mx5cartalk.com

Hi I am thinking about replacing the Bushes on my NA8,it has 150000k's with AGX's and Kings Springs FCM bumpstops.It is strictly a road car.The fitting does not phase me,squeeking and harshness does.
There are a lot of brands out there,can anybody recommend or advise me against a particular brand,I have searched but only found snippets of info or a manufacture pushing their own product. I am keen to hear from people with hands on experience.
What did you fit and what are your thoughts and any tips on durometer ratings,fitting,grease 'etc'
Your help would be appreciated
WASP

WASP wrote:Hi I am thinking about replacing the Bushes on my NA8,it has 150000k's with AGX's and Kings Springs.It is strictly a road car.The fitting does not phase me,squeeking and harshness does.
There are a lot of brands out there,can anybody recommend or advise me against a particular brand,I have searched but only found snippets of info or a manufacture pushing their own product. I am keen to hear from people with hands on experience.
What did you fit and what are your thoughts and any tips on durometer ratings,fitting,grease 'etc'
Your help would be appreciated
WASP

I run Energy bushes all around. I don't find them harsh, but then I don't run the Koni's any harder than maybe 1 turn f and 3/4 rear. No squeaks. Many people have fitted different brands and had different experience.
It all boils down to how you set your shocks, what bump stops etc. I run both my cars, Clubby and Scooter on the soft side, but thats how I've always set up our race cars. As your car is strictly a road car, for the cost of the kits imported to Aus, you may be better off buying later NB arms and retain the factory ride.

Terry

I've got an NA6 that I fitted Super Pro bushes, I did not find them harsh at all. I do have a slight noise coming from one bush but I think that was due to me not using enough grease.

I also have an NA8 that I've fitted with energy suspension bushes. Again no problems with harshness at all. I found the Energy bushes a bit easier to fit, but there was not that much difference. The grease supplied with this kit is very sticky and hopefully will not not get washed out easily, I purchased extra grease when I ordered them.

I don't think you will go wrong with either brand but if I were to do it again I would lean towards the Energy bushes.

fattima wrote:I don't think you will go wrong with either brand but if I were to do it again I would lean towards the Energy bushes.

is your preference based purely on ease of fitting, or are there other factors?

how do they compare in terms of product quality?

Based on ease of fitting and what I consider better quality grease. On the road there is nothing in it from my seat of the pants testing. I should clarify that I would still go for Super Pro if there was a cost saving, but I got the Energy kit pretty cheap via a friend in the States.

I consider both brands to be good quality, I've used Super Pro in a couple of other cars that were used in some pretty harsh rally conditions and they have been very reliable.

Just use the OEM bushes.
They last a long time, and they aren't as harsh as many of the aftermarket ones are.

The guy who was the chief mechanic for Mazda Motorsports told me that they tried lots of different bushes for the race cars, but the OEM ones were always the best, with the most comfortable ride too.