# Bushings



## LS2 MN6 (Jul 14, 2010)

Is it worth it to change out all the suspension bushings? I'm thinking of doing it because the car feels very sloppy.

Also I'm wondering are my drive couplers are bad, because I get a small amount of drive-line vibration. Well that and the occasional transmission clunk (when you let off the clutch).

Being the second owner, I'm just not sure where I really need to spend my time with some upgrades to make the car feel more "put-together" than it already is.

Problem is I don't want to spend a fortune.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

If you don't want to spend a fortune get the Energy Suspension master kit and supplement them with Lovells parts. IMHO the Energy subframe bushings are even superior.


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## GM4life (Mar 18, 2007)

Yes its worth it to change out all the bushings. If you want to give up some of the "cushness" of the GTO yes there is a give and take when you do. You do give up some of the NVH. But its not that bad. Since you have Corvette experiance it will feel like that. The car does feel more connected and not sloppy with upgraded bushings. I replaced about 90% of the bushings myself with coulple more sitting in a box. My car is a rainbow coalition of different bushings, I have Energy Suspension, Lovells and Prothane bushings. It made a big differance even with stock dampners and springs. I've also replaced my rear springs with Lovells and have the fronts sitting on the shelf waiting for shock and strut money. I've put my car to the test with plenty of canyon runs and taking it back to the track next month for a before and after comparison. I've posted some threads about replacing the bushings.

These cars do have some driveline slack but if I were you I would bleed the clutch first to see if that subdues some of the clunking.


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## LS2 MN6 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys.

I was thinking a Clutch Bleed is also in order, the guy who owned it before me never bled or changed the fluid. I've done a few "Ranger" swaps to get rid of the absolutely dirty stuff, but I think the Bleed is going to have to happen.

I'll look into those bushings, and I think come summer I'll be replacing a lot of them. Loosing the "float" to get more in contact with the road is exactly what I want.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

I've done what GM4life did. I picked up Energy, Super Pro, Noltec, Lovells and even a Pedders piece or two depending on who had the best piece/sale and replaced everything. It made a really big difference in handling without really any more NVH but definitely more "jump" when going over large bumps in the road. I went with a 20mm drop all around (.78") and that makes a handling difference too. I recently went to the strip and had left air in my drag bags which put the back end up about 1"-1 1/2" and I can really feel the difference cornering. Dropping that center of gravity is very noticeable


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

I'm doing my RR bushing(because they are finally starting to fail with 66k miles and I now have like 2 inches of turn in my wheel that isn't responsive like it used to be), strut mounts, and bump stops hopefully by the new year. I've heard just from that alone it will make the car feel like a new beast. Tax return will hopefully be springs and struts/shocks as well.

Was looking at the Energy bushing kits too. Advance Auto Parts actually has them.


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## LS2 MN6 (Jul 14, 2010)

I see that Pedders has this "Full Repair" Kit which replaces all the suspension bushings, the shocks and struts as well as the rear springs. It costs about $1500. I don't think that's too shabby considering all the hardware.


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## BobS (Jul 28, 2005)

I did the Pedders Street2 kit in April 2010. About $1800 in parts. 
It made a huge difference in the car's ride, whether straight line, or cornering.
Much less nose lift/dive under throttle/braking.

Be prepared for more driveline noise... the clunking noises got quite a bit louder with the more solid rear subframe bushings.


But, what's this about clutch fluid changes affecting the driveline clunking?


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

LS2 MN6 said:


> I see that Pedders has this "Full Repair" Kit which replaces all the suspension bushings, the shocks and struts as well as the rear springs. It costs about $1500. I don't think that's too shabby considering all the hardware.


That is quite a bit more than if you source the bushing out somewhere else. A lot of people drink the red Kool Aide but there are other options that are cheaper and some are even better. As I said the Energy subframe bushing work better and are like $82 vs $164 for the red ones. It's your money.


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