I have searched but still have a question on rear torsion/spring plate bushing

rnln · 01-13-2009, 12:21 AM

I know Chuck came out a super rubber bushing for the front a-arm, but what about the rear? Elephant Racing has the rubber rear bushing, are they the same as the front bushing he has on the test video? How about Neatrix, aturboman, and the one from http://classicandspeedparts.com/. Are all the same?
Thanks.

912UK · 912UK's Garage

Well I have fitted the CSP kit and I have been more than happy car feels tighter at the front over the old 35 year old bushes.

I understand Elephants products they are very good if your racing your car. I would love to buy all their stuff but I have budget to work to. My car is a road car not a race car.

porschenut · 01-13-2009, 05:42 AM

I'm almost certain the rubber ones are all the same - Neatrix (Weltmeister).

moneymanager · 01-13-2009, 06:50 AM

Neatrix is the class act here imho.

911st · 01-13-2009, 07:27 AM

Dwight Mitchel, a past AutoX national champion for several years in a 70 911 and a master Porsche mechanic, was involved with the development of the Neatrix bushing for the rear outter control arms. It is widely accepted as a quality stock style replacement with out issue.

I have heard it is just a little stiffer than stock but can not confirm this. I expect this is a best of breed product as is all of the ER products.

I have them in my 85 and no issues.

I to would like to know the Neterix is truly what ER is using.

912UK · 912UK's Garage

so what I am asking I know I have seen the video of the test It seams to say that all the other bushes are rubbish and only EP are any good..

what I can't understand is why are they selling them? even Pelican sell Brand X so why bother if EP are saying that they are almost dangerous to fit to the car !!!

My car is not a race car.. it's a road car doing 2000 miles a year am i going to wear out and damage my car.. should I sue the people making Brand X!!

or the people selling them

midnight911 · midnight911's Garage

I've done Neatrix last year and have been very happy both on streets and the track.
EP is obviously more sophisticated and is a product of well thought through engineering, worth classifying it as race ready for those who need to "win." so for those who think EP is the standard, Neatrix and others may look just a piece of rubber, or "rubbish."
Another popular complaint on Neatrix is that it squeaks. Mine does not or may be I'm not hearing or not sensitive to that. EP has smart engineering done to prevent squeaking while securing smooth movement of the suspension components.

I think each have been appropriately priced for value.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

you can get away with Neatrix on the rear a lot better than on the front

912UK · 912UK's Garage

I have both front and rear seams I am putting my car in danger!!

by fitting them going by the video

Mysterytrain · 01-13-2009, 10:54 AM

I'm confused. When 'we' speak of 'brand X' on the front control arms are we talking neatrix or the rubber bushings that aturboman had made up? Chuck, are you saying that you have also produced a factory rubber replacement bushing?

porschenut · 01-13-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb

you can get away with Neatrix on the rear a lot better than on the front

That's true, since there are no Neatrix front bushings.

porschenut · 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mysterytrain

I'm confused. When 'we' speak of 'brand X' on the front control arms are we talking neatrix or the rubber bushings that aturboman had made up? Chuck, are you saying that you have also produced a factory rubber replacement bushing?

Maybe I can help a bit.

Neatrix bushings are a Weltmeister product and they are ONLY for the spring plates. There are no Neatrix bushings for the A-arms (front). They have been available for a number of years and are made of rubber that's a little harder than factory (I know because I recently installed them). They DO NOT squeak, as a rule, when installed properly. Elephant Racing sells these but they did not design them nor manufacture them. They are offered as a viable factory replacement which provide factory ride characteristics.

So, there is only ONE rubber-type bushing for the spring plate currently offered on the market: Neatrix. Period. You can buy them from any of the usual online sources, and of course ER if you like.

aturboman appears to have developed rubber bushings to replace the factory ones on the front A-arms. I haven't seen or heard of them yet so I'm not sure on the status. They may be the ones sold in the Pelican catalog, but who knows?

Both Elephant Racing and Smart Racing will refurbish your A-arms for several hundred bucks with factory-style rubber. Or, in the case of ER, you can also buy the bushings and tools and follow their video to do it yourself.

Chuck will come along at some point and correct some of this if I misstated anything relating to ER.

rnln · 01-13-2009, 01:36 PM

Elephant racing also has the rubber rear bushing for $70 bucks a set. This is waht I was comparing with other rubber bushing. I know their brass one is superior.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 912UK

Well I have fitted the CSP kit and I have been more than happy car feels tighter at the front over the old 35 year old bushes.

I understand Elephants products they are very good if your racing your car. I would love to buy all their stuff but I have budget to work to. My car is a road car not a race car.

rnln · 01-13-2009, 01:42 PM

ok ok, so all the vendors I found and listed above, for the rear, are all Neatrix. That answered the question.
Thanks guys.

Chuck Moreland · 01-13-2009, 07:48 PM

The product offerings in this catagory have been changing pretty fast over the past few years.

You can't keep the players straight without a program, so here is the program....

Control Arm Rubber Bushings -

Elephant Racing makes a rubber bushing replacement kit. It is our own OEM spec bushing and comes with specialized tools to facilitate at-home DIY installation. The ER kit is available from Pelican.

A Neatrix rubber control arm bushing is now available, the same part is being sold by Classic and Speed under their own name, and perhaps others. All the non-ER bushings are the same product, despite different names. This product is not OEM spec and in our testing, it failed.

Don't confuse these two products, their performance is very different.

A comparison test video of the two products and discussion appears here:
Rubber bushing installation video

Spring Plate Rubber Bushings -

Elephant Racing makes its own rubber bushing that is the same design/quality as our control arm rubber bushings. This is not the Neatrix bushing. It is DIY installable.

Neatrix spring plate bushings are also available and DIY installable.

We haven't peformed spring plate rubber bushing comparison testing. At least not yet.

rnln · 01-14-2009, 09:08 AM

Thanks for the clarification Chuck.

88911coupe · 10-14-2011, 06:33 AM

Looks like there is now a Neatrix front A Arm bushing. Just noticed it in another catalog which shall remain nameless...
Will search to see if our host carries the same product. Probably going to go with the ER option but may be helpful to keep up to date on what's actually available. It begs the question though of what, if anything, is different between the A Arm bushing structure and the rear spring plate structure that would make Neatrix good in one scenario and not good in the other.

Flieger · Flieger's Garage

It is harder to make a precision fit bearing in the rear because the welds on the spring plates are different on every car and are sometimes quite thick. One would either need to make a sleeve with a large counterbore/shoulder thing like the ER parts or else grind down the weld. Then there is the fact that the rear suspension is rather, well, crude. Every car is different so every car needs a different number of shims between the spring plate cover and the chassis so that the spring plate turns freely. Adding that all up, most people just punt and go with a harder plastic that can accomodate the misalignments and rough fits back there.