Bushings to compliment a swaybar

[tcran]

Hey all,

I just bought the adjustable Whiteline swaybar for my mk4 golf. I'm thinking when I put it on, it would be wise to replace some bushings while I'm getting my hands dirty. I was thinking of replacing the front swaybar bushings and the rear dogbone gearbox mount.

Which bushings do you think I should replace for handling improvements? (They have to be easy as I'm doing it at home - no shop presses)

Which brand should I go with? - I've heard stories of Nolathane items falling apart after a while but Super pro sounds good as they're affiliated with fulcrum suspensions.

Let me know what you're running and what you're experiences are.

[noone]

I assume its a rear swaybar you are adding? Can you give a little detail on what else has been done on the car?

I'm in the Polo which shares a lot of common parts and design traits. For me, I'd be looking at the engine mount and make sure you are using a good quality lubricant on the new bushes. I'm using a lithium grease on mine now, seems pretty good. If the bushes dry out, you can get creaking or binding which does not help you handling.

If you are talking about the front swaybar, I'd be looking at your droplinks to make sure they are in good condition. On the Polo the subframe needs to be dropped to get access to pull the old one out and get the new one in, might be worth checking your control arm bushes at the same time.

[tcran]

Yeah it's a rear swaybar. I haven't done much to the car at all, just some wheels and a b&m short shifter. I was hoping to do a basic upgrade to the handling without compromising the comfort too much.

[Madhatter]

Used plenty of superpro polyurethane bushes in the past and I think they are great, so you wont go wrong buying from them. Also, the whole thing with nolathane really is a bit played up, it was a problem maybe 10-15 years ago, but a lot of that was because of it being experimental combined with owners/installers using the wrong lube on them. Things like grease and the like actually break down and attack the urethane, so they actually come with a specific silicone based grease for use with the material, ive not had a problem with anything nolathane have produced in recent years (last 5 or so). Only gripe some people have is they can get a little squeaky over time if the lube dries out.

Also note, nolathane and noltec combined with red ranger and whiteline are all the same company now, only kmac and superpro are about the only other external suppliers/manufacturers for bushes and the like.

You honestly wont go wrong with either, I just like the purple better

[tcran]

Thanks mate I'm going to order some to day. Nice to get an honest answer.