Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

+1
I don't doubt it.
But whether or not the majority of driver's have a need for them, or are really good enough to notice and/or make use of that difference is another matter.

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

The difference between stock bushing and Mazdaspeed ones is not subtle. You could no more miss the effect than you would not notice swapping the stock springs for ones with a 50% higher spring rate. Or, say, turning the **** from softest to hardest on a set of adjustable shocks.

I swapped all my control arm bushings at once (with the same springs and shocks before and after) and the effect was huge. There was nothing wrong with the stock bushings either - they had 50k miles on them and all were perfect when I examined them.

I swapped the bushings because I missed the rawness of my Integra Type-R (he is comparing his FD to a Honda, gasp!) but wanted the car to be streetable also. Car is still not quite as raw as my old Type-R but is pretty close. It was a lot of money to spend for just feel, but no less logical than Gordon's $1000 steering rack.

I would guess than on a track the difference would be even more dramatic.

jimlab

Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I doubt you'd improve lap times, slalom, or skid pad numbers significantly simply by installing "40% stiffer" rubber bushings, and I also doubt your 50k miles bushings were "perfect", but it's your car, and if you feel like it was worth the expense, then that's all that really matters.

jimlab

Did you buy a second set that I don't know about, because I do know you told me your car was waiting in the shop for bushings -- which I overnighted to you at my expense -- and then saw you put them up for sale -- unused -- a month later. Did you fail to sell them and install them later? I'd honestly like to know what really happened.

What kind of difference are we talking about? I've driven an FD with the Mazdaspeed bushings, I've driven a couple with my bushings, and several stock. It's been my personal experience that if you're looking to find a difference, you'll usually find one... but whether that's a subjective difference or a measurable one is open to debate.

I still contend that someone who can tell the difference between the handling of an FD with a front strut tower brace and one without solely from behind the wheel (without looking at the engine bay) is probably feeling the impression left in his wallet rather than any tangible difference in the two cars. You know what the Greeks used to say: I paid a lot of money for it, ergo it works.

Sorry, I'll remain a skeptic until someone posts back-to-back lap times for a car on which nothing else changed, on a known course, under identical (or nearly identical) conditions, that shows that there was a measurable benefit... and not merely a mental one.

Just a bit more realistic. I suspect we're talking about subjective differences, like "feel", rather than a difference in actual performance. "Feel", as they say, is in the butt of the beholder, and every individual's butt dyno is calibrated differently.