Anyone have Rennline GT3 lower control arms?

So I have been shopping around for control arms for a while now since I am getting some squeeking/creaking in the front end of my 987.2 Base Cayman . Replaced my strut top mounts and tie rods but that did not fix it. So I originally purchased some oem lower control arms but after thinking about it, I figured I might as well spend the money and get some adjustable lower control arms for the track. I have only done a couple of track days with this car as my main track car is my E36 M3 but I figured the camber would be nice to have thought probably unecessary at the moment. I was considering grabbing some Tarret engineering lower control arms (paired with new oem thrust arms) over black friday but Tarret had a joke of a sale (only free shipping...) over the holiday so I ended up just going with some of Rennline's GT3 arms. They are half the price of the Tarret arms and I figured it I could buy two of these arms before I break even on a set of Tarret arms; that and oem gt3 arms don't exist anymore. They look fine, but I am disappointed to see they use a greaseable outer ball joint. This isn't a huge deal but I did not expect that (not mentioned nor in the images) nor was I planning to have to add re-greasing to my already too-long list of maintenance; i've had poor experience with re-greaseable joints and just would prefer not to deal with them. Again not ncessarily a deal breaker but still makes me consider spending the money on some Tarret arms just to avoid such inconvenience. First world problems? Anyways, is anyone else running these arms? They are a relatively new product so I can't imagine too many people have them nor have any information in regards to longevity. Just curious to see if any one has experience with them and can provide any feedback, potential fitment issues, etc. edit: also side note, does anyone know a good source for the gt3 shims? I'm assuming they are all the same size so I can get them just about anywhere but man they are expensive. What size shims are typically needed to get a decent track/street-friendly amount of camber up front on a stock height vehicle? Thanks!

Can't help you with the control arms but I got a set of shims from Competition Motorsport. The "racer pack" was the best deal when I checked prices a couple of years ago. Porsche Alignment Camber Shims – competitionmotorsport.com If you need the Litronic bracket for headlight leveling, they don't carry it so I had to source it elsewhere.

Nice, thanks!

Did you end up going with the Rennline LCAs? I just placed an order for mine and want to hear how you like them and any complaints with the greasable outer ball joint. Thanks

Unfortunately I did not. I just kept thinking about not wanting to grease the ball joint. Stupid I know but it’s just such a head ache and I hate messing with my grease gun and have had bad luck with grease joints in the past. Not to mention the fact that zero people seem to have them so who knows about quality. I’m sure they are perfectly fine but if I’m spending the money I might as well just do it once with a tried a true part. honestly though, I still have yet to purchase A set of Tarret or elephant arms and in kind of kicking myself because I just can’t justify the expense; honestly considering just going with stock arms since Id rather put some more track seat time in my e36 m3 .

Thats understandable. I was thinking the same thing but couldn’t justify the increased price for mine being an occasional track car. Also with 10% off on the site it’s almost half price the tarret arms. I will let you know if I have any issues with fit, etc. What type of issues have you had in the past with similar joints? I don’t have much experience with them and the guy I talked to from Rennline on the phone made it seem like it would be years that you would need to regrease them

Interesting. I feel like most people with greasable joints usually re-grease them once a year. Probably not necessary but won't hurt anything either; its just helpful to ensure grease it where it needs to be. I really have only used greasable joints on my truck. They all failed within a year of installation. I greased them liberally but who knows maybe I didn't use enough? Not to mention they were super cheap parts. Most people have zero issues with greasable joints but for me, the extra headache of greasing them every once in a while just isn't worth it. Thought, I am very interested to see what you think.

