Fitting Powerflex Bushes

[S2central.net]

1st pic - just the cleaned and painted wishbone awaiting new bushes !
Some notes annotated...

[Error404]

interested to hear your thoughts on this Paul - I'm looking at a project to completely poly bush my CQ this summer, and was told to steer clear fo teh powerflex jobbies becasue they squeak apparently.... hopefully these should transform the steering response and feel no end

[S2central.net]

AFAIK - the front of RS2 will be same as any S2 of course with regards wishbones... and the rear of RS2 should be same as S2 Avant or Saloon (same B4 platform). Dunno what bushes are offered by Powerflex at the rear.

Powerflex do list both sizes of front wishbones for the B3 (Coupe) platform and the rear bushes also for B3 Coupe.

Paul

[A80Avant]

i wrote to powerflex about a complete kit for the rs2.Powerflex doesnt really make ALL bushes for the car,does it?I mean the list they sent me is quite small for the rear bushes which added up come up to a number of 20 bushes!!!

[S2central.net]

I will deffo report on that... I don't like things to be too harsh. I'm fitting new green mounts and bottom joints at the same time so there will be some general improvement I expect anyway.

I was going to experiment with some more -ve camber at the front but will keep it stock for now so as not to confuse the before/after comparisons even further.

Oh and I've fitted a new sporty snub mount too if you missed that. SQ circular bracket with A4/A6 foam rubber. Fits like a glove !

My wishbones are cast/forged... I'll upload some pics over lunch..

Paul

[Fat Audi 80]

Let us know what you think of ride quality vs comfort and chassis control, I have always stayed away from these in case they are bit harsh. I may look to upgrade at some point.

Are yours on cast or pressed arms?

Cheers

Steve.

[S2central.net]

After removing the old factry bushes - these are just lovely to fit !

1 - Make sure and get the right sized ones for your car. The cast/forged wishbone has different dimensions here than the pressed steel one.

2 - After removal of old bushes, make sure the surfaces are nice and clean... deburr any nicks or dings you can see

3 - The new ones come with a little sachet of just enough copper grease assembly paste. Apply this to the bush surface and insert the bush by hand. Its that easy - just make sure fat end goes to the outside edge and IGNORE the metal inserts for now.

4 - Working from the outside edge you can fit the steel inserts - they start by hand but need persuasion with a plastic hammer to get them in. Do this carefully so the pin is sitting centrally in the bush.

5 - Thats about it, except to offer up a tip to have some more copper grease so as the outer (anti-squeak) plastic washers stay attached to the bush while offering up the wishbone to the subframe. A lil bit of wriggling and patience is needed to line up the bolt holes as these are a nice snug fit.

6 - Torque up the wishbone bolts only when the full weight of the car is on the ground. This is arguably not required with bushes of this type as they should just rotate but it is best practise.

I'm looking forward to a test drive on these as they feel much more rigid than stock items - I just hope not too rigid - but we'll see.

Paul