164: Superflex Bushings

[Peter.Greis@xxxxxxx]

Greetings Alfistis,

Here is my one week experience with Superflex a-arm bushings in my 164:

Replacing them took me a day and the job was pretty strait forward. The biggest
problem was to remove the front bush sleeve in the a-arm. I removed the hole
a-arm leaving the ball joint and the anti-sway bar mount in the car. I worked
on the bushings on the bench using the vice to press the new polyurethan bush
in. Burning the old rubber bushings out worked great and saved a lot of time.
Thanks for that suggestion, Bill. When the wheels were down on the road again
they had too much toe-in and needed an alignment.

On a bad road the impact noises are slightly louder then before and if you are
sensitive to that you should probably stay with the rubber rear a-arm bushings
and just change the front bush to SuperFlex.

The benefits are more subtle. I spend a rainy Sunday on the track and on hard
driving I sensed a quicker steering response, less torque steer and more
stability when braking compared with my worn OEM rubber bushings. I definitely
have less under steer now, going into a curve, but that can also come from
other improvements I've done since my latest track event.

One thing is certain though. The Superflex bushing saved me a lot of money and
works, so far, at least as good as fresh Alfa bushings. Hopefully they will
last longer too.

/Peter Greis
CAR Sweden
164 3.0 V6 -90

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