My da came with Blox LCAs and since the day I got the car the bushings on them have been shatty. Its kind of on the bottom of my list of things to do, but should I replace the bushings with a different brand? I’ve heard Energies would have to be trimmed and it’s really not worth it. Anyone agree with this? I don’t have much monah to spend on new lca’s since I’m saving up for a GC/Koni set up and F7 lcas are a little out of my budget at $260/shipped. I know you get what ya pay for but I’m just wondering what I can do about these broke ass bushings hahaa
I too have blox lca and had 2 sets. One gold and now silver and the bushings they do suck. There’s no need to even by the same replacement bushings that blox makes cause it will happen again. What I’m thinking bout doing is just get the stock lca ones back and buy the energy suspension lca bushings for them…
Functionally aftermarket LCA’s are more bling than performance. Sure, they’re lighter than stock, but that weight difference is only going to make a difference for 0.01% of people. And even those of us who may benefit from the weight savings may opt still not to use them due to the fact that they aren’t as strong as stock. At least with stock if you have an accident they should just bend whereas with aftermarket aluminum pieces there’s a higher chance of actual breakage.
Nothing wrong with ES bushings, and no they don’t need to be trimmed. I’ve run them on a few DA’s and never had any complaints. They’re definitely the best bang for the buck bushing. I’ve heard (and seen) many instances where the ES bushings will dry out and crack after a few years. This was not my experience though. I had them on my car for at least 3yrs as a daily driver and there were no signs of deterioration. For the 5yrs after that they’ve seen limited mileage, but still look fine. (Mine are black btw, and I have a hunch the black may be more durable in regards to drying out than the red ones)
My car is basically just a track day car, it almost never gets driven, except to the track. If I thought there was any significant benefit to an aftermarket LCA, other than looking fancy, I’d be going that route. However, I’m planning on replacing my ES bushings with a combo of OEM, Mugen, and/or Hardrace bushings.
Imo there are only 3 options for lcas. Stock with poly bushings, itr,box style lca but u need itr rear suspension. And function 7 lcas for two reasons: the bushings have lifetime warranty snd made in usa, and they have sway bar sdjustability option as well.
I am currently dealing with this(red ES). my fronts are starting to show signs or tearing after 2 years of track use and street abuse… My Blox bushings where missing whole chunks in that period of time. I had thought about hardrace bushings for the next go round but like you said, the price makes me just want to pick up a set of black ES bushings instead. hearing yours have lasted twice the time as mine have only makes me want to go that rout even more.
There are lots of options as far as bushings go. just a matter of what purpose you teg serves. you dont want to use spericals on the pothole ridden streets, just as you probly dont want soft OEM bushing on the race track.
OP, if funds are realy an issue. why not just replace with a junker/used OEM arms, with a decent bushing of course and save that money towards the F7’s
That’s my plans right there…50% off at the junk yard is coming up this week or next week and I’m planning to look for some…if I do get a set…es bushings are going on and heck…I’ll just clean the stock lca and paint em to make em to have looks too…