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955, 957, 958 Front lower control arms all the same?
Just like the title says I am wondering if there is anybody with both a 955/957 AND a 958 or who has owned both and has the experience on this part.
Specifically I am interested in using the 958 or Q7 front lowers on my 955. Reason for this is that the 958/Q7 control arms are made of aluminum and are much much lighter. The only difference I can see is that the aluminum version uses a larger diameter rear bushing than the steel counterpart.
Even subframe part #'s are the same between 955,957, and 958 which would indicate to me that the mounting boss on the earlier subframes is large enough to clear the larger rear bushing of the later control arms.
J, I seem to recall that there's an aluminum control arm for the Q7s that cross references with the steel ones that fit the Touaregs and 955s. Might be worth a look.
Safety note: I have no idea if there's an engineering difference as to why aluminum would be OK for the Q7 but not the Cayenne. I'd guess they are of similar vehicle weight, but that may not true. I elected to buy the steel ones just in case.
They look pretty similar but it seems like the aluminum part is a little beefier in some areas to compensate. Of course the specific alloys will probably matter more than the look of the part in determining whether it's suitable for the task at hand.
My question would be: Why? How big of a weight reduction are we talking about? Is saving a couple pounds going to make a difference on a 5000lbs+ SUV?
They look pretty similar but it seems like the aluminum part is a little beefier in some areas to compensate. Of course the specific alloys will probably matter more than the look of the part in determining whether it's suitable for the task at hand.
My question would be: Why? How big of a weight reduction are we talking about? Is saving a couple pounds going to make a difference on a 5000lbs+ SUV?
Also - the steel part looks better.
If you save 10lbs on unsprung weight, it's like saving 30lbs of sprung weight.
The car will feel more nimble and more precise, the suspension will work better.
From what I can tell the change to aluminum happened in 2010 with all three Q7, Cayenne, and Touareg. Agreed with Lupo that there looks to be some compensation in material thickness. The steel versions are REALLY heavy and steel is 2.5x more dense than aluminum. For what I am doing the aluminum would be more than adequate and preferable. It's not like any of the three platforms are saving much weight over each other from the first generations to the last so I don't see an issue there. I don't have any specifics but we could be talking a weight savings of 10-15 lbs per side based on some quick reference to listed shipping weights. That's pretty serious. It's almost a free mod. Personally I don't care about the looks there because they both look the same covered with road grime. Overall, due to all my mods, my Cayenne is a bit lighter than stock. I saved quite a bit on my turbo manifolds/turbochargers. My manifolds are about 5 lbs lighter ea. than stock and turbos about 20lbs ea. lighter than stock. There are a few other things I save weight on such as all the exhaust. For me the control arms aren't as much about overall weight savings so much as sprung weight savings. Saving here will help to balance out a big brake kit with 405mm rotors.
Why tho? It's not like these are ever going to be lightweight enough for it to make a significant enough difference. Sure, it all 'adds up' but what's the goal?
For me, the reduction in unsprung weight is the attraction in going with the aluminum arms. Just try out moving from a heavy set of wheels to a good set of forged alloys and you will get my point. The larger diameters bushing at the rear of the aluminum arms certainly are intriguing as well.
Why tho? It's not like these are ever going to be lightweight enough for it to make a significant enough difference. Sure, it all 'adds up' but what's the goal? Because, I can't read the above to know the answer that's already been given and I still like to troll even tho I'm on your ignore list.
For me, the reduction in unsprung weight is the attraction in going with the aluminum arms. Just try out moving from a heavy set of wheels to a good set of forged alloys and you will get my point. The larger diameters bushing at the rear of the aluminum arms certainly are intriguing as well.
2 more reasons that I didn't list. Thank you. I'm also going to be doing the full suite of Powerflex poly bushings and I am excited about the sway bar end link bushes being poly as that should make a significant difference.
Is there a significant cost difference between the two?
*Edited because reading not my forte' this morning.
LOL you don't owe anybody an edit reason! Just edit and put NUNYA in the box!
There is not a significant cost difference in non-Porsche branded parts. I have not been able to find more than a couple of used listings on Ebay across the three platforms years 2010-2017. Maybe they aren't going bad as quickly due to the enhanced rear bushing? That bushing is usually what waste the whole control arm. I looked into a replacement ball joint but due to the design a universal/bolt-in really wont work like with most cars.
04-30-2019, 10:22 PM
955, 957, 958 Front lower control arms all the same?
I'd be very interested in knowing as well.
