You like speed? You rather spend money on entry fees than parts? I got the mod for you.
Like many of us know, the front compression rod bushing takes a lot of abuse when driving the car hard. Many people have seen this tear after hard track use. It's also something that the aftermarket has created great products for, as making this bushing stiffer increases handling performance.
The compression rod only has force on it in one axis- directly in line with the ball joint. The stock bushing is meant to be most compliant in this direction, with two voids in the bushing creating a "beam" in this direction.
Rotate the bushing 90 degrees, and volia, no beam, just a solid bushing in the axis you care about. This should highly reduce the chance of tearing, while also making it a bit stiffer to boot with reduced deflection.
Top arm rotated, bottom stock
View attachment 846545
When I did this, I also did the old school trick of injecting urethane into the voids to make the whole bushing more solid, but this was just belt and suspenders. Not even sure this will do anything given there is no side load on this bushing once rotated.
As a hint for anyone needing to push this bushing out for any reason, you can borrow Powerbuilt 648617 from Advance Auto Parts. It has a great 2 9/64" socket that fits perfectly and makes pressing it out easy. Also has a 3" tube that works to go below the bushing as you press it out.