I just purchased a full suspension setup from Skunk2 which I plan on installing this weekend. I also picked up the Energy Suspension master bushing kit. This kit has all of my bushings in it except new motor mounts. Has anyone installed polyurethane bushings before? Is it any different than installing oem ones? Any pointers?

 

I would rather do two engine swaps than a poly bushing install.

I've done one on my 1992 Civic and I will never do another one - ever.

Installing the poly bushings isn't hard at all - it's getting the ******* old ones out that sucks.

I work at a shop and even with a press and all power tools the job took like two days. The old bushings ended up having to be torched and air hammered out, so the smell of burning OE bushing rubber fills the air and your lungs.

After you get everything ready for the install then you will want some rubber gloves because the sticky "lube" that you have to slather on the new poly bushings is nearly impossible to wash off of your hands.

I'm sure the poly stuff makes a difference, but unfortunately I can't tell you how much because I installed it all on my suspension before I ever drove my car without it first. I also run Koni Yellows and custom Eibach ERS coil-over spring rates, so my car is stiff as **** - can't tell how much stiffness comes from the bushings though.

I wish you luck on the job - you might want to seriously think about doing two arms on one day, then the others the following weekend, etc. etc. until it's done. I can't imagine tearing my suspension down on my car and having the car down until I finished the job.

 

The kit is straight forward to install. If you know someone with a press it makes life a lot easier. have a torch ready to cut through seized bolts and if you need to burn out a bushing or 2. If I where you I would call honda and order yourself the rear lca shock bolts they tend to rust in place and have to be cut out. A another bit of advice. If this car is going to be a DD then<U> DO NOT </U> install the tie rod or the ball joint boots. There is no way to seal them from the elements and the joint fails really quick. I really like how much the ride tighted up with this kit installed

 

They're a HUGE pain in the *** to put in.

I dont really like polyurethane bushings, either. If I may ask, why exactly are you doing this?

If this is going to be a dedicated track car, you could do a polyurethane/heim joint mix.

However....these bushings SUCK *** on the street. Every bump feels like you just dropped off the grand canyon.

Well...do what you want. But dont put in the big trailing arm bushing. I dont think it's included in the master set...but I could be wrong. It doesn't allow proper oscillation/deflection. So your suspension geometry will be totally wacked.

You're gonna need an alignment after this also.

Get ready for the worst ride ever, lol.

 

B serious finishes my...sentences/thoughts.

I too meant to add in don't ever install poly bushings in the trailing arm bushing slots.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am really just looking to tighten up the ride and give me a little better steering response as this is my "fun" car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by maynards_ek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for the replies. I am really just looking to tighten up the ride and give me a little better steering response as this is my "fun" car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

In that case I would just do shifter and stabilizer bar bushings (in fact I will be doing this). The shifter will feel really good, which to me is one of the best ways to increase the fun of driving, and you'll gain a decent amount response when cornering without really sacrificing ride comfort as the roll bars don't really affect straight line driving.

 

You could also get ITR or ITR sized sway bars. Those work great.