endless_corners

I am getting ready to do lower control arms, sway end links, sway bushings and get an alignment. Will the turbo S control arms feel that different? Are they really *that* much more durable? ECS has them for a good price but going with meyle arms will save a few hundred bucks. I have a CS and I don't mind paying extra for a worthwhile upgrade. The only thing I have to go on is the marketing copy on the ecstuning page that says they are better. Thoughts?

hahnmgh63

They are more durable and slightly stiffer, but it is only one of the two bushings we are talking about so you won't notice the stiffness. More reliable is nice. From the dealer, the Turbo S arms now cost less than the standard arms so most automatically swap to the Turbo S arms based on that price. Careful of Meyle, I gave up on many of their products a while ago as they do produce a lot of their stuff in China, although the Meyle HD suspension products used to be pretty good.

wrinkledpants

Agreed. Did not notice a difference with the Turbo S arms, but the bushings are beefier looking. They're made by TRW. So, if you want to save a few bucks, find the TRW arms. IMO - the TRW units seem to last a fairly predictable 100K miles, where the meyle arms are largely unproven on the 955 chassis. I see little benefit in saving a few hundred on unproven arms.

endless_corners

Thanks guys. This is the kind of talk I wanted to hear. Hard to make a decision in a vacuum sometimes. There are times to save money and times when you really regret saving that money (like me with brake pads).

hahnmgh63

Agree with Wrinkled on the TRW or Lemforder. My stock arms on my '06 CTTS were Lemforder but the replacement arms (from the dealer where I have a commercial account so good discount) were now TRW. The TRW are quality arms but be careful as there are Chinese knockoffs out there that come in a TRW looking packaging.

GrandeOak

I am getting ready to do a front-end refresh but also doing upper control arms and tie-rods. 2005 CTT with 116K. LCA done at 85K but PPI indicated a loose ball joint.

I was thinking of doing just the tie-rod ends - figuring the ball joint is the primary wear item of the tie-rod. No obvious sign of tie-rod wear but figure might as well do it while am at it. Then everything will be tight and one worn item won't cause extra wear on the new parts.

Any thoughts on doing the entire tie-rod vs. just the ends?

Thanks for the heads up on the TRW Turbo S LCA at ECS. $202 vs. $248 at Sonnen saves me $90.

I assume TRW or Lemforder are fine for all the front-end goodies?

Saaboteur

I too second/third the comment about dissatisfaction with Meyle parts.

Re: tie rod ends vs, complete tie rod, FWIW, I was not able to budge the tie rod end only with my wide assortment of hand tools, with the cat up on stands. I also do not have an oxy torch with which to apply a massive amount of heat. I ended up just letting the Indy shop who did the alignment also do the tie rod ends. It may have been an easier DIY job just doing the whole tie rod, but then messier too. Perhaps with the car up on a hoist, higher in the air, it would have been possible for me to break the tie rod end loose with just hand tools. But then also my car was winter driven in the last, maybe if you live in a very dry climate the tie rod end would come apart very easily.

John Veninger

I struggled with which arms to buy. Finally ordered the TurboS arms from ECS. They should ship on Thursday.
I had a bushing squeak on the passenger side. Time to change both, get an alignment and put on winter tires before the snow starts to fly.

Brit6

I changed from the regular arms to the Turbo S lower control arms and also did the Turbo S tie rod ends which are beefier than the regular ones, this is good if you are running bigger wheels as big wheels are rough on tie rod ends.

Would never go back to the regular ones, I like the improved stiffness and reliability.

GrandeOak

I didn't know there are Turbo S version of tie rods. Thanks for the heads up - gonna look into that.

Did you replace just the ends or the entire tie rod? Curious if Turbo S tie rod ends will work with Turbo tie rods.

wrinkledpants

Do the sway bar bushings while you're in there. It's usually these that are making the creaking noises. They're like 40 bucks for a set. If you're flush enough, do the links as well.

John Veninger

Thanks, but do they go bad when you have PDCC?

wrinkledpants

That I don't know. You'd have to check.

endless_corners

I was just going to do lower control arms, sway end links and sway bushings. Dont really have the budget to also do upper control arms or tie rod links. I'm at 130k but I also have to do transmission, transfer case and differential service... So it's all adding up. I don't have a garage and so I'm eating labor at an Indy for all this stuff. Do you think it's half assed to skip the uppers and tie rod hardware?

hahnmgh63

Turbo S Tie rods are pricey Left: 95534703150 Right: 95534703250 about $195ea from Sonnen, $207 from ECS. That is for the complete side, both inner & outer.