[scott70]

Anyone recommend a certain front A arm bushing kit that they like? Also Poly or rubber? 70 gto … mine has half oval half round. Thanks

[jwcfbd]

I've been using Poly in my firebird for years without complaints. Is this what your bushing look like?
https://p-s-t.com/i-23159918-polygra...ARM%20BUSHINGS

[scott70]

Yes. Ive heard in the past of people complaining about poly being squeaky. Ive got poly in the back,,,PST i believe but didnt know if the front end was a different story of what people like.

[b-man]

Can’t go wrong with rubber bushings.

I guess it depends on what you really want out of your car.

For ultimate handling I’d be going for aftermarket control arms with a delalum bushing or similar.

For just a nice front end rebuild use rubber.

[ponchjoe]

I won’t use poly for a cruiser. My 68 road noticeably harsher when I put them in. If you’re going to build a corner carver and do sway bars and other suspension performance mods than by all means put poly in.

[jwcfbd]

Originally Posted by scott70

Yes. Ive heard in the past of people complaining about poly being squeaky. Ive got poly in the back,,,PST i believe but didnt know if the front end was a different story of what people like.

Yeah the Polygraphite and a good coating of the grease that comes with them I never had a problem.

[JLMounce]

I always recommend either staying with Rubber if you're worried about NVH, or going directly to Delrin bushings. Poly bushings can have a tendency to squeak and while they do offer more resistance to deflection than Rubber, if you're driving your car in a way that you're worried about that, you should have solid bushings and eliminate all deflection from the bushing.

I've been running solid bushings for years and there is no discernable increase in NVH that I can tell. I had PST polygraphite stuff before that. It's been my experience that people that state the car will get harsh with solid suspension bushings have never spent much of any time in a car with them.

Defaulting to the two ends of that spectrum, if you are at all worried about NVH, stick with rubber. If you are more concerned with handling, go straight to Delrin bushings

[scott70]

Not trying to make it a road race car or anything so I'll probably just stick with rubber. Now I'll just see if there's a quality kit out there for it.

[HWYSTR455]

What's in it now that you are replacing? And do you have aftermarket springs?

Those two questions will give you a more accurate recommendation.

If you are using factory springs, and you switch to a more easily articulation suspension setup, the factory springs will be too soft. (and you will notice it)

Poly bushings are more free-articulating bushings than OE, there are no 'teeth' on the inner sleeves, so you don't have to worry about tightening them while the car is loaded (on the ground).

OE rubber bushings have the inner sleeve actually bonded to the rubber. That provides a certain amount of 'load reduction'. When you tight the bushing, the 'teeth' bite into the frame mounts, and resist a certain amount of twisting.

In later 2nd gen F-bodies, a harder durometer bushings was used as part of the WS6 handling package, which were tuned to the springs & shocks (rate & valving). No one ever complained about harshness with those.

Free-articulating suspensions usually benefit from different shocks than OE type.

Most have rubber body bushings, so I honestly can't understand how people can say the ride gets 'harsher', it's almost unmeasurable. But I think it's more due to the fact that a more free-articulating suspension makes it more 'sensitive' to shock selection (and spring). And THAT is what I believe people related the 'harshness' to. (And not the bushings themselves).


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[locomotivebreath]

I have the energy suspension bushings and coated them liberally with their grease - at least 12 years ago ! Just got the car on the road last November . 4k miles later , no squeaks , absolutely not harsh and handles great . They are USA made . What’s the quality of rubber these days ?

[Entropy11]

Originally Posted by b-man

Can’t go wrong with rubber bushings.

I guess it depends on what you really want out of your car.

For ultimate handling I’d be going for aftermarket control arms with a delalum bushing or similar.

For just a nice front end rebuild use rubber.

Totally agree.

If you do go with rubber check out the Metrix Premium brand. Much better than the junk Moog ships out currently.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

What's in it now that you are replacing? And do you have aftermarket springs?

Those two questions will give you a more accurate recommendation.

If you are using factory springs, and you switch to a more easily articulation suspension setup, the factory springs will be too soft. (and you will notice it)

Poly bushings are more free-articulating bushings than OE, there are no 'teeth' on the inner sleeves, so you don't have to worry about tightening them while the car is loaded (on the ground).

OE rubber bushings have the inner sleeve actually bonded to the rubber. That provides a certain amount of 'load reduction'. When you tight the bushing, the 'teeth' bite into the frame mounts, and resist a certain amount of twisting.

In later 2nd gen F-bodies, a harder durometer bushings was used as part of the WS6 handling package, which were tuned to the springs & shocks (rate & valving). No one ever complained about harshness with those.

Free-articulating suspensions usually benefit from different shocks than OE type.

Most have rubber body bushings, so I honestly can't understand how people can say the ride gets 'harsher', it's almost unmeasurable. But I think it's more due to the fact that a more free-articulating suspension makes it more 'sensitive' to shock selection (and spring). And THAT is what I believe people related the 'harshness' to. (And not the bushings themselves).


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What’s in it now are the original rubber bushings. While under the car I noticed at least one had some of the rubber was hanging out of the shell. Original springs and sway bars. My gto has the ride and handling package.About 2 years ago I replaced the original shocks with bilsteins on all 4 corners. I mean they were spiral shocks … date coded 1969. All the bushings in the rear are poly…figured it would help against wheel hop. I have no squeaks back there. Supposedly my car has 47,000 original miles on it.

[Sprocket]

If you want some factory quality rubber bushings, I have a complete set, all NIB.

[rolling money pits]

Poly, in the rear control arms, is generally considered a no-no. Its inherent stiffness/harder durometer doesn’t allow the rear to articulate properly and bind up.

Rubber or one of the “spherical” variants are typically used back there for increased handling.

Poly in front, no issues, IMO. I’ve used them with zero problems, Energy products to be specific. First time you get the Energy poly grease on your bare hands…you’ll understand why they don’t squeak.

[HWYSTR455]

The bind in the rear is in regards to the upper bushing in the housing 'ears', they are fine everywhere else.

But true on the spherical ones, it's the way to go.

If you have poly in the rear and are fine with them, makes sense to go poly in the front.



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