[F06msportmia]

Hello Fellas,

I recently got new wheels and going to take the car to get aligned this week. I have been reading on here about the M3 control arm upgrade. Would I need to replace the tie rods as well? Anything else that would need to get changed/upgraded? Car has 90K not tracked and DD, but like to update/upgrade parts when I can.

I have been reading about the Meyle HD tie rods and wanted to know if this would be the ideal set of components to change? Anything else for the front suspension that would make this in sync?

Thanks guys,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[raceyBMW]

No, the two are not really related, tie rods are part of the steering system not suspension. However, at 90k, it could be time to start thinking of replacing depending on what kind of miles (hwy, city, etc.) the car has seen over the years. Definitely could be one of those "while you are in there" type of repairs.

No reason not to upgrade if the price is similar. If you are thinking of doing tie rods, hold off on the alignment, because you will need one again after replacing them.

[F80M]

Just do them all so you can get the car aligned all at once save time and money...

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by raceyBMW

No, the two are not really related, tie rods are part of the steering system not suspension. However, at 90k, it could be time to start thinking of replacing depending on what kind of miles (hwy, city, etc.) the car has seen over the years. Definitely could be one of those "while you are in there" type of repairs.

No reason not to upgrade if the price is similar. If you are thinking of doing tie rods, hold off on the alignment, because you will need one again after replacing them.

Thanks for the feed back and facts... There is nothing like being properly informed. My miles is a 50/50 mix between highway and city. I was putting on my new wheels today and both tie rods just look like they need to be replaced. The small sleeve/boot is just shot.

Its exactly that one those repairs of while I am here let me just take care of it. Funny thing is I went online and placed the order from Oembimmerparts.com (best price and free shipping) and then I got an email stating that Meyle hadn't shipped any tie rods to the US and would be back in stock first week in 2014, so they refunded my money. I was just trying to avoid 2 alignments, but I guess that is just what will have to happen.

Thanks again!

[raceyBMW]

You sound like you know what you are doing, but if its the large dust boot, be sure on exactly what you are ordering, because the tie rod assembly does not come with the boot.

Meyle HD and Lemfoerder will be similar parts, so you can probably interchange them unless there really some documented benefit of going with the Meyle....just don't go URO or Karlyn (notoriously crappy) for any suspension/steering bits, or you will be replacing them again in 20-30k miles.

Even if you went OE BMW you will still probably come out ahead in parts cost vs. the cost of 2 alignments at approximately $125 each, not to mention having to go to the shop twice.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by e90msportmia

Thanks for the feed back and facts... There is nothing like being properly informed. My miles is a 50/50 mix between highway and city. I was putting on my new wheels today and both tie rods just look like they need to be replaced. The small sleeve/boot is just shot.

Its exactly that one those repairs of while I am here let me just take care of it. Funny thing is I went online and placed the order from Oembimmerparts.com (best price and free shipping) and then I got an email stating that Meyle hadn't shipped any tie rods to the US and would be back in stock first week in 2014, so they refunded my money. I was just trying to avoid 2 alignments, but I guess that is just what will have to happen.

Is there an advantage to Meyle tie rods, street use? Not seeing that.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Is there an advantage to Meyle tie rods, street use? Not seeing that.

No. Just a longer service life. No need to replace unless you're experiencing sloppy steering. I installed them unnecessarily at the time of my last alignment and don't feel any difference in steering response.

[Casca]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Is there an advantage to Meyle tie rods, street use? Not seeing that.

What I know is my OEM (Lemforder) tie rod assembly is at 116k miles and my steering still feels good. Cost for either is @ the same. I'm replacing mine because of high mileage and I will need an alignment soon for other things anyway.

I was thinking of going to Meyle HD tie rods, but this doesn't seem like a part that can be performance related other than to be built to manufacturer specs and work for many miles. 4 year warranty, 2 year warranty...read the warranty. You putting it in yourself voids it. Good luck actually making use of the warranty. But you know, it might not be that bad since it seems Meyle parts are made in China anyway (not 100% on this), so they probably have much lower overhead cost than Lemforder and can afford to promise a longer warranty. By 1 year, if that part hasn't failed because of manufacturer defect, it will probably be very hard to prove that it failed for manufacturer defect. Think I'd rather bet on a part that I think is coming out of a factory with higher QA, so I have a better chance of putting a part on that won't need me to remove it, go through the warranty process and so on.


I saw the thread on Meyle HD sway bar end links too and had thoughts of getting those. Compared to OEM, they do look more hefty. Bigger. Stronger? But, I have seen low end parts that looked like they were beefier than OEM before. In truth, they used lower grade material/process and as a result needed to make it bigger to get the same strength. Not sure if that is true here, but not sure what a bigger balljoint on the end link gains. My OEM ones seem to work fine for over 116k miles now and are not so bulky.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by raceyBMW

You sound like you know what you are doing, but if its the large dust boot, be sure on exactly what you are ordering, because the tie rod assembly does not come with the boot.

Meyle HD and Lemfoerder will be similar parts, so you can probably interchange them unless there really some documented benefit of going with the Meyle....just don't go URO or Karlyn (notoriously crappy) for any suspension/steering bits, or you will be replacing them again in 20-30k miles.

Even if you went OE BMW you will still probably come out ahead in parts cost vs. the cost of 2 alignments at approximately $125 each, not to mention having to go to the shop twice.

I have researched enough and I am handy when getting down to the mechanics. The tie rod doesn't have a boot but more like a rubber stopper/bushing. In the picture I have outlined in red the stopper/bushing that is shot on the car.

The inner part of the tie rod that goes into a boot is leaking and so that's where this whole thing started on changing the tie rod. These are not my actual pics, but you see below thats the boot that is leaking. Here in Miami its raining so its not a good day, but I am going to lift the car up and take detailed pics of the boot and leaking perhaps you can direct of what this might be.

I called around and the only brand available locally is Karlyn and Bilstein, I will just order online and get the Meyle. The reason why I have not gone OEM is the Meyle have great reviews and a much beefier knuckle with more solid construction.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Is there an advantage to Meyle tie rods, street use? Not seeing that.

Yeah, you are probably right, there is NO advantage at all. Its more of putting better quality parts on the car. Parts are parts and the cost is just that, being that I use this forum's DIY I get to save a ton of money on labor and get to put better quality parts.

Like for example, the M3 control arm kit is something that is nice mod to have but NOT a necessity considering that I have N52. The car doesn't have any significant power to justify it and definitely not tracking the car.

[tinnsoldaten]

I just started installing my Karlyn tie rods , first of , right hand side was ok , but when doing left side , I noticed that the new Karlyn outer tie rod was sloppy !!!
The old outer was actually more firm than the new.

I made video of how sloppy the outer was and sent to ECS and waiting for reply.

Wish I checked out this thread before putting down the order.

Im thinking to just order new outer tie rod , but from other company.

[raceyBMW]

First mistake was going with Karlyn, they are notorious for pretty low quality parts that will wear out quickly.