which trailing arm bush brand?

[exquisit]

need to replace this and i was looking at the new nolathanes as you dont need to clock it compared to others on the market whilst being the cheapest
there is 2 sizes one is 80mm OD other is 85mm OD
i have an ek and im wondering which one i should buy?

also other opinions on other brands would be appreciated also

thanks in advance!

[GIPONU]

how about hardrace?
i know jdmyard sells some but not sure if they have it for civics

[exquisit]

i think hardrace ones still need to be clocked whilst the nolathane ones are much like the spherical bearing types which dont need to be clocked properly and thus avoid binding and premature wear and tear

[GIPONU]

if its just a bushing and doesnt come with the "dogbone" peice moulded to it, i wouldnt be bothered.
its a bitch to install. you might as well find one with the dogbone

[outatime]

u cant go wrong with Honda or Mugen

other brands will make the rear hard and bumpy

[exquisit]

if its just a bushing and doesnt come with the "dogbone" peice moulded to it, i wouldnt be bothered.
its a bitch to install. you might as well find one with the dogbone

dogbone as in the bit with the 2 holes that the bolts go thru?

[exquisit]

u cant go wrong with Honda or Mugen

other brands will make the rear hard and bumpy

hmm... not to worried bout hard and bumpy
just dont want to replace them again any time soon coz it clocked it wrong

[EK1.6LCIV]

HARD RACE or oem, there is no alternative

[DNYALL]

I am using the HARDRACE spherical bearing rear control arm bushings in the racecar. they are fairly harsh but very good :thumbsup:

[exquisit]

HARD RACE or oem, there is no alternative

why do you say this?
and how do you go bout clocking the rta so avoid premature wearing out?


I am using the HARDRACE spherical bearing rear control arm bushings in the racecar. they are fairly harsh but very good :thumbsup:

i was actually first looking at SB type, but because of the costs, i had to look for alternatives
there is nolathane n american prothane that have the shaft seperate to the urethane bushe so it acts like a SB bush as in it is able to rotate within the bush but without the price difference

[TheSaint]

originally i was going to put Energy Suspension RTA bush's in - i use ES for almost all my other bush's

but from doing a bit of research - hardrace make a far superior product at a similar cost

hardrace have a few types - ranging from $70 to $300 - im just going to get the cheaper ones

but im using ES for:
- engine mount inserts
- shifter bushings
- front upper arm bushings
- steering rack mounts/bushings

using hardrace for:
- front swaybar endlinks
- rear swaybar endlinks
- rear control arm bushings

[exquisit]

the problem i can see with hardrace ones is that if you dont clock them properly, they will tear and destroy the mount

obviously i want to lower my car a fair bit so thats why i looked into spherical bearing types... but they are not economical for a daily as they can wear out the bearing itself

next best was the nolathane because you dont need to clock them as they move within the bush
and they have a circlip to hold them in place also

[exquisit]

perhaps im just overthinking it all lol

[outatime]

dude just get oem, they will last at least 10 years. you would have sold your car by then

[EK1.6LCIV]

dude, its a bush...

the bush is pressed in, hard race or oem

dont cheap out with some crappy poly one or other chinese equiv... (especially when it costs upward of $500 for some mechanic to unnecessarily remove the whole trailing arm from the car to press them as they havent the tool needed to keep the brake lines and abs lines attached like I do which makes it a breezy job)

they dont last ten years ether (if you drive less than 20,000kms a year maybe)... its a high stress point area in the trailing arm, note the size of it and bolts needed

[string]

If you're getting coilovers and plan to change the height often, then a non-fixed bushing might be a good idea. I have PCI sphericals in the trailing arms of my teg and they perform great.

Clocking the bushing only requires a bit of thought before you start taking everything apart, and you have to have the car at the height you want before you get going (i.e. you can't install a new RTA bushing and lowering springs at the same time). Just get a ruler and line it up parallel with the metal centre part of the bushing and mark that line on the trailing arm. Now you know exactly what angle to bash the bushing in. Just don't rotate it the wrong way :/

[exquisit]

dude, its a bush...

the bush is pressed in, hard race or oem

dont cheap out with some crappy poly one or other chinese equiv... (especially when it costs upward of $500 for some mechanic to unnecessarily remove the whole trailing arm from the car to press them as they havent the tool needed to keep the brake lines and abs lines attached like I do which makes it a breezy job)

they dont last ten years ether (if you drive less than 20,000kms a year maybe)... its a high stress point area in the trailing arm, note the size of it and bolts needed

pretty sure you dont understand my concern lol
the cost to pay a mechanic is a fair bit... which is why i am asking bout clocking and premature wear which i have read about occuring with incorrectly installed bushes

which specialty tools are you talking bout btw?



If you're getting coilovers and plan to change the height often, then a non-fixed bushing might be a good idea. I have PCI sphericals in the trailing arms of my teg and they perform great.

