need some advice, i want to improve handeling on my 69. i know the polyurethane bushings are better but i wonder about the advantages to the poly ball joints and tie rods. are they better than stock? what could be polyurethane other than the dust covers/boots?
thanks john


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Only the dust covers could be poly on these parts, they might last longer. AFAIK, the rest is metal. Be sure to get graphite impregnated bushings, they won't squeak like the non graphite ones.

Pat Kelly missed a few items. Control arm bushings (8). Ploy bushings ride harder. Unless you are running in NASCAR, use rubber on the control arms. The only ploy bushings I use (black)are on the front sway bar. These do a lot of work.

I run poly-graphite bushing in both the front and rear of my El Camino. I wouldn't go back to rubber. On ball joints and tie rods only the covers are poly. Of course, in NASCAR they use delrin for bushings.

John, obviously if you are trying to improve your suspensions' performance for street driving/cornering, go with the Poly units and avoid the rubber ones. Simple fact...rubber gives a lot - polygraphite gives a tad. As far as riding harder, if you change out the body mounts as well, your ride will be a lot firmer. Just changing out the front and rear bushings alone will not necessarily produce a 'harsh' ride...at least not in my experience. My 70' uses poly EVERYWHERE on its suspension and will never go back to rubber. Its' owner likes it!

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70' Malibu - 383 Stroker that loves Dental Gas! Chevellz Alwayz!

thanks guys, appriciate the comments. they bring up another point, what about body mounts? poly or rubber? john

Guys, I don't mean to say use rubber bushings, but Polyurethane binds up the suspension more than rubber. This doesn't allow the suspension to effectively absorb the bumps in the road. It makes the car hit harder over the bumps because of bind! It is too bad that most people are lead to believe that this is performance. Next time you swap bushings move one of the A-arms up and down. A well performing suspension should move freely and not stick in any position! Do your A-arms do that? I have my own tricks for freeing up the suspension, but one good start is Global-West's bushings! You will get the same perceived ride performance and lose all of that harse jolting that most people think is a race suspension!

John- I purchased a full poly bushing kit for my 72 El Camino SS. My muscle car is veering more towards a race machine, so I like the poly bushings because they provide excellent handling and drivability has been greatly improved. Everyone is right though about the harsher ride, the poly bushings definity don't have as much give as the rubber bushings do. If you want improved handling, go with poly. If you want ride comfort, stick to rubber.