Rear beam bushes - standard or powerflex?

[ChrisL 18]

I'm doing a rear beam for my VR, shotblast, powder coat etc.

 

Question is do I go standard bushes or Powerflex ones?

[lewvw 10]

Standard preferably as they allow some movement of the beam to aid steering somehow, which I assume the powerflex do not. However I have some brand new powerflex rear beam bushes that you can have for £25 posted ;) (they are £32 before postage from powerflex)

[floppyman 0]

I didnt notice any difference wwhen I fitted my powerflex ones....

And theyre much easyer to install

[dragon green 4]

As the standard ones last 20 years +

I went with them !

[KIPVW 0]

As the standard ones last 20 years +

I went with them !

 

No Further comment required :)

[Human Joist 10]

Apparently the ones to replace on golfs and corrado are the rear beam bushes. The rest make it a harder drive. I did them on my golf mk2 and will get round to them on raddo at some point.

[winchbietch 0]

I would go with standard bushes.

When i renewed my rear axle bushes i went with powerflex, although there a piece of pee to fit the ride is not as nice.

Driving on b roads giving it the beans the car doesn't flow around the corners as smoothly and almost feels like the back end digs in /wants to step out instead of cornering on rails..

In the not too distant future i will be going back to standard bushes.

 

Paul

[P3rks 11]

I would go with standard bushes.

When i renewed my rear axle bushes i went with powerflex, although there a piece of pee to fit the ride is not as nice.

Driving on b roads giving it the beans the car doesn't flow around the corners as smoothly and almost feels like the back end digs in /wants to step out instead of cornering on rails..

In the not too distant future i will be going back to standard bushes.

 

Paul

 

This..

 

My last C had brand new VW bushes in. Handled like it was on rails. The rear was compliant yet smooth, very direct and I was never ever concerned with loosing the back end. I would throw it around corners and the rear end behaved magically,like I was in full control.

 

My current C has Powerflex in and the rear although stiffer, feels jarring and feels like it could easily go over a bump and loose grip. The ride isn't as smooth either. I have less confidence in the rear end, too unpredictable in my opinion.

 

Standard all the way.

Edited April 27, 2012 by P3rks

[ChrisL 18]

Cheers chaps! Standard it is then.

[Mystic Rado 0]

I had Powerflex in my old Mk2 GTi and they were proper harsh. Somewhere out there, I think on VW Vortex, is a very scientific thread on why you didn't ought to use Powerflex in that application. The gist of it is that they bind under load, which makes sense to me given that fitting them to my Mk2 made it feel ridiculously harsh at the back. When I did the Corrado, I went with standard VW bushes and I'm dead happy with 'em, doing the same on my new Mk2 as well.

 

I was really surprised at how solid the rear felt on my Golf. Not good.

[P3rks 11]

I had Powerflex in my old Mk2 GTi and they were proper harsh. Somewhere out there, I think on VW Vortex, is a very scientific thread on why you didn't ought to use Powerflex in that application. The gist of it is that they bind under load, which makes sense to me given that fitting them to my Mk2 made it feel ridiculously harsh at the back. When I did the Corrado, I went with standard VW bushes and I'm dead happy with 'em, doing the same on my new Mk2 as well.

 

I was really surprised at how solid the rear felt on my Golf. Not good.

 

Yeah, it's called compliance I believe. Suspension components are designed to move and have certain play in them so they can automatically move under pressure from cornering, bumps, groves, twists and turns. This movement which is designed into components is called compliance. It's very complex stuff. Over a bump at a certain speed and angle the rear axle bush is designed to move a certain amount so the wheel caster, camber and toe is affected in a certain way.

 

In short your suspension components should absorb any impact of a bump or movement. The suspension should in theory fully absorb a bump, then its works to re-establish your car’s ride height to its standard ride height. If your suspension components are too hard (or indeed too soft) the car will bounce and/or crash over bumps. This is never ideal because it can cause inconsistent responses from your car's suspension set up. For example If your car reaches another bump before it has settled from the previous one, your suspension geometry will be affected and react differently (become skittish, crash over bumps etc). If your suspension allows your car to crash or bounce it means that your tires are not in full contact with the road affecting your cars handling.

 

Plus the Corrado has a passive rear axle meaning the Corrado's handling was designed with the fact that the rear axle moves in cornering, It's a primitive mechanical 4-wheel steering which is in short the rear axle bushes flexing and moving. By making the bushes stiffer you loose some of this 'compliance' and kill the rear steering what VW spent many moons designing and scratching their heads over.

[Mystic Rado 0]

I think the argument of the guy who'd looked into this in a slightly obsessive way was that in this case, it went beyond just compliance. But ultimately what matters is that standard bushes work very well in that application, poly ones are significantly harsher. Similarly dubious when used in the wrong places up front.