Polyurethane vs rubber

[mavtricks71]

What is everybody's opinion on Front leaf springs ....I bought 8 inch springs for the lift. Now should I do rubber or polyurethane bushings?

 

[yevgenievich]

Poly will have less binding

 

[74 Shortbed]

I say Poly also...

 

[Honky Kong jr]

If your gonna do it, do it right .....poly all the way

 

[Rusty Nail]

Polyurethane.

OE manufacturers continue to use rubber because of costs and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) but is very compliant during spirited driving causing poor handling and like your tires, they wear out. Heat, harsh fluids and UV rays will dry out, crack and rot rubber causing vital suspension and drivetrain components to function poorly. Some OE replacement parts use lesser quality grade rubber which may wear or fail quicker than the OE factory rubber. Polyurethane bushings and mounts are resistant to harsh fluids and do not dry out, rot or crack.

 

[bluex]

Get the black poly bushings, they are graphite impregnated (at least energy suspensions are) and will be less prone to squeaking later on. The red ones may look cool but they are the ones that generally need relubed every 6 months to avoid noise issues. I have had the black ones on my truck for probably 4 years or so without a single peep out of them and I only lubed them when they were installed.

 

[Snoots]

Poly wally doodle all day!

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Poly wally doodle all day!

LMMFAO..... true story I was gonna post that lol

 

[mavtricks71]

Ok I guess Poly it is.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Ok I guess Poly it is.

Keep in mind, not all black poly from ENergy Suspension has graphite in it. I wanna say @skysurfer called them for clarification and it was only on heavy duty truck bushings that have it.

 

[Snoots]

LMMFAO..... true story I was gonna post that lol

Better than Poly Grip.

 

[Dougnsalem]

I'll say rubber, since no one else has. Non conformists, unite! Lol

 

[Honky Kong jr]

I'll say rubber, since no one else has. Non conformists, unite! Lol

Lol

 

[skysurfer]

Keep in mind, not all black poly from ENergy Suspension has graphite in it. I wanna say @skysurfer called them for clarification and it was only on heavy duty truck bushings that have it.

True. For the vast majority of ES bushings its the same compound with different coloring mixed in. I tried to nail down what percentage of their products have graphite in them and the ES rep was struggling to come up with a number so I said "10 percent?"
"No, much less."
"5 percent?"
"Less than that."
"Anything for 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickups?"
"Nope, not at all."

 

[Sublime]

What is everybody's opinion on Front leaf springs ....I bought 8 inch springs for the lift. Now should I do rubber or polyurethane bushings?

You might want to consider greasable poly - like http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/hdshackles.htm