Polyurethane Bushes?

[Guest E967XUA]

Ok, I'm thinking of swapping all of my suspension bushes (just in case for the MOT!) is it worth splashing out on PU ones? I know the anti-roll bar one's are about the same price as standard rubber ones, but the wishbone ones are more expensive. Will i notice much difference on my otherwise standard GTI suspension (lifespan of bushes & handling of car).

[Guest Admin]

I did mine about 2 months ago with PU brushes, but I also replaced a really knackered ball joint and upgraded to 309 GTI wishbones, the front suspension on my car now is unbelivably good. But how much is down to the brushes is anybodys guess.

[Guest chownr]

AndyY

 

Where did you get the bushes from and is it an easy enough job to convert to 309 Wishbones or is tehre any special adaptations that need to be made?

 

Ive got a 1.6GTi that I use for road rallying and am toying with the idea of beefing up the front suspension to cope with some of the rougher sections

 

TIA

 

Rich

[Guest Admin]

Brushes came from autofive and cost £40+vat I think.

 

Appart from the Wishbones you also need to change to 309GTI driveshafts otherwise on full lock whilst travelling slow the shafts will fall appart (as I found out) This will post a problem to you as the 309 shafts won't fit into 1.6 hubs so you will also need to upgrade to 1.9GTI hubs.

[Guest chownr]

Thanks Andy

 

Will see if I can pick some hubs/wishbones and driveshafts up at the scrappy!!! otherwise will just do the bushes for time being.

 

Rich

[Guest himbigchief]

Check www.raldes.co.uk for the Poly bushes that they do. Nice and cheap!

 

James

[Evoman 0]

This is definitely worth it if you drive hard and/or on track. I've just had mine done (not a 205) with Powerflex 'purple' poly bushes and the car feels much sharper and firmer, especially turn in and steering responses. Downside is there is a bit more bang and crash on bumpy roads and I can probably tell what make of Cat's Eye I have driven over , but if you can live with that its great. And they last for ages apparently....

 

Steve.

[Guest Man3]

I did my lower arms with some Rally design poly sport ones (i also have ARB ones but i havn't fitted these yet) and its definately a worthwhile upgrade turn-in is much better, but as someone said, it makes the ride a bit 'crashy'. Getting the old ones out of the arms is an absolute c*nt!

[Guest himbigchief]

I got the Polysport ARB bushes from rally design, and they were too small! They were the 17mm bushes, and my ARB is 22mm I think! Bugger!

 

So I just left them ones for the time being...

 

James

[Wurzel 16]

Having recently renewed my front suspension with standard kit, I noticed that the front arb bushes were not made of rubber but (I guess) polyurethene.

 

Might be able to save some pennies and leave these out or compare the price with a Pug dealer.

 

Andyspares etc seem only to sell the blue bush which has a plain hole through it whilst you also need an orange one which has a wider centre section for the anti roll bar bulge to sit in. Got mine from dealer in the end.

 

There are quite a few threads on here all with some good feedback (posotive and negative). Might be worth reading them.

[Guest sicknote]

Sorry to disagree lads, but poly bushes are a waste of money.

 

I had the Powerflex purple bushes fitted about 10,000 miles ago, and I have just had to replace them with the standard ones.

 

They are fine initially, but they DON'T last, in fact I have heard of rally cars wearing them out over the course of a few stages.

 

When I replaced the Powerflex with the standard, the Powerflex were completely shagged, with about 3 times the amount of movement as the normal bush.

 

The car was torque-steering all over the road before, and now is much better with the standard bush.

 

Also, the ARB bushes don't fit properly, as they don't have the location groove, and the standard bush is poly anyway!

 

Best to save your money, and buy a set of originals.

 

Simon

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

Skip Brown sell Group N lower wishbones with stronger ball joints which have standard bushes. They said standard are fine.