Aftermarket September 2022

A lot has changed since 2002. In the aftermarket however, one reliable constant over the last two decades though has been the MEYLE HD steering and suspension line, which was launched that year. With this in mind, across 2022, MEYLE is celebrating the 20th anniversary of HD. The genesis for MEYLE HD was the recognition that supposedly highest quality OE parts were not lasting as long as anyone expected. Stefan Bachmann Head of the Steering and Suspension Product Team at MEYLE said: “It was felt that there were some manufacturers that did not offer, shall we say, the quality level that they should. At 40,000 miles, the control arm or the bushing would be failing. The question would be asked, why has it broken?” He continued: “That was the point where it all started. People here said ‘what can we do?Can we do this better?’ That's where MEYLE started to investigate. One of the first HD parts was for BMW; The E36 ball joints and later the E46 control arms” As many mechanics already know, MEYLE HD parts are 42 AFTERMARKET SEPTEMBER 2022 TECHNICAL www.aftermarketonline.net With MEYLE HD hitting a major milestone, we sat down with some of the experts in Hamburg to find out what is behind the brand SEEING IS BELIEVING: 20 YEARS OF MEYLE HD engineered to be longer-lasting than some other options, including OE. Then there are ball joints, which employ a larger ball diameter. “The magic here is very simple,” said Stefan, “use a bigger ball and better grease.” Meanwhile, bushing uses an optimized inner sleeve. In another example, the 3-in-1 Control Arm offers a single adjustable solution that can be used for a number of BMW applications. “It doesn't matter which version the garage gets,” said Stefan. “They only have to order one version and they can be sure that they always have the right version.” All this, and a four-year warranty too. (www.meyle.com / Guarantee_certificate.pdf )