Would you take a look at these things!! I visited with Chuck of Elephant Racing the other day (I drove down as I only live about 20 miles away), and I picked these beauties up. Chuck says that they are 2nd generation, and I was able to purchase one of the first sets that he had made. Some new features are:
* Races that get placed on the A-Arm to prevent it from wearing. Metal shims are used (see picture in lower right hand corner) to hold the race in place and keep it from moving. Chuck says that he did this as all A-Arms may not be the same size, and with different thickness bushings supplied, you can dial in the right size so the race sits tight and doesn’t spin. I liked this idea since it means to me I can replace just the race now (if it ever goes bad), without replacing the entire A-Arm.
*Plastic sleeves on the outside of the brass bearing. I was told that these help better with the fit into the A-Arm holder. You just apply a little water to help them slide into place, and then either step on them, or put them in a vise to squeeze them together.
Chuck told me that these advances came about due to some concern about vibration; Well, I have had the bushings on the car for about 3 days now, and I can honestly say that I haven’t felt any vibration at all (0-100 Mph). I think he has done a hell of a job on these things, and I can certainly say that they are a zillion (as my son says) times better than those nylon Weltmeister bushings I was “just” about to put back into the car.
I was in the middle of grinding down the hard Weltmeister bushings (the creaks and groans were killing me) and replacing a broken steering rack sub-frame (which could have been due to the hard plastic bushings not moving AT ALL. I had left Chuck a message about his bushings, but I guess he was away at the R-Gruppe event down in Monterey.
Thanks for call back Chuck – these things are great, and NOT ONE SQUEAK!
