Cheap compression rod bushing mod

[tm1v2]

Good luck with the Whiteline bushings. I had a set of Whiteline sphericals in a past car, many years ago. Within a year of street driving they wore out and got obnoxiously noisy.

Being new to car modding then, I took it to an experienced mechanic who - without looking under the car yet and without me telling him what was modded yet - literally identified the part AND WHITELINE BRAND as the cause - just from driving a few feet in the parking lot and hearing the noise!

Dat crunchy bearing sound...clearly it wasn't the first time he'd heard that Whiteline part go bad.

YMMV. I wouldn't and didn't buy any Whiteline parts again. No real harm but they were a waste of my time and hassle - aside from the educational experience. I also wouldn't bother with Hardrace parts after a quick read of their website and a few other things. I have become conservative about whose aftermarket car parts I trust for my (family's) car. Probably more than necessary. Follow your own comfort level and judgement, I won't judge you for it!

 

[gearchruncher]

Good luck with the Whiteline bushings. I had a set of Whiteline sphericals in a past car, many years ago.

Thanks. Not sure what Whiteline's sphericals has to do with bushings though.

also wouldn't bother with Hardrace parts after a quick read of their website and a few other things.

Thanks for that highly educated input. There's a few threads on the site about people using hardrace stuff, you should go spread the word.

 

[superflyrolla]

I bought and installed the whiteline caster bushings. They fit fine, install as you'd expect, and yep, they increase caster.
Autocrossed them today, but it was in rain and snow so not a good way to identify the changes.

Do you mind sharing how much alignment change you see from these? I assume you could press them in at different angles to adjust caster. I’m intrigued by the caster adjustment without spherical NVH.

 

[gearchruncher]

Do you mind sharing how much alignment change you see from these? I assume you could press them in at different angles to adjust caster. I’m intrigued by the caster adjustment without spherical NVH.

I do my own alignments, so all I did was fix the toe after this. I don't know exactly what it did to caster since I didn't put it on a rack or bother to try and do a before/after caster swing.

You absolutely could install the bushings rotated to get less than max caster. Of course you have to take the whole arm off and press them out and back in to do this. I figured "more is better" and just maxed them out and moved on.

My main concern now is if my 295's will still fit with the control arm just a few mm farther forward.

 

[Kvitravn]

Fill it with urethane. Did that back in the days when rules didn't allow bushings changes in SCCA, but no mention of adding material to the existing.

Do you guys have a recommendation for a suitable urethane product to use?

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Powerflex here in the UK have now released their poly-bushed control arms for the S/3/X/Y with more to follow soon.

Powerflex - Performance Polyurethane Bushes

www.powerflex.co.uk

I have a pair of their compression arms and lateral links here ready to fit to my M3 LR.

 

[Kvitravn]

They look promising but the price is pretty substantial too

 

[Dangerous Fish]

They look promising but the price is pretty substantial too

Yes, but these are 'upgrades' rather than direct OE replacements and Powerflex have got a very good rep. I've used them on various ICE cars I've owned over the years.
If you ever want to track your 3, these will be a good halfway house between the OE rubber bushes and full sphericals but without as much NVH, so they're a good compromise for a lot of owners.

A friend of mine with a M3P who tracks it from time to time had his OE lateral link bushes go after 23k miles.
He replaced them with aftermarket ones made in Germany (NOT Meyle) supplied by a well known car parts chain here and those both failed after only 1000 road miles and a few laps at a short local track. So he's happy to pay a bit more for a known brand which will improve handling and last longer.

I've gone with Powerflex as one of our cars has a lot of sphericals on it and I don't want to go that extreme with the other as it's our everyday road car.

 

[Sam1]

They look promising but the price is pretty substantial too

if it includes the arms, it's not too bad of a price.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

if it includes the arms, it's not too bad of a price.

Arms with bushes installed, yes. The pricing can be a bit confusing though as their website quotes prices for single arms (or "bushes"), but they are selling the complete arms with all their bushes pre-installed. So, a pair of their comp links for the M3 are £568 + tax.

 

[Kvitravn]

Ok, thanks - GBP 568 for two complete arms doesn't sound too bad

 

[superflyrolla]

Powerflex here in the UK have now released their poly-bushed control arms for the S/3/X/Y with more to follow soon.

Powerflex - Performance Polyurethane Bushes

www.powerflex.co.uk

I have a pair of their compression arms and lateral links here ready to fit to my M3 LR.

Please write a review when you have these installed and have some drive time. I see Powerflex has a USA website too which sells them in pairs. They're expensive, but if they stand by a lifetime warranty, I think it's a bargain. With the OEM control arms or any of the other aftermarket options I've tried, the rubber bushings tear quickly and then the ball joints on the other side start making noise shortly after.