Winter mod: Front & Rear Prothane Bushings

[Chiketkd]

Another mod Tom (svxfiles) and I finished up this past weekend was the installation of my front energy suspension bushings from Summit (previously installed rear prothane bushings from Dayle @ MotorSport).

Several people had questions about the install, so decided to do a write-up.


Rear Bushings:

These 17mm prothane bushings from Dayle were a quick 25-30 minute install. Simply use a 12mm socket wrench to unbolt the factory units, grease up the new bushings and the bar, and install. Quick, simple and very painless...




Front Bushings:

This install was much trickier. Started off by buying the 18mm ones from Dayle, but Tom and I didn't like the idea of relocating the sway bar or using metal spacers. Summit didn't have anything metric in this size, so Tom ordered the closest thing - 11/16" energy suspension bushings (Pt #9.5105G). These Summit bushings were larger and much thicker than the MotorSport and factory:

Summit vs MotorSport vs Stock


To install, use a 12mm wrench to undo the passenger side factory bushings. On the driver's side, it is easier to access the bushing by first undoing a 14mm bolt that holds the 'arm' to the sway bar:



With the factory bushings out of the way, to prep the Summit 11/16" bushings for install, you'll need to take an 18mm grinding bit and enlargen the inside slightly to 18mm (takes 5 minutes per bushing).



Once that's done, grease the driver's side bushing up and install (note - necessary to re-use the factory brackets and bolts):



The passenger side install is more involved as there is an actual area on the frame designed to accomodate the bushing. As the Summit bushing is wider, you'll need to cut a little notch in it, to allow it to pass over a small ledge:



Some people have simply cut down the bushing to have it fit on the plate, but I wanted to keep the original width so that the resistance to body roll from left-to-right would the same.

Once that's out of the way, the bushing pops right in after applying the grease.



-Chike

P.S. This mod and a more aggressive camber set-up will be my only suspension mods for the first half of this season in AutoX competition. My factory rubber bushings had become extremely soft and pliable with age (100K+ miles). These new bushings are much stiffer and I definitely feel less lean during cornering. Steering feel is also much shaper, with less 'play' on initial turn-in. Haven't noticed any squeaking following install.