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rear ctrl arms, spherical or poly, adjustable or not?????

  • Thread starter Thread starter white_97_GT
  • Start date Start date Jun 13, 2006
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white_97_GT

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Jun 13, 2006
#1
  • Jun 13, 2006
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looking into some rear control arms, uppers and lowers, what are the pros and cons of spherical or poly bushings, and adjustable as opposed to non adjustable uppers????????
 

jrichker

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Spherical bearings will transmit noise & vibration back into the car. They are best suited for track/strip usage because the dirt & moisture accquired from daily driving is very bad for the bearing.

However in a track/strip only car they can't be beat for positive, no bind alignment.
 

white_97_GT

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#3
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jrichker said:
Spherical bearings will transmit noise & vibration back into the car. They are best suited for track/strip usage because the dirt & moisture accquired from daily driving is very bad for the bearing.
Click to expand...

thats what i was worried about, im told the poly bushings are fine so long as you grease them regularly
 

dastang2

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i just bought some spherical bushings for a street car.they go in the rear end for the uppers. won't they be fine if they are coated in grease.
 

Maryland Stang

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  • Dec 28, 2006
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dastang2 said:
i just bought some spherical bushings for a street car.they go in the rear end for the uppers. won't they be fine if they are coated in grease.
Click to expand...

They make a spherical bushing lube. I saw it online at Summit. It's a spray that would be better suited for the job than grease.

jrichker made mention of the noise that can be transmitted. He ain't lying. My 5.0 has always made a creaking noise in the right rear of the car. Ever since I installed my spherical bushings the noise is much louder and more pronouced. And yes, we are trying to find the cause with no luck so far.
 

SVT32VDOHC

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Grease is good for longevity, but it will also collect more dust and dirt.
 

04sleeper

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#7
  • Dec 28, 2006
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jrichker said:
Spherical bearings will transmit noise & vibration back into the car. They are best suited for track/strip usage because the dirt & moisture accquired from daily driving is very bad for the bearing.

However in a track/strip only car they can't be beat for positive, no bind alignment.
Click to expand...

+1

I can tell you from experience this is dead on!
 
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Daggar

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What do you guys know about Delrin bushings? What are they and how are they different?

--also--

With the noise transfer you get with Sperical bushings:
What do you guys think about those lower control arms that come with spherical bushings at one end and either 3 pc or Delrin bushings at the other end?
 

Grn92LX

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No problems at all with sperical bearings in my little street car. As far as interior noise, not an issue at all.
 
S

seijirou

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Solid Aluminum Bushings
 

myslo50

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i have mm non adj lower c/a on my car and i have no noises or issues with mine. drive mine one the street all the time
 

Blown88GT

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Daggar said:
What do you guys know about Delrin bushings? What are they and how are they different?...
Click to expand...
Delrin = low friction; and requires no lubricant
It's a very hard plastic which machines not unlike aluminum.
 

04sleeper

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  • Dec 28, 2006
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Daggar said:
What do you guys know about Delrin bushings? What are they and how are they different?

--also--

With the noise transfer you get with Sperical bushings:
What do you guys think about those lower control arms that come with spherical bushings at one end and either 3 pc or Delrin bushings at the other end?
Click to expand...

Delrin is supposed to be very good because you don't have to lubricate it like mentioned and is supposed to be like poly in noise.

The lower control arms with spherical at one end and anything other than spherical are usless in my book. They still transmit all the noise as spherical on both ends but you don't get the benifit of travel.
I'm not sure why they sell these because they are a waste IMHO.

Either all poly/delrin or all spherical, but not both.
 
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smr

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#14
  • Dec 29, 2006
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I noticed the question also asked about aadjustable vs. non adjustable...I believe the biggest benefit of adjustable is you can set pinion angle and where your four link intersect point is on the car (useful for tuning the suspension) if you dont plan on chaning ride height or anything you could probabaly get away with fixed (non adjustable) control arms but if you plan on tracking it or any performance application then you would want adjustable for sure.
 
D

Daggar

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04sleeper said:
Delrin is supposed to be very good because you don't have to lubricate it like mentioned and is supposed to be like poly in noise.

The lower control arms with spherical at one end and anything other than spherical are usless in my book. They still transmit all the noise as spherical on both ends but you don't get the benifit of travel.
I'm not sure why they sell these because they are a waste IMHO.

Either all poly/delrin or all spherical, but not both.
Click to expand...

I don't get it either. Seems like the higher end companies offer this option. Does anyone know anything about Steeda'a 3 piece bushing?

They are one of the companies that offer the spherical on one end and then this 3 piece bushing on the other. They say that it eliminates the bind.
 

Modular2v

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#16
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i have sphericals on my 88......around town they are not the most pleasant but they are hard to beat at the track
 

thehueypilot

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Jan 3, 2007
#17
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  • #17
I used delrin in my leaf springs on my 68 to replace the aluminum bushings. The delrin is a very tough plastic and does not transmit noise like the aluminum bushings. The aluminum bushings are very noisy on the street. My 93 lowers have a sperical bearing on one end and ploy on the other end. I chose it because I did not want the metal to metal joint on both ends. I also wanted to adjust the rear wheel to be centered in the wheel housing. I am hoping it won't tear my mounting points off the frame as quick since the poly gives a little at one end. My 60' does not look like it is suffering because of the poly joints so far.
 

04sleeper

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#18
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  • #18
Daggar said:
I don't get it either. Seems like the higher end companies offer this option. Does anyone know anything about Steeda'a 3 piece bushing?

They are one of the companies that offer the spherical on one end and then this 3 piece bushing on the other. They say that it eliminates the bind.
Click to expand...
I will tell you about the Famous "3 Peice Bushing".

When Dario Orlando (Owner) first started making control arms he put in an order with Prothane for bushings in a special size to fit his new arms that he was having built to sell.

He miscalculated the size and ordered them.

Because they were not a current size that Prothane carried in stock they had to custom make them and Steeda ended up eating them.

Instead of throwing out the bushings because they were the wrong size Dario ordered more bushings to take up the space of the wrong size bushing.

With his marketing prowness he introuced the "NEW" 3 peice bushing and marketed it as the best thing EVER.

Not to many people knew the real truth of the matter so it was just a way for him to turn lemons into lemonade.

There is nothing special about the 3 peice bushing other than a covered up mistake.
 
S

seijirou

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Jan 4, 2007
#19
  • Jan 4, 2007
  • #19
04sleeper said:
I will tell you about the Famous "3 Peice Bushing".

When Dario Orlando (Owner) first started making control arms he put in an order with Prothane for bushings in a special size to fit his new arms that he was having built to sell.

He miscalculated the size and ordered them.

Because they were not a current size that Prothane carried in stock they had to custom make them and Steeda ended up eating them.

Instead of throwing out the bushings because they were the wrong size Dario ordered more bushings to take up the space of the wrong size bushing.

With his marketing prowness he introuced the "NEW" 3 peice bushing and marketed it as the best thing EVER.

Not to many people knew the real truth of the matter so it was just a way for him to turn lemons into lemonade.

There is nothing special about the 3 peice bushing other than a covered up mistake.
Click to expand...



Neat
 

Black Sun 5.0

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#20
  • Jan 4, 2007
  • #20
So wait, you're trying to say that there is no benfit to the 3-piece bushing and it's just an ongoing sham? According to MM, they use it to reduce the stress on your torque boxes. That can be such a bad thing, can it?
 
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