Polyurethane Bushing Kits performance???

[FastFwd]

Hi all,

Might be looking into buying a Polyurethane bushing kit for my EG. I recently had a front control arm bushing fall apart and then i had a look into my other bushes and alot of them have slight cracks and have a little wear and tear. They dont look broken but i give them another 25-50thousand k's and they will start to fall apart.

Can anyone recommend any kits that are good value?

Mod your car have this kit. Dunno if its good or not tho

http://www.modacar.com/products/Honda/Civic/ESHBK/Energy+Suspension+Hyper-f.html

[fatboyz39]

hardrace.

[STiR]

My car is currently being fitted with Energy Suspension Poly bushes (front end), + Mugen rear trailing arm bushes, rear compensator arm bushes and lower control arm bushes. Also throwing in ASR spherical bearing rear swaybar mounts too. With a fully reconditioned steering rack including new tie rods/rod ends, I'm anticipating a serious improvement.

[MR-VTEC]

mind saying how much your paying all up for that? ^^

[fatboyz39]

we got noltec one around the whole car. Cost about $800-$1000.

[STiR]

mind saying how much your paying all up for that? ^^

Not sure how much it's going to cost in labour, but parts are not so cheap...

ES master bushing kit 275
Mugen rear trailing arm bushes 180
Mugen rear compensator arm/LCA bushes+ASR endlinks 440USD (including shipping)

Rebuilding the rack cost a few hundred dollars in genuine honda parts as well, that was completely shagged.

Also getting whiteline castor kit fitted to the front too.

I'm making sure we I do it completely as I drive the car very hard and will be taking it to the track, and it's got good gear on it (coilovers, swaybars, camber kits etc.)

[MR-VTEC]

yeah i know what you mean, sucks about the exchange rate now :(

i was just curious how much you were paying to get it all fitted? i had done all mine myself but never gotten around to testing it out cause i never finished the car. The biggest killer would be labour i reckon. i had to make tools to do the job and to do all the bushes it took me a little over a full day but i didn't have to pay any labour which was good :)

the info is on page 4 of my build thread in my signature. heres a pic -

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4701/09ea3.jpg

[JasonGilholme]

the energy suspension kit is under 300 bucks. and comes with all the bushes for the entire car. including powersteering, shifter, rear lca, front lca etc etc etc. even hase new front endlinks which is cool.

install them yourself and you'll be saving alot of money. 800 - 1000 is a rip.

Trailing arm bushes sell seperately for 60 bucks a pair. But go the mugen ones. they're a better design.

[string]

OEM rubber. More expensive but will pay for itself when they will last 3 times as long as any poly bushing.

[JasonGilholme]

how can you say that string?

Poly has way better properties then OEM rubber.

[bennjamin]

how can you say that string?

Poly has way better properties then OEM rubber.

I dont think stiffer = better.
Im sure String can open a much larger can of worms here. But afaik poly bushes , being stiffer will actually fail long before (IE crack) than OEM rubber will.

[JasonGilholme]

I can see where your coming from. stiffer will crack more easily.

but in reference to the actual material, Poly is more resistant to wear then rubber isn't it? ie, effected by water, chemicals, dirt etc??

[string]

how can you say that string?

Poly has way better properties then OEM rubber.

I don't know anything about the materials except for ES's advertising ploy, but experience has shown me (es masterkit) that poly bushings wear badly. The design allows rotation in only one axis, any force attempting to move the bar in other directions will lead to wear. Not many bushings in the DA/DC suspension which only rotate in one axis. Eventually the tight fitting hole in the centre of the poly bushing will oval and your performance will spiral downward.

Exactly locating the suspension members is critical to performance. OEM bushings, whilst arguable not as durable, are designed to allow and accept the correct suspension movement and will maintain geometry for longer.

If you're bushings are so shot that you can wobble the control arms around, and you only plan to have the car for a little while longer, then it's a cheap fix. If you're a purist and have serious goals about performance, then you'll probably end up like me, dreaming about sphericals instead.

Search for "HardRace". I believe they make stiffer rubber [or maybe poly] bushings in the style of OEM. At a guess they'd be priced somewhere between ES and OEM.

[zel05]

A little off topic, but can you guys recommend some places to pick up individual bushes. My hardrace kit only comes with the inner front lca bushing, they dont recommend a solid bushings for the outer bushing when using solid upper arm bushings...

So basically i need the outer FLCA bushings and tie rod boot bushings in poly.

any suggestions as to where i can pick these items up from?

[zel05]

I don't know anything about the materials except for ES's advertising ploy, but experience has shown me (es masterkit) that poly bushings wear badly. The design allows rotation in only one axis, any force attempting to move the bar in other directions will lead to wear. Not many bushings in the DA/DC suspension which only rotate in one axis. Eventually the tight fitting hole in the centre of the poly bushing will oval and your performance will spiral downward.

Exactly locating the suspension members is critical to performance. OEM bushings, whilst arguable not as durable, are designed to allow and accept the correct suspension movement and will maintain geometry for longer.

If you're bushings are so shot that you can wobble the control arms around, and you only plan to have the car for a little while longer, then it's a cheap fix. If you're a purist and have serious goals about performance, then you'll probably end up like me, dreaming about sphericals instead.

Search for "HardRace". I believe they make stiffer rubber [or maybe poly] bushings in the style of OEM. At a guess they'd be priced somewhere between ES and OEM.

Hardrace do make hard rubber bushings...They also offer the same bushings in a spherical application.

http://www.hardrace.com/products.asp?strClass1=12&strClass2=26&strClass3=60

Here is a list of items they stock. I can put you into contact with someone that can supply most of the above if you wish.

