polygraphite suspension help

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7demon2

7demon2

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i have been reading alot of the posts on here about different suspension setups. i am puzzled about the polygraphite bushings though. i had read that the polygraphite bushings don't squeek!....i have some on the swaybar of my gmc, and no problems. some of the posts on here said that they did? :scratch: i would like to here from some more people out here on this......i am have been looking at performance suspension technology peices the whole setup, springs, bushings, everthing....anybody have any experience with these?.......
 
Yes, I had the whole PST Polygraphite kit on my 71 Dart along with a 1 1/8" sway bar, MAN! THAT THING CORNERED LIKE IT WAS ON RAILS! Sorry, had to shout it cause it really did handle better than any Corvette or Porsche I ever rode in or drove (and yes I drove many) only thing I DIDN'T like was the ride. If your going to keep the factory seats in it IE bench or buckets, you'll not likely get to truly enjoy the capabilities of the suspension (your body will tend to be pulled off the seats due to centrifical force) on the other hand if you swap in a set of racing seats RCI for example (thats what I had in mine) then you wont be walking very well after an hour behind the wheel and your chiropractor will get his kids thru college, but man will you be able to have fun in the corners. As far as squeeking, poly urathanes are the ones that were/are notoriuos for squeeking, PolyGraphite has actual graphite impregnated in the urthane to help prevent squeeking, and my 71 never squeeked, although I didn't get to long term test it due to the destruction of that Dart on a slippery icy highway in November of the first winter after I made the swap to the PST parts.
 
that is about what i had expected krabysniper. i was wondering if you had the kyb shocks as well with it? if so was the ride tight but not like a brick but tight like a new vette tight?
 
I put one of the P-S-T kits under my 72 Swinger about 1993 or so. I was pretty happy with it. I scored a complete suspension from a wrecked 70 Swinger 340 and added those pieces at the same time. I really liked the way the car drove when I got done. The next big step would have been decent tires and figuring out how to make about 100# go away from the front end without losing the A/C. I ran the KYB shocks and never minded them. Yes, they are valved "aggressively" if not a bit stiff.

My only caution, and it is a small one, is that the ball joints and rod ends seemed to be generic import parts of unverifiable quality. That being said I would not hesitate to use one of their kits again, and in fact probably will on my 65
 
The front end in my 68 Barracuda was tight with the stock bushings and I had new KYB Gas-A-Just shocks. When I did the disk brake swap I figured I would upgrade to polygraphite bushings. Within a month or two after installing the polygraphite bushings the strut rod bushing started squeaking so badly I was embarrassed to drive the car in a parking lot. I could add lube and quite them down but the sqeaking always came back.

I replaced the strut rod bushing with stock replacement rubber ones from Moog and haven't had a squeak since. I will go back to rubber in the control arms if they start squeaking or when the are worn out.

Also, I never noticed an appreciable improvement in either the handling or the ride harshness. My recomendation would be to save a couple of bucks and rebuild the front end with stock rubber parts. They will last longer (remember the poly slids on the shells and can't be greased so they will get looser sooner than rubber), you won't have any questions on whether they squeak or not and unless you road race your car there is not enough of an improvement to make a difference.
 
thanks guys for the input on this....dgc333 your responce to this is the reason i really started this thread. you seem to be the only one that had the squeaking? i wonder what could have caused this to happen? i haven't had any squeaking with my gmc yet, and hope not to! interesting though none the less.........
 
I have heard lots of people on other forums complain of squeaking even with the graphite impregnated bushings. FWIW, when they were new the surface felt slick but when I removed them the slick surface was worn off and they didn't feel like there was anything that would help them slide.
 
I have heard lots of people on other forums complain of squeaking even with the graphite impregnated bushings. FWIW, when they were new the surface felt slick but when I removed them the slick surface was worn off and they didn't feel like there was anything that would help them slide.

Even with the complaints I heard I figured it couldn't be as bad as people said and the improvement in handling would off set the complaints. When they made my car sound like on junker and I got no real noticeable handling improvement. The KYB's and the .890 torsion bars are what made the big difference in handling.
 
I have heard lots of people on other forums complain of squeaking even with the graphite impregnated bushings. FWIW, when they were new the surface felt slick but when I removed them the slick surface was worn off and they didn't feel like there was anything that would help them slide.

Even with the complaints I heard I figured it couldn't be as bad as people said and the improvement in handling would off set the complaints. When they made my car sound like old junker and I got no real noticeable handling improvement out they came. The KYB's and the .890 torsion bars are what made the big difference in handling.
 
I'm not that far on my Dart, but I run the polygraphites on my RR and the UCA's squeek. I installed O.E. rubber on the lowers. Maybe I didn't use enough of their grease? But their's self lubricating. They don't sqweek on the sway bars or rear springs.

Tom
 
I put them in my 65 Barracuda ,all the control arms,strut rods and rear spring bushings . They squeek the car rides to hard and I'm not happy with them at all. I feel every little pebble in the road now and it's embarassing to pull into a show squeeking over the skirt from the road to the parking lot.I guess if you are going to road race the thing or you're building a track car they are good but for a car that you are going cruising in I would recomend OEM rubber. You will get a much better ride and fact is the rubber ones lasted for 30 some years so whats the problem with them ? It's real easy to be sold this bill of goods about all this performance stuff . What you really have to ask yourself is this: How do I plan on driving this car ?
 
valiantwagonguy said:
I put them in my 65 Barracuda ,all the control arms,strut rods and rear spring bushings . They squeek the car rides to hard and I'm not happy with them at all. I feel every little pebble in the road now and it's embarassing to pull into a show squeeking over the skirt from the road to the parking lot.I guess if you are going to road race the thing or you're building a track car they are good but for a car that you are going cruising in I would recomend OEM rubber. You will get a much better ride and fact is the rubber ones lasted for 30 some years so whats the problem with them ? It's real easy to be sold this bill of goods about all this performance stuff . What you really have to ask yourself is this: How do I plan on driving this car ?
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now that is exactly what i need to hear. it seems that you can get away with the poly graphite on certian places. but the control arms and places that bind alot are the squeekers! the driving thing really hits home! that is what my wife would have told me as well. thanks for wakeing me up to reality! :thumblef:
 
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