Question: Rubber versus Polyurethane bushings:

[401KVet]

I've read where some has said that the Poly. bushings squeak. This guy at Eckler's said that was true with the OLD Poly. bushings. He said that the newer ones have more of a oil/graphite base. He then said that there should be no problem with squeaking.

Can anyone verify this? I do want to go with the better product even though they may cost more, but I certainly don't want to add any more squeaking.

Has anyone installed any of the so called newer poly. bushings lately? :bash

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

If you really want the best product, stick with rubber bushings. Poly belongs in a cage asking for a cracker. :L

 

[401KVet]

Poly and the cracker:

If you really want the best product, stick with rubber bushings. Poly belongs in a cage asking for a cracker. :L

Why do you think so?

 

[petes74ttop]

Big Debate!

My car is street driven, GM installed rubber when thay make it and they lasted for years. In 2001 I did a ground up restoration and 30,000 miles later those bushings are just fine. The Corvette catalog houses will have you believe that everything they sell is much better than the original, I'm just not convinced, especially since the products cost 2 or 3 or 4 times more, and you have to pay shipping. A lot depends on what your goals are with your car, will it see any track time or is it a street driven daily driver?
For my purposes stock rubber is fine, same with the shocks. I don't have headers or an aftermarket carb or manifold and I refuse to part with over $50.00 for an air cleaner that has be be cleaned and oiled because they claim you'll gain X amount of HP. I'm not sure about the new "Non Squeak" bushings, so lets see if anyone has had them for over a year and see what they say.
Merry Christmas, PG.

 

[6880 Mike]

Stock rubber bushings will provide stock Corvette ride and handling. Poly bushings will stiffen things up considerably because they have no flex. How do you intend to use your car?

 

[muddywaters]

Besides squeaks/harshness, poly wears out adjacent metal parts also, but I do miss driving over a Quarter and being able to tell if it was heads or tails. I'll stick with rubber..............

 

[TimAT]

I wanted to stiffen things up a bit so I did the poly bushings. I did, however, groove the ID of the bushings, and then drill and install grease zerks in all the control arms.

 

[401KVet]

So far, the Rubber has it:

I wanted to stiffen things up a bit so I did the poly bushings. I did, however, groove the ID of the bushings, and then drill and install grease zerks in all the control arms.

Well, I'm like Petes74ttop. I'm only going to dry my 80 Vette for pleasure. No track or anything like that. I am trying to keep everything pretty much original, or at least looking original. I did spring for a K&N air filter.
I also decided to pretty much keep the exhaust original, except for replacing the original CAT. with a stainless steel Hi flow.

I haven't replaced the bushings or the original shocks yet. As for as the bushing, I just want a Great Smooth ride as must as possible with no additional noise.

I am a new Vette owner.

So for from what I am hearing from you guys who have had your Vette's for a while, the RUBBERS have it.

 

[6880 Mike]

...As for as the bushing, I just want a Great Smooth ride as must as possible with no additional noise....the RUBBERS have it....

Yep. Stick with the stock rubber.

 

[TimAT]

I don't have any problems with rubber either. I was after 2 things. 1, never having to replace them again, and 2, taking the flex out of the bushings. Ol' Red is on the factory F-41 suspension anyway so it rides rough from the get go. I just was after that little extra ability to crank it into a corner. And it's NEVER been on any kind of a track. My next round of mods (next time I pull the engine) is going to be adding gussets to the front suspension points.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I bought a full front suspension kit with rubber bushings for my 80 , It wasnt just the rubbers that were knackered and tired...made a vast difference...look at the other bits too while you redoing rubbers..
By the sounds of it , you wont be raping your car , so poly would be a waste for you...

 

[401KVet]

What other problems did you find on your car other than the bushings?

 

[petes74ttop]

Other problems.

I did not find a lot of other problems but I wanted everything rebuilt 100%from the ground up, so when I found a shop owner who owned Corvettes in the past I had him install the new rubber bushings and tie rod ends and new ball joints. A few months later I removed the trailing arms and had them rebuilt by Corvettes Etc in Charlotte, a few months later I replaced a leaking PS control valve and installed a rebuilt cylinder and the hoses. A few months later I replaced the carpet, seat foam, seat covers and I installed new weatherstriping. Forgot to mention that the first thing I did was install new front bearings and all 4 calipers and pads ( had 2 of them leak and replaced under warranty) and a new M/C and booster. Also installed a new base crate motor and had the auto transmission rebuilt while the motor was out, and had the carb rebuilt at the same time.
The battery is now going on 8 years old and the alternator has been replaced once. Took about 1 year to change everything but well worth the money, over 30,000 miles since then and 8 years later it still puts a smile on my face to go for a ride and get back without needing a tow. PG.

 

[Ed's 1970]

I have the red poly bushings on my '94 Z28. They are the ones without polygraphite in them. The black ones are better for the street, I chose these for my corvette but have yet to try them out yet as my car is going thru a frame-off resto.. One good advantage of the poly is they are more durable and will never wear out. They feel every bump on my camaro, but that car has 17-inch wheels with 45 tires on it. I noticed when it's cold out, they are very squeeky! What I loved about the corvette is the nice smooth ride with the 15-inch wheels and big tires...lots of cushion, so I am going to keep the 15's with 60 series tires. It's going to get really interesting to see how the ride is with the poly bushings, I expect smooth but quick response when needed. A little squeek don't bother me, it's a hot rod for gosh sakes :ugh

 

[73shark]

I put the old style polys on both sway bars and the end links and they did fit in the OEM brackets and didn't squeak. My friend had me put polys in his A-arms and these were the non-graphite type and they squeaked like crazy but w/ the sidepipes and a 427, you couldn't hear them. :cool

Unless you're going to autocross or race, I wouldn't recommend using them on the A-arms as they w/ seriously affect the ride quality.

 

[tcxd40]

Well, I can agree and disagree.

My '81 sat for 17 years in a barn all bushings were toast, not just the body I mean everything, car has 71K on it. The metal sleeves and bolts were extremly rusted, the rubber was smashed and crubbling. So much for rubber lasting. I also have a Olds 442 with all poly bushings that has been sitting for 20 years in my garage, poly bushings are like the day I insatlled them.
The '81 is a little stiffer for sure and I do plan on running it a the track. My car is rebuilt not restored, therefore after I priced out all the parts to be replaced like the control arms, springs, all suspension bushings, steeering setup etc. It was cheaper to move up the ladder to a performance suspension , by VB&P , than to buy new or rebuild factory parts. I have a total of $2515 for everything suspension and body bushings for my car. Rebuilt and or new replacements ran well over $3600.00. Money does not gow on trees I like to spend mine wisely. I'll live with a stiffer ride and better handling and I have no sqeaks with my poly suspension and yes it still retains the factory exhaust. So ther is no cover up.

To each there own, good for some but not for others, I like polygraphite....

tcxd40

 

[muddywaters]

Body mounts are "cushions", there's no compliance with urethane, and yes, urethane will outlast it's steel partners. Aside from the swaybar, which doesn't carry weight, I'll stick with rubber, then your dash won't skitz-out because of the harsh ride, the car basiclly shakes itself apart, body seams will pop-up, but I guess stiiffer ride and flatter cornering is worth it. Been there, done that........Rock-on