Suspension Bushings

No one wants to be driving down the street while hearing pops and creaks when you are turning corners or coming to a stop. If you are hearing strange noises like this, your car's suspension may be bad or a suspension bushing needs replacement. Your suspension is vitally important to the performance of your car. It has be maintained and kept up to par for a smooth and quiet ride. Having a good suspension on your car will reduce the body flex as your car rolls and flexes through turns. Having a good suspension and bushings that are in good condition is essential. All vehicle suspensions need to have high quality bushings used in their installation. As the vehicle ages and after being driven many miles, the suspension bushing on the shocks or struts can wear out too. If a suspension bushing is bad, it can result in erratic steering and cause your car to make a creaking and popping noise when turning. A good suspension will reduce body flex and roll through turns and help to ensure a smooth operation.

If you are modifying or lowering your suspension, you should replace each and every suspension bushing as well. If you just use the old suspension bushing, you can end up being very disappointed with your ride. New lowered shocks can softly suspend your car and make it look cool. However, if you do not replace the suspension bushing on each new shock, you can end up with a car that creaks and thumps as it goes down the road. It is much easier to replace a suspension bushing when you are putting on new shocks or struts than it is to do the job later.

Suspension bushings come in various types and sizes. A suspension bushing can be a small sway bar cushion or can go up in size to a large control army bushing. Any suspension bushing that is correctly installed can prevent excessive wear on other, more expensive suspension parts. It can cushion and absorb and prevent car body and frame flex. A good suspension bushing makes for much less rigid joint at the point where the suspension is connected to the vehicle frame.

There are different materials that a suspension bushing can be made from. Some are made from materials that are soft, rubber like compounds. Others can be highly engineered synthetics that are very rigid. Polyurethane is considered to be the ideal material to make a suspension bushing out of. They are firm and can control the movement of the vehicle's suspension. A polyurethane suspension bushing can also maintain the alignment in the control arms, sway bars and other suspension components. A polyurethane bushing is much more efficient than older, solid metal type or rubber suspension bushings. Polyurethane bushings give you the added firmness that can give you precise steering and road feedback that is unsurpassed by rubber suspension bushings.

The new polyurethane compounds make for the best suspension bushing component. The older compounds end up making a lot of noise in cold temperatures and can be disappointing. The newer suspension bushing compounds are made from various proprietary polyurethane compounds that are not affected by ambient temperatures. For instance, a graphite impregnated suspension bushing can have grease grooves that make for a better polyurethane suspension bushing. This type of suspension bushing supplies Teflon- based waterproof grease where the bushing contacts metal, making for a much quieter and smooth ride not matter what the outside temperature is. Modern day suspension bushing technology has come a long way. There are other polyurethane compounds used in suspension bushings that perform much better than the older compounds too.

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