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Need some quick advice on buying bushes

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:12 pm
by mr-charisma
Hey all,
I need to replace The bushes on my 95' GPX ;
Control Arm - Inner Front (SPF1160K),
Control Arm - Lower Rear (SPF1501K),
Sway bar Mount to Chassis Front (SPF1344-16K),
Sway bar Mount to chassis bushing Rear (SPF2004-19K)

Can anyone confirm that these are the correct parts for my car? I need to know whether I've got the correct bar diameter for front & Rear Sway bars 16mm Front & 19mm Rear...

And also if anyone can tell me whether I'm better off getting increased castor or decreased castor / Anti lift kit - Maximum castor? Or whether you can't know until you have had the wheels aligned properly?
And if possible to explain what effects these will have on my cars handling?

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:00 pm
by spetz
I'd say measure the swaybars with vernier calipers.
I thought FTO's run 16mm and 18mm front and rear swaybars

Either way, when I changed my front to the whiteline swaybar I had to use the original mounting bushes to chassis as the whiteline ones didn't fit.
Original and whiteline swaybar were both 18mm, but this is on a lancer not FTO

With the anti-lift kit, I went, and would recommend going for the maximum castor one. It still only adds 1 deg so it's not a huge change, and in theory it helps turn in etc. It adds more camber to the wheels as you turn the steering wheel more

I can't really comment on individual changes as I got everything done at the same time. Meaning every single bush, swaybars (F&R), mounts, links, strut braces and had Tein SS already

The change was amazing though! The ride is quite a lot harsher but it feels like a comfortable go kart at the moment :)

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:42 pm
by Bennoz
Yep stock sways are 16mm front & 18mm rear. You want: SPF2004-18K

Anti lift bushes are good as Spetz metions, but you really ought have some sort of pillow mount on the strut top, otherwise you get an unspecified amount (in theory its 1 degree) of negative camber as well. With the strut top you can dial the camber amount in exactly. The castor is also in theory 1 degree positive, but its much less crucial as far as wheel aligning goes.

As mentioned, more castor increases turn in ability & precision, but the negative side of it is the car becomes a little more twitchy over bumps & can rail road a little on rutted roads.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:07 am
by mr-charisma
Thanks for the replies :) Just saved me a few dollars & some hassles ... had to make sure I was getting the right parts before I went and picked them up, the guys at Fulcrum quoted me on 19mm rear sway bar bushes, but it didn't seem right to me... If I get some Tein Pillowball strut tops I should be okay to use them with standard struts right?

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:03 am
by Bennoz
Yep they'll fit on stock struts :wink: