s14 tension rod bushing question

[NyQuiL]

Hello all.

My s14's tension rod bushings are pretty much toast, and all the associated problems with them are coming in ( steering wheel shake, noises, wheel lurching, etc).

I dd my s14, I also drive from Chicago to Columbus, OH pretty often (even through winters). Anyone familiar with entering or leaving Chicago as well as The OSU campus area in Columbus can tell you the roads are pretty horrible.

Already being on coilovers my car is already stiffer than I'd actually prefer it to be. Now the main question was going with bushings or rods with helm joints. Even though the support I've read is overwhelmingly in favor of rods with solid joints (mainly for the reason of adjustability) I am still in favor of bushings for comfort. I have auto-xed the car, and drive "spirited" every now and then, but for the most part it's kept pretty tame. It's also not excessively lowered.

So the choice has come down to Energy Suspensions "Revised" bushing set:2 piece polyurethane bushings plus the metal sleeve and included grease.

Or the Nismo tension rod bushings "Manufactured from material more rigid than OE bushing to minimize suspension deflection. As OE bushings are not available separately (must be purchased with arm, link, upright, etc.) these are perfect replacement parts. Great performance upgrade without the ride deterioration of a polyurethane bushing. "

I've read that the ES bushings grease will run out and the polyurethane is not "giving" to the stock tension rod and quickly wears the pieces down (including the lca). This was the main opinion I believe I had read to the 1st generation piece setups. Anyone have info if the revised multi-piece setup is more forgivable?

Also, the Nismo one specifically states that its inner material is stronger than OEM (rubber with grease filling) and "without the ride deterioration of a polyurethane bushing. " You can see from the picture that the bushing itself sits in a metal housing. Would this allow it to pivot easier in the tension rod? Also is "more rigid material" still grease filled? or is it solid?

Sorry for the long winded post, I appreciate any info. Thank you.

[BoBa524]

i replaced mine with the nismo ones...they are basically a stock replacement. 2 years later they still look good.