I'm almost ready to put the new bushings in the freshly restored control arms, both front and rear. I'm running a full weight non ac, iron headed 455 in a 71 'lark. Will urethane bushings help out...I've heard conflicting reports and would like your opinions. I want this car to be as tight as possible without going nutty. Thanks!
Urethane definitely stiffens the ride. It offers less deflection when cornering, so it improves handling. -Josh
depends on what you want drag...or handling...or decent ride.do ane $hit oad of research on the subject. urithane bushings make a converging 4link bid. not actually too bad for drag racing. some peole have pretty good sucess with it... depends on who you talk to. I've heard to put one rubber in each upper and the rest uritahne for a decent ride. the guys said it fixes some of the bind and rides better. i can't actually confirm anything about it because i havn't tried it. so i don't know first hand. theory sounds right. really there is a ton of different ways to go. I want some umi upper/lower adjustables with hime (sp?) joints. this would have the same problem.... but have seen some chevelle guys try a rubber and a hime. that is mostly road race stuff though. check out team chevelle. they have several threads on that if you look hard enough. I am thinking i will go with some urithaneand or solid for drag race purposes until i get the umi's
I read an article on this subject by the people that produce Urethan bushings and they said use rubber on one end and urethan on the other for street cars (other wise ride will be harsh) and urethan both ends for drag/road racing cars. Guess it comes down to what you plan on doing with the car like stated previously. I used urethan on both ends for a street car and didn't like it at all.
The only thing I didn't like about the polygraphite set on my GTO was the constant squeaking over road bumps. Fine on the highway but embarassing cruising the streets. Although I know of some folks that had no problems with squeaks at all. It seemed to me that the rest of the car had to absorb the energy from the road rather than the rubber as it was intended. I'll go out on a limb here and assume the rubber bushings in your car are 36 years old. If that is the case, new rubber will already stiffen the ride.
I have the poly graphite in my car and have no noises at all, I used the grease that they supplied and I am very pleased with results. If your just keeping the car stock for cruising then stay with rubber for a better ride. I up graded because of my power level, less deflection with the poly bushings but harsher ride on large bumps. Steve
