revolution garage rear subframe solid bushings review

[mokinbird87]

I recently did the SPOON front rigid collars and you can find the review here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90452

in conjunction to this piece, I also purchased this:
http://revo-tune.jp/catalogue/detail.php?id=283

Whiteline has a very good video showing the movement in the rear subframe:[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDfJ_zYFPcs"]BRZ / FT86 / FR-S Whiteline Subframe Lock Out Kit - YouTube[/ame]

I would feel it the most when I`m going over railroads or merging onto off-camber roads. I was very convinced that the rear subframe bushings has a lot of vertical movement vs lateral movement, so I opted to do solid bushings vs rigid collars for the rear.

As you can tell in this photo, the revo-tune bushings actually has a similar rigid collar built into the bushings. the only difference is that they dont quite go into the subframe or the chassis.. it`s only a tighter tolerance for the bolt, but at least it`s on the top and the bottom, so i do think it will help with lateral movement somewhat.


Initially I was really worried that solid bushings would cause more NVH. But then I tried to tell myself that because a subframe isn't designed to move, and it`s the suspension that is supposed to soak up the movement, so I bit the bullet and ordered the part. After the positive results from the rigid collars, I was more confident on this theory.

But, having said that, Whiteline poly bushings will be more forgiving. that`s just physics of rubber vs metal bushings.

Ok, onto the review.

Installation... is a bitch. you have to have everything lined up absolutely perfect, otherwise one of the four bolts will give you a very hard time. I think if I were to do it again, maybe I would take the bolt off one at a time instead of lowering all four.


look at how precisely the bushings are machined.. it follows every minute contours of what it is being mated to.


on certain angles you can actually see the bushings from the side.


Ok, if you`ve made it this far... congrats . now, about the feel of the car...

The bouncy rear end is gone gone gone. I`m happy to report that the solid bushings, as I theorized, deflects less and allows the suspension to do its job. these, in conjunction with the Rigid Collars up front, the car is way more direct. steering response is very sharp. However, I also installed these Raceseng badboy plates at the same time, and I`m sure a lot of the steering feel is coming from these also. This photo is taken by Nick Hur @NH512.


Another nice thing about the solid rear bushings is, no more "clunk" when going over rail roads and other bumpy roads. I havent had the chance to drive the car onto off-camber merging situations yet but I assume it would be a big difference there also.

However, unlike the Rigid Collars, when I hit a large bump, it does feel rather stiff. it feels more controlled now so I`ll gladly take the trade off, but it`s for sure stiffer. To me, this is more comfortable. For many, I understand it`s not. Smaller vibrations are completely gone and the car feels very solid overall.

Would I do this again? Yes. I love how direct the car is now from my steering inputs. I do think though, maybe the best compromise for most folks would be to combine the Whiteline bushings with the Rigid collars. I don't know if it fits for sure, but I would assume it would.

Also, it looks like STI offers a longer bolt with more threads, possibly helping to lock down the subframe even more. I believe @DSOmegaX has done this mod so maybe he can chime in.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=378

[ryoma]

how much total was it for you with the front and rears?

[mokinbird87]

Originally Posted by ryoma

how much total was it for you with the front and rears?

PMed you.

[endless_pain]

Thanks much for the review. I'm moving towards getting these.