That’s good to know. I’ll definitely keep an eye on them and at minimum grease them once a year

Interesting tidbit I stumbled upon while reading a 944 build thread on ********

Tarett is great equipment as I have had a full race setup for a 987 for 5 years including the Tarett Cup Race LCA,s, down links, and GT swaybars. I would suggest that 1 mm of shim is equal to .1 camber, so a 10 mm shim is equal to -10 degree of additional camber. So take your initial camber and add the LCA's 10 mm shim stack to about -2.6 f and what ever you want in the rear. If you car is lowered, an adjustable toe link is required to get the right toe in in the rear. I use Elephant Racing toe links with bumpsteer adjustment in the rear and tie rods ends in f with bumpsteer adjustment. Ohlin R&T coilovers also are great as I have these for 5 years as well. Some owners went with less spring rate and valving with good results. I use the regular 400 lb/in f and 458 lbs/in rear spring rate. I find that most of the time this setup is great. Back country roads with pot holes are a challenge with a lowered car thoguh. I do run a skid plate under the engine. Good equipment pays off in the long run. I am more than satisfied with these suspension mods over the years.

Curious what your creaking sounded like at first and if it came from front or front+rear? I just picked up a '09 CS, and I have noticed the front end has a sound of rubber rubbing on something when I turn the steering wheel in any direction. This wasn't picked up on the PSI, and it did not happen until after ~300-400 miles of driving. I am trying to brace myself for what all I have to replace. I am also starting to notice a slight sound at the rear.

So from this thread heading do you need new race LCA's.

It's a creaky sound that only happens after driving and at lower speeds; well probably still present at high speeds just less audible. After a normal drive/commute, it basically creaks in parking lots or pulling into the driveway. I can get out of the car and push down on the fenders to bounce the car up and down and make it creak. After a few laps on the track, getting off the car is creaky as can be. After about half an hour after the session, there's no sound whatsoever. I replaced my strut mount bearings (both sides), sway bar endlinks and tie rods but still seems to creak, though not as bad.

I’ve had my Rennline LCA’s mounted on the front of my 987.2 for about four months now. Have camber set at -2.5 with the shims. All is good. Have had 8 track days and no problems. I had originally wanted Tarret LCA’s but they were unavailable and the expected ship date kept getting pushed back. The Tarrett ones would have probably performed better on track as they have less rubber. I have not greased them yet. Probably do that when change the oil in a couple months.

Good to hear. I ended up returning the rennlines that I ordered and am still...waiting to get the Tarrets. It looks like they actually have gone up in price by a hundred bucks so Ill probably just continue to put these off.

Tarett's rubber bearing or their sealed monoball inner ends, which I have, has lived a useful life of over 5 years and 40,000 miles. I invested in the Tarett Cup Race LCA's as the basis for a great race suspension that can be driven on the street. So far its been working great along with the Ohlin's R&T even with a higher spring rate (400 lbs/in f and 458 lbs/in r) when being used on the street. The Ohlin's rebound valving helps smooth out the ride somewhat over back country roads. On the track, I really enjoy this combo of firm suspension feeling from the Tarett Cup LCA and the Ohlin R&T spring rate and valving keeping the tires exactly where they need to be.

Nice, Im definitely looking forward to see how this car handles with some more camber.

My thinking is -2.6 f and -2.3 r with a great alignment keeping the castor at 8.4. Toe out slightly in front and toe in slightly in the rear works great especially with the solid red thrust pucks in the Tarett Cup LCA's keeping the toe exactly where it should be, no rubber. This alignment works very well for RE71RS, Hoosier slicks and Michelin SP4's in my quiver.

Are adjustable forks necessary in conjunction with the Tarret arms (or camber arms in general)? I had already picked up a set of stock replacements figuring I wouldnt need any other adjustment. I know the Tarret arms have a second mounting hole but Im curious if that is enough.

I ended up needing these on the front. But I think that was more from the coilovers lowering the car and changing the relative position of the puck rather than the lower control arm upgrade. If you are using stock dampers or using aftermarket at the stock height, you probably don’t need them. If you do get them, I would recommend talking with Tarrett about which size fork to get. They have a wider one and a narrow one. In my experience Tarrett was good about making recommendations.