GAS monoball kit in a street car?

[wyatth]

Agreed, they've gone downhill. Fortunately the E9x catalog was all designed and made under Steve's watch.

[mbegic]

The front monoballs are probably the best mod for the money. They are noticeably tighter and transfer that feeling right into your hands. They have a small amount of harshness when driving over ripple strips in the road, however the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
I would say that you feel the harshness about 1% over an average commute, however you will feel a reduction in sloppy steering every time you take a corner, regardless of the speed. this is my experience after swapping out my bushes with 100k on them

kind regards

[yeedub]

Does this mod benefit if on stock suspension?

[wyatth]

Yes. I don't think the rest of the suspension matters much in that respect. The resulting feel and benefits from these will be the same regardless of other components one has, for the most part. It may be that those on firmer suspensions may have different tolerances or expectations from any (minimal) harshness these add. But it's so minimal that shouldn't matter much.
FWIW I have these with OE ZCP suspension + Dinan plates and sway bar kit, so pretty close to stock.

[drwankel]

Finally got around to installing the GAS monoballs. Have had a couple days of seat time.

The steering feels tighter / less sloppy. I never really thought it felt sloppy before, but yes there is an improvement especially mid turn. Car feels more stable under hard braking.

Little to no harshness added. Above comments were right, its like 1% more harsh, almost undetectable. Did not notice any sort of popping at low speeds.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anybody, even on a bone stock car.

For anybody considering this on a car with a Harrop supercharger, be aware you will need to loosen the intercooler lines on the right side of the car to get the thrust arm bolt out and back in.

I should also add this did nothing to address the vibration I was describing earlier in the thread, and may have made it slightly worse. I need to get some more miles on the car to arrive at a conclusion here. Likely just transmitting whatever is going on more directly into the wheel. Noticed that my wheel hubs are corroded quite badly, so that may be a piece of this. The vibration previously got less pronounced over time, but removing and re-installing the wheels may have cause that to come back a bit.

Upcoming plans to address that vibration:
-Switching to a forged version of the wide ZCPs
-Will change wheel bearings the next time I have to do brakes.

[wootloops]

Originally Posted by drwankel

Finally got around to installing the GAS monoballs. Have had a couple days of seat time.

The steering feels tighter / less sloppy. I never really thought it felt sloppy before, but yes there is an improvement especially mid turn. Car feels more stable under hard braking.

Little to no harshness added. Above comments were right, its like 1% more harsh, almost undetectable. Did not notice any sort of popping at low speeds.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anybody, even on a bone stock car.

For anybody considering this on a car with a Harrop supercharger, be aware you will need to loosen the intercooler lines on the right side of the car to get the thrust arm bolt out and back in.

I should also add this did nothing to address the vibration I was describing earlier in the thread, and may have made it slightly worse. I need to get some more miles on the car to arrive at a conclusion here. Likely just transmitting whatever is going on more directly into the wheel. Noticed that my wheel hubs are corroded quite badly, so that may be a piece of this. The vibration previously got less pronounced over time, but removing and re-installing the wheels may have cause that to come back a bit.

Upcoming plans to address that vibration:
-Switching to a forged version of the wide ZCPs
-Will change wheel bearings the next time I have to do brakes.

I also have the GAS monoballs on my car, as well as Bilstein B16 coilovers with Ground Control camber plates. I agree, the NVH from the monoballs is negligible, almost undetectable unless maybe you drove a stock car back to back.

Regarding your vibration issue - Do you have wheel spacers? I had a slight vibration that was resolved by doing a thorough cleaning of the wheel hub lip where it goes into the wheel. Used a wire wheel on a drill to really clean it good and also cleaned the inner bore of the wheels & spacers with it. There was a good bit of corrosion that was probably causing them not to sit properly.

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by wootloops

I also have the GAS monoballs on my car, as well as Bilstein B16 coilovers with Ground Control camber plates. I agree, the NVH from the monoballs is negligible, almost undetectable unless maybe you drove a stock car back to back.

Regarding your vibration issue - Do you have wheel spacers? I had a slight vibration that was resolved by doing a thorough cleaning of the wheel hub lip where it goes into the wheel. Used a wire wheel on a drill to really clean it good and also cleaned the inner bore of the wheels & spacers with it. There was a good bit of corrosion that was probably causing them not to sit properly.

No spacers, but I absolutely did notice quite a bit of corrosion on the wheel hub lip when I had the wheels off to do the monoball install. Ran out of time to do something about it on install day. I'll book some shop time soon and get that cleaned up.

