Poly Bushings what's the verdict?

[mcandmar]

Powerflex or Superflex, which was the better of the two with the metal sleeve and grooves, getting very confused Am i right in saying Superflex are better for pressed a-arms?

Is anybody using them with alloy SF mounts, shocks, springs, and 40 series rubber? How does it handle on bumpy B roads at speed?

Car is really vague and gets thrown about on bumps and road camber changes. It can be a bit of a handful at times, will poly bushings help or only make things worse? I dont really care about comfort as long as it feels joined on

Thanks,

Mark.

[Fat Audi 80]

Even replacing the standard bushes makes a hell of a difference in that regard.

I only have standard so can't comment on uprated ones sorry...

[s2driveruk]

i have 18's running on standard wishbone bushes, bilstein shocks, h&R springs and blue topmounts with solid alloy subframe bushes and the arb rubbers all replaced and I think its a decent but firm ride. As Steve says, the oem bushes if changed reasonably frequently make things a whole lot better. So far I haven't felt the need with my setup to got to a poly version in the wishbones...

[quattro]

I had a full set (Whishbone's, Antirollbar, Diff mount's etc...........) polybushes on my old car (audi 90 quattro 2.3) and i would NEVER buy a nother set!

They just look so cheaply made and once they were on the car they made the ride firmer and more progressive (to my liking), BUT after 3-4 month's Med-hard driving they just seemed to be softer and the car would roll more in the corners and the wheel's would catch on the arches where it never had before! (with17's and lowered 60mm)

[MikeNZ]

I've got Super Flex poly sub frame mounts and wishbone bushes on my car (Series 2 Coupe quattro). They are much better finished and not nearly as expensive as Power Flex. They have been on the market for years and the classic Ford crowd swear by them.

The handling is much tighter and after two years it is as tight as ever. The steering in particular is much more precise and there is more feel (though much of this would have been the case with new OEM bushes). Not all poly bushes are the same - it is worth it to get good quality ones.

The symptoms you describe are classic worn bushes and/or top mounts. I would suggest replacement of all the bushes and sub-frame mounts and the top mounts. And dampers too if they are getting on a bit. It is false economy doing it bit by bit as it costs less in the long run to only pull the suspension to bits once.

Standard or aftermarket bits - take your pick. Even new standard bits will be a huge improvement. I decided to go the full poly route and am very happy with it. Superflex are not cheap-looking at all - though I've seen other brands that are.

There is slightly more road noise with the poly but it is not excessive - and less than with alloy sub-frame mounts.

[mcandmar]

Hmm interesting, i am currently running Konis, H&Rs, alloy SF mounts, Alloy top mounts, and all the a-arms, sway bar, ball joints, and tie rods have been replaced and the car is STILL all over the place on rough roads. Granted the front a-arm bushings have packed in again after only 2-3 months which is annoying, hence i'm looking at poly bushings this time...

So your a-arm bushings are superflex?

Thanks,

Mark.

[Keeper of The Kitten]

What you have to bear in mind is that hard bushing on rough roads will cause the car to jump about! Hard suspension (spherical bearing, hard bushing) is fantastic on the smooth surfaces of a racing circuit, but it can be a bit of a devil on bumpier public roads. I'm not saying that gains can't be had, but to be honest you have to take the rough with the smooth (pun not intended!)

__MDC__

[caterpillar]

someone tryed THIS set....is it hard to drive with it,noisy?? http://www.zatzy.com/classifieds/sho...&cat=5&page=11

[kwlw]

someone tryed THIS set....is it hard to drive with it,noisy?? http://www.zatzy.com/classifieds/sho...&cat=5&page=11

Could you translate it ?

Sau

[Henka]

So stock bushings are a better deal then? My bushings have worn out (Avant) and as Powerflex carries them I thought I'd change to that. But, my previous expirience with poly bushes is that they squek like crazy. Stock ones are half price but they are prolly not half as good as a set of Powerflex... What do you think?

[dan_b]

All I know is that I put a poly rear diff mount bush on my rear diff mount as that was all the rage to reduce transmission shunt and diff thump. Did it improve things? Did it bollo*ks. Not only did the shunt and thump not go away, but it actually worsened the general transmission vibrations through the chassis at low rpm. I'm not convinced by the whole poly=better arguement.

[s2driveruk]

renw ur gearbox mounts Dan and the difference is amazing!

[Greg_S]

I have powerflex fitted and they are creaking again! they say no one else has complained but this is my 3rd set ive had now, each with design mods.

[SteveH]

My Powerflex Poly bushes on the front cast arms have had issues with creaking. I've had new steel bushes with the grooves in them to attempt to fix the noise. It worked for a while, but now it's back again. I sent a couple of e-mails to Powerflex and they replied and sent the replacement parts out quickly. I can't see how they say 'nobody else has complained'... I'm happy with the wishbone bushes, I can live with a bit of creaking every now and then. They've been on the car for a year or so and there is no wear on them, for me, that's better than replacing the OE bushes every 8 months or so. The rear diff bush does induce a lot more noise and vibration into the car and it doesn't make any difference to driveline shunt. I may go back to the OE setup if I can find a replacement for the rubber bush Audi used. I think I saw a post that suggested the OE rear diff mount bush was the same as a Golf engine mount...could just be wishfull thinking though..

[dan_b]

I did my gearbox mounts as well and I still have a bit of shunt and thump, albeit reduced -but like Greg I think I'm going to go back to OE on that rear diff mount, the vibration at 1500rpm is not pleasant when you're driving in town.