I need to replace the wishbone bushes on my 1.9 97 Zed, should I go for OEM or powerflex?
Wishbone Bushes
- Thread starter ZTec
- Start date
Been reviewing OEM against poly bushes, not planning to throw it around or go on the track or anything, just heard that poly was better, I suppose if OEM will last me another 17 years that's the way to go?
I'm on the understanding these are prone to go on the Z3? If there's an upgrade option available I'd be tempted to go with that.
Stick with OEM if this is the case.
You said it yourself. These, chances are, will be the original bushes. Do you plan to keep the car for 17 years? So what's wrong with the OEM ? Unless you plan to track the car in any way stick with original.
Tony.
Tony.
That's right on the Z3, just unbolt the carrier and the back end of the wishbone drops down apparently, but it may be a bit of a job removing it whilst under the car unless you have a car lift.
If you want to do that, you'll have to knock them off or alternatively use an air chisel/punch. Rubber grease is a big help in reinstalling the new bush mounts onto the arm.
Tony.
Definitely, easier to do off the car.
That'll do the trick. I'm going to replace the wishbones complete with both ball joints and sway bar bushes and drop links at the same time, and I'll see what the track rod ends are like. Do it all in one hit.
Poly bushes certainly sharpen up the turn in on the steering but they do transmit a little harshness back through into the cabin which you perceive as though you can feel the texture of the road more particularly on rough Tarmac or concrete. One option is to fit Z3M bushes which are made of solid rubber so have a little give in them but less than a standard Z3 bushes so increasing the steering response but not making it feel too harsh. Don't make the mistake though of getting the eccentric ones which they fitted to the e36 M3 but get the concentric ones with the hole centred in the middle.
Great, thanks for the heads up
My boss replaced the front lower arm rear bushes on his wife's Fabia using the solid ones fron a Seat Cupra and now the car is absolutely horrid to drive so they're coming off. This is front wheel drive though.
Tony.
Tony.
Looking at the Z3M bushes, I suppose it's a happy medium being between the standard bushes and the poly ones.
If I remember the numbers are in Mike Fishwick's tech article so check that out. Even if the numbers aren't there it's a great read! JIM
I would go for the upgraded Poly Bushes, tram lining has always been a major issue with the Z3, and replacing the standard bushes (although doing this did not eliminate all the tramlining it did vastly improve it) I have not noticed any difference in ride comfort with the Poly bushes, after all ride comfort is nothing to do with the bushing you use but with the suspension set up unless you have excessive movement within that part, the movement or lack of it when Poly Bushing is used is nothing to do with a harsh ride, and would not show any drop in ride comfort that could be noticed, this point is a pivot point on the suspension, you may notice that the ride quality becomes a little tighter "which is a good thing". The reason for reported Hard Ride is because you have replaced a worn out part which has allowd excessive movement with a part that stops this happening (OEM or Poly) , and in fact this is how the car should ride.
Great, thanks, will keep this in mind