Kevin Patten Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Just had a 2008 Roush Track Pack Mustang dropped off at my place from a track event at Thunderhill Raceway. The front lower BMR control arm on the passenger side cracked and folded back as it tore through the tubing causing the front wheel/tire to go back into the fender. I had installed these on this car alittle over two years ago and this is the first time that I have seen something like this happen. I bring this up because not only do I have these on both of my cars (2007 GT500 and 2009 GT convert.) but they are the same ones that are sold through SPP. While the passenger side completely failed I noticed that a crack has already started on the driver's side lower front arm at the gusset (the one with the 3 holes). I will be calling BMR tomorrow morning to follow up but in the mean time I'll be taking a closer look at my own for cracks since I drive both on the street and at the track. The arms I refer to are the front tubular non-adjustable lower control arms. Just an FYI for anybody that has them on their car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbackg Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Wow. Good post. I wonder why there is no manufacturer making billet front lower control arms. Thanks for sharing. I still have the stock, Ford TSB replacement control arms. http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/51279-tsb-9-24-16-gruntcreaksqueakchirp-noise-from-the-lower-control-arm-bushing-over-bumps-built-on-or-before-832009/ http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/62103-grabbers-post-in-2007-2009-section/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSGT500 Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Thanks for the warning. I run those on my 2007 GT500. I'd be very unhappy if they broke. I'd be interested in BMR's response. I'll be checking mine on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted May 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 WOW what a great company to work with . BMR is sending out another set (on their dime) and covering the freight on the return shipment of the old arms. Seems there has been some issues (cracks/gusset thickness) that have occured with road racers but not having any issues with drag racers or street vehicles as explained by them and more resently they have started to work more with some of the road racer teams with product development . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSGT500 Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Thanks for the follow up. With all the bumps and potholes around, I would have thought street use would be harder on the control arms than track use. Was the car with the damaged arms running track tires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted May 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Yes - running Nitto NT-01 275/40-18 all around and I agree with you I would have thought with potholes and the roughness of streets would be harder on the parts than the track surfaces which are alot smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6clicks Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Since their introduction in 2006 or 2007 the BMR tubular front control arms for the 2005+ Mustang have gone through a few iterations. I think BMR has described using stronger tubing stock and or larger welded gusset bracing with each upgrade. Modularfords forum had a monster thread about a broken A arm that has either been scrubbed from the website or was part of an inadvertantly lost archive. S197.com (registration required) has two different threads by two different 2005+ Mustang street applications that featured broken BMR non-adjustable A arms: Title: Anyone ever had a BMR A arm snap in half? http://www.s197forum...light=bmr+a-arm Title: BMR A Arm Cracked http://www.s197forum...light=crack+bmr In each case the broken A-arms used on those street-driven Mustang GTs were replaced quickly and quietly by BMR. I have a BMR K-member and non-adjustable A-arms that I have yet to install. From the pictures in the above threads I think I have one of the older, evidently weaker, A-arm designs. I'm gonna call BMR after the holiday weekend to see if they will swap it out for a newer, stronger pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted May 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 I took the one arm over to MMcGuirk to take pictures - hopefully he will post em for me so you can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6clicks Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 Spoke with BMR customer service. They are uninterested in accepting unfractured older A-arms. I got my set already attached to a BMR K-member, both the A-arms and K-member lightly used by the previous owner. Anyone interested in trading their adjustable rear lower control arms for my pristine used BMR A-arms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMcGuirk Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 Better late than never Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted May 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks Micheal - the arm on the other side has just a crack going across the gusset - at least you get an idea as to where to look if you have a set on your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evasive Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 I won't buy their A-arms. They can't seem to get it right and this is a pretty important area where a failure could have dire consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombeast Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Wow! That's pretty alarming. I spoke with someone last year that had a failure with these. He had the older version with the red bushing where they now have the white bushing. At the time, I had the same non-adjustables with the white bushings pictured above on my car, so I thought I was good. I've have put about 6k on some pretty crappy NJ roads with zero