Rear Suspension Bushes......................
Discussion
I'm about to change the rear suspension bushes on the Tuscan and looking for abit of advice (From Experience of doing the same). Since purchasing the car, I've been trying to make it more road friendly, getting it away from the harsh ride and handling into something more refined. I don't do many track days, and when I do use the car I want to enjoy the ride, and not get jarred to death over every bump in the road and have been trying to eliminate road noise transmitted into the car (Don't mind the engine/exhaust noise though). Just after a more user friendly handling/ride.
As I'm about to change the rear wishbone bushes, I did consider fitting poly type bushes, but thought that these might make the ride harsher and transmit more road noise into the car compared with traditional rubber ones........... Any experience/advice ????
And is there anywhere that will sell a full set of bushes (Rear Suspension Set) at a reasonable price (And if they're generic, what car are they originally from ???). Looking at the prices of standard rubber bushes, purchased individually from Racing Green etc, they start to add up quite quickly compared to everyday bushes on your average road runner. (There's 14 bushes on the rear suspension).
As I'm about to change the rear wishbone bushes, I did consider fitting poly type bushes, but thought that these might make the ride harsher and transmit more road noise into the car compared with traditional rubber ones........... Any experience/advice ????
And is there anywhere that will sell a full set of bushes (Rear Suspension Set) at a reasonable price (And if they're generic, what car are they originally from ???). Looking at the prices of standard rubber bushes, purchased individually from Racing Green etc, they start to add up quite quickly compared to everyday bushes on your average road runner. (There's 14 bushes on the rear suspension).
Edited by Jim Green on Friday 10th April 22:06
Many Thanks, I have two weeks off from Tuesday and I'm heading north. Normally do all my maintenance (Except Engine) myself, but at that price it's not worth me spending a day covered in grease (But I do enjoy it...... Not the grease, just working on the car.....LOL). Many Thanks.
Edited by Jim Green on Friday 10th April 22:21
coolcatmaz said:
Can't really comment on costs for a Tuscan, but I've just had the rear wishbone bushes done on my Chim and the Geometry set up for a price of £150 + vat (inc labour).
This was with a TVR Specialist garage.
This was with a TVR Specialist garage.
Jim Green said:
That's very good, considering there's probably £70's worth of bushes. Care to hint where you had it done.
That price unbelievable or suicidal, from a business point of view. There are 14 bushes on the rear suspension. That's well over £100 including the thrust washers and spacers. Then there is the labour needed to remove the wishbones, remove the old bushes, fit the new bushes and the time to do the geometry.
So all in all either CCM has been lucky and been undercharged for the work — or what was expected to be done wasn't. Or the labour worked out at £150 and the bushes were on top.
Edited by shpub on Saturday 11th April 09:19
Jim Green said:
I'm about to change the rear suspension bushes on the Tuscan and looking for abit of advice (From Experience of doing the same). Since purchasing the car, I've been trying to make it more road friendly, getting it away from the harsh ride and handling into something more refined. I don't do many track days, and when I do use the car I want to enjoy the ride, and not get jarred to death over every bump in the road and have been trying to eliminate road noise transmitted into the car (Don't mind the engine/exhaust noise though). Just after a more user friendly handling/ride.
As I'm about to change the rear wishbone bushes, I did consider fitting poly type bushes, but thought that these might make the ride harsher and transmit more road noise into the car compared with traditional rubber ones........... Any experience/advice ????
And is there anywhere that will sell a full set of bushes (Rear Suspension Set) at a reasonable price (And if they're generic, what car are they originally from ???). Looking at the prices of standard rubber bushes, purchased individually from Racing Green etc, they start to add up quite quickly compared to everyday bushes on your average road runner. (There's 14 bushes on the rear suspension).
The right poly bushes are no harsher than the original rubber ones. The Powerflex ones I sell are fast road grade, not a very hard track compound. They don't transmit road noise any more than the originals. If the ride is too jarry, then it is the spring/shock settings that need to be changed as they have a far bigger impact and ride quality. The bushes are there to help control the dynamics of the geometry and keep it steady. Poly bushes do the job better because they don't wear/degrade as much as the originals and tighten up the suspension as a result. They do not make it harsher but just make sure that the geometries stay consistent. As I'm about to change the rear wishbone bushes, I did consider fitting poly type bushes, but thought that these might make the ride harsher and transmit more road noise into the car compared with traditional rubber ones........... Any experience/advice ????
And is there anywhere that will sell a full set of bushes (Rear Suspension Set) at a reasonable price (And if they're generic, what car are they originally from ???). Looking at the prices of standard rubber bushes, purchased individually from Racing Green etc, they start to add up quite quickly compared to everyday bushes on your average road runner. (There's 14 bushes on the rear suspension).
The car will never have the same ride quality as an ordinary road runner simply because of the performance involved. If you soften the suspension too much, the car will be severely compromised. However, many owners have stiffened the suspension to reduce the body roll and this does make for a harsher ride. The reason for doing this is that the ARB drop link bushes do a terrible job of transmitting the ARB forces to the wishbones. In effect they either do too little or too much. This makes the car very twitchy. Tuscan owners (and owners of other TVRs) who have fitted my rose jointed drop links find that the roll is greatly reduced and they have been able to soften the shock/springs so that the ride quality is improved without introducing body roll. The end result is a car that still handles but is a little softer.
The other aspect to look at is tyre pressures as these play an important part. Simply taking a few pounds out improves the compliance and ride. The car is very sensitive to this. Also bear in mind that the car was originally designed to work with a 16 inch wheel with a relatively high profile - this is a bit more compliant. However public demand insisted on the larger 17-18 inch wheels which have a lower profile and are a lot stiffer. This change was mainly for appearance — but the offshoot was that the thinner tyres led to a harsher ride simply because there was less compliance. This effectively stiffened the suspension, which improved the handling but at the expense of the ride quality.
Edited by shpub on Saturday 11th April 09:14
The garage in question had special offers on for a variety of services and repairs, and they had my car for 2 days doing various jobs for me.
Considering my bill was just under £700 in total, I think I got off lightly with what they charged me for doing the rear bushes
as I was expecting a much higher bill than what I received.
I was also told my car was most co-operative when it came to the bushes and set-up which also cut down a lot of labour time.
Considering my bill was just under £700 in total, I think I got off lightly with what they charged me for doing the rear bushes
as I was expecting a much higher bill than what I received.I was also told my car was most co-operative when it came to the bushes and set-up which also cut down a lot of labour time.
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