Energy Suspension bushings

[Kenshin X]

major thread revival here guys (haven't done one in a loooooooong time) just ordered my front and rear bushings and engine mount inserts from ES supplier in the US and expecting it in 6 to 10 days... booking in for the mechanic to do the swap in the next 2 weeks (hopefully before the cruise so i can go hard )

i'll keep u posted to see how this goes :)

[Kenshin X]

i just managed to get those energy suspension bushings in but only the fronts control arm.

my mechanic said that they were hard to get out (the OEM ones) but the ES ones were a bit loose fitting. he said the oem sleeve in the middle fits ok but not as what he had expected. He thinks the OEM ones are the better one compared to the ES ones.

then he looked at the rear ones and first said they were wrong. but he read the instructions and made sense but he refused to do it... he recommended me to go to a suspension place (pedders) to do it.

i asked him about the engine mounts and he said they wouldn't be a problem fitting in. he said to tell whoever i brig them to to do it for me as well.

did u guys have any problems installing these in? and who would u guys recommend to install them for me? im just so confused and abit dissapointed to be honest. i did my research and read on the thread about these and i thought these would be a perfect and easy fit... not so much for my mechanic... :(

he also mentioned that when his son test drove it, he noticed a creaking noise when braking. i haven't picked this noise up which probably meant the bushes need to be settled in...

cant say atm how the handling is. its wet and i need to drive it in straight roads in dry weather to know... i'll let u guys know asap though

[Kenshin X]

my verdict on these energy suspension bushings...

front control arm and rear control arms:

steering has improved quite a fair bit in my opinion. as runxz said, yes it takes less effort for the steering. I didn't really hear any increase road noise but my mrs said that the wheels over bumps feel like the tires are of a higher pressure. but i havent touched the tyre pressures for 1 month now...

engine mount inserts:

engine is much more responsive and eliminated all the movement of the engine. for me from 3k to 4k rev u can feel the engine vibrate thru steering and the chasis but nothing too annoying. the most "annoying thing" would be the 10% maybe even 15% vibration going thru the car when it idles. its loud enough to annoy the hell outta my mrs and she gets on my nerves too about it haha. but i think we will both live with it. also u may want to duct tape the hook that attaches ur bonnet to the car when closed. i found the extra vibration going thru rattles the bonnet. duct tape will help absorb the vibration and stop the rattling. engine response through lift is quite remarkable. i dont really feel the car accelerate/decellerate as much no more.

conclusion: worth your money but be prepared to hunt for the vibrations that weren't there in the first place :D

yes i have bored you havne't i? ZZZzzzzzzzZZZzzZZzzz................. -_-

[runxz]

Gald to hear you got through. My Mech did say it was quite a bit of work to get them in. He said he had to cut out the fronts but the rear was simple. Have fun.

[J0s3]

The problem that I am having is that the metal sleeve that is supposed to be re-used in the vertical bushing of the arm is straight and it does not have the oval-like bulge in the centre so when I try to put the sleeve into the Energy centre bushing 3304 (according to the instructions) it is not a snug fit and it has a lot of play in it (this "play" is seen to the right of the OEM sleeve in the picture below). I don't think it's supposed to be like that and I was wondering if people had similar problems and if they did, what was done to overcome such problems.

Just for the record, I had bought a RH control arm so that I could retrofit it without having any major downtime with my car and let me just say, it's a good thing I went this route if not I'd be in some serious trouble.

Looking forward to any positive responses

Hey, I'm having same problem as you, my theory is that maybe that bushing was already replaced for one diferent fron the OEM bushing. I'm not completely sure how am I going to solve this problem,but, I was looking to give to one of the old horizontal bushings the form of the sleeve so I can use it. Do you think it is safe?

[liszabailey]

Hey guys just got in my set of energy suspension bushing for the front and rear suspension. I hope they fit. I will let you guys know how it works out. I bit the bullet and went ahead and got front end control arm bushings, rear axle beam bushings, a set of engine mount inserts and an aem CAI (matrix xrs) with a water bypass valve. Im sending the car in on monday so i will update u asap. monkeywrenchracing.com has them all in stock.

later Scott

Hi can you post some pictures of your car installed the suspension bushings? can i see it? I just wanna see it thanks!

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Lisza Bailey

Edited January 8, 2011 by liszabailey

[brandonmillsap]

I was able to find some OEM “oval” sleeves from an old control arm that was on a vehicle and I’ve posted a picture of the Energy Suspension front control arm kit w/ the OEM sleeve since there was not much information on this kit’s installation on the Internet.

great photos. do you know how long an installation of a control arm kit takes? Is it possible if I do it on my own? Thanks for sharing.

[Kenshin X]

I was able to find some OEM “oval” sleeves from an old control arm that was on a vehicle and I’ve posted a picture of the Energy Suspension front control arm kit w/ the OEM sleeve since there was not much information on this kit’s installation on the Internet.

great photos. do you know how long an installation of a control arm kit takes? Is it possible if I do it on my own? Thanks for sharing.

u need the proper tools to cut and squeeze out the OEM bushings first, then squeeze/press the poly urethane ones in. if u dont its going to be a bitch to get them in. my mechanic didnt have the right tools and took him the whole day just to get the front ones in. very hard to take pics... as they are in the control arms