Bushes upgrade advice

Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:21 pm

Hey folks.

First post of many I hope.

Does anybody have any sound advice with regard to installing new bushes all round on my 1992 cabriolet. The poor girl is starting to transmit a fair amount of noise and vibration in the the hot seat.

Im sort of on the Poly train at the moment and have been looking at Powerflex. But I think this is because I know very little about any other options. My understanding was that polyurethane is better in almost every way and come with a lifetime guarantee. Whats not to like? [/b]

Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:09 pm

What's not to like?

They're expensive, don't fit very well and transmit more NVH than the original rubber?

Front 'lollipops' fall out, avoid at all costs - use the M3 version of the originals. Beam end bushes are OK, but the trailing arm bushes don't fit well.

Stick to standard. Incredibly, the engineering might of BMW did a better job than a man in his shed with some polyurethane.

Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:33 pm

Avoid PU like the plague. Has no business in a road let alone a Cabrio!

Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:17 am

As above! There are upgrades that can be made though: M3 (E30 or E36) control arm bushes, E46 rear top damper mounts and Modeo estate rear ARB links for the front of an E30.

Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:59 pm

personally i would avoid poly bushes for a Cabby, i used oem and the subtle upgrades as per Brian's e-mail (they are in the wikki). In addition to a full suspension overhaul i fitted a descent front strut brace- it made a small difference and the cornering a little more predictable.

Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:23 pm

Powerflex is mostly crap, I use superflex trailing arm bushes as they are a one piece bush rather than two halfs, definitely dont fit anything poly on the front wishbones, E30 M3 are the best for there

Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:04 pm

Thanks for the response guys.

I suppose when you lay it out logically PU isnt the greatest shout is it. I just want the old girl to drive like shes fresh out the factory again. Suspension will come next. Im I correct in saying that the Bilstein B4 are the OE parts for these?

Does anybody have any experience with aftermarket bushes, what brands to go with/avoid? Or is it best to stick with OE. In fairness BMW have quoted me around £400 for the lot but I feel like there may be a few bushes missing in that lis. Thats basically on par with the PU quote I had so no too bad.

Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:48 am

Jimmy-Porter wrote:Thanks for the response guys.

Does anybody have any experience with aftermarket bushes, what brands to go with/avoid? Or is it best to stick with OE. In fairness BMW have quoted me around £400 for the lot but I feel like there may be a few bushes missing in that lis. Thats basically on par with the PU quote I had so no too bad.

I'm running the same set up DanThe mentions, superflex trailing arm bushes, and everything else OEM rubber. I also use void fillers in the rear beam bushes to stiffen those up, and prolong the life of them, Dan used to sell these, not sure whether he still does.

No point buying from BMW, anything made by the likes of Lemforder, Meyle & Febi should be the same quality of what you buy from a BMW dealer, but a whole lot cheaper.

Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:18 pm

Kedge wrote:
No point buying from BMW, anything made by the likes of Lemforder, Meyle & Febi should be the same quality of what you buy from a BMW dealer, but a whole lot cheaper.

BMW buy in most of their parts, and bushes are mostly Lemforder. If you buy Lemforder bushes from an aftermarket supplier, you'll often find bur marks on them, where the BMW logo has been ground off.

Sat Oct 21, 2017 4:36 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:As above! There are upgrades that can be made though: M3 (E30 or E36) control arm bushes, E46 rear top damper mounts and Modeo estate rear ARB links for the front of an E30.

Brian what is the advantage over the standard ARB Bushes with the mondeo ones ? as i have just purchased Febi Bilstein ones ...

Sat Oct 21, 2017 5:15 pm

The Mondeo links have two proper ball joints on them, so eliminating the rubber bush at the bottom of the E30 item.

Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:41 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:The Mondeo links have two proper ball joints on them, so eliminating the rubber bush at the bottom of the E30 item.

they can also be fitted to the rear ARB aswell,

Wed Oct 25, 2017 11:46 am

Earlier this year I renewed an E30 Touring with said rubber OEM bushes above, including E30 M3 lollipops. At the same time I switched out the rear springs for replacement oem BOGE items (one side had broken on the mot), as well as arbs, and renewed steering rack arms etc.

The result was a tight positive steering feel, giving confidence to lean on the car when needed.

Road noise pretty standard I would guess for an e30, though plenty of plastic creaks, hard to avoid those!

Wed Oct 25, 2017 12:04 pm

billyfrost wrote:plenty of plastic creaks, hard to avoid those!

Rubbish! A carefully assembled E30 interior does not creak!
Most are caused by lack of pre load on the centre consoles.

Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:20 pm

steve_k wrote:
Brianmoooore wrote:The Mondeo links have two proper ball joints on them, so eliminating the rubber bush at the bottom of the E30 item.
they can also be fitted to the rear ARB aswell,

Can anyone else confirm this?

Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:02 pm

Is there a Lemforder-type alternative for the offset front top mounts? Stealers are too expensive

Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:20 pm

billcarr182 wrote:Is there a Lemforder-type alternative for the offset front top mounts? Stealers are too expensive

not really, when i saw the price i went for eibach/spc adjustable top mounts but they're nearly £400+ now compared to the sub £200 i paid nearly 10yr's ago.

Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:02 pm

steve_k wrote:
billcarr182 wrote:Is there a Lemforder-type alternative for the offset front top mounts? Stealers are too expensive
not really, when i saw the price i went for eibach/spc adjustable top mounts but they're nearly £400+ now compared to the sub £200 i paid nearly 10yr's ago.

Lemforder could put a £50 premium on their straight ones and sell a shitload. Well, at least 2 anyway.

Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:16 pm

billcarr182 wrote:
steve_k wrote:
billcarr182 wrote:Is there a Lemforder-type alternative for the offset front top mounts? Stealers are too expensive
not really, when i saw the price i went for eibach/spc adjustable top mounts but they're nearly £400+ now compared to the sub £200 i paid nearly 10yr's ago.
Lemforder could put a £50 premium on their straight ones and sell a shitload. Well, at least 2 anyway.

just checked & the only place i can see selling them is turner motorsport in the US @$191 each!!! + shipping, thats fucking expensive for a part originally intended to get the alignment correct after a shunt.

Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:50 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
billyfrost wrote:plenty of plastic creaks, hard to avoid those!
Rubbish! A carefully assembled E30 interior does not creak!
Most are caused by lack of pre load on the centre consoles.

Missed this at the time, I was referring (more specifically) to creaks from an E30 Touring, probably the rear boot panels or load cover mounts.

Don't tell me otherwise as I've had x4 of the same model Touring over the past few years and they've all done it.