Z4 Powerflex bushes

[High flier]

Hi all,

The front axle, left rear bush has given up on life. So obviously both that one and the right hand one need replacing, and I'm going to go for the Powerflex ones. Being hopeless at this sort of thing, I was wondering if I'll need the other 2 (I assume I've got it right that there are 3 in total on each arm???) replacing. I'm just asking as I don't want to take it to the garage, and they tell me that they need to do all 6, when in fact just the 2 would be good enough. Although I'm assuming that having 1 powerflex, to 2 oem on each arm, is a bit pointless, and therefore, I'll need the lot replacing.
Also, roughly how much will it cost? I can see how much the bushes are, but I don't want to garage telling me it's a 2 day job, when from what I can see from youtube and forums, it's a fairly quick job.

Sorry for my ignorance, and any errors in the above, but as I said, I'm not exactly very clued up on this sort of thing!

Thanks in advance!

James

 

[ben g]

I was charged £300 for superpro front wishbone rear polybushes, Superpro rear trailing arm polybushes and 4 wheel alignment on a hunter machine.

Not bad I thought. The bushes alone were about 200 or so from what i remember.

 

[TheHoff]

Poly is too hard for the application. These bushes need to absorb vibration and shock, not transmit it.

I've got Meyle HD ones waiting to be fitted as they are of metalastic construction - they are available on eBay.

Poly is preferred by many people as you don't need a press to fit them.

 

[Stratts]

There are only two bushes on the front wishbones, one each side. The other two joints on the arm are balljoints and not replaceable.

The wishbone bushes are anything from £15 each up to silly money. Powerflex ones are generally around £25 a side. Fitting is a 30 minute home each side for any garage. The hardest part of the job is getting the old bushes off.

If you want to get everything done, just buy a complete arm for £50 a side, and also get the bushes and have a garage replace the whole lot. No more than two hours labour assuming everyign comes undone as it should.

 

[High flier]

Thanks for the replies guys! I always assumed that they were the way forward, as everyone always raves about poly bushes. Perhaps they're not then!

 

[GuidoK]

I wonder how many people here actually have driven them, or have installed them in person for that matter.
They have a better life span than stock (especially certain ones) and have a much better road holding as they are a bit stiffer and more important: they don't get sloppy over time!
If you polybush your whole car, the gains you make in roadholding is quite substantial.
The stock bushings are too weak for a sportscar; they are from a 3 series, a family saloon.
Fitting PU bushings will loose some comfort, but with a lot of brands you can specify the stiffness (mostly starting at shore80A). And for that you get a significantly better handling car.

The ones that make the biggest difference are the front control arm rear bushings, the rear trailing arm front bushings and the swaybar bushings.
These are both the softest and have the biggest impact in wheel geometry wandering off during load/stress.

Poly is preferred by many people as you don't need a press to fit them.

This is also a bogus reason. It is more difficult to get the black insert into the lollypop. There are some redneck ways to do it, but in reality you need a press.
And if you have a press, the metal ones are probably easier than the PU ones as the black PU carrier is a bit wobbely under the press.
If you don't have a press and want to get easy off, get bushings fitted in lollypops. A set (pair) from meyle only costs 50quid.
You probably can get powerflex in lollypops but they are probably more expensive.

 

[jan_tekin]

Fitted them to my antiroll bars with no regrets, Kept the control arms standard and have brought a RTAB limiter kit for the rear as I want to retain some comfort