CALLING: Jimlab bushing users!!!
 

So i just obtained a set of unobtabiums bushing kit off of a guy of the forum. So i just really wanted them for the diff and trailing arms, but hesitant to use the rest.

Ive been searching, and i see people having clunks and noise problems (poman) using the whole kit, and read another person has them and they are great.

Anyone else using these with any problems?? i mean the upper/lower control arms bushings, how is the ride? I know there will be more vibration, but how much?

i will use the zerk fittings, this will be mostly street car, itll see the track some weekend and also some auto X.

Thanks

Hai H

mine works great...no creaks or moans.

I have them just on the rear, but I honestly can't tell too much of a difference in terms of extra 'harshness'. The stock suspension rattles fillings, so not much more you can do to make it worse. They do need to be greased on a regular basis, via zerk fittings. No discernable noise.

You can pretty much ignore anything poman has to say about anything.

Yes. That's b/c I speak the unvarnished truth while you live in your fantasy as the grand old man of RX7s.

I've had them installed for a few years now and while I (sadly) don't drive the car so much any more, here are my impressions. They make the steering and handling very crisp. They take up all of the slop and I love this. At high speeds this can make the car a tad twitchy. As reports of clunks go, some do and some don't. They definitely are not going to soften things up although I don't know if they really made the ride more harsh.. they are pivots, not shock absorbers after all. If you do install them you'd be crazy to not install zerk fittings and grease them frequently.

I do wish there was a better way to seal the bushings though. After pulling the front suspension apart last year there was a little road grit in the bushings. If I had more time when things were apart I would have looked at rigging something up.

For what it's worth..

Dave

if you are going to use them for street use GET the ZERK fittings.

but i love my diff bushings

Thanks for the input!! much appreciated.

Anybody else??

What you mean by "twitchy"??

Steering is very touchy as in responsive?

Hai H

Yes.. it's particularly sensative to steering input at higher speeds. With stock bushings minor wheel movement gets absorbed. With the solid bushings it turns the car. You find yourself needing to be more conscious of smoothness.

I think they start clunking once they wear out due to lack of grease...if you keep em greased up they are way better than stock imo. The one and only advise is do the zerks at the same time you install the jimlabs! I didnt and therefore had to the work over twice. Good luck with it

I also wonder how many people with clunks just had worn rear pillow ball bushings that manifested themselves after the bushing install :).

Dale

No kidding. They go bad all the time. For me it happens especially where the rear trailing arm attaches. Sometimes they only last a few months.

Can you still get these bushings brand new? If so where and how much??

Where is a site that we can buy these I really need them too.....

^^ i think the only one are the ones that are already in circulation. Jimlab state a few times that he is not reproducing them anymore.

Look in the forsale section, the pop in once in awhile, and they go quick. They go for 550-600 new.

I got lucky and got a set.

I've had my full set installed for over a year now. I also installed flush high pressure grease fittings.

A couple months earlier I replaced all the pillow ball bushings.

Im running M2 trailing arms & toe links in the back.

CWC front sway bar mounts, Polly front sway bar bushings & spherical rodend sway bar links.

Revalved Koni sport shocks with the coilover spring mod. (400 lbs front, 250 lbs rear springs)

Had the car corner balanced & aligned at a race prep shop.

End result...................

Increased stability at speed. Tighter response. Holds a line well, once you set your steering into a corner. I have little to no shifter movement during hard acceleration.

I did notice more gear wine/noise transmitted through the body, even my exhaust system sounded louder. Due to the springs & shocks the ride is rough. When I hit bumps it can sound pretty loud. I don't associate this with suspension clunk or noise. Stiff springs over bumps will make a awful racket on their own.

As far as direct suspension noise??? None, no clunking or rattling. All pivot points are tight. I bleed my brakes prior to my tack events & have relubed the suspension bushing 2-3 times during that time.

I track the car 6-8 times a year & really feel more confident pushing my abilities. Not that it was all that bad before, but it did move around more & require more input.

But................I still have axel hop in some conditions. Not always, but it didn't completely cure it.

If you have the ability to install them yourself, it's not too expensive. As a bonus you get to clean & inspect the integrity of the suspension arms & links. I wouldn't go as far as polishing all that stuff, but it does look nice with all the undercoat tar removed.