cgormanZ28

Looking to lower my car and apply the LCA relocation brackets
as well. What are some companies? What kind of pricing?
Should I get standard polyurethane bushings or roto-joints?
Would prefer them to be serviceable with a grease fitting as
well. While on the topic, who makes a good set of lowering
springs. Thank you all. Hoorah.


Vehicle info - 2002 Camaro Z28, 4L60E, 10 Bolt.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

Definitely not solid poly for the control arms, personally I would go with the Founders 3-piece poly http://www.foundersperformance.com/1...ce-poly-joint/ and there relo brackets http://www.foundersperformance.com/p...-Brackets.html also if you do intend on lowering you will need an adjustable panhard bar so get this one (no need for higher priced pieces) http://www.foundersperformance.com/p...-Bushings.html

if your doing lowering springs the best 2 are BMR and Strano and then you need good shocks to match (don't do springs on stock shocks) so if you hurry, shocks and springs can be gotten fairly cheap, but get them on the phone by tomorrow afternoon (the prices on BMR's site look like the non-sale prices and Strano needs to process the order before 5 PM eastern Friday).

https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...-ok-3-1-a.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...ear-again.html

UMI Performance

iTrader: (77)

Hello, What type of driving will you be doing with the car and how will be used?

We offer a few different bushing options and combination of bushings depending on what type of driving.

If you can give us a little more information we will be glad to help.

Thanks!

ssvert99

iTrader: (26)

MWC has you covered for all your rearend and suspension needs. Give us a call and we will be happy to go over all your options and make suggestions to get you the results you are looking for and at a great price. For what you are looking to do with your car you very well may consider a full set of coil-overs that will benefit you by external adjustable valving and adjustable ride height to achieve the stance you are looking for and not just be stuck with one particular "lowering spring". Being you are looking at rearends as well you can get relocation brackets installed. For instance the MWC fabrivcated 9" rear comes with a 5-hole adjustable relocation style LCA bracket at no extra charge, and it is a one piece bracket... not a add-on.

MWC offers package discounts for you to make some great savings over what you could normally spend. Give us a call!

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

If the car is daily driven and just a street and straight line performance oriented, then there is nothing wrong with using regular polyurethane bushings. There is a lot of talk going around now about "bushing bind". Unless you are hardcore road racing or autocrossing the car, this isn't really a concern. As for roto joints or rod ends, you will definitely compromise ride quality and smoothness, but will have a bind free and indestructable suspension combination

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I'm 100% happy with the poly bushings on my UMI control arms. I'm also running UMI lower control arm brackets and... well... almost everything else they have for the f-body The other sponsors also have great stuff, too (just trying to be an impartial "mod" )

With that said, I do have rod ends on the axle side because I wanted adjustable. Just be wary of all the anti-poly "bind" hype.

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

If you're going to be subject to any competition rules, read those first. If you're not going to compete, I'd say stick with the OEM LCA's and use the 1LE-style Moog K6178 bushings.

For a lowered vehicle, I'm partial to PHB's with the adjustment on the ends. I'm not even close to being an ME, but I've read that under axial compression the forces applied to the bar are always concentrated near the middle of the bar with the least force at the ends.

JD_AMG

So wait, you mock the fact that poly binds in certain control arm locations, yet you have rod ended bushings in those locations?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Given that I've seen pics of poly bushings in certain locations causing the arm to actually sheer off (caster bushing on the front LCA for example) I wouldn't call it "hype" as much as truth. Rear LCA bushings aren't subjected to quite as much twist perpendicular to the bushing axis as the front LCA caster bushing, and probably won't cause catastrophic failure like that, but fact still remains that a poly bushing absolutely can and does bind in a twist motion.

As was mentioned, for a straight line car it would be fine, but even from a ride comfort perspective the bind would be noticeable in comparison according to several posts I've read.

