Read my lips, no bush!

[[PIMPIN]]

Sorry to disappoint any in-house perverts but we're not talking about those lips and certainly not that kind of bush. But its as good a title as any for the subject of Skyline replacement bushes. With many of us here driving either R32s, R33s or R34s with the youngest being a 9 year old car and the oldest 22 years old, wear and tear is nothing new and something to be expected or rather anticipated.

Therefore, I'd like to know everyone's thoughts on replacement bushes for arms, swaybars, subframe - basically all the OEM bushes that came with the car which we all know to be made from rubber. For those who have replaced theirs, please share with us which bush you replaced and more importantly what you replaced it with. Also, what difference did it make and how was the ride/handling affected (noisy? harsh? etc?).

The most common route seems to be replacing the OEM bushes with polyurethane bushes and I've lost count of the different manufacturers. However, what are the benefits of polyurethane compared to rubber? Is it really more superior and if so, why are the OEM bushes made from rubber? And before anyone brings up the cost argument, isn't polyurethane cheaper? Wouldn't the price of rubber worldwide make it more expensive as compared to something which I'm guessing is synthetically produced (I'm no engineer so I have no idea how its made or what its made of).

Also, NISMO replacement bushes are also rubber and not polyurethane and we all know NISMO parts don't come cheap. So why use polyurethane when rubber seems to be the choice for OEM and also for NISMO? In parting, I'd like to paste this link I came across on GTROC: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/133326-nismo-arms.html#post1264470.

Thanks in advance for any replies, hopefully they are constructive and please read the link above if possible.

 

[pangyau]

Interesting topic & it may apply to all type of car.
OEM bushes or Polyurethane bushes.... which one better? :hmmmm:

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Interesting topic & it may apply to all type of car.
OEM bushes or Polyurethane bushes.... which one better? :hmmmm:

I genuinely do not know the answer which is why I want to discuss it. I guess it could apply to all cars in theory, I just happen to post here the most compared to other sections. But feel free to join in as I'd be interested to know regardless of car make/model.

 

[pangyau]

Agree on you, since the topic are common to wear & tear parts to change.
I've change some of my bushes to Super Pro due to the exsiting are worn out.

I try to source the OEMs but seems hard to get compared the aftermarket.
Due to many advertisement on the Net with all the "so call data sheet" & claimed superior compare to OEM.
After using the Super Pro for almost 2 years no problem occur (Syukur)
So no complaining at all...

Some of my friends, replace their worn bushes to OEMs but they told me it not last long.
Maybe they get not the orginal OEMs or their way of driving will giving different result.

 

[V-Spec]

PU bushes could be too harsh on the road plus they do squek. I'll go with orignal/Nismo rubber bushes if I need to change mine. Every single bush can be ordered as replacement for worn items. I am bringing some in for someone too.

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

even tough i'm no driving skyline..i'm quite agree that PU/teflon bushing do have some harshness in term of ride quality over rubber bushes....

well rubber means to absorbs small scale of vibration from all moving part at suspension and engine area....(there's reason why nobody wants to put PU/teflon as engine mounting replacement)

 

[owtaman]

I have done a full SuperPro polyurethane bushings replacement before in my previous car(a Honda Civic EG9), it does improve the handling a little but the ride suffers(the civic was a daily ride), what I have learned from this upgrade is that the OEM rubber bushings are actually playing a big part of shock absorbers to dampen the harshness from the road.

So base on my experience I recommend to replace only those difficult to source OEM bushings but avoid replacing all of them, well unless you are building a track purpose ride then you don't have to appreciate the shock absorption capability from these OEM rubbers.

If you are planning for this upgrade, I suggest to replace the OEM rubbers supporting the original anti-roll bars as a start..

One last thing, beware of possible squeak from these after market bushings, the SuperPro did not give me these issues but I remember the polyurethane bushings that came together with a pair of SpeedWorks anti-roll bars gave me a lot of noise(even after many re-greases) until I replace them with OEM rubber bushings(but it reduce the effect on the anti-roll capability), then the killer noise is gone finally.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not actually changing bushes but I just thought I'd create a thread on one, then another for say air filters and so on. Pretty soon we'll have a pretty comprehensive knowledge base on all aspects of Skylines in particular.

But IMHO, from the link I posted it makes a lot of sense why P/U bushes do squeak and although many people say they last longer than OEM rubber, I think we need to consider how long the OEM ones have lasted all these years and secondly, how many people have used P/U bushes for many, many years?

Lastly, since P/U bushes do not absorb/compress/etc due to its relative inflexibility, then where is the force transferred to and is that part made to handle such stresses especially over the long term?

 

[shark79]

ive driven 34gtr with full pu bushing all round, man u can ever hear the sound of roaches squashing when you run over them.Its just to harsh on the ride..u can hear all sorts of noise in th car...its good that we come up with this kind of topic so that we can input as much info as possible daripada talk cock sing song...:lollypop:

 

[reintel]

PU on engine mount would cause all rust trembling away....hehehe.. Really bad vibration.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

ive driven 34gtr with full pu bushing all round, man u can ever hear the sound of roaches squashing when you run over them.Its just to harsh on the ride..u can hear all sorts of noise in th car...its good that we come up with this kind of topic so that we can input as much info as possible daripada talk cock sing song...:lollypop:

Yup, I actually want to create a thread for each aspect of Skyline modification - suspension, tyres, turbos, cooling, etc. Bushes is just one small part of it all.

But it seems like OEM rubber bushes aren't necessarily inferior nor are P/U bushes superior but rather what the car is going to be used for. I guess for a car that is used primarily on track or rarely driven daily then perhaps some people could live with that. However, I guess type of suspension matters as well since some are notoriously stiff with little damping - add P/U bushes to that and your kidneys will swap places with your liver. Maybe a softer suspension setup could accommodate P/U bushes more comfortably.

However the question remains - does P/U really last longer than OEM rubber? Given the amount of greasing needed just to quieten it and the fact that the forces its meant to absorb are being transferred onto other parts of the suspension, is it really worth going for?

 

[turbolover]

My take on this is stay with OEM rubber bushes. That's why manufacturer fitted the car with when they sell it to you.
Improved handling?=yes,5%
Harshness=yes
Bang for buck=NO, eventhough it can last longer from what they claim. I rather spend a bit more money replacing rubber bushes earlier.
I have changed most bushes and I feel it's a total waste of money. I rather stick with OEM and my car still feels old. It supposed to make the ride like it came out of the factory, but.....No.
I'm driving no skyline but I guess it's the same for all cars.
However I want to add that I was a passenger in a Subaru Ver.8 a few months back and this car was bought over from one of the editor of our local car mag. It was fitted with TEIN edc(something to that extend) and fitted with PU bushes(not super pro). Now I must say that is one hell of a solid ride. No squeaks or anything like that even though it 'crashed' into a pothole. Well, it seem like that.

 

[achelone]

how about using aluminium, lets say replacing subframe bushing?