*Fitting Superpro bushes with reviews ++Pics++

[GT4 Zed]

As promised here with some pics fitting the Superpro banana or compresion arm bush and a little review after a prolobged road test todays when the sun was up

Will continue to update this thread as i fit more bushes from superpro. My final intent is to convert every bushe to urethane for the full benefits

 

New superpro urethane bushes

 

Pre-fitting assembly

 

Removing the OEM rubber bush. Need to remove the brace first.

 

 

See the damaged bushes

 

Pressing in the new bush using lube provided

 

Arms reinstalled on the car

 

My mate Carl(garage owner) posing He is ex-nissan mechanic and a petrolhead and very handy with bikes or sidecars which he races. I would recommend him to fellow westmidlanders for MOT, Service or swapping parts supercompetitively. He will also let you get your hands dirty

 

Now for some pointers:-Plan ahead to do this bush swap and generously douse all the nuts to be removed with WD40 or similar because you will be amazed at how frustrating it is to removed a coroded nut

 

-I would recommend Superpro urethane bushes but any choice of bush will be better than a torn OEM one!

 

-check the ball joint for excessive play especially axially. See the FSM for torque specs.

 

-Use a wire brush to remove all corosion were possible and apply copper grease generously.

 

- You need to compress the banana arm when removing the ball joint nut if not it wil just keep spinning on itself and may damage the ball joint.

 

- A bit of gentle heat on the ball joint nut (does not need to get red hot as the heat may travel up into then joint and damage the seat within) with a hand held butane torch can majorly help to free up a stubborn ball joint nut.

 

- Buy new ball joint nuts as its likely the old ones will be coroded and worn from the battle to get them out Also get ball joint seats(cones) if you are replacing the whole arm to as you will not be able to pull off the old ones without a special tool.

 

- You will need an alignment after this or atleast a check to make sure its all as desired.

 

- Use the opportunity to inspect the whole underside of the car and do TLC repairs as required. I changed my exhaust gaskets and nuts to cadium-plated ones which should resist corrosion better than SS nuts and bolts and prevent blowing in near future.

 

-you can save money by taking out the arms yourself and just take to a garage them to be pressed out and in or otherwise buying arms with bushes of your choice already pressed in and selling yours or as exchange.

 

 

Review

 

Before the swap i knew my banana bushes were done; through a combination of running low ride height, stiff and aggressive setup and trackwork but also from the clunking and vague unpredictable steering feel and exagerated tramlining to even some suspension bind going round tight corners especially at entry or mid corner.

 

This was confirmed after visual inspection and when i got the OEM bushes out so no surprise there. Note: i would never demonstarte excessive play so this is not reliable you need to get underneath and close to the bushes to see what is going on. Also even though the banana bush is the usual culprit the transverse link bushes do perish to eventually and may need changing too.(see below)

 

So i was expecting a transformed car atleast from the perspective of the front end feel.

 

I took the car down my fav A road on the glorious sunny afternoon today and drove until brakes and tires where up to temp and let the beast rip full chat To start off with, coming off the ramp the clunking had disappeared which was just a fantastic feel but it was the handling that i needed to see ...........if it had improved.

 

All i can say is the car has been transformed. No more clunks, no more vague steering feel, very good front end grip especially with sudden changes in direction, on long sweeping bends you just feel the tires digging in no fuss, no squeal, nothing just pure grip . i also noticed that the front just feels much firmer now.

 

I pushed for about 15mins and things only felt better as the suspension settled in and the MPS2 warmed up to the task. The other noticeable thing was less obvious tramlining. I do have this and its an acceptable sacrifice IMHO in exchange for grip with running wide grip tires. I think the has lessened due to the noncompliance of urethane in noth primary and secondary axis unlike the mushiness you get with OEM rubber. The design of the superpro is very clever which the ring designed to allow for secondary axis movement as this would not be possible with a solid lump of urethane. Only a solid spehical joint will have similar or better degree of freedom and still be firm.

 

At the end all the time under the car and struggling with removing the NS ball joint nut was all worth it and the actual swap itself takes less than an hour once all the nuts and bolts were off.

