Bushings confuse me.

[JLav211]

Hey guys,

I can't quite figure out what to do with my Leg's suspension, but for now, I want to investigate doing new endlinks and bushings.

I've been on PDM's site and boxer4racing's site. There's a lot of nice stuff on there. None of it makes any sense to me in terms of what I actually need.

I have GR2's/Whitelines and a Rallitek rear sway. I'm going to get a Rallitek front sway in the coming weeks. I hear lots of talk about "polyurethane" and the like, but am not sure what I really need. Do I need endlinks? Do I need the Whiteline anti-lift kit?

Too much for me to digest - I need your collective input on what my aging BE will need to be competitive on the autox circuit this summer. Thanks in advance.

(Disclaimer: I am not getting Teins, Bilsteins, etc., etc.)

[Huffer]

have you autox-ed your current setup?

I would run that first, then decide what you need. A bigger FSB will help with turn-in, which is critical to dodging cones.

Firmer endlinks will help, but it may make the car too rough to daily drive.

Polyurethane is just a rubber material - it is stiffer than the factory rubber and as a result flexes less - meaning your car should handle better (at the expense of more noise and less comfort).

[rougeben83]

The front endlinks should be done it's just 2 more bolts to undo when you do the swaybar.

If you're going to be using an RS swaybar, note that you need WRX style swaybar bushings; the ones that the RS and older Impreza uses don't fit at all with our cars.

[JLav211]

I autox'd the car last summer with just the springs/shocks.

I don't care about ride quality, so I'll sacrifice that. Front sway bar is in the immediate plans for the future.

[Huffer]

Well, if you're going to do the FSB, you might as well upgrade the rubber bushings that go around the bar. Endlinks too.

Better tires will shave some time off too.
I think the best mod is probably an advanced driving school though!

[decke48]

there a master bushing kit on boxer4racing.com. for about $150 polyurethane/graphite.

[Reason]

Check out Group A endlinks. They are nice at a good price. Even if you don't buy them through me you should check them out seriously.

[sharky nrk]

it all depends on what your wanting to do with the car - and what your personal goals are as to what suspension bits you use and in what combination.

In general however unless your running very stiff springs, a large front bar will help negate camber loss during roll (which is substantial) on the front suspension geometry. An adjustable rear bar can help set balance to the car when used in tandem with the front bar. The endlinks flex and divert some of the bars energy from opposing the torsional twist, stock links with a bigger bar will flex more (unless you have GDB STi rear/ GDB WRX and STi front which are better than most other stock links and some aftermarket links) so replacing the links will gain that back for the bar.

Rubber bushings (especially worn out) on the sway bars can also deflect and cause the same loss.

Anti lift kits do several things - they reduce the front anti lift geometry to increase front wheel traction when applying power, they add a stiffer bushing to the lower front control arm that will deflect less, and they add some positive caster which helps with center on and also negates some front camber loss under roll while turning

the rest of a bushing kit simply takes out stock rubber which has a lower durometer and replaces it with urethane which has a higher durometer to reduce the amount of flex and slop there is when the arm moves under load

I can go on and on and on but to better anwer your question, please answer mine from the top - what do you want from the car

[JLav211]

The car is a daily driver that I want to have a firmer ride with better response from steering inputs. I also want to reduce body flex and get the most out of the sway bars and shocks.

I have decent tires; just need to get the body roll reduced and I'll be in better shape.

