My SA 325i

[echothreezero]

Took it for a proper strop over the weekend. Its wicked - only trouble is now I want to drive faster as the car is harder to out-drive than it was before!

I have some new pics as I have changed the grill, plates and tail lights, just waiting on enough spare time to photshop out my plate number and I'll post them up.

 

[Doughnut]

Hit us up with an update champ.
Fitting the sway bar bushes (urathane ones) are a royal PITA, so tight.

How did you go getting the control arm bushes in? can you get it on by hand and soap like you do with original rubber ones? pushing it on to the stub of the CA I mean lol.

 

[echothreezero]

Yeah I need to get onto those pics.

Tell me about those sway bushes - I never knew they'd be so hard to get in!! Used a well-positioned jack to get the fronts in, and the rears just required BMW Special tool 63349 aka blood, sweat, tears and a lot of swearing. Got sick of the passenger one and ended up using a longer bolt (more angle) and then tightening it up - who cares if there is a few mm of thread sticking past the nut???

CA bushes were relatively easy - pressed them in with a vice and a pipe the right diameter (home-made press ). The trick was making sure I put them in the right way round. Checked and double checked and still did one wrong. Had to press it out again very carefully (another, smaller bit of pipe needed) so as not to damage it and put it back in the right way around.

 

[Doughnut]

Had to press it out again very carefully (another, smaller bit of pipe needed) so as not to damage it and put it back in the right way around.

Bugger!!

And yes, I believe that maybe 70% of BMW special tools are raw blood and sweat!

Luckily when I did my sway bar bushes I had access to a hoist, but even with that it was difficult! I replaced my control arm bushes with stock rubber ones. How do you find the urathane ones compared to stock? feel any difference?

 

[echothreezero]

Really hard to say as They went in at the same time as the new shocks.

I thought about doing the shocks first, driving it for a bit, then doing the bushes to see the difference, but by the time I had done the shocks I couldn't be shagged having to go through the rigmarole.

By all accounts, cornering should be flatter, steering slightly more precise, and ride slightly harsher.