Polyurethane vs Rubber

nos_specialist · Postby **nos_specialist** » August 10th, 2012, 9:02 am

soooo, i jus hearing ppl talking....but not seeing no tests....

failed comparison video.

BrotherHood · Postby **BrotherHood** » August 13th, 2012, 4:23 pm

I've never used poly but i'm always hearing great things about it so i'll give it a try.

IMO, seems worth a try and seems to outlast rubber.

FourG63 97GST · Postby **FourG63 97GST** » September 14th, 2012, 9:57 am

A cheap option is to fill your rubber mounts with polyurethane

BrotherHood · Postby **BrotherHood** » September 24th, 2012, 2:45 am

Have my old mounts from last time I changed. WIll be packing those with poly and have it ready when needed again.

belalegosi · Postby **belalegosi** » September 24th, 2012, 2:43 pm

My poly control arm bushings failed on me after about 40k miles. :roll:

Groovemaster · Postby **Groovemaster** » September 24th, 2012, 4:22 pm

jnqaz wrote:My poly control arm bushings failed on me after about 40k miles.

What brand of polyurethane?
Also there is a 'shelf life' of these poly bushes...

bluestarz9 · Postby **bluestarz9** » September 24th, 2012, 6:14 pm

i repaired an engine pount once with poly but vibration not nice and burst not too long

wagonrunner · Postby **wagonrunner** » September 25th, 2012, 12:01 am

you don't repair already busted mounts with poly, you strengthen good ones.

roadracer7 · Postby **roadracer7** » September 25th, 2012, 12:31 am

''ent''

belalegosi · Postby **belalegosi** » September 25th, 2012, 3:46 pm

Groovemaster wrote:
jnqaz wrote:My poly control arm bushings failed on me after about 40k miles.

What brand of polyurethane?
Also there is a 'shelf life' of these poly bushes...

prothane.
I'm not the only one who has had poly bushings fail. Google it, you'll find lots of people with similar experiences.

I did replace the worn bushings with poly bushings again though :lol:

Firm bushings > soft bushings.

On a daily driven car that is not raced I would stick with rubber. Last longer and more comfort.

Groovemaster · Postby **Groovemaster** » September 25th, 2012, 7:41 pm

^^^ a daily driver with (super pro) polyurethane control arm bushings ride a little stiffer than stock, great steering feedback and I've heard of daily driver cars that have had the super pro last for years (over 2 years)NB. OEM's last about 5 months. I use super pro in my 323 Protege control arms, they do require some greasing but other than that they are great bushings specifically designed for the car with durometer (hardness) and NVH (noise vibration and harshness) taken into consideration. Does Energy suspension or Prothane take these properties seriously. I've googled ES bushings and read of noise & not long life. Poly bushes have a shelf life so be cautious of who you buy from

belalegosi · Postby **belalegosi** » September 26th, 2012, 2:41 am

Groovemaster wrote:OEM's last about 5 months.

Do you rally your car? OEM rubber bushings have been known to last well over 100k miles, even in the harsh midwest weather changes! You have a serious problem if your OEM bushings only last 5 months.

Groovemaster wrote: I use super pro in my 323 Protege control arms, they do require some greasing but other than that they are great bushings specifically designed for the car with durometer (hardness) and NVH (noise vibration and harshness) taken into consideration. Does Energy suspension or Prothane take these properties seriously. I've googled ES bushings and read of noise & not long life. Poly bushes have a shelf life so be cautious of who you buy from

Are you a super pro dealer? Sounds like a lot of brand loyalty going on here. I've used both Prothane and Energy Suspension bushings in multiple applications (engine mounts and suspension kits). They both are the same sheit material wise. The only way I differentiate which one to get is bushing design.
Its funny you googled Energy Suspension bushings. I had to google Super Pro to figure out wtf they are. I guess they're big in Australia?

Anyways, its a complete waste of money to do poly bushings on a daily driven, never raced vehicle. If money is burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to send it my way. :mrgreen:

3stagevtec · Postby **3stagevtec** » September 27th, 2012, 12:46 pm

On my off road vehicle, I have both rubber and polyurethane bushings and both work quite well. My rear control arms have the factory Suzuki rubber bushings, I flex those way beyond the factory design limits and none have burst on me as yet. I use polyurethane bushes on my front control arms, I have damaged a few of those over the years but that could be linked to stresses of the sport.

For a grocery getter - stick to rubber for the comfort and reliability
For your sports car - get the polyurethane for the greater response, driving feel and increased reliability.

Groovemaster · Postby **Groovemaster** » September 27th, 2012, 8:47 pm

jnqaz, what country are you from? I have a mazda 323 protege & have bought OEM control arm bushings that I have to replace twice a year. I drive the car daily on Trinidad's roads, I would admit approximately half a mile of roadway on my way home is really rough. I can only talk about Super pro because I haven't used any other poly bushings. The only thing burning a hole in my pocket was changing rubber bushings twice a year

belalegosi · Postby **belalegosi** » September 28th, 2012, 1:00 am

Something is wrong with your suspension for you to be destroying control arm bushings twice a year. Installer error, bad alignment/components or just SOL.
Poly bushings is only a band aid for you.

Millions of cars undergo harsher climates and rougher roads than you and they don't have issues with rubber control arm bushings. Think about it. Your 323 protege is one of hundreds of thousands. Is there a TSB recall for those bushings?

Rory Phoulorie · Postby **Rory Phoulorie** » September 28th, 2012, 8:52 am

Groovemaster wrote:jnqaz, what country are you from? I have a mazda 323 protege & have bought OEM control arm bushings that I have to replace twice a year. I drive the car daily on Trinidad's roads, I would admit approximately half a mile of roadway on my way home is really rough.

Something is wrong with your suspension as jinqaz said.

I drive at least 100km on a daily basis on Trinidad's roads and the only bushings I have ever had to change on a 15 year old car doing 262,000km were the stabiliser bar bushings, which were replaced only once with OEM bushings.

wagonrunner · Postby **wagonrunner** » September 28th, 2012, 9:14 am

too many variables.
from different grade material used by different manufacturers to different routes and driving styles.
Also kerosene applications during underwash.
But if you know something to be wrong with the man suspension on a 323 which i find to be horribly soft to begin with, you can't tell him where to start?

belalegosi · Postby **belalegosi** » September 28th, 2012, 11:51 am

wagonrunner wrote:But if you know something to be wrong with the man suspension on a 323 which i find to be horribly soft to begin with, you can't tell him where to start?

Should I also fix the problem for him and make him a cup of tea while I'm at it? :lol:

wagonrunner · Postby **wagonrunner** » September 29th, 2012, 2:52 am

jnqaz wrote:
wagonrunner wrote:But if you know something to be wrong with the man suspension on a 323 which i find to be horribly soft to begin with, you can't tell him where to start?

Should I also fix the problem for him and make him a cup of tea while I'm at it?

don't forget the lime wedge.

TobagoAK · Postby **TobagoAK** » September 29th, 2012, 6:58 am

Poly bushings require more care than rubber ones. If you grease them often they will last a long time.

However if you don't take care of them, they deteriorate to almost nothing to the point that you would think you are riding on wooden wheels.

If I'm looking for bushings for my daily driver I'd stick with OEM.