YaoNYC

hi all,
what mileage is this needed?

thanks guys!

gondar

Tie rod ends: depends on the rubber staying intact, type of driving and roads (rough roads and sharp turns are tougher than highway). There are inner ends too. You simply have to inspect the parts. I'd certainly look hard at 60-70K. These parts are lubricated for life. When the lubrication ends, so does the life.

Control arms are a weak point, and there are a lot of poor replacements around. Many have found M---e disappointing.

I'm not an expert, others are.

2000A8blue

Blauparts talks up the Meyle control arms a lot -- supposedly better ball joints, etc. If these are failing on people, is there a better brand?

DutchDoofus

Lemforder and TRW are the two OE suppliers that Audi uses. Arms you buy from a dealer are one of those two.
I used a mix of both from a Audi parts supplier here in The Netherlands. He has a different import-channel than the official importer so he is a hell of a lot cheaper.
FEBI is also acceptable, Meyle is junk. The other brands i don't know.

The 8 is a fast and heavy car and you don't want junk in your stuff that has something to do with the wheels in any context...

A8CT

I fell for that too, they're junk. See below.

-OvO-

The arms themselves aren't likely to fail, it's just the bushings and ball-joints that need to be replaced. Right?

Sleeper8

I went with OEM Lemforder from Carson at Riverside

alextimmons

^^^ That's what I thought too ^^^

A8CT

bushings you can get, I don't think the ball joint ends are available

YaoNYC

ECSTUNING.COM has tie rods/control arms..any good?