Anti-roll bar bushings

[jtmco]

I was under my S1 today and I discovered that one bolt that holds the anti-roll bar to the lower wishbone is missing and the other is loose (dreaded previous owner!). I’ve only gone around the block twice so I haven’t been in danger!

I think the bushings should be replaced while I’m putting in the bolts. I don’t plan to replace the other bushings unless I find more problems  

What is the experience of those on the forum on rubber vs polyurethane.  The car will just be driven on the road and as noted, I’m only planning to change the anti-roll bar bushings  is the OEM rubber sufficient or should I use polyurethane.  Will the polyurethane give better steering?

I would appreciate anyone’s insight  

Jim

 

 

[silverfrost]

On the older cars a lot of members say that the poly bushes are too hard,  personally i always prefer the standard factory rubber bushes imo 

So many folks have different experiences on different things regarding aftermarket parts like the protech shocks vs avo etc. 

Search the forum and you will find many constructive debates about the bushes and aftermarket parts etc.  

[peteyg]

OEM. The polybushes are too hard for road use.

Pete

[jtmco]

Thank you gentlemen. OEM it is. 

Jim

[C43]

I fitted polly bushes to my brothers S2 and definitely not too hard, these bushes are working hard and make a big difference to front end feel.

If you do go OEM make sure you get these from somewhere that produces them in the correct shore rubber and they are not too old. Just because they are black and rubber does not mean they will be correct.

C43

[gvy]

You can not put all poly bushes on one heap. Simply because poly bushes can be made in any grade hardness. That makes it difficult to choose or to compare.

and I quote from a website:

All polyurethane is not created equal.  The material itself can be as soft as fat suit flubber rubber, to hard as an Ikea desk chair.  The beauty of modern man-made chemical polymers is that the manufacturer can control the hardness and color by the mixture (the color of the bushing is denoted by pigment added, not hardness).  The downside is that unless it’s published up front, you never really know what you are getting, and performance varies greatly based on hardness.

the rest is here: https://www.eeuroparts.com/blog/2120/how-to-shop-for-poly-bushings/