My car is approaching 90K in mileage and I'm looking to replace some of the suspension bushings and related wear components. I performed a basic inspection and I didn't notice anything obvious (such as a torn compliance bushing). All that being said I'd still like to go ahead and replace them with the Mugen bushings in the front lower control arm. I've already replaced front and rear end links and sway bar D bushings.

While I'm in there, any feedback on what else should be replaced (ball joints, etc). The only other item I'm considering is a front and rear roll center adjuster since my car is lowered on KWV3's about 1.5 inches and I would like to address the geometry.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Hey Elksman,
If your car is lowered and you want to address the geometry,
Roll Center Adjusters Front BJ, RCA Rear BJ's, and adjustable rear Toe arms are an option. Many of the guys on AX here have a lowered suspension and don't run any kind of correction and they have about a 1.5-1" drop on Motons/Ohlins/Koni's. They remain competitive so I chose not to go for this option because it's expensive.

If you're going to replace the front compliance bushings and have to remove the LCA anyway, you might just want to consider replacing the entire FrLCA bushings with polyurethane.


The sets usually come with new rubber ball joint bushing caps which would save you money vs buying completely new ball joints (unless you're doing the RCA BJ's anyway). Sometimes just replacing the grease and the rubber boot housing is enough to give it new life. Unless the joint seems rusted from the inside out I'd just leave them. Or you could purchase a pair of new SPC Ajustable BJ's from me just PM me.


The three main options are Powerflex, Prothane, and Energy suspension. Not all polyurethane is equal, but some are.
I called the manufacturing and the distribution company for Prothane and it turned out to be the same as Energy Suspension. Their designs are slightly different but they have a very nice customer service department and when I have issues, I get replies within two days. They honor their warranty and send me replacements when I need them, I just show them the picture and they have me in their system. For racing that's very reassuring to have that type of support.

Powerflex is softer and more compliant. The insides are grooved which makes installation and greasing a bit easier. They're stiffer than OEM but if I were to replace my full bushings again, I'd go with Energy. The price difference is worth it.
Prothane's kit does not come with an option for lower shock bushings which is why I went with PF. They're slightly cheaper than other options but they're much stiffer.
Energy Suspension and Prothane's kits are similar (same manufacturer) but Energy's kit comes with shock bushings, have slightly different compliance bushings (Energy's are beefier), and cost twice the price. For you this doesnt matter as much because you're using Mugen compliance bushings.
Baero makes front upper control arm bushings for Camber. I use them and they're harder than Prothane and Powerflex - many track guys use them as well. The owner of Baero is on the forums here as well.

Mugen Compliance bushings have the cut out. Made in Japan
HardRace Compliance Bushings don't have the cut out. Made in Taiwan.
Spoon Compliance Bushings. Made in Japan.
I went with Spoon because my S is more performance oriented but still street driven.

I haven't tested any spherical ball joints as my class doesn't allow them, but very person I call suggests I should only use them for non-street applications. I had a lot of feed back from other S2K owners.
Powerflex also requires regular maintenance, but they're cheap for spherical.
Ballade high quality joints but unsealed and need maintenance.
Blacktrax makes a sealed kit which is slightly more expensive but high quality.

I dont know if this helps at all. Good luck with your project!

 

At 90K miles, nothing should need replacement...except *maybe* compliance bushings.

Less is more. Don't replace it if you don't need to.

Remember to clock the bushings when you're done.

If the car (for some insane reason) needs ball joints, buy them from a Honda dealer.

As far as roll center correction...
why?

I ask because you're going to use the risky practice of using aftermarket ball joints to achieve it. Is your use worth the risk?

I guess it would help free up some travel for those poor KW's. A 1.5" drop seems like a lot for that setup.

 

Right! There is definitely potential here to do much more harm than good fixing stuff that ain't broke.

If you don't do this job very right, you will cause issues. Pressing bushings to proper depth, aligning the ones that have an orientation. Clocking everything on assembly. Plenty of things that can be done wrong and cause issues where none currently exist, all in pursuit of something that isn't necessary and isn't going to make anything work better even if its all done perfectly.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

I will take this into consideration. I have been trying to find a balance between "while I'm in there" and "don't fix what isn't broken". I don't own a press currently so I was planning on taking the control arm to a shop to fit the bushing(s), and that was factoring into the decision to replace all 3 bushings
Regarding the ball joints, I was concerned with the reliability with aftermarket units. I'm not heavily lowered, and so for street driving, bump steer is still tolerable, and the handling is fairly stable with no major issues with toe change during suspension stroke.

​​​​​BTW, my KW's are at the maximum height (minimum drop of 1.4 inches) as specified by KW given hub to fender spacing.

Had the Ohlins been an option when I bought my V3's, I would have bought those due to the option to run at and oem level height.

Thanks,

-Matt

 

Wait...-1.4" is as HIGH as KW go? Damn I remember mine having tons of room to go up. I thought they stated 15mm being the minimum drop?

But it was a long time ago, so maybe you're correct. -1.4" (35mm!!) Just seems like a very agressive "minimum" drop. Their website claims 0.9" is minimum...which still seems a little low. I thought their shocks were close to the same height as stock, no?

Anyway...hardrace RCA's are of excellent quality. But you're still putting more bending moment on the spindle. Not really something I'd do unless I was trying to achieve some goal.

Maybe just replace the bushings and take care of whatever else may be worn out (sway bar links? or maybe steering gear backlash?).

That should give you that fresh feeling.

Brand new ball joints and tie rods do always give you that "new car feel" since they'll be so much tighter than yours (even though yours probably aren't worn out). So...maybe consider that later if you're in the pirsuit of more freshness.