treimche

I am looking into replacing all of the bushings in the suspension on my 2005 S2000. The car is approaching 150k miles. The front outer tie rod ends are splitting open and need to be replaced for sure. All the other rubber bushings are looking cracked and worn too. Figuring I may as well take the time to change them all and be done with it. I see Ballade Sports has a complete set of spherical suspension bushings that appears to have everything needed? I also see things like roll center adjusters and anti bump steer kits, but I'm not real familiar with the S2000 suspension just yet. I may do coilovers along with this. What other parts should I consider replacing? Upgrading components instead of replacing with stock stuff is something I like to do whenever possible.

spdracerut

I have the Kingpin Machine/Blacktrax Performance spherical bearing setup. I absolutely love them. My bushings were toast at 65k miles; I'd hate to know how yours felt at 150k!

Project S2000: Part 21 - Getting Rid of Squish > MotoIQ - Automotive Tech, Project Cars, Performance & Motorsports

treimche

Thanks for the link, thats some great information there. At $3,000, those Blacktrax bearings are too rich for my taste and for what I need, but its good to know they work well.

Slowcrash_101

Hard race hardened rubber bushings worked amazing for me. Makes the car feel tighter than OEM without any harshness. If you want the best blend of performance and comfort, do hardened rubber on the lower arms and spherical on the upper arms.

DarkArsenic

i replaced all my bushings at 140k with the energy suspension bushings and it made my car feel like new. i put on coilovers after the job but all the other suspension stuff isn't necessary(anti bump-steer, etc etc). just keep in mind even though the bushings are like $400, the labor to do this guy(if you're not doing it yourself) is going to cost about ~$1500 or more because its pretty labor intensive and you need to torch/press bushings. the guy that did my job recommended me the ballade spherical bushings but i had already bought the energy suspension ones, i've never driven on spherical bushings so i can't really comment on how it feels >.<

treimche

I'll be doing all the labor myself except for maybe pressing the bushings in and out. But even for that portion, I'm buddies with some guys at a repair shop so they might either let me use their press or do it for me for a small charge.

You say anti bump steer and all the other items shouldn't be necessary? I see those kits all over the place. Roll center adjusters, rear axle spacers, etc. Its looking like I'll be doing some coilovers along with the bushings so I want to do everything in the suspension all at once. I do have to replace the outer tie rod ends, and it looks like there are options for upgrades there too.

DarkArsenic

its not necessary right away, if you have the money to get all that stuff +coilovers and get it all done while you're in there thats awesome but its not 100% necessary. the roll center adjusters and stuff correct your suspension geometry when you're lowered. i daily and track my S2K ~5 times a year and haven't had problems but i'm not much lower than stock height atm.

https://robrobinette.com/S2000Info.htm

will help you decide if you deem its necessary or not. if it ain't broke don't fix it right xD plus learning how the suspension behaves will point you towards how you would want to change up your suspension, and getting a good set of coilovers are pretty pricey as well (ohlins, kwV3, fortune auto). it all depends how fast of a driver you are, and how fast you want to be going on the track, with how much money you're willing to spend. imo just get the car in good shape, and take it to the track(or HPDE) and decide what you want from there.

mayhem267

B serious

Polyurethane is not a very good match for moving suspension parts.

Hardrace sells rubber bushings if you're looking to do this within a pretty limited budget.

Just make sure you properly clock them.

Its a Honda sports car. So...the stock stuff is REALLY good. Its expensive, however.

Again...any applicable rubber bushing should be clocked or you'll damage it quickly.

Why are your tie rod boots splitting open at just 150K??? Did someone use metal tools on them, or spray them with brake cleaner?? Or do they just see a lot of sun exposure?? Always buy Honda OEM tie rods/ball joints if you're planning on replacing them.

treimche

From what I've read so far, I think I'll stay away from polyurethane bushings completely.

About the tie rod boots, I'm not sure. I've only had the car for under 2 years, and they have looked like crap the whole time. Supposedly the car was originally a California car, and there's been some questionable things done to it, so maybe the combination of miles, heat, and brake cleaner?