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Trying to Wrap Up Suspension (Bushings, Swaybars, and Endlink Questions)

2K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  IS300 2001 
#1 ·
Hello everybody. So since I got this car around 2 years ago I have been slowly replacing my suspension parts with newer oem or aftermarket parts and now I think I'm ready to tackle replacing my bushings, and possibly swaybars and endlinks. I have already purchased some polyurethane Siberian Bushings.

As of now, I have what I believe to be most of what is needed for the front bushing overhaul (steering rack bushings (3 total pieces), and both of the lower control arm bushings (4 total pieces). A quick side note to consider, I am lowered a decent amount to the point to where the guy who aligned my car suggested I get adjustable upper control arms. However I'm confused as to why he suggested this since he was able to get my camber back within spec. Is this because it'll help the overall steering geometry and allow the car to perform better? I'm not entirely fond of getting new upper arms because they're expensive and I replaced mine a year ago with figs oem units which weren't too cheap either, so I was considering getting alignment correction bushings (spf4385k | Front Upper Inner Control Arm Bushing | IS300 2001-2005 (suspension.com)) Would that be a good idea? And would I need anything else for the front?

As for the rear, I have not purchased any bushings yet because there are many to be replaced and I was looking for some opinions as to what is necessary and what isn't. Do they all need to be replaced? For the time being I wasn't planning on replacing the differential bushings.

Finally for the swaybars and endlinks, I was planning on getting a hotchkis front sway bar and an eibach rear one. What I am conflicted about however is whether or not I should get figs endlinks. Moog endlinks would end up costing around $160 while figs would be $265 with purchase of swaybars. Is the extra $100 worth it for figs?

I guess to summarize everything up:
1) Should I get alignment correction upper control arm bushings?
2) Which rear bushings are necessary?
3) Are figs endlinks worth it?

Thanks for reading my short novel.
 
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#2 ·
1. You really don't need to correct the camber in the front with eccentric bushings. Your alignment guy is wrong, the IS300 doesn't get affected by lowering as much as a strut type suspension in the front. I'd still get the regular bushings since you're doing them all anyway.
2. The rear knuckle bushings that connect to the lower control arm are the most important since they carry the most weight in the rear. My LR one started to make noise shortly after getting my high mileage car....so they're just as important as the front lower ball joint in replacing them as soon as possible IMO.
3. If you're going to race your car and you need to corner balance it at some point then yes but for a street car it's overkill, they are also loud af.

I also recommend diff mounts and rear traction bushings if you want to remove the wheel hop when you try and do a burnout.
 
#3 ·
Hey man thanks for the input.

I wasn't sure about the upper arms because he said that should be the next thing I invest in... I guess maybe he meant if I had plans of going lower I should get them? I don't really know. I'll get the regular ones though instead like you suggested.

As far as the rear knuckle bushing, is that the one labeled as 7 in the diagram below? I'm thinking now that I should just bite the bullet and get most of them (3-7 or 3-9) unless these bushings really don't wear down and don't have much affect when changed to polyurethane. I feel like I might as well do it with everything apart, and I could save money with fewer alignments. As far as the differential bushings is it that important to do now as well? I was going to hold off because it'll add another few hundred dollars to my expenses.

Concerning the endlinks, I was interested in getting Figs only because I heard that the oem styled ones fail prematurely when lowered and I would rather not spend $160 just to have to replace them again. However if this isn't the case I'll just go with Moog rather than Figs.

137634
 
#7 ·
So my reasoning for getting an Eibach rear as opposed to a full Hotchkis set is because even though the Hotchkis rear is lighter and stiffer, its also less durable and more expensive. I'm not too worried about the weight savings in the rear or the maximum stiffness, because I plan on keeping it set to soft like you said.
 
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