Pressed Vs Cast

[Big Lee M]

At the moment i have cast wishbone on the car, but i bought some pressed wishbones with new poly bushes. I was thinking of having the pressed one's seam welded so they would be really strong? Or should i just poly bust the cast? And sell on the pressed ones?

Very interested in all opinions

Cheers Lee

[Jamo]

Seam weld them for piece of mind if your going to use them.

[Flat on my back]

Gonna stick a big one out...

If its mainly for track use with big brakes...go for the seam welded option and less unsprung weight and balance the car with spring rates and arb's.

Road based mainly with sensible but upgraded brakes go for the cast...

Oh i'm gonna get burnt...

[stiglet]

To be honest i wouldn't be too worried about unsprung weight in a 1.5 tonne car. You really won't make much difference by shaving a couple of kilos here and there. It's light cars where unsprung makes a bigger difference.

Are wishbones really a weak point? I would just stick with the ones that are bushed already.

[Jamo]

Pressed ones have been know to split apart, there are some examples on here. They are better off seam welded if you have the chance.

[stiglet]

******. Get em welded then

[anton]

am i right in thinking that subframes have a habit of breaking apart too?? seem to remember hearing that. if so would it not be wise to leave the wishbones as the weakpoint to make sure the subframe doesnt get damadged? or preferably seam weld both...thats what i am planning to do at least.
has anyone heard of the cast ones getting bent while on a car? i know they are easily damadged off a car. as for weight i cant remember there being any difference in weight between my cast and my pressed ones....defo not enough to have an impact on unsprung weight i wouldn't have thought....
but back onto seam welding..... if there are no downsides to seam welding i'd agree with the better safe than sorry approach

Ant

[Jamo]

am i right in thinking that subframes have a habit of breaking apart too?? seem to remember hearing that. if so would it not be wise to leave the wishbones as the weakpoint to make sure the subframe doesnt get damadged? or preferably seam weld both...thats what i am planning to do at least.
has anyone heard of the cast ones getting bent while on a car? i know they are easily damadged off a car. as for weight i cant remember there being any difference in weight between my cast and my pressed ones....defo not enough to have an impact on unsprung weight i wouldn't have thought....
but back onto seam welding..... if there are no downsides to seam welding i'd agree with the better safe than sorry approach

Ant

That is the whole basis of the cast vs pressed argument

Personally I'd go for cast over the two, less flex, better handling.

In this case he's already got poly bushes so seam weld them and use them

[anton]

That is the whole basis of the cast vs pressed argument

Personally I'd go for cast over the two, less flex, better handling.

In this case he's already got poly bushes so seam weld them and use them

yeah i'd agree with that, forgot how expensive poly bushes are....may end up keeping my cast ones as spares as i am in the exact same position......just thinking aloud about the subframe safety point of view, is there anything to worry about you recon? dont rly know much about whats strong and whats not on these cars....

Ant

[Big Lee M]

But i could buy a poly bush set for the cast,and sell the pressed ones on after i have had them seam welded.

Can you really tell that much of a difference in the handling between the two?

[Jamo]

If your involved in an accident serious enough to bend the subframe I think it will be the least of your worries IMO

A 2nd hand subframe can cost less than £100

[Jamo]

But i could buy a poly bush set for the cast,and sell the pressed ones on after i have had them seam welded.

Can you really tell that much of a difference in the handling between the two?

There's no definitive answer here. It's which option works for you.

I'd go for cast if forced to choose.

[anton]

But i could buy a poly bush set for the cast,and sell the pressed ones on after i have had them seam welded.

Can you really tell that much of a difference in the handling between the two?

i dont think you'll notice a differance in handling, its more a safety fit and forget thing wishbone flex is minimal compared to bush flex, prob small even compared to poly bushes but still, you'll never be faced with a split wishbone
TBH i bought my cast wishbones because i think they give a cleaner look, just makes me happier about my car when i'm working on it...anything to keep my motivation up these days lol

Ant

[anton]

If your involved in an accident serious enough to bend the subframe I think it will be the least of your worries IMO

A 2nd hand subframe can cost less than £100

Well that answers my question, wasnt sure if it was in an accident or not where i heard of the crack. guess i too need to decide between seam welding and cast.....leaning towards cast as long as i get some money eventually lol

Ant

[stiglet]

But i could buy a poly bush set for the cast,and sell the pressed ones on after i have had them seam welded.

Can you really tell that much of a difference in the handling between the two?

There are much bigger problems with the handling of the s2 you'd need to sort out first before you noticed a flexing wishbone.

Think of it this way; what flexes more, a wishbone or a bush? When you've got solid aluminium subframe bushes and wishbone bushes, along with solid top mounts and and very low profile sticky tyres, you might want to consider it then.