Polybushes, worth it?

Technical Area Steering & Suspension
2

My mk1 is feeling a bit loose and rattly! The ARB bushes and droplinks look past their sell by date, was going to order a fresh set from Mazda, but I’m tempted by the Polybush set on MX5 parts.

  1. Are they worth it? Bear in mind that the car is not a daily and I plan to take it on the track in future (or so I’ve said for the last three years!)

  2. Obviously the actual anti roll bar bushes are a doddle to fit, but how easy difficult is it to fit them to the drop links? Any tips?

 

My eventual plan is to fit coilovers, so I plan on doing the rest of the bushes then.

3

My mk1 was fully poly bushed before I got it only just I find it very crashy but it goes were you point it , it had shocks and springs too and I had Rodders set it up love it to bits but it can be a bit wearing after 150 miles or so HTH

4

I test drove a polybushed Mk2 earlier this year, with a view to buying it. It was a really lovely and well cared for car (apart from the commonly found cracked through and rusty rear sills) but it had such a harsh ride that I knew my wife wouldn’t be at all happy to ride in it. As we intended to tour in the car, I decided it wasn’t for me I bought an older, standard Mk2 instead, far nicer to drive.

If I was only looking for a track car I might have been more inclined to buy the first one (but then again maybe not; it probably needed a grand’s worth of welding… The one I bought doesn’t and it was far less costly to buy).

5

I’m worried about the ride being crashy, as I am planning to drive to Le Mans in it next year. But most of the time I drive it, it’s purely for the sake of driving, so the thought of it being more precise does appeal! Decisions, decisions!

6

The question of poly bushing comes up time and time again. 

The answer is always the same DON’T DO IT

The standard OE rubber bushes give a much better ride, they don’t give any problems whatsoever. If your ARB and droplinks require replacing then go the OE rubber route, then spend your money on a good set of coilovers and most important after that a good laser four wheel alignment.

Then it will most certainly go to where you point it, poly bushes will not on their own do that,  but just give you grief.

7

Agreed, very harsh and cause the cars to rattle over bumps/rough roads etc.Not nice.

8

Thanks all. I’ll go the OEM route then. Best to stick with genuine Mazda or are there any afternarket ones anyone can recommend?