Turn in Concepts Steering Rack Bushing review
 

Concept:
These TiC SR bushings replace the factory Subaru/Toyota SR bushings and are designed to remove play from the rack's mount. The OEM bushings are soft rubber pressed around a metal sleeve and then pressed into the rack. The problem with the OEM bushings is two-fold: 1) They consist of a VERY SOFT rubber which is grooved providing lots of space for the bushing to move around and 2) The bolts holding the bushings to the subframe are smaller (by ~2mm) than the metal sleeve in the middle of the bushing. The reason for the soft rubber, etc is to reduce NVH. TiC instead uses solid bushings made of Aluminum with rubber o-rings around them and bolts that fit in the bushings perfectly without any play. The pros of a design like this is that you feel more through the steering wheel than you would with the OEM bushings and the car responds quicker to steering input. The cons are an increase in NVH (basically feeling more through the steering wheel).

Pics of the box and parts:
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/brz/IMG_1740.jpg

http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/brz/IMG_1742.jpg

Installation:
Installation DIY by @Sithspawn is located here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27727

The only things I did differently was that I used a two-jaw puller (swing arm design) as seen below:
http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/brz/IMG_1763.jpg

http://www.itrexpo.com/users/dave/brz/IMG_1764.jpg

Also I just used some dish soap to lubricate the o-rings for installation.

Like Sithspawn, my car does need an alignment after installing the bushings. The reason for this is simply because my steering rack is now centered, it was not centered (going back to the play in the bushing sleeve and the bolt) when the factory put it together.

Installation Note: Make sure that you use anti-seize on the bolts during installation.

So, does it work?
I wanted to make sure I paid special attention to anything that would bother people the most, which is NVH. In this case, there is no NVH increase exactly, but you do feel even more through the wheel which some may conclude is an increase in V and H. In reality it’s just the car communicating that much more clearly to you than it could before. I noticed a difference in road feel especially (as opposed to bumps/etc) and could now feel exactly what the surface conditions of the road are while driving the car. It’s also more instantaneous than it was before. I used to feel details through both the wheel and the chassis at more or less the same time, not it feels like I get feedback from the wheel ever so slightly before I feel it through the chassis. It feels like you have a direct connection to the front tires now instead of the slight isolation that the OEM bushings had and that increase in feel (and how quickly you receive that communication) will be awesome on track. Since the bushing install, I haven’t had the car on track yet (2/23-2/24 I will though) so I will be updating this review after the car sees more track time. In terms of response, there is a slight increase in response but it’s still less responsive than an S2000 for example. That’s not an issue with these bushings, but we will need to address more parts of the car’s steering system to continue to improve its responsiveness for those who desire it. Since the car does respond a little quicker, turn-in is also more immediate as expected. Also, we must remember that these cars are basically new still so give the OEM bushings time to age and the differences will be even more noticeable/obvious than they are now with basically new OEM bushings that everyone currently has. Give these cars a few more years and maybe 60-80k on the odometer and I bet the difference in response would be shocking.

Any issues?
Obviously this isn’t a long term review, but there are no issues that I foresee with these bushings. “Negative NVH” is non-existent IMO but if you don’t want more feel/communication through the steering wheel then these bushings are not for you.

Conclusion:
In summary, I feel the biggest strength of these bushings is the increase in communication/feel that you receive from the front tires. Information is priceless in every area of life and driving shouldn’t be any different IMO. The increase in response is always welcome and I’d love to see what other tricks TiC might have up their sleeve to continue to increase the responsiveness of the FRS/BRZ steering system. I went into this testing process with the thought that I’d want to save my old bushings in case the NVH tradeoffs overpowered the benefit and I’m happy to report that the OEM bushings will NEVER be reinstalled on my car (well unless I’m selling the car maybe ;)). I love the increase in feel and I don’t want to return to what it was stock (not that it was bad before). There is no question that if I ever build another 86 (like a dedicated FRS track car) these bushings will be one of the first things ordered.

Great post. I'm glad I'm already on the group buy.

-Acree

Wow no posts at all after... Dave do you have any update?

I'm not Dave, but I've had mine installed for a while and they feel great. NVH is up a touch, but it's more information then anything. It's certainly well worth the money and time to install.

i had mine installed recently, agree with the posters above.

Very good review!!! I was looking at the whieline bushing but I think you've convinced me. Reason I wasn't convinced before was the extra noise from. The would bushing but as you say its not there and it adds great benifot thanks!!

would you suspect the derlin bushings to yield drastically different results? Im wanting to stay within stx rules and limitations

No, actually you can not tell the difference between the two. The delrin is SOLID just like the aluminum, you get the same steering response the same feeling it just happens to be class legal for STX!

I'm still waiting to install mine until I have all my suspension pieces in. I figure I might as well hit everything in the same day haha.

Greg knows which parts I'm waiting on

By the way, I am still using these with no ill effects. I still like them! :thumbup:

Looks like the aluminum bushing is no longer offered? Just the delrin one now? I'm sure it feels just the same, but is there any change in NVH?

I could barely feel an increase in NVH going from stock to aluminum. The only difference I felt was an increase in information an a mild increase in turn in.

Yeah I keep waiting to see the aluminum ones pop back up...

I ordered one of these kits last week. I ordered the delrin but recieved the aluminum. No big deal for me, but others might want to be aware since I ordered direct from the TiC website, which said they had a stock of 5 at the time and now it shows 4. Also, it was much easier for me to do the install after disconnecting the steering rack from the coupler and the disconnecting the tie rod ends from the steering knuckles.