this is why not to install urethane control arm bushings
#1
this is why not to install urethane control arm bushings
these bushings are about a year old. previous owner had installed them, and i know his mechanical ability, he knows what he is doing so i have no reason to beleive they were installed incorectly. when i got the car they were not bad, i kept a close eye on them and after reading the problems people had i found a set of stockers to have on hand. the other day after re-torquing my wheels i noticed the wheel was moving back and forth an inch. finnally got to changing them and thats what i found.
now just from looking at the design i can see why urethane doesnt last there. the controll arm needs to move up and down, and its going to flex that bushing as it was designed to do, and its just going to destroy the urethane as its unable to flex. there is a reason that the race stuff doesnt use urethane bushings and instead uses spherical hyme joints. these are the JBP bushings, i know the intense ones are supposed to be better, but i doubt they will last much longer.
my advice to anyone looking to buy these, dont. it may help with wheelhop, but do you really want to spend $200 and an hour changing them every 10k miles???
#2
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damn man, mine are a year old and they're pretty bad, but not that bad. Looks like a lot of hard driving, but its definitely true, the polyurethane control arm bushings have a short lifespan and they're not worth $200 every year to change them out. I just bought stock control arms to replace mine because i was getting a lot of play and quick wheelhopping.
#5
I heard about some performance control arms having spherical hyme joints in the rear busshing and polyurathane i think in the front. Can you get spherical hyme joints separate or not?
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AFAIK nobody has had problems there... only the CAB's. I have had my poly trans mounts in for ~ a year now with no issues, at least. Still look like new
to the op and everyone else - poly CAB's are overrated and/or unneccesary, assuming you have other traction mods. With my mods (traction bars, solid upper mount and poly trans mounts) I experience zero wheel hop... even when launching high for our car (~4000 rpms). Of course, it's nothing but wheel SPIN at that high... lol but I just check it every once in a while to see if I need to tighten my traction bars (need to be adjusted every few thousand miles).
Hope this helps...?
to the op and everyone else - poly CAB's are overrated and/or unneccesary, assuming you have other traction mods. With my mods (traction bars, solid upper mount and poly trans mounts) I experience zero wheel hop... even when launching high for our car (~4000 rpms). Of course, it's nothing but wheel SPIN at that high... lol but I just check it every once in a while to see if I need to tighten my traction bars (need to be adjusted every few thousand miles).
Hope this helps...?
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#10
http://www.powellmotorsport.com/inde...d=1&startnum=0
I have a great deal of experience with poly bushings in this type of control arm setup.
Just don't do it.
Factory bushings in good condition do the job well. If you need more, specifically in the twistied dept, get the right part as above.
Edit...
I hope the mods are not upset at my posting of a non sponsoring vendor, but with an issue like this, people need to know.
I have a great deal of experience with poly bushings in this type of control arm setup.
Just don't do it.
Factory bushings in good condition do the job well. If you need more, specifically in the twistied dept, get the right part as above.
Edit...
I hope the mods are not upset at my posting of a non sponsoring vendor, but with an issue like this, people need to know.
Last edited by craig; 03-13-2008 at 09:20 AM. Reason: Additional thought.
#11
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this is easy what you had was going to fail you need a cross axis ball joint (spherical joint) for that application as the arm has to go up and down and in and out at the same time. sure its a very small amount, of momevement, but thats why urethane is doomed. In the leading innercontrol arm bushing (the other one) delrin works well. There is somewhere a harder bushing for the one you need, I believe its used by SCCA racers I am never seen it. The racing spherical joint is excellent, works well not cheap ($60- $80 my cost for the joint itself ) plus welding in a machined sleeve with a circlip groove to install and retanl. The problem is for street use you would have to dismantle and clean regularly as spherical joints are not designed for the hostile street environment, although a rubber boot would help. I have these parts PM me if you want to price them but I recommend that you go back to stock and enjoy the reliability unless of course you need better tire wear from your Hoosier A6 race tires at Watkins Glen...or where the heck do you race where you are? Tradex? lol
i will try again
cant send pic gave up
i will try again
cant send pic gave up
Last edited by qwikredline; 03-13-2008 at 10:01 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
#12
as i said, previous owner put em in there, i know just by design they fail and never would put them in myself. i put this thread up more just as a "this is why you shouldnt waste your money" when people are thinking of getting them. what does annoy me is companies that know better than to build theese bushings, but do and charge a small fortune for them.
and as a side note, i have only gone out to autocross a couple of times, but we do it at an airport with a 500x1000' skidpad. no i dont race at tradex, havent even been there is years.
and as a side note, i have only gone out to autocross a couple of times, but we do it at an airport with a 500x1000' skidpad. no i dont race at tradex, havent even been there is years.
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#16
nice peice, but as stated, will die very fast on the street. a hyme joint isnt dust sealed, they will get full of grit and destroy it. honestly, unless you are building a full out race car, dont bother with anything, keep the stock controll arm bushings.
#18
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I have now broken two sets, one JBP and one Intense, both lasted less than 6 months. I need to call the owner of a shop that is supposed to be making me some spherical ones, I gave him a control arm to prototype. I love the way the CABs work when new, but they can't last too long the way they are designed.
#19
I have also seen poly bushings, in this type of control arm, split the control arm around the mount. Scary!!!
#20
Senior Member
you can make a set of spherical barrings with a little time and a good machine shop.
i bought a set of poly units from a person on here, and through no fault of his own they died in about a week after i installed them.
so i put the car up one night after work and got to work.
a few hours later i had a true spherical joint. now i can launch the bitch in boost and she just rip's the tires.
i bought a set of poly units from a person on here, and through no fault of his own they died in about a week after i installed them.
so i put the car up one night after work and got to work.
a few hours later i had a true spherical joint. now i can launch the bitch in boost and she just rip's the tires.
#22
Senior Member
any "old timer" at a machine shop can get'r done.
take in a spherical barring that you can pick up in numerous places along with your control arm and tell them you want the two to press togather, they'll make the needed sleeves and get ya going.
note-
take in an old control arm bushing along with the bolt so they can make the inner sleeve that'll bolt between the body and K-frame.
#24
Senior Member
the solid engine and trans mounts are fine, they were required to move far less from the beginning, plus they don't HAVE to move like the control arm bushing does.