Suspension Powerflex Front Control Arm Bushings

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  #1  
Old 03-24-2018, 08:53 PM
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Powerflex Front Control Arm Bushings

I haven't found any review on these and wanted to see if anyone tried them yet.

There's Street version and a Race version for the front control arms.
Can they be mixed and matched?

Should both the front and rear front control arms be changed or just one at a time? Asking that one cause they're sold separately.

Also what about the Race Adjustable Front control arm front over the regular Race or Street version?

This is my daily driver and have done mods to the car but I haven't brought it to any track yet.

And I'm wondering with installation if the whole control arm needs to be removed for the bushings to be installed (including taking the wheels off).

#1 & #2 on the picture below




Here's the links from Powerflex directly:

https://powerflexusa.com/minigen3fro...ntbushing.aspx

https://powerflexusa.com/minigen3fro...arbushing.aspx

https://powerflexusa.com/minigen3cam...ntbushing.aspx
 
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Old 03-25-2018, 05:57 AM
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Ive considered these but I heard they are a pretty labor intensive mod so I stayed away
 
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  #3  
Old 03-25-2018, 07:21 AM
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Most the time when weekend mechanic wannabes work on their MINIs with no lift and a limited amount of tools, the "god I love this car" is replaced by calling the beloved one every derogatory word one has every stated plus a few more.
 
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Old 03-25-2018, 08:39 AM
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Yea I ran into that when I was installing my downpipe.
 
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Old 03-25-2018, 09:52 AM
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Old 03-25-2018, 10:09 AM
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This looks like a shop job.
 
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Old 03-25-2018, 03:32 PM
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So I have these in position #2 on my R53 the pros on these is you should never need to worry about them again. cons are you have to put them in which I made a custom press to put them in. I have run power flex on 3 cars at this point and in terms of handling I find it to be the single best mod a guy/gal can do to their ride.

I haven't put these in in a gen 3 but I'd be surprised if the control arm didn't have to come out. with that said if it were me I would plan to do #1 #2 and #3 all at the same time
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 06:27 AM
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You will probably need a press to get them out and then if the control arms need to be removed an alignment afterwards is usually recommended.
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 07:10 AM
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These F bushings are actually easier to do than the early cars as the complete control arm comes out easier.
We've been just going with the adjustable here in our shop and adding the extra caster/camber to the car as they handle just that much better with that little bit more
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

And then the standard control arm rear bushings
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

This setup has worked great.
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 08:59 AM
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Interesting..... are there any install guides anywhere?
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Mini_Vinnie
Interesting..... are there any install guides anywhere?
Take out control arms, pop out old ones, put in new ones
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by trentiles
Take out control arms, pop out old ones, put in new ones

Nice, I was going to do that over my lunch hour .........
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:09 PM
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I just had mine done (front only) - if you order the bushings from Way Motor Works, you can get them prepressed into the brackets - and you get a return for sending back the old brackets.

I don't know anything about the race/street differences.
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by WayMotorWorks
These F bushings are actually easier to do than the early cars as the complete control arm comes out easier.
We've been just going with the adjustable here in our shop and adding the extra caster/camber to the car as they handle just that much better with that little bit more
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

And then the standard control arm rear bushings
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

This setup has worked great.

PM sent
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by MiniTigger
I just had mine done (front only) - if you order the bushings from Way Motor Works, you can get them prepressed into the brackets - and you get a return for sending back the old brackets.

I don't know anything about the race/street differences.
How the difference in handling feel?
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 03:27 PM
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Way, have you had any issues with the adjustable camber bushing slipping out of position? Someone here posted about that a while back. Sounded like maybe they were gonna update the design.

Didn't realize you offered an exchange service... curious how much work it is to remove the arms. Pretty doable on jack stands with hand tools?

Thanks
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by WayMotorWorks
These F bushings are actually easier to do than the early cars as the complete control arm comes out easier.
We've been just going with the adjustable here in our shop and adding the extra caster/camber to the car as they handle just that much better with that little bit more
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

And then the standard control arm rear bushings
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...s-f55-f56.html

This setup has worked great.

What is the caster change when going negative with the front, I assume net positive caster?
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by spotted
How the difference in handling feel?
He seems to like the twisties more. Seems a little more responsive. .
 
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Old 03-26-2018, 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by MiniTigger
He seems to like the twisties more. Seems a little more responsive. .
How was the removal and installation after you received the parts from Way?
Did you do it yourself or went to a shop?
Needed an alignment afterwards?
 
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Old 03-27-2018, 12:22 AM
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Wrong forum response, deleted
 

Last edited by Scudder44; 03-27-2018 at 07:29 AM. Reason: error
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Old 03-27-2018, 04:55 AM
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Originally Posted by spotted
How was the removal and installation after you received the parts from Way?
Did you do it yourself or went to a shop?
Needed an alignment afterwards?
I had a shop do it and I did get an alignment. While in there, I highly suggest ball joints and reviewing other items, like oil pan gasket and axle boots.
 
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Old 03-27-2018, 05:16 AM
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I think that unless you have upgraded all other suspension bits that doing these along just isn't worth the time needed for installation. Sounds like a lot of work just for some bushings.
 
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Old 03-27-2018, 06:14 AM
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Wrong Gen 2 response to a Gen 3 problem - deleted
 

Last edited by Scudder44; 03-27-2018 at 07:28 AM. Reason: Error
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Old 03-27-2018, 07:17 AM
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Please note this is the 3rd Gen Section. The Powerflex control arm bushings in question do NOT require dropping the subframe. I see responses that are confusing readers.
On the 3rd Gen F cars you can just pull the control arm and replace the control arm bushings.
Pretty easy and new enough customer doesn't need to purchase other joints.

On the 1 Gen and 2 Gen car we drop the subframe to replace.
 
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Old 03-27-2018, 07:40 AM
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I think this is a great opportunity for you to do a How-To video
 
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