Urethane Upgrades

[JoeyBones]

Needing to do this soon...AKG and IE about the same in price... guess i'll just go whichever way when i pull the trigger. Are there urethane guibos?

[PannikAttk]

Great post...will def refer to it when undertaking this project.

[dnova89]

I have AKG 75D bushings all around except for motor/tranny/CABS

Motor and tranny are OEM, CABs are THR.

I had all this on my car with the stock shocks/springs and it made a noticeable difference, the car was much more fun to drive and handled much better.

Then I finally got my AST 4100's (springs: f550r650) w/ vorshlag camber plates and rogue engineering RSM's

The bushings do squeak all over the place but it's not a big concern for me, I'm pretty sure all poly bushings squeak and I play music all the time so it's not a problem.

Anyway I love my set-up, and M3 Ryan did all the work, if you're looking for someone to do this job in norcal (I'd go as far to say cali in general), take it to him.

[guibo09]

they are just as hard to get to as the sliders, it's just the fact that they work agaisnt each other that is annoying. but if you are at all smart and can figure it out, it shouldnt be that bad.

[bmwpower]

i do have them installed, but i have driven the car enough to determine if they adjustment will hold. however, i believe it will. the serated washers and the design seem good enough to hold it in place unlike the kmac bushings which tend to rotate.

Damn. Seems like everyone here doesn't like them because the difficulty of adjustment, etc.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=162053

[guibo09]

I thought I might have seen people say they change adjustment over time, right? So what do most people use? Do they just install the regular bushings and be done with it?



Do you have them installed? Do they change adjustment over time?

i do have them installed, but i have driven the car enough to determine if they adjustment will hold. however, i believe it will. the serated washers and the design seem good enough to hold it in place unlike the kmac bushings which tend to rotate.

[bmwpower]

From what I've read, I don't think you'll find appraisal on adjustable TABs.

I thought I might have seen people say they change adjustment over time, right? So what do most people use? Do they just install the regular bushings and be done with it?

i do. you get less adjustment but it's a better 'type' of adjustment. it doesnt screw around with roll centers as do the weld-in type. also, it causes less binding on the bushings. finally, weld-ons arent legal for any reasonable SCCA auto-x class.

Do you have them installed? Do they change adjustment over time?

[guibo09]

Does anyone recommend the adjustable AKG TA bushing set over the AKG weld on rear camber and toe correction kit + the AKG regular TA bushing set?

i do. you get less adjustment but it's a better 'type' of adjustment. it doesnt screw around with roll centers as do the weld-in type. also, it causes less binding on the bushings. finally, weld-ons arent legal for any reasonable SCCA auto-x class.

[Schniddy]

From what I've read, I don't think you'll find appraisal on adjustable TABs.

[bmwpower]

Does anyone recommend the adjustable AKG TA bushing set over the AKG weld on rear camber and toe correction kit + the AKG regular TA bushing set?

[StereoInstaller1]

I am all about AKG.

If I wanted anything burlier than stock, AKG is it.

[Schniddy]

Thank you for your email.

Unused items in their original condition can be returned within 30 days for
a refund less a 20% restocking fee. If you feel you must return them based
on information found in a forum, you are welcome to. I think, however,
that you will be doing yourself a disservice. Our products are top quality,
and we stand firmly behind them.

Firstly, we do not know who the original poster ("Aptyp") of that thread is,
and he never contacted us regarding the problem with his bushings. Had he
been so dissatisfied with the product, I would assume the first thing he
would have done would be to contact the manufacturer. However, it is
obvious from the photos of his RTAB's that he installed them incorrectly.
If one does not properly tighten the bushings down, there will be rotation
between the screw and the aluminum, and wear will occur.

"Aptyp" states that we use "the lightest aluminum possible" for our sleeves.
Untrue. We use 6061 aircraft grade aluminum alloy.

"Aptyp" also has other misinformation in that thread, such as:

1) He repeatedly refers to "Derlin." The product name is Delrin. Delrin is
a proprietary material manufactured only by DuPont, and is the hardest
plastic available. We do not use Delrin for motor mounts or suspension
bushings, due to the fact the Delrin is more brittle than polyurethane, and
has a shorter life expectancy than polyurethane.

2) Polyurethane is not a plastic. It is an elastic polymer, which is
actually considered a rubber.

Andy Kritikos, who designs, specs and produces our bushings has over 25
years of experience building race cars that win. He focuses only on BMWs,
knows them inside out, and our bushings are an offshoot of items he custom
produced for these winning cars. Few manufacturers of aftermarket motorsport
products for BMW can say that.

Our products, including our regular and accentric RTABs, are the bushing of
choice for many shops - both in the US and internationally - which
specialize in race car building.

Thank you for your offer of re-posting my response, however it is not
necessary. We think our product speaks for itself, in the world of racing,
outside the forums.

Regards,
Lisa Kritikos
AKG Motorsport
2025 Hebron Avenue, Zion, IL 60099 USA
Phone: ++847-746-8488 Fax: ++435-518-3815

[gone002]

you can make CABs as stiff as you want, but remember to have enough flexibility to allow ball-joints to do what they're supposed to do. Popping aluminum into lollipops is asking for trouble and you may have a catastrophic failure. THRs are quite possibly the best off the shelf solid option, after that you can fab your on spherical bearing CABs.

thats kinda what i was wondering how much play was needed to keep things safe...i could make aluminium ones in like 2hrs ...but i dont want to be draggin a control arm down the road...

[Aptyp]

^that's great to no about RE shock mounts. I may have to try them when time comes.

[buguhrich]

I had the powerflex CABs in for about a year, then realized the left one split in half about a week ago. They were pretty nice but I eventually wanted something stiffer anyway. I ended up ordering the AKG 75D CABs and have had those in for a day. I put some heavy brake caliper lube in them so hopefully they won't squeak like everyone has been saying.

As for the rear shock mounts, I have the Rogue Engineering ones and I absolutely love them. The best thing about them is the bolt setup. You thread the nuts on from the bottom so that when you want to take your shocks out for any reason, you don't need to rip your trunk liner all out.