Poly bushings
 

On a car as new as the FRS/BRZ are poly bushings a worthwhile upgrade? If so, which areas would benefit most from upgrading to poly? Control arms? Trailing arms? And what is the potential for the poly bushings to squeak?

I have a box full of whiteline bushings and am trying to decide if I should go through the trouble of installing them or just sell them off. Are they worth the trouble?

The proper way to install poly bushings are to install zerk fittings in the joints that the poly bushings are going in to. Zerk fittings allow you to apply lube to the poly bushings without removing the control arms. All you need is a grease gun.

Poly bushings make a noticeable difference. There's less deformity and deflection in the polyurethane compared to the stock rubber. That means more NVH, but less slop in handling.

However, if it were me, I'd install them later down the road when the stock bushings are going bad. Or just completely replace all the control arms with aftermarket ones, which is much easier to install than a full blown bushing replacement. It's also a huge pain in the ass to keep re-lubing poly bushings when they start squeaking without zerk fittings.

Your question does not have a cut and dried answer. What do you do with your car? What are you hoping to achieve?

You need to define your goals. Poly bushings are an interesting upgrade, but something you must put into ca r ful consideration. The factory bushings are super soft but they work in a very balanced way on the car.

I have heard of people installing zerks with poly bushings. Do you just drill and tap the control arm at the bushing and screw in the fitting? I'll try to find an example on the net to get an idea of what it will take.

It's hard to know what I want the car to do and/or feel like when I have little idea of what is possible given my limited background. That's why I am asking about the costs and benefits of the bushings Instead of defining goals. I need information as to what can be achieved and at what cost before I can decide where I want to be on the spectrum.

Some old feedback from Myles after replacing the rear bushings in the rear end of the car with Whiteline poly and a few high quality STI pillowballs:

"I can tell you that the amount of feedback from the rear is AMAZING ! Any shifter karters out there who know how to wag the tail of a 125 or a 100 yamaha/Emmich sprint kart know what I mean, but now you feel that the rear is "CONNECTED" to the main body/frame. Cornering is predictable. Very solid feeling modification. This is one of those mods that is hard to describe or quantify as its benefit is confidence inspiring to even those with ALOT of experience. At the limit you feel as though the line between grip and drift is easier to manage. Under HARD braking the car tracks much straighter.

I had these on my 04 STI and the pillowballs are sealed with a bearing cover and never made noise or had any play.

I am doing this on our 2011 WRX ASAP.

Myles
RCE"

We'd just put on JRZ coilovers for testing and the bushing replacement was still a huge positive change on top of that. They do make a big difference and they can be done right for a street car.

You do need to define your goals since I'd do things differently for a track day car vs. a dailly driver, but since you have Whiteline bushings they shouldn't squeak at least when installed right.

Bushings are often overlooked and I just have to shake my head when I see a dedicated track car with stiff springs and high levels of grip on stock bushings. It should be a fundamental change for every track car. With high grip comes noticeable bushing deflection and unwanted dynamic alignment changes. They're partially a "feel" mod since the car is more consistent/connected/solid but they will make the car faster too.

Going without the rubber is like...well...another thing where you go without the rubber and then you feel a lot more and you're faster. I don't think I need to expand on that analogy. ;) :thumbup: (sorry if that's crude).

- Andy

You will find more satisfaction finding out the pros/cons of your car after more seat time. Bushings require quite a bit of effort to do and can be a costly service if you choose to hire someone to do the install for you. After driving many different setups, stock bushings are very capable. The slop may be a little annoying, but you'll find the benefits in that slop as you drive more. ;)

We've not had problems with whiteline bushings squeaking when installed and properly lubed at the time of install.

- Andy

I have also heard that all poly bushings are not created equal. Whiteline and Energy are very different animals by all reports.

But I thought whoever has the most aftermarket parts installed wins?

More colors of the rainbow for more street cred.

Has anyone made monoballs/spherical bushing kits for these cars yet?

I believe Cusco has them either available or at least in the works. They work very well on our S2000. ;)