OEM Trailing Arm Bushings vs. Aftermarket

I noticed the other day that the Trailing arm bushings on my Integra look like they are on their last leg.
I noticed that OEM ones are almost $130 for a pair, and the Energy Suspension bushings are like $50.

Is it better to get the Energy Suspension, or the OEM?
How much differient would the car handle if using Energy Suspension’s bushings?

( I like the idea of polyurethane bushings)

Most say that when it comes to the trailing arm bushings, use OEM or the Mugen ones cuz most of the aftermarket ones tends to bind. With other bushings that are related to suspension, you can use the ES ones.

I’ve also heard that some people use the ES ones and they are happy with it… so don’t know… guess it depends on how hard you drive your car etc, auto x drivers and such.

I recommend the Prothane bushings. It comes with the mounting pieces where the ES one does not. My mounts were a little chewed up so I was glad these were replaced. These pieces are not available from the dealer unless you get the entire lower arm.

bind ?? not when you have spherical bearings =-) hit me up if interested

[QUOTE=Project Dc2;1896916]

bind ?? not when you have spherical bearings =-) hit me up if interested[/QUOTE]

Please pm me how much for those.
Wow that looks like some quality, with bearings to prevent binding.

No good reason to use a spherical setup on a daily driven car… It’s just going to make the car a little less comfortable (as the suspension becomes more solid and less damped) and you’re introducing a part that is going to require maintenance opposed to the stock unit which you just install and forget about for the next 10yrs.

Don’t get me wrong, they are an awesome way to go, but I’d say only for someone who is going to get their car out on the track regularly and really need/want the added benefit.

Didn’t someone here modify his suspension with grease fittings after converting all stock rubber into polyU? Wouldn’t that solve the binding issue (assuming all polyU trailing arm bushings bind)?

[QUOTE=Colin;1896964]No good reason to use a spherical setup on a daily driven car… It’s just going to make the car a little less comfortable (as the suspension becomes more solid and less damped) and you’re introducing a part that is going to require maintenance opposed to the stock unit which you just install and forget about for the next 10yrs.

Don’t get me wrong, they are an awesome way to go, but I’d say only for someone who is going to get their car out on the track regularly and really need/want the added benefit.[/QUOTE]

This is great, correct information.

Yeah I’ve heard some has done that to correct the binding/squeaking problems but have yet to seen a writeup about it… if someone knows a link, please post it… thanks!

I was the person that did this. There is really to write up to it. All I did was drill two wholes into the trailing arms and installed the grease gittings. I then took the ES bushings and with a dremel create a ring around the center of the bushings along with some chanels heading outwards so the grease would get into every area.

Member: Carchitect did the the write, HERE, and HERE are the pics.

^^ Cool! Thanks for the links! :rockon:

i bought OEM bushings about 3 years ago… and when i checked them this spring they were fucked. for the $$ id probably try something else this time.

There is something fishy about this, stock bushings should last a lot longer than 3yrs. Because of the molding and accumulation of dirt a relatively new bushing can look “old” when it is in fact in perfectly good condition. My Mugen bushings are about 4-5yrs old now and look run of the mill but are no where near the end of their lifespan.

(*Mugen bushings are going to be basically the same as OEM for comparison sake. Some even claim they are exactly the same. But more than likely they are the same in every aspect except for durometer.)

if interested in the spherical bearing setup

look us up in the sponsor forum under spoolin performance thanks :rockon::rockon:

well they looked pretty beaten up… and the rubber holding the metal core in place had broken leaving the metal piece floating freely in the middle.

maybe its still ok if the rubber attachment points are broken… but it didnt look ok.

Is your car lowered?

yeah 1.8 inches on eibach sportlines.

Did you compensate for the drop when you installed the new bushings?

I would recommend that everyone does… but I didn’t (wasn’t thinking when I pressed them in and didn’t remember till the car was back together) and my bushings are still fine as I stated above. I’ve seen plenty of friends get new bushings as well and they were fine after 3yrs. The condition his were in are more like the condition of my stock ones after 10-12yrs.