For the best comfort, are the stock bushings the way to go?

[elomo64]

My car is nearing 170K miles, and the usual problems with old bushings are popping up:

 

Incessant squeaking (Already lubricated everything), and particulary "bumpy" ride, even with brand new KYB struts.

 

I'm thinking about just getting all the bushings changed as I assume the rubber is pretty hard by now, and it's contributing to the bumpy ride.

 

From what I can gather, any aftermarket replacement is going to make the ride even stiffer, so should I just get the OEM bushings?

 

The only I might get aftermarket would be the rear ones for the front lower control arm, as from what I've read here, are the first to go due to not-so-good design.

 

Open to any and all suggestions!

[whitetiger]

If you are on OE type springs/struts, then doing performance bushings all around for other suspension arms wont increase NVH that much but will make the car much tighter and more responsive.

 

do the full whiteline treatment. both front LCA bushings, KTA124 arms in the rear, the main rear trailing arm bushing, and the rear upper control arm bushings. all of this will probably last the rest of the life of the car.

 

you can also do it the lazy way by buying replacement control arms from rockauto.com which comes with all the bushings and just swap all your old arms out. Aside from the rear trailing arm, you can replace every control arm in the car for under $450 in parts if you just want OEM replacements

[Pleides]

I went with OEM bushings for those control arms because I don't mind the steering in a car this heavy being a little numb. I mostly drive on the freeway and don't want to translate every micromovement of the wheels into the steering wheel. I'd do a rack swap before doing those bushings. To each their own. Putting poly bushings there will increase the longevity of that bushing for certain, but consider how much longer you want to own this car with 170K on it. I opted for the comfort there, as well as the trailing arm bushings, both of which go pretty quick with OEM rubber. Most of the rest of my bushings are polyurethane. Definitely stick with OEM rubber for the diff bushings - I regret doing poly for those.

 

The car won't ride that harsh with a bunch of poly bushings to be frank. You'll notice things like you'll feel some more vibrations in the brake pedal, in the steering wheel, some chassis vibrations won't be dampened by those bushings so you might get a couple rattles here and there, but if you don't mind the loss of flex in the bushings, the car will handle much better. If you mostly drive long-distance like I do I would use mostly OEM rubber.

[elomo64]

Thanks guys, this is great info!

 

I'm really looking to have a comfortable experience as I never track this car, and the streets here in Mexico suck so much, that I sold my '11 STI just because of how uncomfortable it was, smooth streets are the exception, not the norm

 

I have a good mechanic here and labor is cheap enough that it's probably cheaper to go with bushings vs full arms.

 

I just changed my steering rack, so that'll have to wait

[Pleides]

Thanks guys, this is great info!

 

I'm really looking to have a comfortable experience as I never track this car, and the streets here in Mexico suck so much, that I sold my '11 STI just because of how uncomfortable it was, smooth streets are the exception, not the norm

 

I have a good mechanic here and labor is cheap enough that it's probably cheaper to go with bushings vs full arms.

 

I just changed my steering rack, so that'll have to wait

 

For rack I meant I'd swap to an STI steering rack if I wanted more of a racecar feel, but I drive my car on the freeway and don't need the steering to be razor sharp off-center. Or maybe that's what you were talking about.

 

Sounds like you've made up your mind. Good luck. Don't forget you'll need to pay for an alignment.

[elomo64]

For rack I meant I'd swap to an STI steering rack if I wanted more of a racecar feel, but I drive my car on the freeway and don't need the steering to be razor sharp off-center. Or maybe that's what you were talking about.

 

Sounds like you've made up your mind. Good luck. Don't forget you'll need to pay for an alignment.

 

Took the car for alignment... and the rebuilt (Cardone) rack has slack on it. Yaaay. I guess I will go for the STI rack after all.

[All_talk]

Stock rubber is the right choice for the comfort level you are seeking.