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fatheadjames avatar
fatheadjames
+1y
Edited: 8/7/2006 11:21:58 PM by fatheadjames

Was wondering everyones opinion on control arms using bushings or heims on the frame side. Is one better then the other for a daily driver?
no1lowr avatar
no1lowr
+1y
bushings.
fatheadjames avatar
fatheadjames
+1y
Anyone else?
Low_SST avatar
Low_SST
+1y
ive seen both used with a good outcome so i think its more personal prefrence.
msturg avatar
msturg
+1y
bushings
CommonVan avatar
CommonVan
+1y
bushings
jeebus @ mmw avatar
jeebus @ mmw
+1y
bushings are probably considered "better"


but honestly, ive seen alot of arms use heims, and theyve allways been fine.


taylor
fatheadjames avatar
fatheadjames
+1y
Can anybody give reasoning to why one is better then the other?
msturg avatar
msturg
+1y
in my opinion it would be hard to control caster with heims. I know it would get too much movement before the heims motion couter acted each other, especially if the arms mounted wide. the more I think about it, I don't think you would be able to get too much if any caster change. I've had too many heim joint problems in the past, I've seen a couple of them snap a part because they have so much movement they manage to bind themselves up a little bit.

Granted the binding is a display of a lacking design, but a bushing wouldn't be capable of allowing that much twist to begin with. Hope that makes sense.
BioMax avatar
BioMax
+1y
I know, I've only been here for a few days and I have already ravaged several of your forums...

"Granted the binding is a display of a lacking design" ...Exactly!



There are advantages to both heims and bushings

Heims are a very rigid joint. On a race car heims are used because there is no deflection. In a hard corner most bushings will flex and allow the suspension geometry change (not good for racing.) Heims will not flex (not enough to concern us.) BUT heims are expensive (the good ones)and transmit plenty of noise in to the chassis.

Bushings (of most types) are good because they are forgiving. There are many different bushing designs with more and less compliance (flex) Choosing the right one has been made easy by the aftermarket industry. But reguardless, bushings help to eliminate road noise and do allow some undesireable suspension movement. But if properly designed very tollerable.

On a performance build, I will almost always use a combination of the two.
99% of the time, I will place the bushing on the frame side. It helps to eliminate noise while still having better control over the suspension.