.boB

Has anybody done this on a Miata? I replaced poly with spherical on 1 car, and it made a Huge improvement. The car was so much smoother and easier to drive.

If you've done this, can you point me to a supplier of parts or kits?

grubinski

I agree that the lack of binding in spherical bearings is awesome. I believe the delrin/bronze lined poly combo found as "the full package" at this link may be better for street usage. Not enough binding to matter, and much more practical for the street.

http://sadfab.com/bushingpackages.html

Lots of info in this thread, with the most relevant info in the first post.

https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...cussion-87573/

.boB

Yeah, I read through that. It was interesting.

I would avoid Poly on a street car. They require a lot of maintenance. Without a lot of maintenance, they bind up and wear out a lot more than you would think.

Delrin is not a bad option. I think it's better than both rubber and poly.

I have these nice billit arms from V8R that I'm thinking of using. I picked them up cheap a couple of years ago. They are sturdy, and have good rod ends instead of bushings. But they are heavy, and will add to the unsprung weight.


for the upper arms, I could buy these, chop off the ends, and then modify them to accept rod ends.


Not sure what to do about the rear. I don't have a machine shop in my garage. So fabbing up the spacers and sleeves for bearings is not something I could do.

.boB

What about this? Anyone have experience with this? INTEGRAL-SUSP-BUSHING-SET - Integral Kobe suspension bushings - MiataRoadster - High-performance service...and parts for Mazda Miata Roadsters

Actually, I think Miata Roadster may have all the answers. I don't know why a Google search didn't turn them up before. But they have some pretty good options. They offer complete tubular arm replacements complete with rod ends and uni-ball bearings already installed. Also pillow blocks or press in spherical bearing housings for stock arms.

Next month when things calm down a little around here, I'll give them a call and see what they actually have available, and then order up my suspension upgrade. I'll let you know how it turns out. Gotta get ready for next season.

grubinski

I'm not advocating straight poly, I'm talking about SadFab's poly bushings with a bronze liner. See the video here ...

http://​​​​​​​https://www.youtube.co...?v=6vts22JfoD0

He installs poly on one side, and the SadFab stuff on the other. Even within a short period of cycling the suspension arms up and down, the poly is very bound up. The delrin and bronze-poly combo that SadFab sells is still moving freely.

​​​​​​​I was going to go spherical on my car, but I think I'll use these instead.

movieboy4fun

.boB

I decided to go with these bearings: http://miataroadster.com/keisler-aut...i-3730285.aspx



It's a clever design. The bearing itself appears to be easily replacable. Although, with only track use, I don't expect that will ever be necessary. I ordered them this morning, so I'll let you know how it goes.

.boB

Well, I ordered the bearings pictured above. Made in America, interesting design, easy to replace, etc. BUT, there's a wrinkle. Because of problems with customer installations, the guy will no longer sell the bearings. You have to send him the arms and he will install them for you. That didn't make me happy. I didn't like the idea of tearing the whole suspension apart all at once, packaging it up and shipping it off. That would tie up my lift for a month or two.

So I asked him Bill at Miata Roadsters to look in to Kobe or Nopro pillow block bushings for me. They have to be shipped in from Japan. But these may be a better option. We'll see how this goes.