Energy suspension pre-buying questions

[wishihadatalon]

Do you use the bushing that goes in the lateral arm where the strut mounts? RRE says no for the prothane but they also say that the prothane is much stiffer. Also when they say upper bushing they mean the strut mount basically?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Strm Trpr]

*** Never mind, you're a 1g, sorry man***

If memory serves me correct the E.S. Master Kit does not come with that bushing anymore.
I installed the E.S. kit on my GST, and installed Prothane's on my GSX, and I did not use that bushing.

Jack your car up and put it on jackstands and have someone turn the steering wheel lock to lock and you'll soon see how the suspension handles turning of the wheels and you will not want to put that bushing in.

I just did the inner most bushing on my lateral arms, and when someone turns the steering wheel, I can literally see the lateral arm bend when the wheels are turned.

The upper shock bushings are the 2 bushings that sandwich the upper strut mount and have a metal sleeve going thru them.
I didn't use mine either because I had a fresh set of Tein Flexes ready for install...

 

[wishihadatalon]

*** Never mind, you're a 1g, sorry man***

If memory serves me correct the E.S. Master Kit does not come with that bushing anymore.
I installed the E.S. kit on my GST, and installed Prothane's on my GSX, and I did not use that bushing.

Jack your car up and put it on jackstands and have someone turn the steering wheel lock to lock and you'll soon see how the suspension handles turning of the wheels and you will not want to put that bushing in.

I just did the inner most bushing on my lateral arms, and when someone turns the steering wheel, I can literally see the lateral arm bend when the wheels are turned.

The upper shock bushings are the 2 bushings that sandwich the upper strut mount and have a metal sleeve going thru them.
I didn't use mine either because I had a fresh set of Tein Flexes ready for install...

Oops this is for my girlfriends 95 tsi awd so please tell me what you said before.

 

[Strm Trpr]

Then it's all there...
Like I said, I had the E.S. kit on my GST, and they were a PITA to press in because of the 1 piece design.
I have the prothanes on my GSX, and I wish I was rolling the E.S. kit.

Maybe after these wear out, I'll install the E.S. kit again.
The hard part is getting all of the old rubber and metals sleeves out.

Good luck, all of the work is so worth the effort, trust me.

 

[wishihadatalon]

So did you not replace that lower bushing? If it doesn't come with the kit then what do you do? I have thought about buying new ones from JNZ for $30 each and then just pressing out the rear bushing. But that leaves me at- Does my girlfriend really need a whole bushing kit. I am trying to decide it its worth it or if I should just replace what is bad with oem parts.

 

[Strm Trpr]

Yeah, I just replaced both of my lateral arms and pressed out the inner most bushing and replaced it with the urethane.

 

[wret]

So did you not replace that lower bushing? If it doesn't come with the kit then what do you do? I have thought about buying new ones from JNZ for $30 each and then just pressing out the rear bushing. But that leaves me at- Does my girlfriend really need a whole bushing kit. I am trying to decide it its worth it or if I should just replace what is bad with oem parts.

The ES kit does not replace the outer bushing on the lat LCR. It causes excessive side forces on the strut.

 

[wishihadatalon]

The ES kit does not replace the outer bushing on the lat LCR. It causes excessive side forces on the strut.

Thanks. I am just going to replace the lat arms with new ones from JNZ and new strut mounts. I will inspect and see if there is anything else that needs to be replaced.

 

[wret]

I've also found an alternative to burning the bushing, if you have a drill and a saber saw.

Drill through the rubber with a bit just over 1/4 inch (9/32 maybe). Use a lot of oil on the bit or it will get stuck in the rubbber. The hole should give you enough room to score the shell with a narrow blade in the saber saw. Once the shell is cut, the bushing will pop right out.

 

[jtmcinder]

I've used that method and, in my case, the bushing did not just pop out. I had to crush in the remains of the outer shell before it could be removed. In other words, the outer shell was rust-welded or otherwise bonded to the control arm.

Plus, it was less fun than burning.

- Jtoby

 

[wret]

Yeah, well, it works like a charm on a new control arm, which you might be more hesitant to put to the flame.

At least we know what they use in Hollywood to film the dungeon/cave/townsfolk torches that never to out.