluminum LCAs... Oh well.

Anyway, here's some pictures comparing the "normal" versus CTTS bushings. What surprised me was that the normal bushings appear more substantial at first glance - - there appears to be more rubber than the "solid" CTTS bushings. But what you can't see until you look at the old bushings is that the normal ones are hollow inside (and may have been liquid filled). But those hollow cavities create a weak point.

Same goes for the upper control arm bushings. They look solid when new, but they are not. They just have a big rubber ring on both ends that hides a big gap in the bushing. I agree that they're pretty weak when you examine one that's failed. J warned me of this. I should have listened.

J'sWorld

Nice pics B! I went down the same road also so don't feel bad. Rock has 2 of hose 17$ arms left and Partsgeek has the other for 85? So, it's still a great deal between the two. Porsche really didn't want to hear it from the soccer moms on the Cayenne did they! Whats worse is if the installer doesn't put the vehicle at ride height before tightening all the bolts. You can be sure the bushings are really gonna fail quick. With as much travel as the air suspension cayenne has it doesn't take long to separate the inner metal piece from the rubber on a perfect install. I'm not as critical as some guys on ride quality. I planned on giving you a call when I come to Houston to dyno. You can take the Cayenne for a spin. It will be good to have a subjective opinion on how much all the work I have done has transformed the drive and how much Porsche was really holding back.

Brainz

Yes please! I'll bring the 997TT for you to drive and a change of underwear.

MarkGolf

Ahh man!! I'm in the UK, ordered from a seller showing the Ally arms, £120 for the pair, I did think it was strange as the next cheapest were £200 or something..

Package arrived today, the UPS guy was struggling, ut ohhhh, opened the box and fears confirmed, the original HEAVY arms!

I need to fit new arms this weekend as I'm going on a roadtrip next week so I am going to have to fit these!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH They're so DAMN heavy!!! My GTS which is my wifes daily, is no race car but still, to know I've saved some weight, it would have been nice and I'm sure it will have made some difference, even if it is only driven around London! Doh

Shneegle

On the rockauto link you posted they have the 17$ (2 left) arms and they have the other side for 72$ a little further down the list by the same company. Both sides in aluminum for under 100$ shipped. I ordered a set of them as my GTS will need it soon. Still trying to decide if I wanna do the poly bushings from powerflex.