Anyone can give me a worthawhile review of these two? the Alta is quite a bit more expensive, and isn't both going to do the same thing? I do realize the Alta gives caster adjustment which can be beneficial, but the purpose would be to stiffen the front up a bit, won't both pretty much do the same thing?

thanks for any positive comments people can tell me

 

i have the alta bushings and think they are great,i toyed with the idea of the powerflex but thought they might still flex too much for my liking,they are after all made of a rubber like substance(my opinion)Idropped the subframe myself and didnt find it too difficult,can be done with minimal talent(i am a window contactor,not a mechanic,Jim!)Give yourself plenty of time to do the job with mini-mal interuption and keep the service manual handy for torque settings

 

I had the powerflex bushings installed a while ago. They are a huge improvement over stock. Untill I had these installed, I had no idea the stock rubber pieces were flexing so much. There was no increase in road noise, and the car feels more solid over bumps. Also, my braking has improved now that the control arms cannot pitch/roll forward under braking.

 

the ALTA psrs is an all metal bushing replacement vs powerflex urethane.

urethane compound is most certainly more rigid than the OEM rubber. and of course metal on metal is exactly that. i personally ride on some pretty rough streets and don't want to deal with metal on metal for daily driving. but i do like the idea of the improved caster. i opted for the bavarian auto poly urethane bushings with added caster. a blend of concepts between the powerflex and the alta psrs. but i havent installed them yet so i cant give you an opinion on them, sorry.

wrxmini-you said you did the install yourself, what did you use to remove the oem bushings? ive seen a few writeups and it appears to require a machining/tool to remove them easily. thanks in advance

-g

 

it is a bit dear for the bushing that you mentioned from bavauto.. i mean comparing to the ones from powerflex

anyways, wrxmini i'd also be interested in how you did it... when my tech replaced my front control arm he couldn't even get the bushing off

 

For the reasons above I plan on going with the Bavauto bearings.

 

kyrian,when idid my altas i dropped the subframe,i have read other threads on dropping the frame and some people take off just about everything to get the frame to drop all the way to the garage floor,having said that you will have to take off the front bumper to remove the crush tubes to allow the frame to drop but this is fairly easy,assuming you already have the car on fairly tall jack stands on the front end,there is a round impression that is built ln to your subframe that looks like it was made for a floor jack,go ahead and put the jack under there with just enough tension so you cant move the jack but not enough to push the car up,on each side your going to take off the wheels(really!!)swaybar link to swaybar,front control arm, steering track rod end and also the lower engine mount and remove the bracket that attaches the power steering pump,im trying to think if that was it(sorry,im doing this from memory and its been a while)after doing that you want to remove all the subframe bolts and lower the jack just alittle to allow you enough room to remove the four reverse torx bolts on the steering rack,you will probably need a small breaker bar or regular ratchet with pipe to break them loose,they were on there quite tight,after doing that you can drop your frame all the way down.The reason i done it this way is because you can do the job on your own lying down without getting up as long as you keep your tools on hand,the bushing carriers are part of the swaybar attachment and these four bolts are torqued to 122 lbs sothat along with the access difficulty makes it quite difficult to do without removing the subframe,hope this helps,by the way ,the whole task is easier than it sounds,dont be affraid to try if you have some decent tools and a liberal sprinkling of common sense,and also thanks again for the spring length help

 

glnr13,i used the 20 ton press which i bought from harbor freight to push the old bushing away from the carrier and also to push the new one in,it cost $160 and of coarse i get to use it for other things,like make shift coil spring compressor,just another excuse to justify me having more tools

 

i have installed, on my car and a few customers cars, the ALTA PSRS units. i like them a lot. when you turn the wheel the car goes there. i didn't feel any harshness when driving, and i don't really see why there would be. the control arm rotates inside the bushing and all the road bumps are taken up in the shock and springs. i think this is why the stock one wear out so fast. they keep twisting around itself when the a-arm goes up or down with every bump. i posted some good data in another PSRS thread here on NAM, as well as details for an Exchange Program.

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

thanks wrxmini

 

I'm for the powerflex; dual compound poly unit that allows the control arm to articulate over the ball front joint - this pulls the stud in the rear of the control arm out of the bushing a little.

I like this bushing because it has been very durable, one summer and two winters and was relatively inexpensive. The instal time/$$$ will be much the same as any other bushing.

There is no caster or anti-dive adjustability with this bushing - my advise is to get a handle on added caster and anti anything before making a purchase. These have a place, but they come with some side effects.

 

Michael, I'm not understanding that first paragraph. Could you restate that? Not that I'm going to replace my front control arm bushings (bavarian autosport) with anything new, just that I want more info...

 

Think of the bushing as one outer poly donut with an inner polly donut - albeit smaller - that fits onto the stud...almost like a long tiny pistion within a long bore. As the LCA moves up and down, it must rotate over or along the circumference of the front ball joint. In doing so, the stud must move farther away from the bushing.

And to be clear, I have nothing against the other two bushings. If I valued anti-dive or caster that would be reason enough to make a purchase.

The folks at Texas Speedworx have experience with Powerflex and Alta.

 

ive seen the DIY guides for the bushing install and there's so many variations... guess its time to track that tool, anyone has that bushing press they want to rent or sell me?

that said, if the powerflex has the benefits that i want (really, i track for fun, so although the fact of caster does help, i am not pulling 300 hp to really need anti-lift) but bavauto one really my beef with it is simply price, powerflex is half the price for a set (outmotoring), and is the benefits of the bavauto really that significant? for my use i have my doubts

 

Adding caster will strengthen striaght line stability and give the feeling of a stronger on center feel to the steering. More caster will add to camber - how much depends on lots of things - as the wheel is turned, and will help to transfer weight to the inside rear wheel.

Too much caster can; wash-out the affect of SAI - one side raises the car and the other lowers, slow down steering response by virtue of increase steering effort, and transfering weight to the inside rear wheel is not necessarily a great thing in opposite lock conditions. too much caster can also cause a lot of steering kick-back.

 

Im currently replacing my alta bushings with powerflex. The altas would vibrate loose every 3 weeks or so (I even used loctite) and make a "clicking" sound in the floorboard every bump you hit. Which is very annoying! The lousy set screws cant handle the contant vibration of the LCA.

 

You'll be really happy with the Powerflex control arm bushings they are the best.

 

used a TIG to put a few spot welds on mine, have not come lose in 2 years.

 

Like to see a picture of that (spot welds), mine rattle like crazy.

 

I will try to get you some in a few.

 

Did the same here......just fine after 3 yrs of use.

 

OT;
Thanks, I was just out your way weekend before last checking out University of Louisville with my daughter. Loved driving through the Daniel Boone National Forest outside of Morehead.

 

Youtube DYI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XERQz...9ABCD&index=10

 

I had Danny put Bavauto offset LCA bushings on and they have held up ok for 50,000 miles.

Here is pic of them from here - someone else:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ng-review.html

I looked at their site and don't see them. You might want to call.

 

Welding the Altas should be considered the only way to install them. What a head-ache otherwise.

Unless you're going to spend a lot of time on the track, having been on the PSRSs for a couple of years on my R56, I think the Powerflex are the way to go for an R53 (and R56). We had them installed on my friend's '06 JCW and they've been awesome.