bent lower control arm. - United Bimmer Community

**maximk2** · 09-23-2007, 10:41 AM

bent my lower control arm. will talk about it later, but right now i gotta get my car home. putting a small spare tire there will let the car drive pretty good, but I have to find one first (since bmws have full0size spares). does anyone know what other makes/models would have the same bolt pattern as an E36, or at least would go on my wheel pattern?.

**catalyst** · 09-23-2007, 10:09 PM

chevy

ford mustangs i think

**maximk2** · 09-23-2007, 11:16 PM

well actually I tried chevy, and it was a bit small. I kinda gave up and just hat it towed home on a flatbed.

basically, heres the story:

It was a rainy Saturday night, and out racing club headed down to a big empty parking ot in the industrial zone late at night to take advantage of the weather and do some drifting. I started running out of gas, and decided to go to the nearby station to get some. on my way out of a lot (this is my first time there) I am drifting around the side of the warehouse, in the biggest, fastest and by far sickest drift ever, expecting nothing but pavement in my path. Out of nowhere, tallest curb ever. It was the only gay parking lot curb in the whole block, and I found it!.

people say they saw my back end lift like 3 feet off the ground.

So far, the damage I found is:

- all four rims totalled
- 2 Michelin pilots punctured.
- Front Left lower control arm bent beyond recognition.
- At least 2 shocks are shot

possible damage:
- Front right lower control arm may be bent as well. Still have to get a good look at it.
- Very possible damage to rear lower control arms (or whatever those things are called)

ruled out:
-frame damage. frame looks good. I went down there and measured it with a ruler all over, and nothing looks demented in any way.
-body damage. front bumper was pretty unaffected, although the curb was so high, im sure it scraped the bumper cover. Im lucky my air bag didnt go off.

Will fix it by spring. bavauto has excellent prices on suspension parts, but if you guys know something better, than please tell me.
For now shes in my garage, and will be there for entire winter (since im parking it for the winter anyway, because of this I guess ill have to start driving my beater hyundai early this year.

I feel very bad about what happened. We try to do it in the safest enviorment possible, but I guess I got carried away and screwed up the first of the three stages of drifting, which is "seeing the drift". I saw it quite well, except for the god damn curb around the corner.

witeshark · 09-23-2007, 11:23 PM

Sorry to hear this. I hope spring will see good news on the repairs

**94bmw325i** · 09-23-2007, 11:43 PM

were you trying to drift well with an open diff? That sucks, but you might want to work on your technique also.

**catalyst** · 09-24-2007, 02:34 AM

pelicanparts.com is good too

mm get a bentley manual if you dont have one

i hope for your sake the rear trailing arms arent bent brcause you would have to find used ones, there like 200-300 bucks a peice new.

**Dudesky** · 09-24-2007, 06:08 AM

This thread is useless without video. If you messed it up that bad, I hope someone at least caught it on camera

**maximk2** · 09-25-2007, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94bmw325i

were you trying to drift well with an open diff? That sucks, but you might want to work on your technique also.

actually i have a locker. I think all 325i's have it....do they not?

oh and noone was even around me when I did it. I was pulling out of the parking lot when it happened to go get some more gas, and everyone was filming the guy who got a flat tire drifting at the time I hit the curb.

witeshark · 09-25-2007, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maximk2

actually i have a locker. I think all 325i's have it....do they not?

Likely an option on 325i, standard on the M3

**RSF5** · 09-25-2007, 11:26 PM

Dude, that sucks.

**mullethunter3** · 09-26-2007, 09:34 AM

Glad you're okay. On the upside, at least you have another car to drive around! If I did that, I would be stuck riding my motorcycle in the rain, snow, cold, etc.

Also, I couldn't say enough good things about BavAuto. Their customer service is AMAZING. Also, they have a price match policy. So, if you find a better price, tell them and they'll change it, almost no questions asked. I will never, ever order from Pelican again after the fiasco I had with them about a special order part that I didn't even want. Ridiculous. Oh, and my favorite sales rep at BavAuto is Matt Moore. Try and get him, he is the most knowledgeable guy there (imo).

**94bmw325i** · 09-26-2007, 10:02 AM

with the 325i's I think it is the cold weather package or something like that where an lsd is an option. A very large amount do not have limited slips.

**maximk2** · 10-04-2007, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94bmw325i

with the 325i's I think it is the cold weather package or something like that where an lsd is an option. A very large amount do not have limited slips.

Well im in canada, and Ive never seen a 325 w/o an LSD here. Mb your right, it is the cold weather package.

**maximk2** · 10-04-2007, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mullethunter3

Glad you're okay. On the upside, at least you have another car to drive around! If I did that, I would be stuck riding my motorcycle in the rain, snow, cold, etc.

Also, I couldn't say enough good things about BavAuto. Their customer service is AMAZING. Also, they have a price match policy. So, if you find a better price, tell them and they'll change it, almost no questions asked. I will never, ever order from Pelican again after the fiasco I had with them about a special order part that I didn't even want. Ridiculous. Oh, and my favorite sales rep at BavAuto is Matt Moore. Try and get him, he is the most knowledgeable guy there (imo).

thanks, ill definetely be buying from them. oh and btw, I can't register my winter beater hyundai until i pay off my 500 dollar racing ticket, so im riding my bike everywhere (in the cold weather) now. Ppl who always so me drive and now ride a bike all think i got caught DUI.