DIY - Whiteline Rear Crossmember Mount Insert Bushings

[F1point4]

20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-01 by VictorN07, on Flickr

^^
I absolutely love that picture!

Team Houston86.com has been on a roll lately with our functional mods. Today we present a more challenging yet worthwhile upgrade to the rear suspension. These inserts fill in gaps between the rear member sub assembly [RMSA] and the chassis. This connection is important because all the suspension bits are connected to the RMSA as well as the chassis. Any give or flex reduces response of the car because the car has to waste energy settling itself.

You may have felt this sensation of the rear dropping a little bit when accelerating from a standstill, shifting gears, slowing at a light. That's the slop we are taking out and gaining those precious milliseconds, because racecar.

All of those listed things happen sooner now, and the first few times it was surprising because I did not expect that much of a transformation. In my opinion this, the Whiteline positive shift kit, and Perrin Rear Shifter Bushing completely transform this car. Words like precise, control, instant come to mind. Although the rear is stiffer, I haven't felt the car wanting to break traction and overstreer. It's probably because I'm running 245 width tires. Overall, I think this is a must have mod.

My only negative feedback is that the instructions could use some more clarity. I found it fairly hard to follow. It doesn't even show you where to place the jack for the front set of bushings. At times we had to make it up. However after two installs, we have fine tuned this guide for our community. Hope y'all enjoy.

Thanks @cobrabyte for doing the install on the car while we documented. I greatly appreciate your workmanship and hope you enjoy this mod as I do mine. Shoutout to @post_break for helping as well and bringing his voice of reason. Thanks to @FT-86 SpeedFactory another smooth purchase. Always a pleasure.


Please pardon the lower quality photos, it was dark in the garage today. As always, we are not responsible for any injuries or damage done to yourselves and your vehicle. Please be safe.

Another disclaimer: We used a drive on lift to do this mod; therefore our wheels never left the ground. This suggests that its possible to do the mod with the car on the ground, but there isn't enough room to work the front. If you opt to use jack stands and remove load from the suspension, then the instructions may differ. See below for note

Arrows, Arrows everywhere

20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-02 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-03 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-04 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-05 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-06 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-07 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-08 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-09 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-10 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-11 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-12 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-14 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-15 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-16 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-17 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-18 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-19 by VictorN07, on Flickr






Seawater?

20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-20 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-21 by VictorN07, on Flickr


***If you opt to use jackstands to lift the car off the ground, then I believe you can carefully lower the jack supporting the rear member sub assembly to gain access. Please be careful****

20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-22 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-23 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-24 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-25 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-26 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-27 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-28 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-29 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-30 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-31 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-32 by VictorN07, on Flickr


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-33 by VictorN07, on Flickr

[MaXimus]

Once again, a fantastic write up!

[jehu]

What's the code for this Whiteline Kit? cheers

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by jehu

What's the code for this Whiteline Kit? cheers

KDT922

http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_..._number=KDT922

[gmookher]

just one jack to control crossmember height is all thats needed, and I placed mine right under the crossmember a bit to the passenger side.

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by gmookher

just one jack to control crossmember height is all thats needed, and I placed mine right under the crossmember a bit to the passenger side.

Perhaps if the car was already on jack stands, then a single jack would work. @cobrabyte and I did ours on a drive on lift so our wheels never left the ground and we needed a second jack to create the space to pull and slip in the bushing

[cobrabyte]

Took my car through my usual driving 'circuit' today and can feel an immense difference with these bushing inserts installed. I had originally only installed the rearmost inserts to see if there was a measurable difference in the ButtDyno™. With the rearmost inserts installed, the car feels a little firmer -- especially off of launches. I went ahead and installed the forward inserts yesterday and can report a HUGE difference.

The car flies off the line now. I've daily-driven a Lotus Elise and can say that the car is beginning to feel as quick off the line as my Elise did. It'll punch you into the seat and keep you there. Gear shifts are noticeably better -- more precise. I didn't expect a change there and it's a pleasant surprise.

I simply cannot believe how 8 simple inserts can drastically change the overall feel of a car but Whiteline has come through. Big time. It's takes all the play out of the shift response. You get power -- now. No more wishy-washy feeling.

With power comes responsibility: you will notice the rear end being a little bit more tail-happy but, if you've driven RWD vehicles before, you'll appreciate it. This car has so much more potential and it's fantastic that small, inexpensive modifications like this are adding up huge.

Combine this kit with the Perrin shifter bushing and you've got a great combo. I'm going to install Whiteline's positive shift bushing sometime next month and I'm sure it'll just get better. I'll report back when I've done that.

[Vicious LED]

This is great. I've been considering purchasing some whiteline bushings for a while, and now that there's a guide out, I'll definitely be making that purchase ASAP!

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by Concept-Three-LED's

This is great. I've been considering purchasing some whiteline bushings for a while, and now that there's a guide out, I'll definitely be making that purchase ASAP!

Totally agree, it definitely does help a bunch when you have an idea of how to install what you want to purchase. Taking the doubt out of mods!

[OrbitalEllipses]

Suspension's just a PITA because of the high torque values and possible rust issues.

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Suspension's just a PITA because of the high torque values and possible rust issues.

This! As you saw in my photos, one of my bolts had growth on it. Barnacles? I think it was exposure to seawater or something during transport. I'm not sure what this means long term.


20121028-WhitelineRearCrossmemberBushingsDIY-20 by VictorN07, on Flickr

[OrbitalEllipses]

Yeah I saw that...and you're not even in the rust belt. I shudder to think what I'm going to find underneath the car when I install all these bushings and my RCE springs in March.

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Yeah I saw that...and you're not even in the rust belt. I shudder to think what I'm going to find underneath the car when I install all these bushings and my RCE springs in March.

Just thinking about how the car transformed after all the bushings and RCE, that'll be a painful wait. The results are worth it, my friend.

Let us know if you find any issues with rust

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by F1point4

Let us know if you find any issues with rust

They like to salt the hell out of roads in my area, so I expect I'm going to need 3/4" or 1" breaker bars or an impact...which I don't want to shell out for.

In any case the plan of attack is to drop the exhaust (redo axleback install and add front pipe), do the Whiteline gearbox mount bushing, rear shifter stay (KB hopefully by then), install springs, rear camber correcting bushes, and the rear subframe inserts. It'll transform the car entirely!