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Suspension Bushes, Which Is The Best Option?

bushings refresh suspension ertacetal polyuretane poly rubber

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#1 Clubman

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:07 AM

Well, my VX has a high mileage (110k miles) and I believe that the suspension bushings have never been changed.

 

I want to put a coilover kit (NSS or similar) in the near future and I fear that the bushes will become the weakest link of the suspension.

 

I've read a lot of posts and I've reached the conclusion that for road use is best to use OEM rubber bushings and for track only use rose joints, is that correct?

 

Why don't you reccomend polyuretane or ertacetal bushings? Are not up to the job?

 

Thanks!



#2 fezzasus

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:13 AM

Any bush which is soft plastic will wear with time, it's simple tribology that a hard rotating cylinder into soft plastic will make it oval and introduce play, this gets significantly worse with corrosion and grit ingress. 

 

Have a look at the seriously lotus wishbone bushes, they are similar to OEM and half the price.



#3 Gedi

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:27 AM

 

IMHO the only 2 real choices are:

 

- OEM (alike) bushings -> Fit and forget, work well and last ages

 

- Spherical bearing (Nitron, Pilbeam, etc.) or Erlaton -> Need regular maintenance and replacement, but tighter control of suspension movement

 

Polyurethane basically combines the 'bad' points from both into one.. They need regular maintenance/cleaning to stop dirt grinding away on the subframe/mounts and inside the wishbone eyes, while still giving a lot of compliance/flex in the bushings.

 

Ran most types of bushings on my car in it's 12+ year lifespan by now and have settled on Nitron spherical bearings for mine, but otherwise I'd have gone back to the OEM (alike) rubber ones.

 

Bye, Arno,

 

 

The Seriously Lotus bushes fezzasus recommends are OEM (alike), and they're my preferred choice.too



#4 Scuffers

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:36 AM

if it's a road car, the OEM all the way.

 

I hate polly stuff (they are just hopeless on a bush this size/design).

 

Ertacetal is great, BUT they need to be installed JUST RIGHT, else you will have issues, that said, for a car that's tracked with sticky tyres they are a massive step forward.

 

(I am also not a fan of fitting spericals to OEM wishbones, for several reasons).

 

 

 

 

 

 



#5 siztenboots

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:54 AM

please elaborate on the installation method / issues



#6 fezzasus

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 09:57 AM

please elaborate on the installation method / issues

 

Honestly, they still carry the same issues as poly bushes. The material is harder, and the metal inserts have groves to retain grease, both of which extend the life of the bush, but without regularly regreasing they will still tends towards the issues seen with poly bushes.



#7 Clubman

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 10:39 AM

Thanks! I would use it mostly as a road car with some trackdays ont the mix.

 

I'll opt for the SL ones.



#8 chris_uk

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 10:45 AM

I have standard exige oem bushes snd they are top notch. Good on the road and fine on track.

#9 Bumblebee

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 10:45 AM

[quote data-cid='1708592' name='Gedi' timestamp='1404379646' post='1708592'] 


 
[/quote]

 
The Seriously Lotus bushes fezzasus recommends are OEM (alike), and they're my preferred choice.too
[/quote]

I agree

#10 fezzasus

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 10:47 AM

I have standard exige oem bushes snd they are top notch. Good on the road and fine on track.

 

Same part numbers as the VX and Elise.

 

http://www.deroure.c...&SMO=0&ST=&SC=0



#11 chris_uk

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 10:49 AM

Ive no idea on part numbers, dave at seriously lotus sorted them out.. Im pretty sure they were uprated oem exige bushes.

#12 Scuffers

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 11:26 AM

 

please elaborate on the installation method / issues

 

Honestly, they still carry the same issues as poly bushes. The material is harder, and the metal inserts have groves to retain grease, both of which extend the life of the bush, but without regularly regreasing they will still tends towards the issues seen with poly bushes.

 

/sweeping generalisation alert!/

 

never yet come across a car with [color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]Ertacetal/nylon/etc bushes fitted right..[/color]

 

usual issues are that no care has been taken to make sure that the bush'es themselves are a snug fit in the wishbones, usually the wishbone has some weld that sticks up and prevents the bush fitting home 100% and square or the like, then the tube is pushed in, and the bolt just clamps the whole lot together so tight that it all binds up.

 

sometimes the tube of the wishbone is a tad long/short so the bush tube is then too short/long.

 

basically, you have to 'fettle' the bushes to get them 100% right, and nobody seems to do this (especially when they are charging a fixed cost to do the job).

 

if done right, the bolts should be able to be torqued up and the wishbone should be easy to move (almost under it's own weight), but not 'loose'.

 

yes, they don't last forever, but assuming you're not giving them a salt bath every day etc, (or pressure washing them!), they only need a look at every year or so (and usually that's just a case of checking them and clean/regrease if required)

 

I don't like Polly because they usually are too sloppy and have serrated bush tubes that eat though the bush etc.

 

if you want compliance, use OEM ones, Lotus may be bad at many things, but they did a good job of specing them, the only real issue is they have a relatively short life.



#13 fezzasus

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 11:29 AM

Not a sweeping generalisation. I'm describing the basic design of the bushes, and regardless of how they are fitted the issues I described will present themselves.

 

 



#14 TazN

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 12:19 PM

the only real issue is they have a relatively short life.

 

How long would you expect standard ones to last Scuffers?



#15 Scuffers

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Posted 03 July 2014 - 12:42 PM

Not a sweeping generalisation. I'm describing the basic design of the bushes, and regardless of how they are fitted the issues I described will present themselves.

 

 

I was referring to the bit of my post that followed that line!

 

 

the only real issue is they have a relatively short life.

 

How long would you expect standard ones to last Scuffers?

 

typically, 3-4 years before they go 'floppy', but really depends on usage

 

the softer the car is sprung/damped, the faster they degrade (more articulation)







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: bushings, refresh, suspension, ertacetal, polyuretane, poly, rubber

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