Becuase there are so many positive comments on Poly bushings I never considered installing factory. *And I remember several commentors saying that factory bushing wearout in a few years.

So, when a friend of mine who has a souped up V70 T tells me not to get poly becuase it squeaks and gives a harsher ride...I am scratching my head.

My goal is to freshen up the suspension on this cherry 1990T and keep the ride reasonable. Who is right?

Over the past two years, I've upgraded almost every suspension component there is to upgrade on my '90 745Ti. I have IPD bars front and back, Bilsteins on all four corners, Group 6 lower chassis brace, and I used Daniel Colbert's red poly control arm bushings. There isn't that much road noise or vibration being transmitted to the cabin compared to when I first started the mods, but I can tell you that the car outhandles many sports cars out there!

I also have red Energy Suspension poly "donut" bushings on my sway bar end links, but will change them to the graphite impregnated black bushings soon. They don't squeak, but I've read that they're not as "slippery" as the graphite impregnated ones, hence the plan to change them soon.

I'm working on an adapter plate that will allow me to change the "D" bushings for the sway bars from IPD's blue poly to Energy Suspension's black graphite impregnated ones with the built in zerk grease fitting.

In retrospect, It's all about compromise... With poly bushings, you get longer life, better handling, less suspension flex, but give up some comfort and cabin quiet. On the other hand the stock bushings will have normal wear, better handling then your worn out bushings, but your handling will not improve over OEM specs.

My motto has always been, "If you gotta replace something, you might as well replace it with the upgraded or high-performance version."

What are some sources for these goodies like Daniel Colbert's bushings, red Energy Suspension sway bar end lnks (are these the same as the "Nick Choy links" I've seen in other posts?), BSR chips, etc.?

Paul,

Sources:

Energy Suspension bushings: Any speed shop, or you can check Energy Suspension's website for an authorized dealer near you. I got the red end link "donut bushings" from a local speed shop... cost me $6.95 for four. They are 1/2" ID. Like I said in my earlier post, I'm going to change them sometime this year for the black graphite impregnated versions that are of the same size and ID.

My front sway bar "D" bushing is also Energy Suspension, but because the bushing and mounting bracket on the E.S. version is about 1/2" shorter than the OEM setup, I'm fabricating a spacer block that will allow me to use the E.S. bushings without compromising any sway bar or suspension geometry.

Daniel Colbert's control arm bushings: They're red poly, and you can get them direct from him. Send him e-mail at dcolbert@sprynet.com Besides this kit, I think he also offers something for the 240s. (Daniel, you can yell at me if I'm wrong here).

High-Performance Adustable front sway bar end links: I designed these kits to eliminate the flex in the front suspension due to the rubber bushing, and to eliminate the bushing altogether (a so-called weak link in the front suspension). I build them myself in my workshop, and MVP helps me with the retail side of things. You can visit their website at www.mvprd.com, or you can order them directly from me. Just let me know. However, I would say that the kits' real potential comes into play when you have aftermarket sway bars. I have IPD bars front and back on my car...

BSR Chips: You can contact BSR Sportsman yourself. They're in Sweden, and their web address is http://www.bsrab.se/se/ Careful, you'll pay a pretty penny for those chips! They will need to know your car's year, model number, engine and transmission type, turbo/non-turbo, and the codes on the ECU case.

Bilstein Shocks: Check out Turner Motorsport. They specialize in BMW performance, but they offer Bilstein shocks for pretty much every car made. Their prices are unbeatable.

Hope that helps you.

I put the IPD blue control arm polys on my 87 765T 146K miles. Amazing difference. The car feels like it is driving on rails. Yes a little harsher, yes a little louder, but the the feel of control is superb. I liked them so much I order another set for my 92 944.

After 10 years, the original bushings will be pretty sacked and will allow excessive front-back movement of the front wheels. You will feel this as unsteadiness at speed, especially in a cross-wind, but mainly as sloppiness under braking. In severe cases, one or both front tire will wear badly.

I had the bushings of our ten-year-old 740 replaced with stock ones, and the difference in directional stability was quite noticeable. I would go with new stock bushings - they will help and won't sqeak or be harsh. They will last at least five years, but they do soften gradually so the degradation isn't noticed until you replace them.

Hey all again!

I have a 740 and recently had the stock suspension (after 194,000km!! and 12 years!) replaced. I did get the poly bushes in the front for the control arm-radius rod and i am dissapointed.....after being back to the place where i got it done, for the bolts to be tightened....every couple of weeks they seem to come loose again. I don't know why. All i know is that those guys at the suspension place must be very strong, b/c i tried tightening them, and i tell ya, i could barely budge the things!! The poly bushes definately appear to be ALOT harder than origional ones.......i just want to stop the hard banging sound everytime i hit a big bump (i live in Aus, constant big bumps is what we seem to call roads!). I reckon just go for the stock items......they managed to do 12 years and nearly 200,000k's in my car.....can't see why they shouldn't in anyone elses!

No surprise to me. I just had mine replaced with non-poly at 192,000 (they were toasted). I imagine that they were toasted since 185,000 miles. Still, that is long life.

To an extent, you both are...

There are obviously drawbacks to polyeurethane bushings otherwise everyone would use them. They do wear longer and provide for a more responsive suspension than rubber bushings (more responsive being a synonym for "firm" or a euphemism for "harsh"). The "squeak" symptom is dependent on the bushing type and the exact composition of the poly bushings. Some may squeak, and some may not. If you're talking about the radius rod bushings from Dan Colbert, I haven't had any problems.

-Jon '91 Coupe 149K "Gustaf"

Poly is a harder substance, hence longer life. It will also transmit more "road feel". I can't testify to additional squeeks, though. I opted for non-poly front strut-rod bushings due to the chit chat on the board about how they change the caster when installed. Something about the sizes of the poly bushes don't match the sizes of the standard factory type bushes. But, I'm sure there are quite a few bricksters on this board who will tell you how happy they are with there poly bushes.

I've done more investigation into this. The blue IPD bushings do change the caster because of their thickness. The red ones Colbert sells (now also

carried by GAPA) are of stock dimensions and should not change caster.