Subframe Bushing Inserts Feedback

[lscamaro]

Ooh now you have me intrigued! Can you pm me any details?
I think I'm doing the street Z then seeing how the car feels and if i want more, hopefully you have a trailing arm package available then!

Thanks pete!

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by lscamaro

I would do the full replacement but the price is a lot for those and with the power I have they would be too much.

Toe rods is a great idea! I think I'm going to save up to buy everything and do it at once

Honestly unless you are going to make 425-450 horsepower or more I would stay away from the full rear cradle bushing replacements. Full cradle bushing replacements would be overkill for you and you would spend money that really wouldn't need to. The full rear cradle bushing replacements are pricier and take a quite a bit more labor than the inserts so I would advise to just stick to the inserts.

[Drew10]

Not to jack the thread off course. Recently I did the BMR lower control, adjustable toe rods, adjustable sway bars, trailing arms, strut tower brace, and sub frame insterts. The car has been aligned, but still pulls all over the road under acceleration. It doesn't just pull to the left or right, it just feel real loose at higher speeds, as well as under hard acceleration. I have checked all the bolts, everything is tight and still aligned. Anyone have any suggestions?

[caverman]

I vote for Pedders! Go through my thread and you'll be a beliver as well.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...hlight=pedders

I'm not trying to knock BMR/Energy Suspension as a company by any means but I personally hate the style of their insert on the front cradle. Although I initially tried Energy Suspension you can see that if nothing else the design of both is the same. Then look at the stiffness between the rears inserts vs Pedders. There are several people who are okay with the BMR/Energy cradle inserts but honestly a majority of them haven't tried both like have. They put theirs in and are good with how it feels but they never went back and changed out to a different brand like I did.

I'll also mention that I initally tried a Hotchkis chassis brace since they are easy to install. When I put that on I couldn't feel any difference in the firmness of my rear. I then did the cradle inserts and with Pedders there was a stiffer feeling without a doubt. In the end I no longer have the brace and kept my Pedders inserts.

I'll also say that I initially had the Pedders radius rod inserts. Then, while I was having my coilovers installed, I was talked into replacing the radius rod bushings to a full bushing. They were not a Pedders brand but was supposed to be comperable. I pulled the trigger on the spot instead of doing more reasearch and although I didn't have a negative reaction to the full bushing I didn't notice anything better either. That was about a $200 net cost to me after I sold my Pedders inserts and I really didn't feel any improvement. Looking back I should've stayed with the Pedders radius rod inserts.

I have no monitary benefit from recommending Pedders....all I have is my real world end user experience that I'm passing along. With that I'll say that in my opinion....go with Pedders bushings!

[caverman]

Oh...BTW...you can see I did my cradle inserts without taking off the exhaust, or shocks, and without dropping the craddle. You just remove the bolts on on side of the cradle and then loosen the other side almost all the way off.

[J-Rod6410]

Originally Posted by Drew10

Not to jack the thread off course. Recently I did the BMR lower control, adjustable toe rods, adjustable sway bars, trailing arms, strut tower brace, and sub frame insterts. The car has been aligned, but still pulls all over the road under acceleration. It doesn't just pull to the left or right, it just feel real loose at higher speeds, as well as under hard acceleration. I have checked all the bolts, everything is tight and still aligned. Anyone have any suggestions?

If all the bolts are tight, then you're rear toe is out of alignment. Make sure you use the "Pedders aggresive street specs" for the alignment. Do a search here and you'll find them.

I already had installed the trailing arms and pedders bushings prior to installing the toe-rods. After I installed the toe-rods my car was all over the place also even though I had marked the bolts and re-installed in the same place. After a couple days I had time to do my alignment and the rear toe was way out of wack toed-out. Once I did the alignment the car goes perfectly straight at all times even under hard acceleration.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Drew10

Not to jack the thread off course. Recently I did the BMR lower control, adjustable toe rods, adjustable sway bars, trailing arms, strut tower brace, and sub frame insterts. The car has been aligned, but still pulls all over the road under acceleration. It doesn't just pull to the left or right, it just feel real loose at higher speeds, as well as under hard acceleration. I have checked all the bolts, everything is tight and still aligned. Anyone have any suggestions?

It definitely sounds like the alignment is out of whack. Were you given an alignment sheet for your car showing what the alignment specs were they set everything at?

[Drew10]

Originally Posted by BMR Sales

It definitely sounds like the alignment is out of whack. Were you given an alignment sheet for your car showing what the alignment specs were they set everything at?

Yes I was provided an alignment sheet and I gave it to the shop that did the alignment. I may just take it to a different shop and try again. I had planned on racing the car, but right now I think i created a death rocket for the drag strip. At this point the only thing it could be is the alignment. Just because a place has the best alignment equipment does not mean the operator knows what he is doing I suppose.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by Drew10

Yes I was provided an alignment sheet and I gave it to the shop that did the alignment. I may just take it to a different shop and try again. I had planned on racing the car, but right now I think i created a death rocket for the drag strip. At this point the only thing it could be is the alignment. Just because a place has the best alignment equipment does not mean the operator knows what he is doing I suppose.

Can you post your current alignment specs?

[lscamaro]

Do I need an alignment with the inserts?

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by lscamaro

Do I need an alignment with the inserts?

You might not *need* one, but you should at least get it checked.

[MARINE1991]

Originally Posted by Drew10

Yes I was provided an alignment sheet and I gave it to the shop that did the alignment. I may just take it to a different shop and try again. I had planned on racing the car, but right now I think i created a death rocket for the drag strip. At this point the only thing it could be is the alignment. Just because a place has the best alignment equipment does not mean the operator knows what he is doing I suppose.

Nope I had 3 alignments done the issue got worse and worse, then found a place that knew what they were doing.. Happy now with it...

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by lscamaro

Do I need an alignment with the inserts?

You shouldn't need one because there are dowls on the chassis that locate the rear cradle but it would never be a bad thing to have it checked once everything is installed.

[Bill Waters]

We are fortunate to have many excellent manufacturers/vendors producing suspension mods for the Gen5. I have the Pfadt aluminum (solid) subframe bushings. It is hard to overstate the difference they make in the handling of the car. Amazing improvement. Something most folks want to know is how the solid bushings affect ride and NVH. In my car, there is no additional interior noise. The ride feels better than stock. I experience no downside to these. Other best "bang for buck" additions while you're at it are tie and toe rods,lowering springs, and sway bars, IMHO.

Bill