LIFING: suspension bushings?

I don't have experience replacing bushings yet, however I have a plan to strip all of my suspension components and bushings at the end of the season (now), when I will visually inspect each bushing in good light.  I will replace only bushings that are split, torn, compressed or otherwise compromised, and I will test all of them for smooth operation without the shocks and springs in place.   Bushing which are less than ideal will get replaced.

My philosophy is to ignore the lifing schedule (with exception of engine refresh and fluids), however then it is necessary to closely inspect parts sufficiently frequent to determine whether they need to be replaced.  For example, when inspecting a GDU (every 20 hours), I will only replace parts that need to be replaced.  

Some race teams will completely strip and rebuild race cars between races.  For me, this is too much effort, too frequent, and I take responsibility if I miss a session at the track.  However for safety sake, my rule of thumb is to tear-down and inspect systems at roughly twice the frequency as the lifing schedule.  Again, exceptions for engine and fluids where I just follow the schedule by the book.  The bottom line is that Radical parts can and do fail before the lifing schedule, although many last much longer.  To save money on parts and stay sufficiently safe and reliable, I would rather stay on top of the entire car instead of relying on parts lifing guidelines.

I tore my suspension apart this past summer, with the intention of replacing all the bushings. After inspecting them, I couldn't find any obvious wear, so I cleaned them and put them back with some CV-2 grease on the sleeve side. 

Hi All,

I thought I would post my suspension bush question here as it’s at least related to this topic.

I’ve suffered some damage from a crash about 5 weeks ago, slipping on some oil that was dumped right in front of my car in a 100mph corner…. Concrete wall 1:RSX 0

I’m slowly stripping parts off and assessing what’s needed to repair/replace things.  About 5 years ago I purchased some new ‘spare’ suspension a-arms from the Praga Team in Europe who were selling their Radical stuff as they launched their new car….

Most of the suspension arms I have from them all have red coloured bushes in the a-arms trunnions, with the exception of the lower rear a-arms which have black bushes installed…

My 2015 RSX has original black bushes in most trunnions, with the lower rear a-arms having white bushes.

I suspect the red bushes were supplied in earlier SR3’s as the spare parts from Praga were originally supplied in around 2010… and I also suspect that later SR3’s have changed those to black (I suspect they are harder material)… while the black bushes supplied in the older rear lower a-arms were replaced in later cars by white bushes (and I suspect they are harder again than the black bushes)… so basically my theory is that all bushes have been replaced by the next hardest material….

Red being the softest, then black, then white…

Can anyone confirm the above, or help me work out whether I need to replace the bushes in the spares I have from ~2010??

Fronts - Original RSX on left vs ~2010 Spares on the right

Rears - Original RSX vs ~2010 spares with tags

… those with ‘eagle eyes’ might notice there is one missing… the original RSX right rear lower a-arm has gone to suspension heaven…

If anyone has any ‘near new’ spares - especially another front upper a-arm, and/or a rear upper a-arm please let me know…. I have one of each missing to make a full set…. Worldwide freight no barrier…. Let me know what you have stashed away…

Thanks in advance for any help…

Rod 

Hi @rjbender, yes you are correct that the color reflects the hardness of the bushing.  I would recommend using the latest bushing, which I believe is black.  The bushings that you have will work but these bushings are not very expensive so you may as well use the latest.