[MAE90M3]

I just ordered a kit with the lemforder arms. Their video comparing the TRW and Lemforder arms convinced me.

[x3sm]

Originally Posted by MAE90M3

I just ordered a kit with the lemforder arms. Their video comparing the TRW and Lemforder arms convinced me.

What did the video say? Also where did you order from?

[MAE90M3]

Originally Posted by x3sm

What did the video say? Also where did you order from?

I ordered directly from German Auto Solutions

[drwankel]

Yeah this is sort of an odd ball solution but it works. You'd never just use the lemforder arms out of the bag on our cars, as they come with the oil filled bushing, as opposed to the TRW arms on our cars which come with the solid rubber bushing.

If you are going to change the arms to monoballs out of the gate and remove the bushing, there is no reason not to use the lemforder arms based on GAS' findings since going to a monoball makes the differences a moot point.

[x3sm]

Originally Posted by drwankel

Yeah this is sort of an odd ball solution but it works. You'd never just use the lemforder arms out of the bag on our cars, as they come with the oil filled bushing, as opposed to the TRW arms on our cars which come with the solid rubber bushing.

If you are going to change the arms to monoballs out of the gate and remove the bushing, there is no reason not to use the lemforder arms based on GAS' findings since going to a monoball makes the differences a moot point.

I wonder how the TRW arms made in Malaysia compare to previous ones made in Germany. Would you still choose TRW over lemforder if bushings are not being upgraded?

[wyatth]

Yes, Lemforder arms without the monoballs would be a downgrade on an M. But they look like the better arm if you are going with monoballs. I got new German TRW arms when I put the Dinan monoballs in, but had I known the above I would have gone with Lemforder. Oh well.

[MAE90M3]

It is amazing the difference these monoballs make. It has only been one day, but the difference is so noticeable. Highly recommend they be included in any suspension refresh/upgrade

[CravingBavaria]

This thread helped me make my decision on a street car with monoballs and I wanted to give my take for anyone else on the fence.

Short answer, DO IT, specifically GAS.

I had EAS do the install, my tech did a quick drive and said the GAS monoballs are the best he's felt. No weird noises, no issues.

I drove the car home to San Diego last night and man does it feel dialed. If there's any NVH over the stock bushings, it's practically nothing. It still rides comfortable and you just feel more connected to the front of the car. It's hard to really explain until you experience it.

100% recommending this to everyone whether you track your car or it's your daily driver and you just want a new level to the driving experience this platform offers

[M3SQRD]

I’ve had BW LCA monoballs on four different Ms so far and there’s zero NVH. Noticeable improvement in braking and steering. There’s no downside to installing these, only upside.

[BimmerMan33]

Had GAS front monoball on my previous e92 M3 for over 40,000 miles including 12 track days, definitely more connected steering feel, especially cornering under hard braking.. minimal increase in NVH particularly noticeable if drive over rumble strips..
No vibrations or rattles or clinks, pretty straight forward DIY too!
I would recommend them!!

[smokinjoe64]

Opted for front Syncro Design Works monoball thru FCPEuro [warranty].
These along with full replace/upgrade of entire suspension.

All-in next level driving feel, precision, and performance for OE+ set-up
[spirited street, occasional AutoX].

• B16s w/EDC
• Control arms
• Trailing arms
• All Links
• Tie rod assy
• PU bushings [subframes, sway bars]

[Redd]

Interesting. This Syncro Works monoball is just pushed in, there are no bolts on the other side?

[smokinjoe64]

Originally Posted by Redd

Interesting. This Syncro Works monoball is just pushed in, there are no bolts on the other side?

Hopefully they're 'pressed in'

That said, more drive miles will be telling for outcomes...performance, quality, longevity.

Regardless, FCPEuro warranty is my fall-back plan

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by smokinjoe64

Hopefully they're 'pressed in'

That said, more drive miles will be telling for outcomes...performance, quality, longevity.

Regardless, FCPEuro warranty is my fall-back plan

They better have gotten their tolerances right. You definitely don’t want a LCAB just pop out while driving. The repair won’t be covered by just a replacement lower control arm!

[smokinjoe64]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

They better have gotten their tolerances right. You definitely don’t want a LCAB just pop out while driving. The repair won’t be covered by just a replacement lower control arm!

Some additional data to consider...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRyhtJAR5FM

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1520921