Clocking the bushing only requires a bit of thought before you start taking everything apart, and you have to have the car at the height you want before you get going (i.e. you can't install a new RTA bushing and lowering springs at the same time). Just get a ruler and line it up parallel with the metal centre part of the bushing and mark that line on the trailing arm. Now you know exactly what angle to bash the bushing in. Just don't rotate it the wrong way :/

yes!
the answer im looking for!
is it possible to get a pic or diagram as to how you clocked it?
i was thinking setting the ride height, then putting the car on a 4 post hoist, then marking with a spirit level a perfectly horizontal line on the rta which when i replace the bush i can go off to line up the new bush

tbh tho, jdmyard hardrace rta bush is $135 and nolathane with rotating bushing is $150 delivered... so not much price difference in it
is nolathane far inferior? real world wise... not jdm factor wise

[TheSaint]

Energy Suspension are a much better quality alternative to Nolathane
if you get the black series (they dont look as good as red but meh) they have graphite in them for extra strength

im just going to get the cheapest of the Hardrace RTA bush kits (pretty sure its not spherical)

Hard Race RTA - 6106: HARDEN RUBBER
http://www.hardrace.com/products.asp?strClass1=11&strClass2=22&strClass3=18

[exquisit]

Energy Suspension are a much better quality alternative to Nolathane
if you get the black series (they dont look as good as red but meh) they have graphite in them for extra strength

im just going to get the cheapest of the Hardrace RTA bush kits (pretty sure its not spherical)

Hard Race RTA - 6106: HARDEN RUBBER
http://www.hardrace.com/products.asp?strClass1=11&strClass2=22&strClass3=18

going off the energy suspension site
they list prothane as their bolt in bush kit, ie. comes with the metal sleeve and rod
these are the ones i was looking at originally
so i think i'll go them
=)

[EK1.6LCIV]

ffs, youre reading too much into it, lol

you go to honda, buy the damn bush, then go online for a press, then remove the bolts (four in total, helps if you have access to an air tool as theyre on rather well and working on jack stands doesnt give a lot of leverage/access), remove the old bushes and put new ones in, lol

its not a difficult matter at all...

dont get energy rubbish, get oem or hardrace, anything made of rubber or a proper bearing

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd127/kwelrap/4496171174_5e35a40284_z.jpg

bushes $140
tool $200
hand tools to remove the bushes = $50

savings on the basis of Honda being $135hr with the tax and saying it's a 6 hour job with wheel alignment = $810

$810
-
$390

=$420 you save and it will only take you a novice less than 4 hours

[TheSaint]

energy suspension make good bush's and engine mounts - for street/daily use i would only ever buy ES and OEM - they are certainly not rubbish - iv used them on many cars and the blow Nolathane out of the water and outperform OEM most of the time

if the car is just a daily get OEM - if it gets a bit of spirited driving than buy hardracw - its the only kit that i would trust for the RTA bush

ES is better for things like shifter bushing, engine mount inserts, strut tops and swaybar mounts
but Hardrace make pretty good alternatives to all of these - they just cost a bit more
one other good thing about hardrace is they offer both a stiffer normal style bush as well as a spherical bearing
ES only provide stiffer bush's

EK1.6LCIV is right tho - there really isnt much to it lol

[outatime]

to the op if you're trying to save money, just buy oem and get Hannys to install it for you. they charge 150 for the job. takes them half hour to do it. so you'll be spending 290 all up and will save u time and headaches.

[exquisit]

ah i'll do it myself... thats not the problem
i probably am reading too much into it
i'll give these black energy's a go coz they can rotate and take it from there
=)
thanks for all the help!

[string]

I recommend you do some research on that product before you buy it. The RTA bushing is complicated and needs to deform in more ways than simply rotating in one axis around the pin. It's easy to find anecdotal evidence that there is something funny about them.

I paid $104 for my OEM bushings. I wouldn't put ES bushings in the RTA even if they were free.

[outatime]

^ agree with string.. ES bushings are crap! i've tried it and regretted it! buy oem or mugen. better safe than sorry!

[exquisit]

I recommend you do some research on that product before you buy it. The RTA bushing is complicated and needs to deform in more ways than simply rotating in one axis around the pin. It's easy to find anecdotal evidence that there is something funny about them.

I paid $104 for my OEM bushings. I wouldn't put ES bushings in the RTA even if they were free.

dont need to by shy
you can share the info with me
=)
which site/links/info you talkin bout which i need to research on?

[string]

I just don't want to make a rigid statement I don't know to be absolutely true. Over 6 years I've been reading Honda forums, I've seen these bushings discussed hundreds of times, and what I know to be true is that there is a correlation between installations of the ES RTA bushings and complaints of strange things happening to handling.

I suspect you'll be turned off them before half way down the first page in google for a search on "energy suspension rta binding" or similar.

[EK1.6LCIV]

$150, bs no one would bother wasting their time for $150 lol that would mean their rate is less than $40hr... is this at a house lol

My charge out is $250 minimum if people were to come to me

poly bushings are shit, there is no valid reason, other than a band-aide to use one, theyre not firm, they will not last and you'll be back on your back doing a time intensive exercise once again saying to yourself, why didn't I take the mechanical/petro guys advice...

[V8KLLR]

Im was looking at purchasing SuperPro Polyurethane bushings for my DC5R to replace the whole shebang. But I take it they are of bad quality so I shouldnt buy them?

[TheSaint]

i use ES for all the light duty stuff in my car - but when it comes to important points like the RTA i will only use OEM/Mugen/Hardrace

im getting the lower end Hardrace product and installing it myself - save urself headaches and do the same thing as me =)

[vinnY]

I'm personally rocking hardrace bushes all round, highly recommended
way better than poly jobs

[jks24]

had mine replaced just after I got the EM1. Deff a common thing as we have two other EKs in the family as well, one has new trailing arm bushings and the other one needs them. Honda charged me 300 thats including all labour and OEM bushings plus allignment :)

[TheSaint]

im doing it as an upgrade ... but how do u tell if it NEEDS doing?