Has anyone used the polyurethane in a tube to fill their Rear Trailing arms?

I use it to fill my motor mounts and makes them really stiff.

And I had bought all the Energy Suspension Bushings for my car, include the rear trailing arm, but after reading about them binding up made me not install them into my car today..

But it crossed mind that I can keep the stock rubber bushings, and just fill them..

anyone done this? what were your results?

 

So, what's the difference in filling the factory mount in with poly and replacing the OEM mount with a pre-made poly bushing?

 

my co worker has done it to his DA. his stock rubbers were wearing out so we just said 'nothin to lose' and tried it. let it dry for a couple days and he said it feels great. that's about all i can say though

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DavidR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So, what's the difference in filling the factory mount in with poly and replacing the OEM mount with a pre-made poly bushing? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well apparently the ES Polyurethane bushings bind up and start to mess up.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stoich EG2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my co worker has done it to his DA. his stock rubbers were wearing out so we just said 'nothin to lose' and tried it. let it dry for a couple days and he said it feels great. that's about all i can say though </TD></TR></TABLE>

thanks.. im thinking it would work great because i will still have the stock rubber mount in there with the added stiffness of the poly that way they wont bind.

 

If you read about the poly binding, then I hope you read the HUGE thread in the RR Archive about rear TA motion. It moves on multiple axis which is why the poly binds. Here is a pic of an OEM bushing. Think about what effect filling in the bushing would have on movement?

 

I'm surprised someone doesn't make a replacement aftermarket bushing for this, which preserves the OEM bushing's characteristics. Would some kind of spherical bushing work here?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92integraVTECgsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well apparently the ES Polyurethane bushings bind up and start to mess up.


</TD></TR></TABLE>

My question was more retorical than literal. If you remove the mount and replace it with an aftermarket poly bushing or simply fill it with poly, the effects should be very similar.

Mugen makes one, and its claimed to be siffer than the factory one. There are also several spherical bearing units avaliable on the market, I believe Kiwi works for a shop that makes one of the more avalaible units.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dwolsten &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm surprised someone doesn't make a replacement aftermarket bushing for this, which preserves the OEM bushing's characteristics. Would some kind of spherical bushing work here?</TD></TR></TABLE>
No need for aftermarket, because OEM bushings are very cheap. Not quite as cheap as the polyurethane ones, but still, $35 each isn't bad, and they work as designed.

There are spherical bearing replacements available from more than one company, but I would be hesitant to run them on a daily-driven street car. Maybe some day once I see how they hold up to several years of wear, I will be able to change my mind. We'll see.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Targa250R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
No need for aftermarket, because OEM bushings are very cheap. Not quite as cheap as the polyurethane ones, but still, $35 each isn't bad, and they work as designed.

There are spherical bearing replacements available from more than one company, but I would be hesitant to run them on a daily-driven street car. Maybe some day once I see how they hold up to several years of wear, I will be able to change my mind. We'll see.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It seems like a properly-designed spherical bushing should have a rubber boot (or two) protecting it, much like the boots on ball joints.

It seems to me the OEM bushings are a bit flawed in that they don't allow much articulation of the rear suspension, and also fail prematurely if the suspension's height is altered, unless they are "clocked" to match the new height setting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Targa250R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
No need for aftermarket, because OEM bushings are very cheap. Not quite as cheap as the polyurethane ones, but still, $35 each isn't bad, and they work as designed.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I just purchased two new ones from Baranco and they were around $45 each.


Here is a HardRace Bushing made with hard rubber. I had planned to try it but was worried about the design.

 

passwordjdm sales a set of spherical bearings

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RStoR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It moves on multiple axis which is why the poly binds.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That picture is close, but those aren't the axes the bushing is designed to have compliance in. It is designed to allow trailing arm movement longitudinally and laterally at that point, and restrict it vertically. Hence the shape, of course.

Now why in the world would they allow it to move in those directions... hmmm...

 

Full agree, the picture is only for reference and is not inferring actual TA motions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dwolsten &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

It seems to me the OEM bushings are a bit flawed in that they don't allow much articulation of the rear suspension, and also fail prematurely if the suspension's height is altered, unless they are "clocked" to match the new height setting.</TD></TR></TABLE>

There's nothing flawed with the OEM bushings, they work very well for what they were designed for. They only fail "prematurely" when used outside of their intended application, eg. in a lowered car. Dental floss works great for cleaning the spaces between your teeth, but you wouldn't use it as cordage for rigging a boat.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RStoR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just purchased two new ones from Baranco and they were around $45 each.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You must have gotten the 52385-SR3-000 bushings then. Those have been superceded by the 52385-S21-003 number, which lists for $35 (and is sold by online wholesalers for even less).

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here is a HardRace Bushing made with hard rubber. I had planned to try it but was worried about the design.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Interesting; I didn't realize HardRace was making a replacement for these. I'm not really keen on the design though.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PIC Performance &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There's nothing flawed with the OEM bushings, they work very well for what they were designed for. They only fail "prematurely" when used outside of their intended application, eg. in a lowered car. Dental floss works great for cleaning the spaces between your teeth, but you wouldn't use it as cordage for rigging a boat.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I agree that there is nothing wrong with the latest iterations of the bushing (the early SH3 parts were actually a bit problematic), but I disagree on the most common cause of failure. They fail because, well, they're a big rubber bushing in a stressful location, and they get old and corroded/worn as all bushings do.

We need to remember that the newest cars equipped with these bushings are now 7 years old. The oldest are 20 years old. Most of them are going to be worn out.

 

Here is the best ones IMO. I have used an older version of this for 20 plus races/test days and they are still working great.

http://www.specialprojectsms.c...ID=10