Powerflex Suspension Bushes

[cindydog3]

Bought a new set of Protech shocks and springs late last year for my Griff 500, however,only thinking now of getting round to fitting them! Whereas lots of you guys seem to be constantly pulling your cars apart for a variety of reasons* I just want to wheel it out and drive it.
Maybe this is a NO-BRAINER but whilst I don't intend any trackdays I still want to maximize the handling but not at the expense of comfort. Car is kept in North Donegal ROI where a lot of the roads are surprisingly good and uncrowded, however minor roads are generally poorish with the odd pothole.
Basically do I go for Powerflex bushes throughout to get the max out of the new shocks, or consider replacement with std rubber bushes for perceived comfort. Car has power steering.

• With tongue in cheek (!!) any printable comments welcome.

[phillpot]

cindydog3 said:

Basically do I go for Powerflex bushes throughout to get the max out of the new shocks, or consider replacement with std rubber bushes for perceived comfort.

I doubt you'd tell the difference to be honest.

[Pete Mac]

John, I was speaking on the phone with one of the many 'experts' around, who advised me that the Powerflex bushes did not last long (a few thousand miles) and that I would be much better off going for the standard rubber bushes which would have a life of tens of thousands of miles.

I have no evidence to back this up, I've never changed my bushes but I would be very interested in any feedback, because it will then give me an indication of which way I should go.

The only thing I can add is that when I pressed the old bushes out of my rebuild project (at 50+ thousand miles), they were all in good nick with no rubber rot, however I can't tell you whether they were the originals, although I have assumed they were. Pete

[griffdude]

Pete Mac said:

John, I was speaking on the phone with one of the many 'experts' around, who advised me that the Powerflex bushes did not last long (a few thousand miles) and that I would be much better off going for the standard rubber bushes which would have a life of tens of thousands of miles.

+1
I've used both. The std bushes last much longer & don't transmit anywhere near as much vibration.

[Bluebottle]

griffdude said:

Pete Mac said:

John, I was speaking on the phone with one of the many 'experts' around, who advised me that the Powerflex bushes did not last long (a few thousand miles) and that I would be much better off going for the standard rubber bushes which would have a life of tens of thousands of miles.

+1
I've used both. The std bushes last much longer & don't transmit anywhere near as much vibration.

+2 I am probably replacing failed poly bushes at least 4 times a year when the car is being tracked (usually front nearside but they all wear quicker than rubber).


ETA on the plus side, they are a doddle to replace and I carry spares with me to track days as you can easily fit them in the pit...rubber ones are a swine and usually require total suspension strip down and a fly press.

Edited by Bluebottle on Sunday 24th August 09:14

[gacksen]

have powerflex black on the full rears and after 3k miles no problems so far.
will throw out the front ones in the winter for blacks too...... getting the old
ones out.... quite a messy job

[Pete Mac]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I suspect there is a lot of difference in wear to the suspension bushes between a car being used for competition/track days and a car just being driven on the road. Again though, I have no first hand evidence to support this.

There is no doubt the Powerflex type bushes are a lot easier to fit if you don't have a press but as I do then it is a matter of going for the best option. (although the rear differential bush is a right little s*d and you can't get a press in there - perhaps I will fit a Powerflex bush to that one alone). Pete

[cindydog3]

Seems the pros for fitting original rubber outweigh the cons for powerflex, despite difficulty of removal of original rubber.Limited broadband where I am at mo but will watch this space when possible.
Many thanks for comments thus far.

[Pete Mac]

cindydog3 said:

.... despite difficulty of removal of original rubber........

John, have you thought of buying yourself one of these? I did. Suddenly a difficult job becomes quite an easy job and it is not a great deal of money considering the cost of other things.

http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-09...

I sound like a rep for Automotech, which I'm not but their stuff is very well priced. Pete

[spitfire4v8]

It's ironic that most of us switched to fitting poly bushes because we got fed up of replacing the std rubber bushes at service time.
Of the poly bushes though superflex are better than powerflex because of the way the polyurethane is moulded (moulded under pressure in superflex resulting in a far better strength bush I'm told) which is a shame because it was me who set up the powerlex tvr bushes many years ago when i couldn't get hold of enough superflex bushes from the uk importer

[Pete Mac]

spitfire4v8 said:

It's ironic that most of us switched to fitting poly bushes because we got fed up of replacing the std rubber bushes at service time.
Of the poly bushes though superflex are better than powerflex because of the way the polyurethane is moulded (moulded under pressure in superflex resulting in a far better strength bush I'm told) which is a shame because it was me who set up the powerlex tvr bushes many years ago when i couldn't get hold of enough superflex bushes from the uk importer

I'm still on the fence.

I would like to hear from someone who has fitted powerflex or superflex bushes 30,000 miles ago though - anybody...?

[pete275]

Just had all of my suspension redone at RT Racing, including removal of the front powerflex ones I'd fitted about 4 months previously. They didn't look in a great state tbh, despite these being the later ones with the heat shield to go above them.

RT said that the geometry can wander about with powerflex, and now hes changed them back to standard the car feels solid and planted. The only place they used poly bushes was in the diff mounts.

Best advice I've ever had tbh and I wouldn't go back to poly now, even taking into account removal time etc.

[spend]

I've had the hard Superflex (well except for 2 powerflex on the odd bigger rears) for 10years /8000miles no problems at all.

The only significant difference on my car was coated manifolds as mentioned when all the bush melting sagas started (many many moons ago). I did take great care to dress all the metal & lube before inserting the bushes as well as the brackets to ensure absolutely no cutting/ripping was possible can't really think of any other possible differences from normal (apart from the wallys that did not remove ALL of the old bushes ~ yes I've seen that more often than you'd believe!)

[GTRene]

maybe powerflex black is an option?
would last longer (then purple) but still affordable.

[cindydog3]

Pete Mac said:

John, have you thought of buying yourself one of these? I did. Suddenly a difficult job becomes quite an easy job and it is not a great deal of money considering the cost of other things.

http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-09...

I sound like a rep for Automotech, which I'm not but their stuff is very well priced. Pete

Pete, only picking up on Forum tonight, but thanks for press info. Mechanic/engineer about 50yds from me has a press which I had intended using when I get to that stage. Like yourself, still on the fence re bushes.