New suspension bushes...

af_thefragile

As some of you might already know I'm planning to overhaul my Puma over the next few weeks.

The suspension bushes are another thing that are shot on my Puma and need replacing. Now I have the option of either fitting powerflex bushes which are much easier to fit and make the ride slightly harder. Or fitting them with the stock bushes which are bit more difficult to fit.

I herd if I fit the harder, stronger powerflex bushes, I would need to inform the insurance about it and it'ld go under modified.

I wanna know if this is true? That would I need to inform the insurance people I've fitted different suspension bushes on my car??

Seperate

HAve you ever driven a car with powerflex in? They make it more than 'slightly harder' in my opinion, in comparison to OE bushes. If you drive the car everyday, they'd be pretty difficult to put up with. They're the job for going around the track though.

E39MSport

I've got superpro in my cruiser and powerflex in another car and I have no complaints.

af_thefragile

Seperate wrote: »

HAve you ever driven a car with powerflex in? They make it more than 'slightly harder' in my opinion, in comparison to OE bushes. If you drive the car everyday, they'd be pretty difficult to put up with. They're the job for going around the track though.

Yeah but they're also easier to fit and they just slide into the suspension arm with a little grease and they apparently even last longer.
The OE ones need to be squeezed into the suspension arm which is a bit of a pain.

I like the hard ride of my Puma, though it does make it quite uncomfortable going through potholes. But it makes it handle quite well... Especially in the twisties.


Anyway, my question is do I need to inform the insurance people about the powerflex bushes and would that make my car modified and make the insurance go up?

Thanks.

Henry Ford III

I wouldn't bother. A 1.4 Puma is not a racing car, and handles fine as standard. Fitting bushes is a p.i.t.a. though, be they OEM or after market poly versions.

p.s. Yes you should inform your insurer.

af_thefragile

Hmm... then i'll stick with the stock OE ones.
They're cheaper but more of a pain to fit.

I was reading on the Puma forum fitting the OEM ones is not a very nice DIY job and I'ld be better off getting it done in a garage.

Fitting the powerflex ones is much more doable DIY job. You need to hack out the old bush and the new one just slides in with a little help from a hammer. Which is why I'm more inclined towards fitting it (atleast the rear arm bushes) with the powerflex ones.

Guess I'll have to call up the insurance and find out with them what difference this would make to my insurance first. Hoping the insurance person knows what powerflex bushes are...

voxpop

I did the wishbone bushes on my old mk4 golf. Supposed to be a pain in the arse - turned out to be pretty easy in the end. Harder to get the old bush out than the new one in.

franksm

My MX5 was better than new after I changed the bushes (all 36 of them !) for Powerflex. No harshness at all, and quite easy to fit DIY - although getting the old bushes out was tough. Figure 4 hours per corner, 8 bushes per corner. Then two more each for the antirollbars

af_thefragile

franksm wrote: »

My MX5 was better than new after I changed the bushes (all 36 of them !) for Powerflex. No harshness at all, and quite easy to fit DIY - although getting the old bushes out was tough. Figure 4 hours per corner, 8 bushes per corner. Then two more each for the antirollbars

Did you need to inform the insurance people about the new bushes you fit??...

That's my main concern. The insurance people classifying it as modified and increasing my insurance...

ianobrien

I know a few people who fitted superflex bushes in their cars, and they didn't last at all. They were gone after a few months!

They replaced them with heavy duty rubber bushes, and the heavy duty ones are still in their machines....

listermint

Id agree with Henry above.

Stick with the standards, powerflex wouldnt make much difference with that model. I doubt you would see a noticeable difference, So why bother.

af_thefragile

I read the poweflex bushes last a lifetime. Or so is the consensus at the puma form. They seem to make the handling much sharper apparently, although make the ride quite harder as well.

What I'm thinking of is maybe getting a new wishbone for the front with the OEM bushes fitted in (so I don't have go through the pains of fitting them in myself) and fit powerflex bushes in back, as fitting OEM in the back is pretty much an impossible DIY job, while the powerflex bushes just slide in easily.

And if the insurance is going to consider that as modified, then I might as well get the Eibach lowering springs (which are Ford approved) to lower the car a bit to fit with the new suspension. Could also consider fitting bigger discs at the front as the current breaks are hopelessly weak. Though then I need to look after my wallet as well. Once you get into modifying your wallet starts getting light pretty fast.