TA_Freak

I'm with you 100%. I experienced it for myself ... mainly taking turns and bends at highway speeds. That was the worst. There was one turn/bend on the highway with a slight bump and I would occasionally damn near skip over to another lane!! Not a good thing when you're driving 70mph.

I pressed in some 1LE style bushings in my stock LCAs and it began to feel safe again.

I just don't see it as "hype."

Rare96LT1Formula

iTrader: (32)

The fact of the matter is that many people blow this topic completely out of proportion.

Don't try to autocross a car that isn't set up for that type of driving, period. That should be common sense.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I wanted adjustable -- I couldn't have cared less if it was a rod end or poly bushing. If I didn't want adjustable then I would have just gone with poly ends on both sides. That's the context of the discussion. Period. edit: I did have non-adjustable UMI poly/poly rear control arms on my '00 SS. No, I did not drive in fear... and I even autocrossed it at the same event Sam Strano was at (Mid State Airport in Philipsburg). Of course, that was back in 2004 before all this poly drama manifested and spread like a disease.

This.

I am not an engineer or professional driver -- neither are most of the people who continually profess how dangerous poly bushing bind is. I purely buy parts for my car that I believe work. I also provide advice based on my empirical and anecdotal experience. Nothing more -- nothing less.

One should purchase whatever they will gain the most utility from. If that is roto joints because they've bought into the fear from the "experts," then hey, more power to you. If one takes a step back to look at everything in the macro (i.e. the type of driving one actually does), then perhaps they'll understand the logic from those of us who aren't jumping on the anti-poly bandwagon.

JD_AMG

This has absolutely nothing to do with auto-x. The bushings will bind in everyday driving situations while hitting a bump. In the case of the front lower control arm the bushing or the control arm will break in everyday driving situations. This has happened more than once, and all of which was with normal street driving.

You can buy adjustable LCAs with poly on both ends:
http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=109

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

IMO, there's nothing wrong with using (regular) poly bushings as long as it doesn't inhibit suspension articulation. In the rear LCAs of a 82-02 Camaro/firebird it does; fact not fiction. Furthermore, with the 82-92 Camaro/firebird rear suspension being almost identical and the rear LCAs and PHB interchangeable, the facts about the negative aspects of poly bushing have be around long before 2004.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

cgormanZ28 , thought you'd like a good option that not what most normally recommend, since they cost more than most LCA s do. Global West makes rear LCAs that have a rubber/spherical bearing combo. It'll offer good articulation and will be quiet (TBC-14, $225)
The spherical bearing GW uses last a long time before ever making any noise. I had a set of GW rear LCAs with spherical bearings on both ends and they were quiet for a good 7yrs.

pm sent.

Mike Morris

iTrader: (55)

I like his suggestion for LCAs for a car that sees dd use. Box the lowers and you are good to go.

Rare96LT1Formula

iTrader: (32)

Cool story bro.

Poly motor mounts, trans mount, 3 piece poly joint LCA's, Poly TA Bushing, Poly PHB Bushings, the list goes on and on.

Never ONE single issue.

JD_AMG

Do motor mounts, trans mounts, TA mounts articulate? No? Then there is no issue here, nothing binds because nothing moves.
The PHB has no real issues with poly bushings(1 axis of motion), and the founders "poly joint" bushings was their solution to the standard design that binds!
You may want to re-read my first post and notice I specifically say "in certain control arm locations" As in the caster bushing on the front control arm, and the bushings in the rear LCAs. These areas have more than one axis of rotation.
http://www.crystalridge.net/cars/bushings.htm
http://www.elephantracing.com/techtopic/binding.htm
https://ls1tech.com/forums/17820691-post27.html

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

They're also $30 more. The point (IMO, anyway) of going with poly over the other stuff would be to save money. In the case of the lower control arms, the single-adjustable poly/rod combo was the most budget-friendly.

libertyforall1776

iTrader: (2)

Great educational post! newbies take note...