suspension friction - Polybush?
Discussion
Peeps
Being as friction in suspension systems is generally a bad thing I was considering polybushing the griff throughout, now I've fitted these things before and I think they're generally a superior bush provding you fit the grade of poly-urethane thats equivalent to the orginal rubber in hardness ( no nylon here thanks).
However What I 'd like to know is from those who've fittted poly urethane throughout do they feel the suspension is more free than before?
I'd have thought ride quality should be improved and enjoy better suspension response to cross corner bump etc
Your thoughts?
Being as friction in suspension systems is generally a bad thing I was considering polybushing the griff throughout, now I've fitted these things before and I think they're generally a superior bush provding you fit the grade of poly-urethane thats equivalent to the orginal rubber in hardness ( no nylon here thanks).
However What I 'd like to know is from those who've fittted poly urethane throughout do they feel the suspension is more free than before?
I'd have thought ride quality should be improved and enjoy better suspension response to cross corner bump etc
Your thoughts?
I've polybushed and I'm sure that there are advantages to be had in the harder material controlling the geometry wandering. Difficult to judge whether or not you'd notice any difference in freedom of movement because in operation the forces are so huge they'd overcome most resistance.
As I remember one bearing surface is teflon coated and at assembly you lubricate the components with a Molly D grease. How long that will remain in place and effective is anyones guess; ideally there'd be grease nipples for a re-lube.
As I remember one bearing surface is teflon coated and at assembly you lubricate the components with a Molly D grease. How long that will remain in place and effective is anyones guess; ideally there'd be grease nipples for a re-lube.
And to balance that thread out, we've had polys in our t350 racer and not had a single issue. nor with any of the polys i've fitted in countless other track and road cars. vastly superior to the std bushes in every way, albeit more expensive (but possibly better value in the long run).
They've been on since I built it nearly 3 years ago. Plenty of test days, track days, races, etc in that time with sticky tyres and aero and cliff's not exactly a slowcoach in the driving seat either.. as andy will tell you 
. Not had to change one bush on it. I wasnt aware id ever worked on your car. what failed exactly and did you ask for replacements? Ive sold a lot of powerflex bushes (and before that a lot of superflex bushes) for well over 10 years and consider them both a million times better than the std rubber offering which are guaranteed to fail.
. Not had to change one bush on it. I wasnt aware id ever worked on your car. what failed exactly and did you ask for replacements? Ive sold a lot of powerflex bushes (and before that a lot of superflex bushes) for well over 10 years and consider them both a million times better than the std rubber offering which are guaranteed to fail.Edited by spitfire4v8 on Wednesday 5th August 10:34
Seconded Joo.. I frequently inspect mine and have seen no indication of heat related problems- but I do have coated manifolds, so have never bothered with the other heat protection palava's.
The only thing I think you need to be careful of is to spread back the chassis plates so that the tophat 'brims' are not being 'grated' in the area where the thrust washers used to locate?
The only thing I think you need to be careful of is to spread back the chassis plates so that the tophat 'brims' are not being 'grated' in the area where the thrust washers used to locate?
Did I read somewhere that it swells rubber up or am I imagining it?In true PH fashion my thread appears to be straying
I'm not interested in whether poly is better or worse in terms of wear according to he said / she said etc. I've used them for over 15 years in various different cars and they are an excellent replacement for a std chunk of rubber. No good for replacing 'clever' tuned bushes for passive rear steer and the like but the simple type as found on TVR's work well.
Suspension friction is a powerful element in the whole ride quality equation, which is why manufacturer's go to the lengths they do with offsetting springs on struts etc. So anything you can do to reduce friction tends to make the car ride better and be better controlled over bumps.
I had direct expierince of this when I changed the anti-roll bar bushes on my wedge, the end of the bar locates in an rubber bushed 'eye' and tends to slide in and out slightly with bar movement.
I replaced the rubber bushes ( just on this end bush not the supporting bearings) and the car was vastly superior over a rough road so I'm looking to improve the griff in the same fashion.
I've already made some drop links with rose joints for the other end of the anti-roll bar was thinking of replacing the ARB mount with poly before doing the wishy mounts.
So has anyone found any change in ride quality after having done something similar?
And yes Dave's suggestion of spraying stuff with silicone to isolate a squeak is a good idea done it myself on all sorts of cars, you can use WD40 as well as while the oil will start to attack the rubber its only a problem if its left soaking / immersed for several months
I'm not interested in whether poly is better or worse in terms of wear according to he said / she said etc. I've used them for over 15 years in various different cars and they are an excellent replacement for a std chunk of rubber. No good for replacing 'clever' tuned bushes for passive rear steer and the like but the simple type as found on TVR's work well.
Suspension friction is a powerful element in the whole ride quality equation, which is why manufacturer's go to the lengths they do with offsetting springs on struts etc. So anything you can do to reduce friction tends to make the car ride better and be better controlled over bumps.
I had direct expierince of this when I changed the anti-roll bar bushes on my wedge, the end of the bar locates in an rubber bushed 'eye' and tends to slide in and out slightly with bar movement.
I replaced the rubber bushes ( just on this end bush not the supporting bearings) and the car was vastly superior over a rough road so I'm looking to improve the griff in the same fashion.
I've already made some drop links with rose joints for the other end of the anti-roll bar was thinking of replacing the ARB mount with poly before doing the wishy mounts.
So has anyone found any change in ride quality after having done something similar?
And yes Dave's suggestion of spraying stuff with silicone to isolate a squeak is a good idea done it myself on all sorts of cars, you can use WD40 as well as while the oil will start to attack the rubber its only a problem if its left soaking / immersed for several months
Edited by 350Matt on Wednesday 5th August 12:52
I changed all of my suspension bushes to polybushes 2000 miles ago. It does seem a lot more compliant than before (but this includes a full geo setup so i am sure that this is more of a factor than the bushes) but i can honestly say the ride quality seems to be identical to what it was with the rubber bushes.
But on the plus side, i would say it is worth changing them to poly's just for the ease of getting them back in the wishbones.
HTH
But on the plus side, i would say it is worth changing them to poly's just for the ease of getting them back in the wishbones.
HTH
Bluebottle said:
spitfire4v8 said:
i have no idea who you are! maybe if you stopped hiding and told me your full name i might have a better clue feel free to pm if youre shy
Who's doing the Hiding? I've just realised who YOU are feel free to pm if youre shy O.T. You coming down to Castle Combe this weekend UB?
well I've replaced just the front ARB mounts with poly's and lashings of silicone grease.
took it out for a test drive and guess what ....
Its slightly better in initial bump and feels like a slightly softer ride
Need to look at doing the rear ARB well I think.
I did however manage to do something bad to the front wiring loom during fitting as the cooling fans now barely trickle round and also put the side lights on.....
hmmm
took it out for a test drive and guess what ....
Its slightly better in initial bump and feels like a slightly softer ride
Need to look at doing the rear ARB well I think.
I did however manage to do something bad to the front wiring loom during fitting as the cooling fans now barely trickle round and also put the side lights on.....
hmmm
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff