I need to get new bushings in the rear of the car since they are all pretty shot, which should I do and should I use stock or some aftermarket brand? Who makes aftermarket bushings?

 

I was looking at their Hyper Flex set which can be seen at:

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...rds=&ShowMe=30

Does that Have everything I need? I thought I read somewhere that it would be wise to include the DTSS elim. bushings as well. Other than those, what else would I need to replace all the suspension bushings? Also will this help me when it comes time to do an alignment?

 

IT is a great mod to do. Will tighten up the suspension a a lot.

The main thing the bushings do for you is make the suspsension react sooner. With the rubber bushings there is a certain amount of play before the suspension will start to react. However, the polyurethan is much stiffer and the suspension will react faster.

The hyperflex is a nice one because it has graffite inpregnated in them. This should help cut down on squeaking which is known to be a problem with poly bushing upgrades.

I did that mod and installed the DTSS eliminator bushings. The reason I did that was because I was tired of the snap I would get when the rear broke traction and it suddenly grabbed traction and that was rather .... violent. I assume that is the DTSS working...I just didnt like that unpredictabilty.

I would suggest that you also replace your differential mount since it will so easy to change...and it is not easy to change when your rear subframe is in the car.

Doing the bushings, DTSS elim, and the diff mount is a labor intensive job. The main labor is dropping the rear subframe (although you dont have to) and pressing out the old bushings and pressing in the new ones.

I ended up just taking my stuff to a shop to get pressed. Cost me an extra 200 bucks for all the bushings to be pressed. $$$ but man I am glad I didn't fork with it

Good luck!

James

 

Yea at this point I dont know if I have the time to really have my car apart, I may just bite the bullet on this one and buy all the parts thing bring the FC to Mazcare and ahve them do it. It may take them 4 hours but it would probably take me a a few days and lots of frustration.

 

I was looking at the bushing kit at www.nopi.com but I have no idea if it's good or not......$75

 

Well all the aftermarket kits (jacobs, etc) will increase the stiffness of the bushings. So you will need to deciede if a stiffer less forgiving ride is what direction you want to go.

 

Man, I would guess that it would take them ALOT longer than four hours to do.

James

 

It'll certainly give you a rougher ride. I've had the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings for about a year now. I am used to it now, but the first couple of months I almost hated them. Your *** will notice the difference in potholes. The rear bushings are a PITA to put in though. I had a mechanic do it for me for almost $200.

 

Stiffer in general or just over bumps and whatnot?

 

Stiffer in general. I guess I forgot to mention the pros. Cornering is much tighter and the car feels more responsive. It's definatly an upgrade, a wrothy one. As with everything you give something up; ride quality in this case.

 

I would recommend the Hyperflex set. I put it on my GXL and it was great. The car felt tight. I sold the GXL and just bought another set for my T2. Doing the front bushings isn't bad. The rear however, as already noted, is a pita. You really have to drop the whole rear end, sub frame and diff, at least i did because there was no way I was ever going to get the diff bolts loose with it on the car. But hey, I'm going to do it again as soon as it warms up and quits raining!