One of the most noticeable changes you can make to your car's handling is to replace the old rubber suspension bushings. By now they are well past their useful life and should probably be replaced. This was all covered in a previous DQ article, and one of the recommendations was to replace the stock Tension/Compression (T/C) rod bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings.

For a street driven or an autocross/street car, I think this is the best option. Parts are easy to come by, simple to install and maintenance free. However, I found an unpleasant side effect from these bushings that I thought I would share.

On a recent trip across town, I experienced the failure of my passenger-side T/C rod. I hit a small bump, heard a pop and noticed a slight pull to the right, but didn't think much of it as the car still went FAIRLY straight. I drove the car home and took the wheel off to find the problem. I nearly had a heart attack when I noticed the T/C rod had snapped in half at the shoulder behind the bushing. Not a problem at 30 M.P.H. on a city street, but potentially VERY damaging on a tight lefthander at 60 mph.

I'm surprised we haven't heard of more failures like this. Even though I've attempted to restore the stock front control arm angle by using bumpsteer spacers, my T/C rods are still angled up in comparison to stock. Between that and the stiffer bushings, the T/C rods experience much more stress than they do at stock ride height.

In light of this experience, I suggest modifying the polyurethane T/C bushings. I drilled six 5/16" holes around the perimeter of the center mounting hole. These should allow the T/C rod to pivot more easily and still offer the advantage of the stiffer bushing when braking and/or cornering. I recently replaced both of my T/C rods with a set from a car that had never been lowered. I also had that set Magnifluxed to be sure they were still in good shape. I shudder to think of the consequences of a high-speed failure.

DQ

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