If you do go with non rubber bushings bushings, polycarbonate is quieter than eurthane. Also, try to find a way to install grease fittings in your lower control arm bushings. There is a gap between the outer shell and the bushing with the non rubber style bushings, and water collects in there and rusts the outer shell. If you can keep it greased, the rust will not happen.

Vader, I think you mean polygraphite is quieter, since polycarbonate is something completely different (it's lexan for windows).

I think the biggest handling differences people see are from old junky parts, to new tight parts.

I have rubber in my front suspensions (all rebuilt) in my '68 and '64 Darts and Project V. The only places I have poly are in the sway bar mounts/endlinks, and in the rear leaf mounts/shackles. Ask anyone who has ridden with me or seen me on a road course how my cars handle.

I have not tried Poly yet, but may try it on Project V at some point. I would use a "Dutra Disc" (search this site) to keep the LCA pivot located.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I think chunky style peanut butter be an improvement over what's left of the original rubber in my '64 ....

I suppose you could make bushings out of polycarbonate. Unfortunately they would be about as stiff as Delrin, but probably would wear out considerably faster. I had been so startled by polycarbonate that I looked things up on Matweb and found that there was someone selling a polycarbonate-polyurethane copolymer, basically the two sorts of plastic mixed together. That did look like it would be OK for a bushing, but I don't know if anyone actually sells bushings made from this. Apparently you can also get a sort of rubber that is a mixture of polyurethane and polyester, which might do OK for bushings unless you bought it in '70s leisure suit plad.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

Polycarbonate has bad wear properties. Any sliding in the suspension would probably eat it up very fast.

Another polymer (expensive) that might work is PEEK (poly ether ether ketone), which is very stiff and strong, and has good wear properties. Delrin is similar in properties but cheaper and slightly more compliant. Urethane is cheap and more compliant than these exotic materials, which is why they use it.

I actually wonder how teflon (Kel-F or PTFE) would work. That has some compliance, and has very low friction - pretty cheap and easy to machine too.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Dart270, I did mean what you said (but am afraid to type cause I might get it wrong). Just for the record, I put eurathane front end parts on my slant Dart, and polygraphite parts on my 360 car. No problems with the polygraphite, but the LCA bushings on the slant car collected water, and rusted the outer shell, seriously. The other might have rusted too, except I seldom drive it in the rain, and never in the snow. I replaced the rusted parts with OEM rubber. The biggest change in handling came when I put in solid front strut bushings, made of aluminum. It is a little rough, but every maneuver, including braking is more precise. Except off course when the blankity blank contaminated rear brake shoe causes the rear to lock up.