Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I will soon be fitting a new chassis to my Sprint and new suspension bushes etc etc for road use, not racing.

The Tony Thompson website suggests that the quality of rubber bushes is not what it used to be and advises the use of polyurethane instead.

The impression I get is that polyurethane is more harsh than rubber but has other advantages such as ease of future removal due to the use of stainless steel inserts.

What is the collective experience? Have you fitted polyurethane? would you rather have fitted rubber?

lotusfan
72 Sprint

I have fitted polybushes all round to my S4 dhc. It has made things feel a bit more precise (fitted polybushes for the steering rack mount as well). I have not noticed any more harshness in the ride or steering.

If you are up from scratch then go for the polybushes

I just replaced the upper front bushes on my Elan. I discovered the ones I got when I restored the car were cheap knock-offs that a well know California supplier sold me. The cheap ones had outer tubes that were straight where the originals and the ones I just got from a RD Enterprises have the outer tubes turned in to hold the rubber in place. The cheap ones allowed the rubber and therefore the control arms to shift.

I considered the polyurethanes and if I was not tight on funds this year (engagement ring and all the expensed that follows) I would have gone with them. Ray at RD Enterprises said that since the rubber is so thin on the bushes the polyurethane buishes do not make the ride harsher. My 1988 Ford Mustang is much harsher with Polyurethane bushes, but the original rubber ones are ten times thicker than the Elan.

Rob

Opinions seem divided on this one but I have been told that the ride does feel more harsh with polybushes because the flexible part of the bush is so thin.

I think I lean towards the originals because one of the more impressive things about Elans is the quality of the ride ......certainly for a sports car.

Although the quality of the bushes is perhaps not what it was they are going to last pretty well assuming you don't have too much oil leaking on them

This winter I fitted polyurethane bushes in both front and rear suspension , differential mount, rollbar upper and lower bushes plus solid brackets for the steering rack mount.
The poly bushes are much thicker then the original rubber ones so there shouldn't be any difference.
And there isn't. The ride is a little more precise but certanly not more harsh.
I got the whole set from Tony Thompson.

Hi

I had polybushes from Mick Miller on my Plus 2 and liked them. I did not notice any additional harshness, and when I drove the car hard It handled well. I am putting them back on the rebuilt car. The only thing that worried me about them was the steel washers that went on the front wishbones, because they padded things out and did not leave much for the nylocks to get hold of. Having said that they never came undone. I put the bushes in using copperslip.

Berni

Hi

I tried something different....Bushings in nylon at all places except outer a-arm.
I don?t think thats to hard but going on 165/70 rubbers for the moment improves that I think. If You have a lathe or know one who has...I?ts done in zero time.

I?ts very precise and a delite to drive now but of course everything is changed or new underneath the body.


Cheers

Johan