As for price...not cheap. for instance, I was quoted $140 US for the front lower control arm bushings alone...in spherical mind you. Rubber is much cheaper. You can buy the whole hard rubber kit off SPM (Special Project Motorsports) for $330 US

http://specialprojectsms.com/index.php?productID=111

[JasonGilholme]

i see where you're coming from. but the way i see it alot of bushes in the car would benefit from only rotating on one axis. This is an uneducated view though

i'm running ES at the moment so i'll see how they go. I have definately noticed a performance increase over my OEM bushes (12 year old bushes i might add). Have to keep my eyes on their longevity though.

Same thing goes for all new parts put on the car though. Will have a look at hardrace ones.

Trial and error. :thumbsup:

[vinnY]

my hardrace ones are holding up pretty well

my mate had noltec bushings installed in his lca, when we switched them out to put in dc2r rear lca's one of the noltec bushings on the lca literally fell apart and all the others were badly worn and basically became ovals
looked like someone had stuck a heated up screw through a wax candle

[bennjamin]

personally replaced trailing arm bushes with ES ones - did it for ease of install and cost.
No issues , no excess noise. Keeps the rear quite straight - for a semi-daily car they are fine.
But for all other bushes , i recommend OEM parts , be it mugen even. They will last another 10-15 years of use.

[fatboyz39]

Have noltec bushing all round the car. Been over a yr of some hard driving and they still look ok.

[STiR]

I pick up my car tomorrow guys...man I can't wait/can't sleep... every single bushing been changed, fully reconditioned steering rack and brand new tie rods = YUMMY
Will be sure to give feedback for you guys as front end is Energy Suspension, rear end is Mugen

Shiraz

[EGJOE]

I pick up my car tomorrow guys...man I can't wait/can't sleep... every single bushing been changed, fully reconditioned steering rack and brand new tie rods = YUMMY
Will be sure to give feedback for you guys as front end is Energy Suspension, rear end is Mugen

Shiraz

How did you go buddy? Happy with the result?
Contemplating on doing pretty much same as you :thumbsup:

[STiR]

Hey EGJOE,

The car has been transformed. It is alive! Where the car felt dangerous and uncertain, it is not confidence-inspiring. I gave it a full and thorough testing along the Great Ocean Road on yesterday's cruise and I couldn't be happier with it. I'll be monitoring the bushes and hopefully they stay in good shape for a long time :-)

[EGJOE]

Thats great to hear the positive result, Good work buddy!!! :thumbsup:
Only concern i have is longevity of the es kit. I guess i'll just have to stay tuned. :)

[STiR]

I think it's very important to ensure that the poly bushes are thoroughly and generously greased up. You can't skimp on this, otherwise the bushes will run dry and start to do all sorts of horrid things.

[nd55]

Another point of view....

Up until recently, before Hardrace, poly bushes were the only option as Honda didn't sell just the bushes.

Hence the justification for poly bushes.

With Hardrace's hard rubber bushes now available, at an OK price, with no complaints of quality, I'd choose these.

My poly bushes haven't failed, but I can see visible oval-ing/deformation of the bush which defeats the purpose of new bushes to restore suspension performance.

Nick.

PS. Hardrace do a great spherical bearing, teflon lined & with seals.
Should be brilliant for performance or daily driven spirited driving.

[EGJOE]

Anyone in oz supplying hardrace?

[zel05]

There is a guy in OZ that supplies Hardrace, but I dont think his range is very extensive...ie. camber kit here or there.

I have dealt with one particular guy in the states when buying my hardrace gear, and have had recommended a few more guys buy gear through him and they hhave had good dealings too. He is very knowledgeable and I would recommend him everytime. Pm if you wish to discuss.

[SPEEDCORE]

Anyone in oz supplying hardrace?

Just contact Jeff at Special Projects Motor Sport out of Cali.

He'll look after ya.

[EGJOE]

thanks guys

[eight]

i'm looking to replace the bushings as well. can anyone recommend a workshop in sydney?

and STiR - how much was labour to replace the bushings?

[adnoh]

I want to know too...

[vinnY]

incase you guys missed it, skremn made a thread (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36385&highlight=energy) ages ago in the diy forum documenting his thoughts on the energy suspension hyperflex kit on his lude

[CaP]

how anyone used Nolathane before ?

how does it compare to superpro

[lookingforboost]

^^ pretty sure they are the same brand another onwer that went out and made superpro and made it a different colour and bit cheaper but the same as the Nolathane.

i never had a problem with mine but they were every well greased up so i think that deffinatly has an effect on them as for OEM i know that oil and dirt kills them pretty quick!

[FastFwd]

Ok so im having fairly major issues with the handling of my car atm. I have another thread which explains this:

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115945

I have bought the Energy Bushing master kit to replace all of my bushings but i have been told in the past that this bushing kit is missing the rear LCA's etc. Has anyone bought this kit? and what else doesnt it come with?

https://pontiworld.com.au/energysusp/product_info.php?cPath=56&products_id=226&osCsid=c96eab5c8904be7ec9f3160429aa85e9

[vinnY]

well the list of kit is on the site dude
that's all you get

[FastFwd]

..............

[vinnY]

sounds about right.
rear lca bushes will be a bit wide for your eg
sway bar bushes and such might not fit though, doesn't stop you from trying :)

[FastFwd]

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[FastFwd]

Cancel this request ill make a new thread as this one is old and im hijacking my own thread.