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Originally Posted by parietta
Anybody out there have personal experience with either the Prothane or Energy Suspension polyurethane cradle to subframe bushings? I really want to eliminate the rear suspension movement on my 2011 SS and believe this is the best first step from what I've read. After the bushings I intend to replace the trailing arms, toe links and rear sway bar. My question is which bushings should I go with? From a pricing standpoint I have seen prices from a low of $120 for the Energy Suspension bushings to a high of $265 for the Pedder's version with the others falling in between for what look to be essentially the same product. Does anyone know what the differences are? On a daily driver with the occassional autoX or track day, does it really matter? I've always been a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" but in this particular situation with a price spread of more than a 100%, I'm just not sure which way to go. Any personal experiences and/or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
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We do business with both Prothane and Energy Suspension and I can say that both companies make quality polyurethane. There is a big difference between bushing companies and suspension specialists however. A bushing company such as Prothane or Energy Suspension typically takes an OE suspension component, removes the OE rubber bushing and designs a poly replacement to fit that component. There is very little vehicle testing to verify results. Typically the extent of their testing is just insuring that the bushing fits properly. What we do is analyze the bushings load in it's working environment both on the street, on the road course, and at the drag strip. We test different durometer rates (bushing stiffness) in various conditions, and in many cases improve the bushing design itself. I believe this gives our bushing designs an edge over other options on the market and it is the main reason why our bushings cost a little more.
Additionally we manufacture the other suspension components you are already planning to upgrade. Sometimes it pays to stick with one brand for everything as it has been designed and tested together not only for compatability but for functionality to compliment each other. In the end you can't really go wrong with any of these companies but I just felt it was necesarry to explain what the differences were and why we are not necesarrily the lowest price in the market...