Solid Aluminum subframe bushings question

[n00b240]

I think ima go with the solid aluminum subframe bushings from spl parts. Guy also recommends the differential bushings. I was hoping to get some thots about what the noise is all about. How much noice am I talking about. Highway driving, city driving, autocross. What kind of noise is it? Your thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys

[corn322]

the noise they talk about is the gears in the diff. you will be able to hear them now. on my car, I don't have the solid bushings, I just have the spacers. I hear it mostly off throttle decelerating.

where in austin are you?

[n00b240]

Actually I just graduated from UT, I am in dallas now, came to austin to visit SPL parts. Anyone know about the solid bushings noise?

[Veriest1]

If you wait a month or so I may be able to tell you.

You may be interested to know they are a real pain to get in. I ended up having a machine shop do mine. It was about a $100 worth of labor. We messed with them for at leat 4 hours and couldn't get even one and we used a torch to heat the subframe and had the bushings in the freezer.

[2Fass240us]

You may be interested to know they are a real pain to get in. I ended up having a machine shop do mine. It was about a $100 worth of labor. We messed with them for at leat 4 hours and couldn't get even one and we used a torch to heat the subframe and had the bushings in the freezer.

Agreed. I created a thread here to give you an idea about the process.

Granted, my car is a S13 and doesn't have differential bushings, so all vibration from the diff will get transmitted directly to the subframe and then to the chassis. A S14 has the advantage of having the diff bushings, which should dampen some of the vibration / noise if you leave them stock. If you replace the diff bushings with hard metal or polyurethane ones, it'll probably sound about like it would on my S13.

Unfortunately I cannot give you any feedback on the noise because my car is currently down waiting on the engine to be put back together after a rebuild. And even when it does run, it wouldn't give you a clear representation of NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) because I have no diff bushings and all of my sound deadening has been taken out. In case you're wondering, this is a track-only car, so NVH doesn't present that much of an issue.

Good luck,Andy