[Bazuka]

Pros and cons of rubber and poli bushes in the suspension?

From what I understand rubber does not last as long but is softer and gives more flex?

Poli lasts forever but stiffer?

Any thoughts or comments?

[Scrawny]

All depends on the grade of poly used as to how soft/hard it is. This has been discussed here before, I'll try and find it

Edit: this talks a bit about it viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39609&hilit=Poly+bushes

[Bazuka]

Cool, I did a search but that did not come up... Answered all my questions.

Cheers.

[-Dex-]

As said, it comes down to the duro of the bush and whether the poly was hot or cold poured, and if it was mixed correctly when in liquid form. Poor mixes and cold pours can cause irregularities in the solidified bush, creating weakness in the material as it is not of a uniform consistency right the way through.

Rubber (IIRC) has a duro of around 70 which is just about bang on for most 4WDs. Some poly bushes can get down around this number making them a good alternative.

Without knowing specifically which suspension bushes you're talking about, some rubber bushes are bonded to the metal tube that the mounting bolt passes through, whereas in poly bushes the tube is not attached and moves independently of the surrounding bush material.

Personally, for 4WD applications, I prefer rubber for control/trailing arms and for shocks (especially Tough Dogs!), but poly (again, depending on the duro) for shackles and leaf spring bushes, if for no other reason that they tend to last longer when the maximum amount of flex is required.