Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Front Control Arm Bushing, what brand do you use?

Heh. I suspected that might be the case.

Still keeping an eye on the thread, of course, since I'm always open to new info and ideas.

 

My Alta bushings are being pressed into brackets for me by Way motor works this week at a 50/50 attitude so to speak. Ryephile mentioned doing them that way and I like the idea so I'll see how it work's out. ScottinBend love's his and his club has had good stuff to say about them. I had started out thinking Poweflex but after seeing the video, that and input from Alta PSRS users changed my mind.
I need to fix my MINI now, can't wait on something else in development.

 

what?:confused5:

 

But the video overstates the problem

So what it takes 125 lbs or whatever to go to full deflection. That's what, 5%-10% of the weight that it takes to go to full deflection with stock springs? Even less with stiffer aftermarket ones....

It's much less of a deal than the video makes it out to be.

Matt

 

5000+ Miles on my LCA Powerflex bushings and I'm still loving them. I did the Powerflex stock sway bar and steering rack bushings at the same time too. :aureola:

Jeremy

 

That's oK , Alta PSRS, this time Poweflex or some yet to be released bushing next time. Ah wait.. no.. uM,, never mind thats

 

Norm, i'll probably get the powerflex bushings eventually. i've only got about 30k on my car, so the stockers should be fine for now. theoretically.

 

mine were shot at about that mileage...
changed them at 32k and was blown away by the handling all over again
new bushings even oem (what i got) make a huge difference from worn ones

^some track / autoX use tho

 

Same here......30K and the passenger side came off in pieces.

 

If they're craking...

they are more shot than you think. This really is one of the worst parts of the Mini suspension.

Matt

 

Crap.

- Andrew

 

I imagine that at 79K miles, I've got nearly nothing left, then.

 

I can add another $.02 to the discussion. I am not a frequent poster, but I read most everything. The how-to-do-it for installing the PSRS on the R56 that Chad wrote up, is illustrated on my car. We did the install ("we" as in, Chad did the install, I turned wrenches and assisted where I could, staying out of the way when I needed to). That was done in the middle of winter in Detroit in early 2008. This was before anyone knew about welding the sleeves on (heck, it was Chad's first R56 install). 20K miles later, several track days, lots of daily driving including some long trips, they are still doing fine. The sleeves have stayed put, and I really enjoy the benefits of a much more fun to drive car. Hard braking at the end of long straights no longer brings the side-to-side dance that even brand new OEM bushings demonstrate. I periodically crawl under the car when I am changing brake pads, changing wheels, whatever, and check the set screws -- I have only once found one even slightly loose -- blue loctite continues to do its job. All this is on a car that lives outside 100% of the time, through Ohio winters, with the demon salt. In fact, the day I drove up to Detroit, they were enjoying a nasty winter storm and it continued most of my 5 hour trip back home. Nothing like a baptism under fire -- er... cold and salt.

Sure there are some noises in the suspension on my car, but I can attribute none of them to the PSRS. I will replace them if they ever show the wear Dr Mike has seen.

Oh, and one more thing --- another local R56 MCS owner wants to install the PSRS in his car. He checked around for someone to install them -- I absolutely did not volunteer (remember, I've seen this job as well as assisted my neighbor when he installed
BAV Auto ones in his R53) -- I don't have the garage space to let a car sit for a day while we find someone to press them in. He finally checked with our dealer. He (and I) was astonished when they said they would install the PSRS for free, as his car had sufficient miles to mean the stock ones needed replacing. Let me clarify that the customer will supply the PSRS, but the dealer will install them for no labor charge -- charging it to warranty work!!!! It might be worthwhile to check with your dealer if your car is in the 35K mile or higher and still under warranty!

Paul

 

Thanks Paul, no concerns going forward.

 

Just as an FYI, the Alta PSRS's are currently 50% off on their website. Just ordered a set.

 

That's a good deal!

 

One more data point.

I spoke with Madness recently about a few suspension parts including their lower control arms bushings. They are indeed very similar to the PowerFlex bushings. However they did say that they used a softer durometer polyurethane in their bushings and they are made in the USA.

He also said that they stopped production of their lower control arms b/c the parts didn't meet their definition of streetable b/c of the noise they generate and increased wear (especially in poor weather environs) - much like the PSRS system. I doubt either of these options would be sales leaders and probably not worth the continued development and stocking costs.

Would be nice to have a better solution overall. I'd love to try some poly bushes on the LCA but I don't want to deal with possible noise issues on my DD Mini. I'm running Powerflex on the LCA of my FD Rx7 and they are great for aggressive driving and track days but they do squeak after a while. I live in CA so I have good weather and the bushes have been on 2 years and less than 10k miles.