Rubber or Poly for a Daily Driven Corner Carving Street Machine?

66fs said

It is a bit disconcerting to see fore aft movement when you are going backwards, especially when the tires slightly rub on the fender. I've been running graphite poly bushings for decades on more than one "A" body for hundreds of thousands of street miles. The strut rods keep the LCA pretty close, but that is too much of a moment arm for me. And, so no one worries, there is no problem going forward since all the forces hold the LCA in the correct position. The bonding of the rubber is not insignificant, as you probably know from removing them. I do agree with your arguments if you are going to use poly LCA bushings.

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I don't disagree about it being concerning to see the LCA moving around that much. But if the strut rods are the right length the LCA won't move forward or back regardless of the bushing. Unless your car has perfect tolerances, the only way to have strut rods the right length is to have adjustable strut rods. Even if your factory strut rods are the right length, the strut rod bushings will allow some movement.

I have 275/35/18's on the front of my Duster, and 275/40/17's on the front of my Challenger. Both required some trimming and readjusting of the fenders to clear those tires. If the strut rods allowed the LCA's to move in any direction at all I would have issues with the tires rubbing on the fenders or the frame because I have almost zero "extra" clearance.

As for the rubber bonding, it isn't insignificant when new. When worn, I have had LCA's fall right off the pins with the strut rods and torsion bars removed, leaving the pin bolted to the K frame by itself.