 

Now before it sounds like there are no pitfalls, i found that the extreme limit (of my car and my talent ) there was some very slight suspension bind which is not unexpected as the soft OEM rubber bush on the transverse link(see pic below) cannot keep up with the stiffness of urethane and is now an obvious weak link. But TBH this was at the very limit and will not be an issue for DD or fast road which most people will not find these limits nor do they have their car setup to find. But for trackday officionados when only the best is good enough you will need to do all the Transverse link bushings(pictured) too to prevent this and have full dial up and consistency. Superpro parts no SPF3299K and SPF3298K

 

 

Note: You may get suspension bind anytime you use any aftermarket uprated suspension parts (which have an unmatched performance window to OEM spec or if the car is excessively lowered hence exceeding the operation angles of the suspension design. Infact you can also get bind when swapping only some new OEM parts while the rest of the suspension parts on that axle have deteriorated.

The way to cure or avoid this is to match all the bushes on the same axle which i intend to do anyway.

 

Would i recommend this;

i would say yes without question and would even go on to say its is a necessary mod premptively when you zed is beyond 30-40K miles because the OEM bushe will tear. It will tear too quicker if you track the car or it is lowered and especially if not brought back to specs with the right parts. I am sure i made the right choice not going for solid bush now as the bind would be more exagerated i feel and it is more costly to replace all the bushes with solid rose jointed once.

 

Hope this helps those who are planning to do this mod

 

Note:

- I have some used banana arms with bushes already pressed out for sale as i did not need them as initially feared. Also have new cones to go with these and can press in new bushes of any choice for before shipping Look in the sale section.

 

-Jez @ horsham developments is doing a 10% discount on these bushes at also reduce price than other Superpro retailers

link: viewtopic.php?f=161&t=47391

[Jez @ H-Dev]

Nice write up

 

I've had the bushes on my car for a while now too and they're great. Hopefully going to be swapping all the other bushes out to SuperPro too in the near future.

 

The compression arm bushes certainly make the car feel a lot more stable under braking - I've had the car on track at Bedford and it performed flawlessly. I didn't notice any kind of binding.

 

If anyone is interested in the SuperPro compression bush deal - get in quick as it ends soon. You can buy here: http://www.h-dev.co.uk/product_info.php ... s_id=25340

[GT4 Zed]

Hi Jez

nice to chip in

Wrt binding as i mention in my post it was very slight and at the ragged edges of grip. I donot know your set up but with 265 and 295 MPS 2 rubber providing grip and KW var 3 setup for track day and a 14" anchors i can safely say any shortcoming in you suspension will show up. Secondly as said not very many really track their zed or take it to the limits here so it will never be an issue. the same will apply to any other bush swap leaving the rest stock

 

Anyway for the first time i felt i was actually pushing close the limits of the MPS 2 just because i had so much confidence from the consistence and firmness that i could now feel in front due to the supepro compression bush and it is in the context and at the very limit of grip (or my talent) that i felt a very slight bind which I repeat could be expected and only highlights how good the urethane bush is wrt to OEM rubber and that in my case or infact any serious trackday zedder will have to go the whole hog with superpro or any urethane bush or even solid bushes to achieve the perfect matched setup..........................It will be expensive but i feel worth it if it means getting more out of you suspension and tyres as opposed to the very expensive modes we often get which bring little to the table

 

I would look forwards to your impressions when you get the remainder of the front done as i will only get to do mine at the month end now unless you want to give me a set to review

[GT4 Zed]

Anybody else got these? More feedback will be nice.

 

I would be getting and fitting the rest of the front end lower bushes as the compression bush has made such a huge transformation to the front end. Should get even better Watch this space.

[Jez @ H-Dev]

We shipped some more out today - so there are quite a few people out there with them. Hopefully they'll post

 

We've got hold of the complete SuperPro 350Z kit for our test car today. I'll be doing a full review, with fitting pics and feedback. Its a very comprehensive kit and will take a while to fit, so it may not be for a week or two. Hopefully it'll worth while

[dobby]

I had mine a week ago but the garage has struggled to get the arms off without damaging the nuts. I am trying get hold of some more nuts so they can carry on . Cant wait for them to be fitted though.

[chippychip123]

I fitted mine last week and the knocking has gone but I can't say I've noticed a massive difference, but then I don't push the car to the limit often. I have noticed the car still squirms a bit under heavy braking though but it has got quite a bit of negative camber on the front as I'm too tight to buy the adjustable arms

[Ceasar]

Hi, new member here but a big fan of this car. I wanted to comment a bit on the topic of OEM bushing bind.

