Are poly bushings too stiff for daily driving?

I have ES master kit on my 4 door EF w/ B16. Eibach springs & Bilstein shox
Well, here's what I can share with you:

THE GOOD:
- The steering feels very direct. Keep in mind that you maximize this effect if you have healthy upper/lower balljoints, tierods, rackends and a good alignment.
- It's like having tires with hard sidewalls. The "mushy" feeling disappears.
- You'll love the point-and-shoot feel.
- It's not harsh at all. If you're a honda enthusiast it's easy to understand what's goin on and accept the new feeling and its benefits. BUT beware for the grumpy narrow-butted mr soft heart granpa-ish...

THE BAD
- If you live where road conditions suck, you'll tend to stress the balljoints and steering parts faster if you're not careful.
- You wont like the feeling when you pass through railroads coz of the compliance trade-off.
- In my opinion our EFs are less insulated when it comes to these compared to EGs, EKs & ++ (Try to midpipe and compare, you'll "feel" what I mean)
- Expect squeaks from rear lower arm and/or front upper arm bushings IF you dont lube well enough. Use only urethane campatible grease.



So there. It's all about who'se over sensitive and who'se the one searching for better performance and dont mind giving up a little.

funkified said:

thanks for all the responses! i feel a little less skeptical about this kit now, however my roads are kinda harsh due to the crappy Canadian winters that just chew up the ashphalt. thats the reason im a little iffy on the kit, im going to install it anyways i just wanted to guage others experiences.

ill will be using this lube that i got off of www.polybushings.com
he says the lube that he sells is pretty much going to make all the bushings squeak free. ill let you guys know how it goes.

Click to expand...

i live in southwest ontario between windsor/detroit and london and we get MEGA salt on the roads down here since they dump so much when it does snow. i think poly bushings are one of the best bang for your buck suspension investments you can make. if installed properly, which means removing the ENTIRE old oem bushing (including the outter metal sleeve) and lubed THOROUGHLY (i found i was comfortable using agreater quantity of than was provided in my kit), as nastyhabitz said, you shouldn't hear a squeak or need to re-lube them for quite some time. in addition, they are far more resiliant to the brine of salt and grit common to canadian roads in winter. however, do not write it off as a NON-maintenance item. they should be inspected at regular intervals and lubed if the bushings show signs of drying out.

if you properly lubed suspension components with their respective lubricants (graphite paste w/ molybdenum for bolts, nuts, threads and metal to metal contact, silicone/heavy duty synthetic caliper lube for poly bushings which contact metal) then removing suspension components to re-lube bushings every few years should not pose a problem. amazingly, some people find it trivial to take the extra few mintues needed to coat a nut or bolt with moly paste before re-installation, no matter how small it is (yes, i lube EVERY SINGLE BOLT on my car that may be exposed to the exterior of the cabin). but how quickly does their hindsight become 20/20 as they're lying on their back being paid a visit by captain profanity with their car a foot above them trying to loosen a frozen nut or bolt

nd55 said:

Anybody with the Poly RTA bushings here run lowered suspension?

Was thinking maybe they're fine as long as they're not installed on a radically lowered car.

Nick.

Click to expand...

i have the entire ES kit on my 95 eh2 hb (motor mount inserts, master set, rear TAs). i have a front 21mm stabilizer bar from a 93 si and my car was lowered 3" on skunk2 coilovers, then 2.5" on intrax super sport springs and now 2" on progress sport springs. word of note...do not skimp on the lube with those bushings. the process to install them is something you do not want to be doing again for quite some time, trust me

i have nothing but good things to say about the handling of my car and the people who have asked to go for a ride in it with me don't need to say anything...the smile and white knuckle grip on the "holy shit" handle prove it :TU:

Speedjunky01 said:

I do track my car... did last year at NHIS(nascar track with road course)100+mph on straight

zero issues with the RTA bushings...

IDK man yes it does limit the motion as far as twistiong alot but for me I haent had any issues with this at all...

Click to expand...

:werd:

with the stiffness found in most road track cars which need to hold a line at high speeds, how much range of motion will there really be? i've seen those v8 supercar races from europe on speed and THOSE cars look like they have their suspension welded together they're so stiff. i mean, they even put HALF of the two inside wheels on the rumble strips and the car will float when they come off them. to me it looks like they have very little range of motion.

i'm just going on my own opinion and what i've seen in person or on tv in real touring car races so don't take my words as god, but cars running in excess of 700-800lb spring rates with huge stabilizer bars, custom valved shocks and so on that are hitting the rumble strips which get them up on two wheels, i would tend to think range of motion is limited in those cars.

the one issue i know of with hondas and poly bushings is the inboard front LCA bushing (where the arm attaches inside the front lower subframe) have a tendency to wear out very quickly. at one autox event i attended, one of the veterans told me most guys who compete seriously will use the progress spherical bushing in that location because it has zero deflection. but if progress, of all companies, makes poly bushings for the honda LCA and a-arm locations, i would think it's ok to use wouldn't you?

just my $0.02