Solid vs. Polyurethane rear cradle bushings
 

I'm sure this has been discussed a number of times, but what have you guys experienced with solid rear cradle bushings vs. polyurethane rear cradle bushings? What power levels are recommended for either and if you have one over the other, what was your reason for going with it and would you have done the other if you had to do it again?

From what I understand solid bushings really firm up the rear end well vs. poly bushings mostly firm up the rear end. However, solid bushings I've been told have a tendency to squeak or cause noise. My end power goal is ultimately 600-650 rwhp, but I'm not likely to get above 500rwhp for a while still. I'm installing a cam this year and having some head work done which I anticipate 445-465 rwhp from (L99 car).

Thanks for the help!

If your goal is 600-650, have you thought about just going TT from AGP?

Bushings are not power level dependent. I don't care what anyone says. If you're going for all out performance, put in solids no matter what the power level. It's not like you are installing solid suspension bushings. All of your suspension bushings are still going to isolate a lot of noise from the cradle. Putting solid cradle bushings in a car is not really that much different than cars that don't have cradles, who's suspension components mount to the unit body. Think about it!

I've considered it and I'm not much of a fan of turbos. I really don't like turbo lag and I'm incrementally going up in power so cam now and supercharger later. It gives me the opportunity to enjoy the climb in power instead of getting it all at once. Thanks for the suggestion. If I was going turbo, I liked the setup of hellion with their top mount turbos.

I did the solid bushings and I didn't notice any new noises or harder vibrations. Dooo iiit!

Solids are more costly. If not a issue do it. I have poly and work great. Had poly incerts before and were noticeable. I autocross and the rear stays out in all the turns.

I've had both, solid is significantly better.

Go solid and be done. No harsh noises, etc.

I have a older set of the Pfadt solid bushings and can tell you there's no additional noise from them and the acceleration is much improved.

Solid bushings are one of the best suspensions mods I have done. The car is my wife's car. Seriously she noticed a huge difference in launching the car after the Solid bushings. She quickly chimes in about that mod anytime we are talking about things that helped the drive-ability of the car. After the LSA install it needed all the help it could get to keep from twisting at launch.

Did you go from poly to solid, or just from stock to solid?

I just went from stock to solid. I expected the ride to be way harsher than it was. I considered both. I got my solids from Pegasus - Very happy with them
https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=474155

shoot 2012LS3VERT a PM. He makes them.

I had solids, they were harsh but not disturbingly so... I've since removed them and gone poly...

I have no issues with poly bushings even at my power level... Alignment consistently stays where we put it...

One thing we noticed when we pulled the solid bushings were hot spots... These bushings are going into pockets of stamped steel. We had several very small areas on each where there was a corresponding high spot in the steel that was wearing into the aluminum bushing. Eventually this will settle down and should solidify, but I wanted to point it out... We are better served at my power levels with the poly mounts...

As for the harshness, I have my motor installed with motor plates, front and rear, so I feel every bump, burp, and fart the car ever makes... Harshness and noise had nothing to do with removing the solid mounts... It was a overall package performance thing... There are benefits to each. It's just a matter of personal choice and performance goals. The decision need not be made based on "power" goals in my opinion...

Thanks for the feedback. What power level are you running?