issues. I only drive on the street with just a few drag passes, but I will definitely keep an eye on them going forward. Thanks for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted June 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 The point is to be aware of what you should be checking for when dealing with competition and /or race parts. I suppose if I showed you a couple of pictures of failed stainless steel braided brake hoses that people won't want to put them on either. It all comes down to maintenance and if the owner wants to know and perform the nesessary increased maintenance needed when you mod a car. Race teams replace all stainless steel braided hoses on the car at the end of each season and quite often more frequent than that . Yes I know NOT everybody does that but then again not everything lasts forever. Usually people wait until something breaks and then procede to cry out from their pity pot. Nothing worst than poor preparation . I like the Boy Scout moto : "Be Prepared" or Fram Filters ad campain " You can pay me now or pay me later" . The later is ALWAYS more expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car dude Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 The point is to be aware of what you should be checking for when dealing with competition and /or race parts. I suppose if I showed you a couple of pictures of failed stainless steel braided brake hoses that people won't want to put them on either. It all comes down to maintenance and if the owner wants to know and perform the nesessary increased maintenance needed when you mod a car. Race teams replace all stainless steel braided hoses on the car at the end of each season and quite often more frequent than that . Yes I know NOT everybody does that but then again not everything lasts forever. Usually people wait until something breaks and then procede to cry out from their pity pot. Nothing worst than poor preparation . I like the Boy Scout moto : "Be Prepared" or Fram Filters ad campain " You can pay me now or pay me later" . The later is ALWAYS more expensive! In your opinion or these arms a bad design or they just made with the wrong Metal. I was going to have mine changed on my car. It's a daily driver and i have not had the chance to track it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I think that these are a good arm and I have them on my own car ( I drive on the street and track it). It's not really an issue with the metal as far as I can tell. It might be some thing that is inherant to the design but I could not say what because I'm not doing any independant testing (load ,twist , etc...). I do know that the cracking starts at the outside of the gusset and travels inward to the tubing of the arm so that gives you some time (I don't know HOW MUCH time) before the failure occurs. I plan to continue to use them and install them on cars as I have been for the last 5 years . These are the first set that I personally have run across with this issue . People are having lower ball joints go BAD (excessive play) on the stock lower control arms in 25,000 street miles and that's with the hydro bushing that obsorbs most of the shock loads. I'll be on close watch with the ones I install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car dude Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Thanks Albino500 that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me32 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 does anyone one have a pic side by side of the old BMR LCA to the new may 2012 version? thanks. good info to share here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Sorry - Did not think of it when I had the chance. I already sent back the old units and installed the new ones. Did notice that the gussets seem thicker and have smaller holes in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me32 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Sorry - Did not think of it when I had the chance. I already sent back the old units and installed the new ones. Did notice that the gussets seem thicker and have smaller holes in them. If you happen to get a chance again it would be great to see pics side by side..thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car dude Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I think that these are a good arm and I have them on my own car ( I drive on the street and track it). It's not really an issue with the metal as far as I can tell. It might be some thing that is inherant to the design but I could not say what because I'm not doing any independant testing (load ,twist , etc...). I do know that the cracking starts at the outside of the gusset and travels inward to the tubing of the arm so that gives you some time (I don't know HOW MUCH time) before the failure occurs. I plan to continue to use them and install them on cars as I have been for the last 5 years . These are the first set that I personally have run across with this issue . People are having lower ball joints go BAD (excessive play) on the stock lower control arms in 25,000 street miles and that's with the hydro bushing that obsorbs most of the shock loads. I'll be on close watch with the ones I install. I know its been a few years sence this was posted so if you still have your car how are the BMR control arms holding up. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Still have the car and the BMR arms are holding up nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b17drvr Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 My BMRs cracked too. They could give a crap about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car dude Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Still have the car and the BMR arms are holding up nicely. Did you go with the stock 18mm ball joints or did you upgrade to the larger 19mm.I can get the extended height ball joint which is good for lowered vehicles but I would have to go with the 19mm and in doing that I will have to drill the spindles to except the larger size.I had planned on putting the STEEDA balljoints and STEEDA big and small bushing on the stock A arms but it looks like its going to be a major fight to get the old stock bushings off. Thanks for the reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car dude Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 My BMRs cracked too. They could give a crap about it. Hey b17drvr what year Shelby did you put them on? Was it your 2015? