Right now the plan is to chip the ECU with GIAC running 93 Octane, and run an APR exhaust. I read I should be able to be at or close to 200 awhp. I may install the ECS Tuning test pipe since I live in VA and won't get hit with emissions. I just g ot inspected and found out I'm going to need a new control arm part along with some control arm issues I already ahve I'm going to replace the control arms, tie rod ends, and do coilover's all at once. since this is my daily driver and am looking for 200 awhp should I go for HD control arms and TRE's? or will it not be needed for my application?

 

You're fine on standard CAs and the chip and exhaust will get you near 200chp, not 200whp.

 

I found an FCP Groton group buy on audizine. and it looks like a pretty good deal: Official: FCP Groton Control Arm Kit

 

FCP is legit - a lot of us run those.

 

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but IMO FCP arms are barely better than the no-name China Special arms that you see everywhere for ridiculously cheap. They aren't made with the same materials or tolerances as OEM or proper aftermarket parts and it really shows. The reason they're so popular is that people install them and go off about how awesome and durable they are after only a month or 2, which gives people researching them a massively skewed opinion. If you do enough research you'll notice that there's a serious deficit long-term reviews, hell half the reviews I read are from not even a week after the install. Every once in a while there's a thread asking for long-term opinions, and there's where you see the majority of posts are about how they started clunking after 20k or how they're barely a year old and the boots are already torn.

It seems like the VAG community as a whole is obsessed with cheap parts and tend to overlook quality issues, if you ask about FCP arms on BMW forums you'll get laughed at.

My car has Febi arms with an '06 date code, meaning they've been on there for a bit less than half the life of the car, with the last 2 years being lowered and not even re-torqued for the different arm angle, they're only beginning to make a bit of noise on sharp bumps and bad roads. You better believe I'm replacing them with the same brand when they finally let go.

 

^This is what I've heard as well. I'd stick with Meyle or Febi. I've got the heavy duty Meyle arms on my car and it's been great for 3 years now.

 

why, hello stranger haven't see you in these parts lately

 

Maybe FCP Groton doesn't make their control arms out of the same exact alloys as Meyle or Febi, but after like 7 months of New York City driving, they are great.

FCP Groton's reputation got so bad at one point their manager or boss or whatever decided the company would replace any faulty or failed set with receipt of course. These days a lifetime warranty costs you 25 extra bucks.

So.. yes... you can argue that purchasing Meyle's or Febi's is better.. but purchasing the FCP's for like 250 with a lifetime warranty... well that's not too bad either.

I would also like to mention that it is crucial to only hand tighten all control arm bolts and nuts while they are being installed to the car. Once the arms are in place and holding the wheel assembly... you take a jack and lift the entire assembly up. Only then do you torque down the bolts to the proper torque. Avoiding this procedure results in failing control arms way sooner than expected.

 

Lol hi honey Yeah been away a little while but I'm back to dumb the place down again

Interesting on the high failure of the FCP parts. A lot of us up here run them and 2-4 years later they're doing fine. Now you guys that spoke out against them, I know both of you know what you're doing with a wrench so this doesn't apply to you in any way, but I wonder how much of the failures in general out in the world are due to improper install (such as torquing the CA bolts without compressing the suspension to an equivalent to driving position). Between B5s, B6s, TTs, and others, I don't know of anyone who has had premature failure of the parts in this region.

 

I'm sure improper torquing had a part in some cases, but that doesn't explain ball joint failure and dust boot tearing. To me a lifetime warranty means absolutely bubkes, and in a case like this IMO is more of a PR stunt/reputation enhancer. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I don't envision many people taking off their control arms, mailing them to FCP and then waiting for a new set to be mailed back while their car is sitting on jack stands, that's a lot of downtime. It also means that they're making a pretty damn decent margin on every set sold if they can afford to do this, because they know their arms won't last a "lifetime", not even OEM Lemfoerder arms that cost $1k a set will.

Nothing against FCP as a company, their customer service and prices are great, I just don't trust house-brand control arms. It's more of a peace of mind thing, when I replace something I don't wanna tear back into a down the road, even if I can get it warrantied for free, the downtime and extra labour time just isn't worth it.