 

In regards to bushing bind, one thing you should always do when lowering any vehicle is to loosen and retighten the nuts/bolts of any of the rotating suspension assemblies while under load. Rubber bushings have a "zero setting" when put under load and tightened. When rotating a control arm up or down it twists this rubber bushing, putting tension on it. When you lower a car (without unbolting the assemblies) the bushings are in a constant state of tension leading to increased wear and bind.

 

So, once you've lowered your car, get the car up on ramps so that the suspension is fully loaded and loosen the nuts on the control arms. This will relieve the tension and "reset" the bushings to "zero" tension at its loaded position. Relieving this tension will increase the life of your bushings as well as improve their performance.

 

Its one thing I like about Poly or pillowball/spherical bushings, they rotate freely, without bind at its extreme ranges of motion.

 

Cheers!

[GT4 Zed]

I finally completed uprating all my front axle OEM bushings to Superpro items on bumblebee and felt it was time to update the thread I have been mightily impressed with the superpro banana(compression0 arm bush that it was only natural to use them again.

Thanks to Ross and all @ Superpro UK for their continued support and technical expertise in addressing my requirements

 

as mentioned in the start of this thread my goal is to sawp all the soft perishable OEM bushes on both axles to create precise and consistentent handling characteristics to cover road and track day use.

 

Lower control(tranverse link) arm:

 

on the car:

 

off the car and dirty with perished old OEM rubber bushes:

 

what goes where

 

Pressing on:

 

Done and cleaned ( From left to right - outer shock/damper bush, attchment point for droplink, inner lower control arm to chassis bush:

 

The conical hole at the right is for the outer ball joint connecting arm to front hub.

 

Close up of perished bushes( not as bad as the banana bush though )

[GT4 Zed]

Hi, new member here but a big fan of this car. I wanted to comment a bit on the topic of OEM bushing bind.

 

In regards to bushing bind, one thing you should always do when lowering any vehicle is to loosen and retighten the nuts/bolts of any of the rotating suspension assemblies while under load. Rubber bushings have a "zero setting" when put under load and tightened. When rotating a control arm up or down it twists this rubber bushing, putting tension on it. When you lower a car (without unbolting the assemblies) the bushings are in a constant state of tension leading to increased wear and bind.

 

So, once you've lowered your car, get the car up on ramps so that the suspension is fully loaded and loosen the nuts on the control arms. This will relieve the tension and "reset" the bushings to "zero" tension at its loaded position. Relieving this tension will increase the life of your bushings as well as improve their performance.

 

Its one thing I like about Poly or pillowball/spherical bushings, they rotate freely, without bind at its extreme ranges of motion.

 

Cheers!

 

A bit late to respond but you are absolutely right Caesar

[Daryl]

Wow,thanks for the write up. My car has developed a clunking,and it sounds like its coming from low down in the front of the car. Maybe this is the issue.

[Iwantone]

A superbly detailed article, but I'm having difficulty believing that cadmium plated nuts and bolts offer better corrosion protection than stainless steel.

 

Steve

[Jez @ H-Dev]

We fitted the complete set of Superpro bushes to our car a few months back. They totally transform the car. We went for the alignment adjust kit, so we can run more front caster and camber and get the rear camber right. I've done a few trackdays now (was at Cadwell yesterday) and it improves the handling no end.

 

I've got a few pics on our Facebook page, along with some other stuff: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 830&type=1

 

'Like' us here and you'll get updates about all the other things we're doing: www.facebook.com/horshamdevelopments

[slimjim]

 

My mate Carl(garage owner) posing He is ex-nissan mechanic and a petrolhead and very handy with bikes or sidecars which he races. I would recommend him to fellow westmidlanders for MOT, Service or swapping parts supercompetitively. He will also let you get your hands dirty

 

Is this the guy I am looking for?

 

Here:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=51834&start=0

 

[Chris`I]

Whats James May doing there?

[GT4 Zed]

We fitted the complete set of Superpro bushes to our car a few months back. They totally transform the car. We went for the alignment adjust kit, so we can run more front caster and camber and get the rear camber right. I've done a few trackdays now (was at Cadwell yesterday) and it improves the handling no end.