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Did you go with the stock 18mm ball joints or did you upgrade to the larger 19mm.I can get the extended height ball joint which is good for lowered vehicles but I would have to go with the 19mm and in doing that I will have to drill the spindles to except the larger size.I had planned on putting the STEEDA balljoints and STEEDA big and small bushing on the stock A arms but it looks like its going to be a major fight to get the old stock bushings off. Thanks for the reply I have a set of lower control arms with the Steeda X5 (18mm) ball joints in them for 2005 - 2010 Mustang/Shelby for sale. I recommend using the Whiteline KCA433 bushing kit with them and putting on the OEM Ford heat shields (4R3Z-5G221-LH/RH) if you are going to use them on a 2007 - 2010 GT500. PM me if you are interested in the arms. Remember that you will need to use either FRPP # M-3130-R2 or an adjustable outer tie rod / bumpsteer kit to go along with the extended ball joint to keep away from having a "bump steer" issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Patten Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 My BMRs cracked too. They could give a crap about it. They were pretty helpful when I had my issue - don't know what happened with your dealings with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b17drvr Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Hey b17drvr what year Shelby did you put them on? Was it your 2015?They were in the 2007 GT500. I was one of the first to put them on in the fall of 06. We discussed them on the forum here about how they would hold up. They both cracked (we found it when we're were changing out the leaky eibach coil overs at MRT). Anyway, I called BMR and sent them pictures and they said they changed the design in the later arms. They said to call them when I got back home and they wanted the arms sent to them so they could examine them. I called them and they never called back. MRT welded and repaired them to get me home (a 1400 mile drive). I had a full BMR suspension on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMR Fabrication Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 They were in the 2007 GT500. I was one of the first to put them on in the fall of 06. We discussed them on the forum here about how they would hold up. They both cracked (we found it when we're were changing out the leaky eibach coil overs at MRT). Anyway, I called BMR and sent them pictures and they said they changed the design in the later arms. They said to call them when I got back home and they wanted the arms sent to them so they could examine them. I called them and they never called back. MRT welded and repaired them to get me home (a 1400 mile drive). I had a full BMR suspension on the car. Who did you deal with at BMR? Did you speak to me? I do not recall. I will say that I am shocked that you are claiming that we do not care. Why in the world would you state that? Because our customer service is so personalized that we have a hard time keeping up with return calls? If your engine failed tonight in your 2007 GT500 that you paid a nice premium for, would you expect Ford to send a car hauler out to you and pick the car up to examine, and replace it? I am sorry to hear about your issue that you had. You are correct, we have revised our designs over the years to meet our customer's expectations on the street, drag strip and road tracks. Unfortunately you installed those arms 9+years ago, and our warranty for items like FLCA is not going to apply. Just like, if your OEM GT500 FLCA cracked, Ford would not cover it almost 10 years later. That said, we WOULD and still WILL assist you in getting a new set at a very good price. As a matter of fact, if you have Red pieces....we have a very nice set of test fitted pieces with the larger 19mm Ball Joints that I could cut you a VERY good deal on. They are the newest latest and greatest offering, as well. Again, I am sorry about your issue and the fact that we did not return your phone call. Please know that we do not intentionally leave our customers out on their own - and that we are very busy, and do our best to keep up. If you would like to update your FLCA, please give us a call and speak to Dylan. Thanks, Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b17drvr Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 They failed in 2011. I was NOT asking for warranty of any kind. Things break on track cars. My concern was that YOU, the engineer was not concerned. We talked on the phone and you (or whoever I talked to that was 4 years ago and I don't remember) said to pull them off when I got home and send them in for evaluation. 4 calls and I kept getting the run around. No one wanted to talk to me. I thought your engineering staff would want them to examine so they could make them better. I never said I wanted a replacement, don't put words in my mouth. The ONLY thing I was concerned about was the engineering. This is why I said you don't care- you didn't want to discuss the engineering and that scares me. However, I appreciate your info in your post and that makes me feel better. When I had the cat converted to a 40th anny model in 2008 at SAI, they said the BMR was better than what they were using and left the suspension alone. I ran out of room in the garage and sold this car in 2014. I do have the failed A arms (that Scott Hoag reengineered and repaired) if you want them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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