I have the hardrace one on mine and it does give a sharper feel to the steering, only take 15 mins to install them!

 

500 miles in and I have bags more confidence in the front end now.

 

Sounds promising. How much more vibration are we talking about, a commutative amount, or an uncomfortable amount for a daily?

How difficult is it to fit? Do you need to remove the rack? How did you get the old bushes out, need cut them out?

I need to fit steering rack spacers this winter when I lower the car, so may consider the "TEGIWA SOLID STEERING RACK BUSHES", at £65 it's worth a punt.

 

It doesn't give any extra vibration. It just the bush holding the steering rack and the steering rack itself don't vibrate.

Fitting is 15-20 mins.

 

Thanks for the info. Do the old bushes come out easily and can it be done on the car?

 

Yes old bush come straight out easy.

I don't know about other brand, but the hardrace one is 2 piece design so is really easy fit.

 

I unbolted the rack but left it in situ. I then cut the rubber collars off the old bushes with a sharp stanley knife (They're rubber).

Then I popped some spacers under the rack keeping the bush areas clear, removed the washers from the original bolts and wound the bolts back in to their original holes.

This pushed the original bushes out the bottom of the rack about half way.

Undid the bolts, lifted the rack by hand and the bushes were then free enough to push out the rest of the way with my thumbs.

As Dixon says, the new bushes are 2 piece so easy to pop in.

All bolts then go in loosely to locate them and then torqued up.

Took a bit of a while to figure out how to get the bushes out without removing the rack but when I proved the theory, the rest followed quickly.

I think 15-20 mins would be a bit ambitious. Maybe for someone like Dixon but for us mortals that just do this as a hobby, I was happy with an hour and a half.

I think vibration was a bit misleading in my description earlier but you do seem to get more feedback through the wheel.

My car is my DD and I do between 300 and 500 odd miles a week and it is in no way uncomfortable or unpleasant.


I don't think I'll bother with the subframe collars just yet though. That may be a bit ambitious for wet weekends driveway project. I think I'll go with the Hardrace toe arms next to get rid of the passive RWS. That's one of the last things I really dislike and if I can get rid of that for £228 plus the cost of a geo, I think it's a no-brainer. Some people really like the passive RWS, unfortunately I can't get used to it.

 

If you're fitting the rack spacers already, it should only be a case of popping the old bushes out and the new ones in so no extra hassle really.

 

If you are going to fit the toe arms and have a geo anyway Gary why not drop the rear subframe and put the spacers in Whilst you are at it?You can always do the fronts as and when.

 

I like your logic but I'd rather make one change at a time so I can properly assess the difference for better or worse.