Powerflex offset control arm bushings

[bullmand]

I just ordered a set of these and I was wondering if anybody has any pictures of them installed. They're a very odd design (two pieces of different colors) and I'm just curious how they look on the car.

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by bullmand

I just ordered a set of these and I was wondering if anybody has any pictures of them installed. They're a very odd design (two pieces of different colors) and I'm just curious how they look on the car.

Do you have a link?

[mohaughn]

www.bimmerworld.com has them. But they show that is is a solid purple color, and it looks like a normal offset lcab. Not sure what you mean by two different colors.

[bullmand]

I ordered them from the Powerflex website, but when they arrived the shipping label said Bimmerworld. I don't have a picture of them here, but I'll try to describe them. The first piece is black. Imagine a hockey puck with about a 2 inch diameter hole drilled in it. This hole is offset to one side. According to the instructions this goes in the bracket first. It's got ridges on the edges to keep it in the bracket. The second piece is purple and is kind of L shaped, with the upper part of the L fitting into the hole in the black piece. The purple piece has a hole that is the proper size for the rear of the control arm. This hole is also offset to one side of the purple part. I wish I had a picture. I can probably post one later this evening.

[bullmand]

I love the interweb!! This is exactly what I've got at home. I should mention that this is for my E30, but the labels on the box indicate that this part is for the E30 and E36. www.powerflexusa.com indicates the same thing.

[mischief]

the bushing you bought are they for the street version or race

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by bullmand

I love the interweb!! This is exactly what I've got at home. I should mention that this is for my E30, but the labels on the box indicate that this part is for the E30 and E36. www.powerflexusa.com indicates the same thing.

Weird....

Take a look at the top of this picture. The offset m3 CABs are shown. They look similar but without that additional purple puck.

[bullmand]

Mischief, the Powerflex only come in one grade, it's just whether they're offset or not. Dusten, my BMP ones that I have on my ti look just like yours, but red. I've not seen any like these before. The instructions that came with them are pretty straightforward. I was just curious if anyone had experience with these. They're almost strange enough to make me question whether or not I want to use them.

[DustenT]

Installation should be a helluva lot easier. It might be worth calling them to discuss why they are designed that way. I bet you'll get some answers if you post on the yahoo! list.

[bullmand]

I'm going to post over there too. It does look like they'll be very easy to get in. I'm just not sure how well these will stay in place. I don't suspect that there's much rotational movement within the bracket. I guess that may be why it's two pieces. The black part should stay put and any rotational stress can be relieved by slight rotation of the purple part. Does that make sense?

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by bullmand

I'm going to post over there too. It does look like they'll be very easy to get in. I'm just not sure how well these will stay in place. I don't suspect that there's much rotational movement within the bracket. I guess that may be why it's two pieces. The black part should stay put and any rotational stress can be relieved by slight rotation of the purple part. Does that make sense?

I don't understand what the purple puck is for. The purple part isn't even going to touch the control arm "peg". See the attached diagram...

[bullmand]

The purple part faces the front of the car. You can't see it in the picture, but the way the purple one is molded it looks as if it may extend far enough up the "peg" to reach the flat part of the arm. I guess that would help keep the purple part from rotating in the black part. I don't have the arms yet or I could check how far up the arm it goes. I'll definitely have to post pictures when I put this stuff together since it's the same part for the E36s. I'll post a picture of the front side of the purple half when I get home.

[bullmand]

Here are some close-ups and a picture of the instructions.

[bullmand]

Here they are. I need to check the color on my camera/monitor. Those things are Barney purple in the analog world. Dusten, how did you get that picture in the body of the message?

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by bullmand

Here they are. I need to check the color on my camera/monitor. Those things are Barney purple in the analog world. Dusten, how did you get that picture in the body of the message?

Check your camera, they look blue to me. To get the picture embedded in the post: upload the pics to either this site or any other website that will display a full size picture. Right click on the picture to get the picture location (it will end with .jpg or whatever format the picture is in). When posting, click the button that looks like a mountain range and paste the picture location into it.

Note: Try not to hot-link to other websites images, this is frowned upon. I have my own site/photo gallery for this reason.

Back on topic....Interesting design. How tight do the two piece fit together? The offset m3 bushings are almost impossible to move once they are mounted on the control arm.