Upgrade Your Handling: How to Replace Suspension Bushings on Your Street Stock Racer
If you’re looking for a simple, high-impact upgrade to improve your car’s handling, replacing your suspension bushings should be at the top of your list. Worn-out rubber bushings are a common problem, especially in older or heavily raced cars. They cause unwanted movement in your suspension, leading to sloppy steering and unpredictable handling. By swapping them out for polyurethane or solid bushings, you’ll feel a massive difference in how your car responds on the track.
Why Replace Your Suspension Bushings?
Your suspension bushings act as cushions, absorbing road bumps and keeping your suspension parts in check. Over time, the factory rubber bushings wear down, allowing your suspension to move more than it should. This creates a “loose” feeling, especially during hard cornering or sudden maneuvers, making your car less responsive when you need it most.
By replacing those old rubber bushings with solid or polyurethane alternatives, you’ll drastically reduce deflection (that unwanted movement). Solid bushings are the most rigid, giving you razor-sharp handling, while polyurethane bushings offer a balance of performance and comfort, still reducing deflection but absorbing a bit of road vibration.
Tools and Materials You’ll Need:
- Jack and jack stands
- Wrench set
- Polyurethane or solid bushings (specific to your car)
- Grease
- Bushing press or appropriate removal tool
Step-by-Step Guide to Replacing Bushings:
1. Raise the Car
Start by safely jacking up the car and securing it with jack stands. Make sure you have plenty of room to work on the suspension components.
2. Remove Suspension Components
Identify the parts with bushings that need replacement, such as the control arms or sway bar links. Use your wrenches to loosen and remove these parts. If your car has seen a lot of winter driving or track time, rusted bolts can be a challenge. A torch or cutoff wheel may come in handy here to free up stubborn bolts.
3. Press Out the Old Bushings
Use a bushing press or a suitable tool to press out the old rubber bushings. Be careful during this step—if you don’t support the suspension arms correctly, you could bend them, causing binding that’ll mess up your handling later. Clean the inside of the components thoroughly before installing the new bushings.
4. Install the New Bushings
Grease the new bushings to reduce friction during installation and press them into the cleaned suspension components. Polyurethane bushings need a bit of lubrication to avoid squeaking during use, so don’t skip this step.
5. Reassemble and Test for Binding
Reinstall the suspension components and torque all bolts to factory specs. Before you fully reassemble, check that the suspension arms move freely without any binding. Binding could signal improper installation or bent components, which will hurt your car’s handling on the track. Fix any issues now before final assembly.
6. Lower the Car
Once everything is back together and moving smoothly, lower the car back to the ground and take it for a test drive. You’ll notice an immediate difference in how your car handles, especially during tight turns and aggressive driving.
Final Thoughts
Replacing your suspension bushings is a straightforward upgrade that delivers huge results on the track. Whether you go with solid bushings for maximum precision or polyurethane for a bit more comfort, this mod will give you better handling, more predictable cornering, and improved feedback from your street stock racer. It’s a must-do for anyone serious about performance. You can find bushings for most street stocks at www.laneautomotive.com, www.jegs.com, www.speedwaymotors.com, www.amazon.com
