Poly Bronze Susp Bushings

[JSDSKI]

Would lilke to hear from anyone using the latest Elephant Racing bushings with the polyurethane sleeves. Getting ready for susp renew/upgrade for a 72T....

[jriera]

I should be doing the rear suspension on my 73 in the couple of weeks.. I will let you know if you still interested. Got the bushings and they are a real piece of art.. feels kind of bad to bury them inside all the other stuff.

regards

[304065]

They look great. But still sitting in my hangar. . .

[jyl]

Have done front suspension w/ them. Still working on rear.

[Jeroen]

If you have just a couple of days patience...
Mine should be in the mail tomorrow or wednessday
I'll be installing them over the weekend

cheers,

Jeroen

[JSDSKI]

John L - you mean the car is not yet back on the road?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I had both front and rear done with these bearings.

This is one of those "must do" projects, and Chuck is great to work with too.

[JSDSKI]

Shaun 84 - did you use the "second generation" bushings with the poly sleeve? What is the ride like?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Yes, I used second generations. also done to the car at the very same time (while you are in there)

lowered a bit lower than euro height
22/29 torsion bars
turbo tie rods

car already had Bilstein sports and struct brace with 7s and 8s

The ride is stiff but compliant, corners better than expected.

the shocker is that an 84 targa with 220K + miles feels like new again.

Hope this helps.

Shaun

[JSDSKI]

That's exactly what I needed to hear - or read, as it were - I'm thinking along the lines of 19-20MM front and 26-27MM rear torsion bars with HD front shocks. What about your 71 clone ?

Thanks for your input.

[jyl]

JSDSKI I put the car back on the road for a week with the redone front end, drove quite a lot on freeways, city streets, etc, then put it back in the garage to do the rear end.

My impression, from that week, was that I had a hard time actually noticing any additional harshness, etc, in the front end. Over bad roads (potholes, heaves, worn-out concrete, very "buzzy" freeway, etc) the car rode just a little more firmly than it did before. On really bad potholes, the kind that made me wince even before the suspension work, the impact sounded louder but did not feel any harder. On average and good roads, the ride was just as smooth as before. Considering that I also changed from worn-out Boges to Bilstein Sports, and installed monoballs on the struts, I would say the polybronze bearings themselves made no or almost no meaningful difference to the ride. The car is an 89 with stock torsion bars and almost new SO-3s, lowered to 25.5" at the front fender lip.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

The 71 is still "under construction." With all the rain we've had on the East Coast, and no garage, I am thinking of taking 2 weeks off and building the car having amassed every part necessary to make a series lightweight track car.

Just need to do some, ahem, welding (rust and SC quarters, turbo trailing arm mounts) first, but it will get the same bearings plus most of everything else Chuck has to offer.

Back to the 84, I drive it 50+ miles every day and have absolutely no problems ride, comfort, etc. with these bearings. Definitely go with the stiffer bars too.

Good luck and please post when you get it done.

[Chuck Moreland]

My comments are probably suspect, so here is a link to thread by another happy Polybronze bearing customer:

WOW - Bronze Elephant Suspension Bearings!

The feedback I've received has been very consistant; the Polybronze bearings are not harsh, they are fine for street use. And no squeaks!