Sway bar bushing heat protection
 

My passenger side sway bar bushing is getting hit with a lot of heat from the overpipe at the track. The bushing is now seeping fluid out and visibly cooked. I think this is why my car has had so many issues with creaking noises after heating up. See pictures of driver side (left - pristine) and passenger side (right - extra crispy) in the image below.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/...pcbFXmT5ngbcNw

I am going to replace the bushing to stop the racket coming from the sway bar but want to see if I can get a more permanent fix while I'm in there.

Has anyone tried this Verus heat shield?

https://www.verus-engineering.com/sh...t86-4358#attr=


People also mentioned venting to help cool the overpipe but I can't imagine this will drastically change the situation given the location of the vents.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152472


Let me know if there are better options out there.


Options aside, I'm curious how some members hit this issue and not others. I saw posts from others who track but still have pristine bushings. I have a stock exhaust and bushings so I'm surprised I ran into this. Wondering if there are other factors that matter here.

I haven’t experienced a failure of that bushing, possibly because my Overpipe and Frontpipe are ceramic coated. You might try some header wrap on your overpipe to protect the bushing.
I use header wrap on my mid-pipe where it passes below the CV joint which has been known to suffer heat damage in track cars. Mine remains unscathed thanks to the wrap.

I had this happen when my ACE header decided to separate from the overpipe, pics here. Some sort of heat shield should definitely help.

Thanks, I think you're right that exhaust wrap or coating is a big factor here. The folks I saw who didn't melt also mentioned ceramic coating. I like the header wrap idea as a cheaper quick fix too. thanks!

Yes, a ~$20 roll of wrap, a few gear large clamps and you’re set.
Good luck!

I had this happen with my OEM bushings in the front during expensive autox usage. The OEM bushings are fluid filled. So it might be heat, might be overuse, or both. I'd reckon it's overuse and track driving.

I'd skip the whole heat shielding idea and just get new polyurethane bushings without fluid inside. They'll hold up better and not leak (obviously). Just get ones to fit the OEM bar diameter - I'm sure they make them.

I like the poly idea but I was under the impression that poly still melt easily from this thread: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121185


Another poster mentioned trying them here and still having meltage until they heat wrapped the pipe: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...0&postcount=23

I think that vented oem sway bar mounting bracket trim piece is to provide cooling for the secondary cat. The gr86 also has a new NACA duct on the skid plate that I believe is for cooling the primary cat. I’m thinking it’s all emission related but could be wrong.

That makes sense, now that I read the OP's post more clearly it seems like they thought it was for the bushing but later realized it's for the cat. Will cross that one off the list :-)