Suspension bushes

It's occured to me that I don't really understand them.

MK2 Golf TCAs / wishbones look like this:

formatting link
Not my photobucket, so not may trainers, duvet or purple bush.

Now, I can understand the ones at the front. They're just pivots, and could me made of near enough anything AFAICS.

The ones at the rear however, aren't. They've got to act like a ball joint or spherical bearing to work properly, surely? If they don't, they're going to limit the suspension travel, which isn't their job. Do OE rubbers have some sort of ball joint in them? I really can't see how the rear bushes can work properly. OTOH the only polyurethane things I've seen have been rollerblade wheels, which aren't really very rubbery at all.

Reply to
Doki
Loading thread data ...

The OE rubbers are much the same, just made of, er, rubber. The suspension design takes into account the flexyness of the rubber bushes and ties it all together with spring rates, shock rebound values etc.

Bunging poly bushes in there makes a huge difference. Not always for the best.

John

Reply to
John Greystrong

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.