Suspension bushings - OEM vs SuperPro

[Macer]

I'm want to refresh my suspension as part of my build, but I'm a bit undecided about which way to go with suspension bushes...

The car will be getting new Ohlins DFVs, and new OEM pillowballs. It'll be mainly road use, although I'm hoping for some track action as well, at some point - lets optimistically say 2 or 3 track days year.

Obviously, cost might end up being a big part of this question, as a full set of OEM bushes will set me back more than a SuperPro kit (currently £310 on eBay from Australia). Taking that out of the equation though, what are peoples opinions of which is 'better' (subjective, I know). Do SuperPro bushes add noticeable NVH? Are they a pain to maintain (need re-greasing etc.)? Or are they the best thing since sliced bread and I should just click 'buy' Anything else I should consider?

I've read a lot of different opinions! I've only mentioned SuperPro (not just poly in general) as I believe these are 'softer' than say PowerFlex.

 

[4packet]

Difficult to get a fair comparison as people generally only fit poly if they have worn OEM bushes. I run DFVs also. I intended to stick with OEM due to the way the rear bushes twist as well as rotate. Quickly discovered that one of the rear bushes had worn, so decided to upgrade the lot. I saw some posts suggesting that OEM wouldn't last on track and the upgraded Mazda ones were no longer available or daft money. In the end I chose Superpro as I think they are very marginally better in design, but not convinced the shore value is much different unless you compare with the polyflex black range. I genuinely agonised over the impact the lack of ball joint articulation would give, but in reality I haven't noticed any difference. I even used a black polyflex bush for the inner rear control arm (missing in the Superpro kit). Before fitting the toe link bushes I removed the damper unit, then raised and lowered the rear suspension to check the level of twist and resistance in the bushes and it was barely noticeable. I haven't noticed any NVH issues, but the car is far from stock, so I'm not comparing to a quiet OEM spec car.

I've put about 30k miles on the car since building it and only re-greased if I've had the suspension off. I think I use Lucas red n tacky grease which was recommended when I researched it.

Car is mostly used on track and spirited drives, but has to be civil enough to get to Germany/Belgium etc and I did do a 3000mile trip round the Alps with the girlfriend.

Money no object, for road use I would probably go OEM if you can still get them all, but I wouldn't worry about fitting the Superpros otherwise.

 

[giryan]

I went for OEM, with the hardrace set of uprated bushes when I needed to replace all of the rear because the poly bushes were totally screwed
I got them from Nengun, but only because they were slightly faster than Mazda, but a bit more $

 

[JoeLanger]

Super pro are good quality and if fitted correctly shouldn't cause any extra NVH. Not sure how often you need to re lube, will be in the years but it really isn't that hard as it's just the steel insert not the whole bush.

For me spending more money on stock rubber is a bit silly. It will transform the handling of your car.

 

[Ceylon]

I noticed no change in NVH from fitting superpro bushes. If anything the car was more compliant, but that's probably due to the age of the oem bushes.

 

[Nas80]

I've polybushed a load of different cars now. I can't tell the difference with nvh. The car just feels sharper and more controlled.

 

[Macer]

Appreciate your input guys, thanks

I think that puts my mind at rest. It's not like I was after making the car super refined, but just wanted to know if there were any noticeable downsides - everything is a compromise, after all.

I reckon I'll head on over to eBay then

 

[Nas80]

Theres a thread on the internet on how to replace them somewhere. Get googling cos some are utter pain to remove

 

[west-wot]

Super pro for me

 

[jdmr_neil]

I bought new oem as i had poly on my previous car and didn't like it. With that said it was a completely different car and fwd so not a fair comparison.

Most fd owners have gone for poly

 

[Dread]

I've not driven mine yet since fitting the poly bushes but I've had the old fashioned Energy Suspension type polys on cars before and honestly if you've already got coilovers you won't notice. The Superpro are supposed to be a lot better for NVH if you believe the hype though.