LR Audi

Got a nice little package in the mail today. A FedEx box from the crafty guys over at GruvenParts. Adjustable upper control arms! Yay! I'll be taking pics later on and I'll be posting a full review when it comes to installation time. It'll have to wait until the weekend or something as I still have to install my window tint and deal with other stuff. I'm excited to install these. Yay!

Pic 1 - You can see how the center body is threaded. It's a hollow tube made of 4340 chromoly alloy. At each end are heim joints that adjust in and out. A simple design yet nearly indestructible. Upon further inspection you'll notice that they are very heavily powder coated. The locking nuts are also a nice big size to allow for easier adjustments. The heim joints are mainly covered as I purchased these with the dust boot option. Compared to the Stern and 034 Motorsports adjustable control arms, these aren't nearly as nice looking or flashy, but they do cost considerably less and being made out of chromoly I can rest assured that these are going to be strong!

Pic 2 - You can see the comparison between the Gruvenparts adjustable control arms and brand new factory replacement Febi upper control arms. Keep in mind I have these Febis on sale for $180 for anyone interested.

a2t

Just bought those as well, fully booted. Installed and aligned, finally. Rides perfect, much better turn in response and my wallet is thanking me for not having to buy tires every 5k km.

I will try to get some of the install pics and post them up as well. Was going to buy stern or 034, you definitely don’t need more than the gruvenparts.com versions.



Jeff

LR Audi

I was going to buy the Sterns first, then I saw a couple of complaints and pictures of the rod being bent after hitting hard potholes. Then I was going to buy the 034 Motorsports version but Gruvenparts came just in time. I was able to get them with their group buy option and saved a lot of money. Total cost was still less than the lowest price I seen on the 034 Motorsports and over $100 less than the Sterns. I have to say the Gruvenparts aren't nearly as nice looking but the heim joints are heavy duty. Comparing the weight between the Gruvenparts and Febis, the heim joints by themselves weigh more than the entire Febi control arm. These things will last forever!

cheeba

I trusted that you'd be doing it right It's amazing to see how many people completely alter their suspension geometry without a second thought as to what's actually going on. Moar low = moar performance, right?

The Gruven pieces do look decently made (I've never inspected one), but I'd hardly call anything with spherical bearings indestructible! Spherical bearings are really best suited to race cars, and will take a beating when not on a nice, smooth road surface. The boots help extend their life by resisting contamination, but only if it's not actually trapping any moisture inside; which, I've seen on many 'sealed' parts. FWIW, I run spherical bearings on some control arms that I fabbed up, and it's worth the trade-off to me. I suggest taking them out and cleaning/lubing them a couple of times a year.

Now get a performance-spec alignment and some kick-*** tires!

a2t

yeah nothing is indestructible, the oem ball ends also dont last forever either. the thing i actually really like about the ones from gruvenparts.com is they make the front suspension VERY tight. There used to be noticeable play in the OEM upper control arms, when I installed these it really made a difference. Definitely the way the car should of been made. But yeah, I will make sure I clean them out periodically. The guy at gruvenparts said they got the dust boots from a supplier to nextel cup cars and this is what everyone in the high end racing circles is using. they are damn near water tight from what i can tell.

i also heard many horror stories about the 034 versions knocking into one another at full lock and bending the pins and arms - there is even a note on the 034 site about that exact thing. when i called gruvenparts, they said the only reason they designed their version was because so many were unhappy with the 034, and the sterns were stupid expensive.

anyways, im seriously happy with the gruvenparts.com versions. they are a really good moderately priced adjustable upper control arm.

Jeff

LR Audi

I agree and I see stupidity on a continual basis. I've always been more on "go" than on "show". Although my bone stock A6 is slow as hell, I drive as if it's an RS6 and the streets are my private race track. Although many will protest this driving behaviour, I can say unlike most I personally have real advanced driver training and real race track experience. I see lowered cars with cambers so far off I'm surprised they don't break something when they go over the speed bumps or dips on the highway. If you're going to upgrade your vehicle you should do it correctly or don't do it at all.

The Gruvenparts adjustable control arms aren't nearly as nice looking as the Sterns or 034s, and not even as nicely finished as the similarly-designed CPs. But for the price I couldn't go wrong, especially with the build quality. Comparing forged 4340 to forged 6061, the significantly heavier steel arm is stiffer and stronger than the Febis. The heim joints by themselves are extremely heavy, they weigh almost as much as the entire Febi control arm! The bearings are lined and protected fairly well, so I'd say they're almost maintenance free with the exception of a visual inspection at a given interval. I trust that these bearings by themselves will vastly outlast the OEM parts.

Given that I'll be lowering my vehicle well beyond factory recommended specs, I have no choice but to use adjustable control arms and for the price these simply can't be beat.

I keep all of my vehicles maintained meticulously. I'm probably one of the few around here that do full checkups on a monthly basis and a full diagnostic four times a year. Damn I wish I had more time!

I plan on replacing my control arms, then I'll be replacing my bald-*** 215/55VR16 Falken Ziex ZE-512s with 225/50ZR16 Continental ExtremeContact DWS. Soon after my H&R (or KW V1) coilovers go in and I'm good to go. Maybe, just maybe throw in Hotchkiss front/rear sway bars, but that depends on how my ride quality is after the coilover upgrade. I'm less into top speed/straight line speed than I am into maximum cornering.

LR Audi

I have both the Febis and Gruvenparts beside me right now and I can say that the Gruvenparts feel much more crisp than the Febis. Not that there is anything wrong with the Febis, but the Gruvenparts are seriously over-engineered. That's good, because I'm constantly over driving my Audis.

I haven't heard many negative reviews about the 034s, but I have heard quite a bit about the Sterns. I do like Stern products and I would use some of their products in the future, but only if I can get them at a discounted rate. I find a lot of their products to be vastly overpriced. Actually, all of their products are overpriced!

I have seen the 034s and the Sterns and I can tell you that both have excellent build quality in regards to the fit and precision. I have never seen a CP in person as I believe the company went bankrupt some time ago. I must say that $600 for adjustable control arms is far too much to pay, unless you are driving a dedicated race car. For a street car that is lowered and driven in an aggressive nature the Gruvenparts adjustable control arms fit right in.

The one thing that isn't discussed much is the sheer quality of the heim joints on the Gruvenparts. It's amazing how they won't collide with each other despite being fairly large. Also, they are so incredibly precision made. Speaking with Paul from Gruvenparts he mentioned that the majority of the cost involved is just on the heim joints themselves. I can't stress enough how well build these are, you have to take a look for yourselves. They easily outdo the competition's arms.

a2t

Yep.

I heard that gruvenparts.com is also working on the rear control arm now as well. I could definitely use a sensible adjustable rear control arm and I would be all set, hope that progresses.

LR Audi

I too will probably purchase the rear adjustables when they're made available. I hate the look of a slammed vehicle with poor camber settings. The stance is so wrong it makes stock ride height look better. Good to see how things are progressing with Gruvenparts. They don't have a lot of stuff for Audis available but knowing that they over-engineer everything to the point of near indestructibility makes me one of their customers.

nothing77

Ordered mine yesterday, hopefully they bring out the kit for the rear soon. I know that with H&R race springs, we weren't able to get the toe back in check, cost me a set of tyres