Suspension overhaul

[APCdude]

I'm planning on doing a suspension overhaul sometime soon and need a little advice. I'm looking to get a decent set of bushings to make the ride nice and smooth, nothing performance-geared.

First of all I have limited knowledge so far as to the extent of this job, but I figure that after 166k miles practically all of the bushings are blown. Secondly, I have no idea as to the price of getting all of these old bushings pressed out and the new ones pressed in.

Any suggestions as to the best brand for a smooth (non performance) bushings kit, and any estimates on the price of the press work / difficulty of the job?

[n00b240]

you could get those nismo bushings...

or spend serious cash to replace stock for stock bushings. Just hit up the dealer and they know what you are looking for. You tell them you want to replace your bushings, they tell you you gotta buy a subframe to go along with the bushings cause you cant get stock bushings separate...

[masticatingcow]

Energy Suspension has bushing you can use, and I don't think they hurt the ride all that much. RSR also just released a set... though I have no idea how they ride.

[otterman]

I was thinking the same thing for my S13. Anyone have any idea how much it'll cost to get them replaced?

[MikeMurphy]

When I looked at bushings I found that battle version replacements were almost comparable in price after all the labour is considered.

Just a thought.

[let5l1de]

BattleVersion is just one of many good brands of suspension bushings and assemblies avail. In the market today. I mean everyone from:

nismo http://www.nissanusa.com/nismo/ quick reference diagram http://www.nismoparts.com/catalog/?section=516

RS-R http://www.rs-r.com/

Prothane http://www.prothane.com/pages/productguide.html

Energy Suspension http://www.energysuspension.com/

Whiteline http://www.whiteline.com.au/

Tanabe http://www.tanabe-usa.com/

BattleVersion http://www.battleversion.com/

are all producing good "suspension overhaul parts" for the performance enthusiast or daily driver. The key is to choose the correct manufacture/component for your driving conditions. Know the compounds they use, how distortion and deflection change ride characteristics, the style of driving and most important in your application, the ride comfort.

IMO stick with a factory bushing setup to achieve the nice and smooth ride since you are not looking for performance-geared components. These components will cost a bit more than your typical aftermarket suspension bushing kit and may require more labor if purchasing the press in components as compared to off the shelf replacement units with preinstalled ($$$) bushings.

More related info by Mr. A. Chang btw: regards to technical questions, he and a few others can be reached on AIM SERVICE UNDER 'ASKPHASE2'

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/june04/240sx/

[APCdude]

I don't have a full quote but I assume when you say big bucks from the dealer I automatically cringe... I'm really looking for an estimate on this kind of job, but I don't want to spend over $500, so I assume those OE bushings would surpass that. Any quotes?

[7anshin]

I don't have a full quote but I assume when you say big bucks from the dealer I automatically cringe... I'm really looking for an estimate on this kind of job, but I don't want to spend over $500, so I assume those OE bushings would surpass that. Any quotes?

The quote for my 96 was $519.21 for the rear subframe with stock bushings, parts price. I know because I just got a quote on 4/26/06... Either way it is too much unless you need a whole new subframe.

Then you have labor costs (unless you drop it yourself)

Here is a link to my post about the subject. I decided on something different than what you will probably want but there is plenty to check out.

zerothread/171914

[I ask good questions]

I had all of my bushing replaced with energy suspension ones, new struts and springs installed, new strut mounts, and four wheel alignment for 1700. To be honest i didnt get charged to replace the springs and struts since they already had to be taken off.

[APCdude]

Thanks for the quote.From what I can tell though, there are over 4 bushings on the entire suspension system. I'm looking to smooth out the ride and decrease road noise, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg.

What other bushings besides the subframe should I be looking for? And how much would it cost to get the old ones pressed out/new ones pressed in?

[APCdude]

...bump...

[whiterps13]

New bushings are going to do very little when it comes to road noise. You should seriously check out dynamat or some other form of sound deadening material.

[BadMojo]

New bushings are going to do very little when it comes to road noise. You should seriously check out dynamat or some other form of sound deadening material.

Really, anything other than an OE bushing (free with purchase of really expensive subframe) will probably be stiffer and transmit more noise to the cabin.

I say just man up, get solid aluminum bushings and enjoy the whine of your differential.

With the mileage you have it would be great to replace your bushings, I just don't know if it'll do what you want it to.

[APCdude]

I suppose I should specify...Supposing all of the bushings are beyond shot at this point, would installing aftermarket bushings make for a smoother ride and possibly less road noise than the current busted set?

[eddiec]

no, installing aftermarket bushings of the polyurethane, solid alum, delrin or any other hard material will increase road harshness and noise transmitted back to you.

if your looking to maintaim comfort over performance then rubber is the best alternative.

i recommend replacing the front tc rods. these are usually the worst and fairly easy to replace with new oem parts (rod w/ bushing installed). next i would replace the rear and front control arms. these come with new bushings and in the case of the rears (and probably so in the fronts) they also come with new balljoints. so thats like 2 birds one stone. that will kill your budget almost right there. but should improve your cars handling while keeping noise and road vibration to a minimum.

just so you know where i am coming from i have no rubber bushings left on the car. i used a hyperlfex kit for most parts and sourced other urethane and alum. bits to suspend the car. my next project is replacing the stock arms with heim jointed parts. because of these mods i have tons of road vibration and the most badass whine from an lsd you can get. but then again comfort is not important anymore.

[Red coupe]

Unless they are REALLY shot, I would just leave them.New bushings are nice, but if your more worried about comfort and cost then performance.Unless things are clunking around your really only loosing some stability during hard cornering, and it doesn't sound like much your worried about anyways.

S-chassis Luxury

[ddgsxr504]

http://www.energysuspension.com/