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Why are they made of rubber?
Rubber acts as that sound barrier, damping out noise
and vibration. Without them cars would feel much
harsher and noisier. Rubber is also very very cheap.
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Do racing cars have rubber bushes?
In general the answer is no. A lot of racing cars,
especially single seater track based cars use metal
joints which do not provide any noise absorbing.
The life of these joints is measured in hours. They
are not suitable for road use. However a huge number
of racing cars still use rubber bushes. These are
either production based cars adapted for race use
or rally cars where the forces on the suspension
can be so high that metal joints would break.
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Can I fit POWERFLEX bushes to my
racing car?
If your race car has rubber bushes anywhere in the
suspension then fitting POWERFLEX bushes will improve
all aspects of it's handling. They will outlast
rubber by a factor of ten. They will control the
geometry much more accurately during rapid suspension
movements and they will reduce tyre wear.
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What about nylon bushes?
Nylon is probably the worst of all worlds. When
a suspension arm moves up and down it does not move
only up and down but describes an arc. This means
that, for example an inner track control arm bush
will be required to flex in two dimensions at the
same time. In this example a metal bush will allow
this movement as will a rubber or POWERFLEX bush.
However a nylon bush will allow up and down movement
but 100% of the arc loadings will be transferred
into the arm and the chassis. This causes arm flexing
and can easily cause premature arm failure! Of course
nylon has no vibration absorbing characteristics
at all, so all vibration is transferred up the already
highly stressed arm.
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If POWERFLEX products are this good
why do car manufacturers use rubber and not polyurethane?
Cost, availability and marketing. Polyurethane,
as a raw material is about ten times the cost of
rubber plus it is more expensive and slower to process.
Car manufacturers buy a lot of components. If Ford
decided to use polyurethane bushes in their range
of cars they would need to find a supplier capable
of making literally millions of bushes a year. There
is no company in the world (even EPTG Ltd) who could
make those sort of quantities. Cars are all about
marketing. As long as the standard rubber bushes
work without serious failure for two or three years
then the manufacturer is happy. Would fitting of
polyurethane bushes make you buy one car in preference
to another make? Probably not.
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Why do I need them then?
POWERFLEX bushes improve your cars' road holding
and chassis performance by controlling the amount
of unwanted flex in the suspension. This means your
suspension is doing what it is supposed to. It means
your tyres have greater contact with the road at
all times therefore improving safety and performance.
Correctly formulated polyurethane is as good if
not better at noise, vibration and harshness suppression
when compared to rubber.
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I only have a fairly basic saloon,
why do need high performance bushes?
For exactly the same reason as above but with a
different emphasis. If your tyres are in better
contact with the road and your suspension movements
are being controlled more accurately then tyre wear
will be dramatically reduced. We have letters of
recommendation from customers who state that they
have doubled the life of their tyres on certain
cars after fitting POWERFLEX bushes. We are not
claiming that you will get this but worn bushes
are dangerous and will be costing you money due
to premature tyre wear. Have you ever taken your
car into a tyre shop with tyres which are worn out
on the inner or outer edges but perfectly legal
everywhere else? You assume the tracking is wrong,
but when the shop checks, it is correct. This is
bush wear. When the car is stationary the tracking
is correct but as you move and the loads increase
then the tracking goes out. Come to a stop and the
tracking is right again. Worn bushes.
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I love my car, it is a classic...What
can they do for me?
Another major advantage of POWERFLEX bushes is life.
Rubber is a natural product and deteriorates with
age, especially on cars which are not being used
regularly. The bushes will crack on the outer surface
and soften inside. POWERFLEX bushes are not affected
by ultra-violet, petrol, oil, battery acid, water
or time. Prefect for your loved one. (And the car.)
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How much do they cost?
Typically about 5 to 8 times the cost of a standard
rubber bush. However that is not the whole story.
When you consider the cost of fitting new bushes
and the fact that POWERFLEX will be the last bushes
you every fit to your car things start to look a
bit better. Then consider tyre wear, a real cost
saving here. Car manufacturers have a habit of not
supplying the bushes on their own, only supplying
them complete with suspension arms. Paying £70
for an arm when a POWERFLEX bush might cost £15
is not a good idea. And finally as cars get older
manufacturers stop supplying certain parts. Imagine
your car was off the road because of a bush failure.
You go to the parts shop and the part is "no
longer serviced"! POWERFLEX makes a lot of
sense then.
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Are they easy to fit?
We design all the bushes so that they can be fitted
without special tools. However sometimes it is a
lot harder to remove the old bushes than fit the
new ones. If you feel you have very little mechanical
knowledge, experience, talent or tools, either ask
a friend or get them professionally fitted.
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Do I need to buy the whole car set?
No, but it depends on the car. Some cars benefit
more than others. But there is a fair amount of
effort involved in changing bushes so consider changing,
for example a front set at one time, followed by
the rear ones if applicable. Best to change the
whole set if you can afford it though. (But we would
say that wouldn't we!!)
