MGB & GT Forum

Hi all.
I was looking through Amazon for different things and came across these Energy suspension poly bushing kits. They are really cheap, so was wondering if they were really cheap, or just inexpensive? anyone hear of them before or know of anyone that tried them? I would hate to do all the work of replacing all my bushings to have them just fall apart quickly or plain not fit.

thanks for your input.

I've had them on several vehicles, well worth it. Stay away from colors unless you love lubricating them often. The black ones have graphite in them, which acts as a lubricant. As for feel, you'll feel mire bumps and dips in the road, but the tradeoff is better handling.

I believe he is looking at the full suspension kit.

Not sure what Amazon is asking but $113 for front/back black poly/graphite from their site. What I am putting on as well.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PackageDeal023




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-18 06:03 AM by Guitwithit.

I put them on my '70 B about 10 years ago (the black ones as mentioned above) and they have held up great.

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John Moore

'70 MGB, '68 MGBGT, '99 Land Rover Discovery II, '61 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite

I've run the red ones for years (8+) and like them on my roadster. No squawks...ever and the handling is good for me.
Use the supplied silicone grease. You can get the same stuff at Lowes as plumbers grease.
I did get a bad set of lower rubber trunnion seals, turned to mush in 3-4 years but after replacement the current ones
have held up fine. The trunnon seals had nothing to do with the bushings which have held up fine.

On my GT I run the reds everywhere other than the lower bushings where I run V-8 bushings.

I'm taking mine (red) out of the car. I'd did this on the recommendation of several of our most esteemed contributors and vendors, including Peter Caldwell of Worldwide. If you are building an auto crosser, or a track car they pose no particular problem. (and they do 'last forever') but if you are building a daily driver, or touring car they minimize the suspension's ability to deliver a supple ride. They also do not improve handling. (that is shock and sway bar) Several years back OEM bushings were made in India and had the longevity of case-hardened Velveeta Cheese. Poly bushings became the instant answer. Today, the manufacture of OE style rubber bushings has returned to Britain and they are said to be as good as the factory original bushing in terms of durability. Plus they are 80% cheaper than poly bushings whether they are Red or Black.

Been running the red ones for over seven years - never a squeak.

~ Carl

I run the front set from VB in two B's...

Suspension Bushings

185 70 14 tires.

The ride is not harsh and handling is better than stock.

red ones, with v8 bushings in the lower arms. All working well and quite quiet. no complaints

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An MG is never 'finished', if there is nothing for you to currently work on it is merely 'resting'.
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The product is of reasonable quality, but the problem with them and every other plastic bush is that they have an inherent failure mode built in.

They operate by having one metal part or another rub against them. That means that regardless of how well they are lubricated, whether with graphite impregnation or the mush less reliable owner applied lubricant, they will, sooner or later, wear and will have to be replaced.

The original parts, in contrast, depend not on a bush moving in a metal part, but in a rubber bush clamped within a metal part, flexing. The only break don mode with them is material degradation, which was a huge problem for awhile, but isn't any longer. For those reasons, and because the hard bushes don't do anything for you on the street, I have always fitted the V8 Metalastic A arm bushes. A bit firmer than the rubber only, and you don't have to worry about a supplier using up a back log of the 'bad' all rubber bushes (some of which lasted a few hundred miles in service.

To each his own, though. Many owners seem drawn to the solid plastic bushes because they seem (or can be claimed to be) 'racy', even if they do an inferior job.

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
Current: 1958 MGA Twincam (race car (170 bhp)),1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe (98 bhp)
1957 Jamaican MGA (200 bhp)1965 1971 Jensen Interceptor (350 bhp)
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe (375 bhp)
2007 BMW Z4M coupe (340 bhp)
Recent: 1969 MGC roadster (175 bhp),Jensen CV8 (375 bhp),
1969 Lamborghini Islero S (350 bhp), 1988 Fiero GT turbo (300 bhp)
North Vancouver BC

My experience - Poly bushings feel great when you first fit them- after a short while the grease disappears and the bushes either squeak or have far too much stiction making the ride too harsh.

I will try them again if someone makes a set with grease channels moulded in for zerk fittings.

I provided a lube path in the bushing and a grease fitting. The pictures are Corvette suspension parts but the process is the same for any car.

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Jim

"If you want me to agree with you then we would both be wrong"

'66 MGB widened 11" with supercharged LT1 Chevy and 6 speed, C4 Corvette suspension
Pictures here Part 1 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,7581
Continued in Part 2 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,22422
Continued in Part 3 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,33108
Continued in Part 4 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,40751
Continued in Part 5 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,48698,48698#msg-48698
Continued in Part 6 http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,61672

I've had the Energy Suspension red poly bushings installed front and rear for 5 years. Also have Prothane red gearbox mounts and butterfly bushings and Moss black poly front crossmember pads. I installed according to instructions, and ordered and used extra silicone (or whatever) grease on the Energy suspension bushes. Ride is firm, but not harsh, and I don't have squeaks. There are no signs of wear on any of the parts.

Trying to be "racy" had nothing to do with my decision to install polyurethane. I drive the car at least 10K miles per year and was advised that the rubber bushings available at the time would not likely survive from one oil change to the next. As the quality of rubber parts for our cars is, in general, questionable, I would not take a chance on rubber bushings and would again use polyurethane.

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1980 MGB
Dual HS-4s with K&N air filters
10-circuit blade type fuse panel
Schlemmer distributor with Pertronix ignition
Energy Suspension poly bushings
Black Label OD transmission
Mr. Mike's Fiero seats
Delta D9 cam
12H2923 head with dual springs