August 16, 2007

Energy polyurethane bushings

Energy polyurethane suspension bushings. Click image to enlarge

By Glen Konoroski

Over the past few years there has been a lot of excitement about the use of Polyurethane as a replacement for rubber bushings in vehicles. Unlike rubber, urethane is pretty well impervious to most things and generally less expensive to retrofit in your vehicle when replacing or restoring bushings.

In the process of lowering the suspension in my 1991 Honda Civic, I decided to change a few of the bushings over to urethane to tighten up the suspension for occasional track use. I decided to get a kit that would replace all the bushings in the car's suspension. As I didn't really know what bushings I needed, I decided the whole kit was better than guessing.

The first thing I noticed when opening the box was that things were tough to identify, but with a little reading of the not-so-detailed instructions, I found that most of the bushings were numbered while the centre metal sleeves (supplied with kit) were not. With a little measuring and guesswork I finally figured what bushings went where.

The next step was to get the old bushings out. I figured that the best way was to remove the part or control arm with a bushing in it. With limited access to a 10-ton press we removed some of the bushings and some of the outer mental casings. The rest of the bushings were sawed and hammered out of position. In some cases I had to burn out the rubber bushing, which involved much care and created quite a mess.

Energy polyurethane suspension bushings. Click image to enlarge

Once out, I took a file and cleaned all the bashed and sharp edges of the suspension arms to help fit in the new polyurethane bushings. Things were going to be a little tight. Since the control arms on the Civic were not that big I was able to use a 3-½ inch opening vice to squeeze in all of the polyurethane bushings into the components. Energy Suspension recommends greasing all the bushings with special grease, which is supplied, as this stops the notorious squeaking that urethane bushings are famous for.

On the road the new bushings did tighten up the ride immensely but at the same time transmitted much of the road noise and vibrations into the car. I wouldn't recommend polyurethane for luxury cars. If it is a stiff and tight ride you want, polyurethane does the trick. Couple this with a combination of shocks and springs and you will vastly improve your handling.

But keep in mind this is a long, dirty job for the home mechanic and depending on the vehicle it might be better left to someone with the right equipment and some experience.

Prices for Energy Suspension complete kits start at about $150 and are available at any automotive performance shops.

Glen Konorowski is a freelance automotive writer who specializes in automotive accessories. His articles have appeared in the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun among other Canadian publications

More product reviews....