 

I've got a few pics on our Facebook page, along with some other stuff: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 830&type=1

 

'Like' us here and you'll get updates about all the other things we're doing: http://www.facebook.com/horshamdevelopments

 

 

Hi Jez, i tried to call you for your feedback before oredering the camber adjust bushes but you have been out most times

I noticed on your facebook page that there is little camber gain after fitting the upper front camber adjust bushes. why is that so? you should get .5deg increase or decrease in camber depending on how you fit it the caster certainly is increase i did not go for caster adjust as mine is already increase as a result of looking the car

 

Visually i have notice the increase in front camber and should be near or on -2deg now Will do a geo check with graphs at the weekend for exact figures.

Having some probs with photobucket but will upload the rest of the bushes install pics asap

[GT4 Zed]

Upper control(camber) arms with camber adjust bushes - these give you a fixed +/_ 0.5deg deping on configuration on installation.

 

With OEM bushes pressed out:

 

New eccentic center pin slides into bushes by hand after generous lubing:

 

Close ups of bushings:

 

Eccentic hole facing outside end of inner control arm bush to increase camber. set the other way to reduce camber.Very clever setup

 

Completed tranverse link and UCA of one corner.

[Jez @ H-Dev]

Not sure why I've only gained about 0.33 deg rather than the full 0.5 - I installed them as you have them in the pic above. At least its a gain in the right direction

[GT4 Zed]

Not sure why I've only gained about 0.33 deg rather than the full 0.5 - I installed them as you have them in the pic above. At least its a gain in the right direction

 

 

Yup But i hope to get the full half deg gain

Pm'ed you mate

[GT4 Zed]

Antiroll bar bush: These bear the brunt of the twist forces generated by the ARB transfering roll and keeping the geo stable so it corners well and as a result will were out urethane or rubber.

I have had the Eibach ARB for 3years now so they had taken a beating and have shrunk to about 20% from original i reckon so the OEM rubber will be worse ruining your handling Its the cheapest bush to get and is damn easy to fit. No pressing in or out involved

 

Worn Eibach bushes(front)

 

Fresh Superpro ones(left 2) waiting to go:

 

Installed:

 

Superpro only makes 20mm(OEM size) bushes for the rear so i am getting universal 22mm urethane ones from Powerflex to match the 22mm Eibach ARBs.

[Iwantone]

In the assembly pic in the last posting, the red anti-roll bar can be seen and so can the blue poly bush. There is a red sleeve between the bar and the bush, what is this and what's its function?

 

Thanks

 

Steve

[GT4 Zed]

In the assembly pic in the last posting, the red anti-roll bar can be seen and so can the blue poly bush. There is a red sleeve between the bar and the bush, what is this and what's its function?

 

Thanks

 

Steve

 

 

The red ring to the right of the bush assembly is part of the ARB and its to prevent lateral movement of the ARB. The bush is just a fulcrum or pivot point for the ARB so when its worn there will be some lateral play as the bar can slide in or out rendering its function ineffective and vague

Some aftermarket ARBs (including the rear OEM or even Whiteline ARB for the Z)donot have this so Whiteline sells these lateral locks to do the job.

http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_det ... mber=KLL1_ _

[Iwantone]

In the assembly pic in the last posting, the red anti-roll bar can be seen and so can the blue poly bush. There is a red sleeve between the bar and the bush, what is this and what's its function?

 

Thanks

 

Steve

 

 

The red ring to the right of the bush assembly is part of the ARB and its to prevent lateral movement of the ARB. The bush is just a fulcrum or pivot point for the ARB so when its worn there will be some lateral play as the bar can slide in or out rendering its function ineffective and vague

Some aftermarket ARBs (including the rear OEM or even Whiteline ARB for the Z)donot have this so Whiteline sells these lateral locks to do the job.

http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_det ... mber=KLL1_ _

 

Thanks for the explaination, I'm familiar with lateral locaton so all is clear now.

 

Steve

[Ephrem]

Changing the whole set may be ideal but is going to take a lot of time and one may have to replace a lot of other worn parts that got broken in the process. Any advice on where to start if one want to change maybe just one or two of the bushing? Where to start that would make a difference but not ruin the other original bushings?

[trackpig]

Can someone tell me what suspension bind is?