[decke48]

a front roll center kit (ball joints and outer tie rods) 25mm and 22mm steering rack bushings a anti castor kit(rear front control arm bushing) and a castor kit (front front control arm bushing) will give you better steering response (all whiteline) and you have a choose in endlinks polyurethane are better for daily driving bar sizing from 19mm to 24mm. or spherical bearings (only in perrins) are better for larger sway bars(24mm to 27mm) and reduce wheel lift more than polyurethanes
ohh if you have a large bar in the back and get endlinks i recommend a rear swaybar mount kit

[rougeben83]

a front roll center kit (ball joints and outer tie rods) 25mm and 22mm steering rack bushings a anti castor kit(rear front control arm bushing) and a castor kit (front front control arm bushing) will give you better steering response (all whiteline) and you have a choose in endlinks polyurethane are better for daily driving bar sizing from 19mm to 24mm. or spherical bearings (only in perrins) are better for larger sway bars(24mm to 27mm) and reduce wheel lift more than polyurethanes
ohh if you have a large bar in the back and get endlinks i recommend a rear swaybar mount kit

Enjoy running in Prepared then.

Get the tires, get the alignment, 22mm bar in the front, 22mm in the rear, using upgraded bushings for them, and run in STS like I do. Also steering rack bushings - such a cheap part but I think even non-modded grocery subaru's should have this changed out. You can get noltec plates if you want even more...it'll give you the negative camber of a plate, the castor of an ALK, and the increased steering response of Group N tophats, albeit they pretty much don't last past 60k miles or so, AND they tend to raise you suspension height another 1/4" or so; they're still legal in STS oddly enough.

[JLav211]

Enjoy running in Prepared then.

Get the tires, get the alignment, 22mm bar in the front, 22mm in the rear, using upgraded bushings for them, and run in STS like I do. Also steering rack bushings - such a cheap part but I think even non-modded grocery subaru's should have this changed out. You can get noltec plates if you want even more...it'll give you the negative camber of a plate, the castor of an ALK, and the increased steering response of Group N tophats, albeit they pretty much don't last past 60k miles or so, AND they tend to raise you suspension height another 1/4" or so; they're still legal in STS oddly enough.

This is a valid point; I enjoy running in STS events. It's a good fit for my car in terms of who I went up against last season.

Where can I find steering rack bushings? You reminded me that I really have been disapointed as of late with steering response - feels waaaay too loose, if that's the proper way to describe it. It obviously needs a fresh alignment, which is in the plans, but steering feel blows, quite honestly.

[decke48]

boxer4racing.com or renickmotorsports.com has them

[rougeben83]

Enjoy running in Prepared then.

Get the tires, get the alignment, 22mm bar in the front, 22mm in the rear, using upgraded bushings for them, and run in STS like I do. Also steering rack bushings - such a cheap part but I think even non-modded grocery subaru's should have this changed out. You can get noltec plates if you want even more...it'll give you the negative camber of a plate, the castor of an ALK, and the increased steering response of Group N tophats, albeit they pretty much don't last past 60k miles or so, AND they tend to raise you suspension height another 1/4" or so; they're still legal in STS oddly enough.

This is a valid point; I enjoy running in STS events. It's a good fit for my car in terms of who I went up against last season.

Where can I find steering rack bushings? You reminded me that I really have been disapointed as of late with steering response - feels waaaay too loose, if that's the proper way to describe it. It obviously needs a fresh alignment, which is in the plans, but steering feel blows, quite honestly.

Try OAKOS.com too, they do $25 shipped for the superpro steering rack bushings IIRC.

[sharky nrk]

indeed on the steering rack bushings - those and some uprated bushings in the shift linkage do wonder for driving enjoyment - regardless of speed

[jjs316]

Whats the two diffferent sizes of steering rack bushings that Whiteline offers all about?

no other company that sells steering rack bushings for our cars have two different sizes. :smt017

[decke48]

ive had my rack out and you can see that the bushing are clearly two different sizes. dont know why maybe the other companys dont list the sizes? like whiteline

[jjs316]

So how will i know which bushings to order? I think whiteline offers 25mm and 30mm if i remember the last time I looked at their site...

[decke48]

i think there 25mm kit fits

[rougeben83]

Ours use the same as the WRX. I *think* the narrow ones were only for overseas cars (RHD).

[jjs316]

narrow ones? so dont get the 25mm then?