Anybody here have Unobtanium Motorsports Nylon bushings installed on their cars?

F

ForcedInduction

New Member
Dec 26, 2006
125
0
0
Chicopee, MA
I bought a set off Mr.Sinister about 2 weeks ago and have been trying to install them with no luck. I disassembled the whole drivers rear suspension and have pressed most of the bushings out. Well after I installed the rear upper control arm bushings from the outside of the arm like it shows in the manual and tried to fit it into the car, it wont fit. Now the arm is too wide. I want to see if anyone else on here can give me a tip from experience or can at least pin point me to somebody who had these installed. Also if you know how to reach the developer(s) of this kit, that would be great info as well. This is my issue:

p911065_1.jpg


p911065_2.jpg



This is what the bushings look like along with the manual:

http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushings.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushing.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushings_Manual_1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushings_Manual_2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushings_Manual_3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~xsboost-web/Bushings/Bushings_Manual_4.jpg

Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
F

ForcedInduction

New Member
Dec 26, 2006
125
0
0
Chicopee, MA
The old bushings came out very easy and it was easy to install the new bushings and the arm doesn't even have any indents in it, so I doubt the actual arm got bent.


Both of the bushings are pressed in flush and cant move any more.
 
Piratetip

Piratetip

Far From Maddening Crowds
Staff member
Super Moderator
Dec 30, 2005
1,177
69
48
39
MKE, WI
I have Unobtanium for the #4 bushings as listed in the manual, they fit just fine.

In the Rear Upper Control Arms I have Superpro's.

Here is what they look like installed, with a spacer on the inside.
Although I believe the Unobtanium don't require spacers.

Your arm should fit, are you sure nothing got bent?
 
F

ForcedInduction

New Member
Dec 26, 2006
125
0
0
Chicopee, MA
I'm gonna try measuring the arm tomorrow and compare it with the passenger side arm which is still in the car. But to me it just seams like I used the wrong bushings, but according to the manual I didn't.


I have some zerk fittings on the way and will be installing them, this was just a test fit.
 
Asterix

Asterix

Lurker of Power
Mar 31, 2005
469
36
28
Vienna, VA
See here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59173

And here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showpost.php?p=836518&postcount=22

Don't put that nylon bushing in your #1 arm unless you want the arm to break.

The nylon will be fine in the upper arms.

Did your arm spring open when you first took it off the car? If you can squeeze the arm by hand to get it back in, that should be fine. The aluminum will take some flex. I suspect the front uppers and rear uppers are identical, but make sure you didn't get them mixed up if they're different.

Asterix
 
Sawbladz

Sawbladz

Supramania Contributor
Mar 14, 2006
1,727
0
0
Oshawa, ON, CA
adampecush;911973 said:
Another reason I'm glad I went with new stockers. Some compliance is a good thing...
Click to expand...

I recently did my front bushings in all polyurethane and it made the ride considerable more harsh. I would not recommend nylon for anything but a track car. I just hope that when I finish the job with the poly in the rear that I can still handle driving the car.
 
spinningheadboy

spinningheadboy

Ich bin gegan alles
Apr 1, 2005
440
0
16
idaho
Sawbladz;912059 said:
I recently did my front bushings in all polyurethane and it made the ride considerable more harsh. I would not recommend nylon for anything but a track car. I just hope that when I finish the job with the poly in the rear that I can still handle driving the car.
Click to expand...


I agree with you. I'm all poly up front including the subframe mounts and the car is much tighter and rougher. I'd never put nylon on the car....time to buy a kidney belt. :)

cwd
 
W

Wiisass

Supramania Contributor
Apr 24, 2005
735
0
0
Philly
www.theoryinpracticeengineering.com
Asterix;911859 said:
Don't put that nylon bushing in your #1 arm unless you want the arm to break.

The nylon will be fine in the upper arms.

Did your arm spring open when you first took it off the car? If you can squeeze the arm by hand to get it back in, that should be fine. The aluminum will take some flex. I suspect the front uppers and rear uppers are identical, but make sure you didn't get them mixed up if they're different.

Asterix
Click to expand...

Yeah, nylon probably isn't the best idea for suspension arm bushings. Like Asterix said, the upper arms should be fine, at least the fronts because they definitely share the same pivot axis. The rears look close but might not be perfect and if they aren't perfectly inline the suspension will bind and there will be higher stress in the arms in directions which they weren't designed for.

As for the other arms, I wouldn't use nylon or delrin in them. The arms do not have a constant pivot axis and this will put a bending load in the arm. That's why that other arm broke.

Oh and rear arms and front arms are different.

If you do put them all in, make sure to keep them well lubed at all times and check the arms for any signs of failure whenever you change the oil at a minumum, but I would check a lot more often if you drive the car regularly.

Poly bushings are really the better bet for most supras. But they need to be properly designed as well. I hate the way the stock bushings do not allow the arm to rotate freely around the pivot, this creates an additional spring rate and damping at each pivot point. I think bushings should be allowed to freely pivot around their axis. This may not help with the slightly harsher feeling from stiffer bushings, but it will allow the shock and spring to do their job properly.

But I don't know, spherical bearings are still the best way to go, but probably not for most people on here. They just have freedom of rotation, the ability to maintain alignment settings (modified of course by suspension geometry) throughout the range of wheel travel, and they add minimal friction damping to the system.

Tim
 
F

ForcedInduction

New Member
Dec 26, 2006
125
0
0
Chicopee, MA
So today in the morning before going to work I decided to measure and see if the arm is bent and it was the same width as the one thats still on the car. So I took a big hammer and hit the arm where the ball joint is and it popped right in. It was just a really tight fit. I guess it was so tight that I couldn't push it in with my own force.

I wish I saw that post about the guy breaking a toe arm before I bought the bushings, too late I guess. Do you think it would help opening up the inside of the bushing so the pin slides even easier? I do plan on installing zerk fittings, I'm just waiting for them to get here. Should I install zerk fittings on the 2 knuckle bushings too? Looks like a lot of material to drill..
 
Asterix

Asterix

Lurker of Power
Mar 31, 2005
469
36
28
Vienna, VA
ForcedInduction;912270 said:
I wish I saw that post about the guy breaking a toe arm before I bought the bushings, too late I guess. Do you think it would help opening up the inside of the bushing so the pin slides even easier? I do plan on installing zerk fittings, I'm just waiting for them to get here. Should I install zerk fittings on the 2 knuckle bushings too? Looks like a lot of material to drill..
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, if you open the toe arm bushing enough so it can rotate as it has to, the fit will be so sloppy it'll be worse the the stock rubber.

It probably will hurt a bunch, but what you should to is buy the 8 lower bushings for the rear in polyu from RK and eat the cost. It'll work far better than the nylon.

Same goes for the front lower bushings. Nylon just doesn't have the material fortitude to handle the loads for very long, and is not sufficiently pliable to handle the misalignment inherent in the system. Toyota placed the mounting ears expecting their rubber compliance bushings, so they're not all that accurately placed. You just can't use something that requires better placement unless you're willing to move your ears. Plus, front caster is adjusted by moving the front lower pivot points, which also introduces misalignment.

Sure, polyu is way rougher than the stock rubber was even new, but that's the price for improving the handling tremendously.

I'll second Wiisass: if you do use the nylon, watch it like a hawk, and watch those welds!

Asterix
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom