So I got these control arm bushings for my Ion after the original ones in my FE5 control arms failed after 35K. It replaces the soft and not totally filled rubber bushings with a solid aluminum/rubber hybrid spherical bushing in the trailing position and a delrin two piece bushing with a stainless steel cross pin in the leading position. They’re easy enough to press out (have to be pressed though) and the spherical rear bushings press in, the delrin front bushings each tap into place with a hammer and after some grease goes inside you insert the cross pin and affix the washers and keepers. This also eliminates the metal caps that go over the ends of the front cross pins (originally designed to hold the bushing in place)

this kit is designed to eliminate any flex in the bushings which translates to better suspension geometry and better steering response and feedback, and let me shout it at the rooftops, it works GREAT. You get more tactile feedback at the wheel and more immediate steering response and better precision . As a result it’s easier to tell exactly what’s going on at the front tires as you drive. I’ve found a nice increase in cornering grip too, presumably from the better geometry. They claim less wheelhop on hard launch but since I’m still breaking in a new clutch I haven’t tested that yet.

For $300 it’s a little steep compared to about $85 for stock replacement bushings but these are lifetime warranty, OTTP claims they’ll outlast the car itself. And that was the primary reason I bought them.

 

Tactile feel?

I hope you do not hang around playgrounds.....

If you do --- at least obey the school zone speed limit

 

I obey the speed limits in town and go 60 on the freeway. My car doesn’t really endanger anyone

 

HA! Right past 60 on the way up!,,,,

 

Figured I’d update this as I’ve now put about 4000mi on the bushings, I haven’t seen anything weird from the bushings themselves, the car still handles great, though it could stand an alignment for sure. I’ve not gone easy on them, and I don’t plan to, though as my time using the car commercially is coming to a close I think, the miles should accumulate more slowly after New Years. I’m figuring to be at around 190K total by then maybe (13K on bushings).

Ive not seen any improvement in wheelhop from hard launches, though to be fair my dampers are well worn in and my engine/trans mounts are in need of stiffening (filling with window weld). Given that the focus of my build is economy and handling I doubt that hard launches will be frequent enough to worry about anyway