Jaguar Powerflex Suspension Bushes
Anyone who has owned a Jaguar for any length of time with almost certainly have some suspension bushes replaced at some point. Let’s face it we don’t own the lightest cars on the planet and nearly all Jaguars will require some new bushes during their lifetime. Rubber bushes can also degrade on cars in storage as rubber is a natural product that is affected by the environment.
For many years we have advocated fitting Powerflex bushes, they are made from Polyurethane, and they don’t degrade like standard rubber bushes and come with a lifetime warranty. So why don’t manufacturers fit them I hear you cry. Well, that’s probably largely down to cost, sometimes accountants have more say in designing cars than engineers! Also, Polyurethane is still a relatively modern material and uses for it are still being discovered.
When you drive a new car one of the things, you’ll notice is how taught and precise the steering is and how good the ride is too. If you then drove it back-to-back with say a four-year-old car you can notice that it is less precise, and ride is sloppier. That is down to the wear and deterioration of the suspension, and particularly the bushes. In time this leads to increased tyre wear, poor handling and can even have a detrimental effect on braking stability. Polyurethane being a more stable material allows for superior engineering when compared to natural materials and offers more effective control.
Suspension bushes are one of the most common reasons we see for MOT failures. The major cost in replacing bushes is labour as most bushes even in polyurethane one’s are reasonably inexpensive. We feel that fitting Powerflex bushes is one of the best pound-for-pound performance upgrades you can make, especially if you are intending on keeping the car for any length of time. Powerflex supply bushes in two different compounds, their road series (purple) or their black series which is a harder/stiffer compound. Powerflex Black Series bushes are manufactured using a 95 Shore A compound to provide maximum control of chassis geometry. Swallows will recommend which bushes that are appropriate for your type of driving and priority depending on whether you are driving on the track, fast road, or you require maximum comfort or a combination of both.
To help explain we have taken the XK8/R X100 as a case study.
- Front Lower Wishbone Rear Bushes
- Front Upper Wishbone Bushes
- Front Lower Wishbone Front Bushes
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- Front Anti Roll Bar Mounting Bushes
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- Rear Beam Mounting Bushes
- Rear Anti Roll Bar Mounting Bushes
- Rear Axle Brace Assembly Bushes
- Rear Anti Roll Bar Link Rubbers
The front lower wishbone on the X100 is made up of a front and rear control arm, the upper or top wishbone is a one piece triangular ‘V’ arrangement with a bush at each end. The function of the wishbones is mainly to take up horizontal forces that occur when accelerating or braking and cornering. Wishbone bushes therefore take a great deal of punishment, Powerflex replacements make a great deal sense as removing the wishbone bushes is labour intensive and normally requires the use of a hydraulic press.
Anti-roll bars or torsion bars are designed to resist torsion when a centrifugal force pushes the inside of the car up and the outside down. The U-shaped length of metal joins the suspension at either side of the axle via the control arms. The front & rear anti-roll bar mounting bushes prevent, clunking or knocking, symptoms you will likely hear when theses are worn.
On the X100 the rear subframe assembly is mounted to the car via two mounting brackets. To isolate vibrations and road noise while enhancing a vehicle’s handling subframe bushings are rubber or polyurethane bushings are fitted between the mounts, these are known as subframe or rear beam mounting bushes. These are distinctive in the Powerflex range as they come in yellow polyurethane.
Rear axle assembly bushes are important because……upgrading them to Powerflex benefits…..
Anti-roll bar links are short metal rods with joints or bushings at each end. The purpose of anti-roll bar links is to connect the anti-roll bar in a car’s suspension to the rest of the suspension structure. These are again a cause of common MOT failure are they are subject to high wear, so we advise changing to Powerflex bushes to eliminate the problem.
Powerflex bushes are an excellent performance upgrade as they facilitate your car’s grip on the road and improve chassis performance by managing excess movement in the suspension. As a result, your suspension is acting in the manner for which it was designed. It also means your tyres always have better contact with the road, therefore, improving safety and performance.
Click below to see the packages for your model..
https://swallows-jag.co.uk/product/powerflex-vehicle-packages/
