Thread: suspension kits

Dont forget your A frame ball joint if it hasnt been done yet or for a while. M R Automotive sell a good greasable, adjustable ball joint.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

There is no such thing as nolothane (as a material). Nolothane is a brand name for a particular brand of polyurethane bushes.

Many who knock polyurethane have never even seen a SuperPro bush. Superpro are extremely supple, unlike most other polyurethane bushes. IME they are very well designed, ride better, flex the same or better and will outlast rubber.

It is very hard to get good quality rubber bushes these days - even from OEM suppliers.

The problem with urethane is that it is susceptible to climate change, when urethane products are produced they go through a rigorous curing procedure which involves a controlled environment of humidity and temperature.

I deal with Bayer and 99% of our product is some types of polyurethane being ether 75 shore hardness Urethane to 92 shore hardness Vulkollan. What works in Europe falls to bits in Australia , our climate has some of the hottest and driest conditions.

You have all seen the urethane that cracks itself to bits this is caused by overheating which dehydrated the urethane; once this happens it becomes hard and brittle, any high impact or compression will destroy it.

When all else fails we return to rubber full stop, natural rubbers are the best product for shock absorption full stop.

Originally Posted by Dockstrada

The problem with urethane is that it is susceptible to climate change, when urethane products are produced they go through a rigorous curing procedure which involves a controlled environment of humidity and temperature.

I deal with Bayer and 99% of our product is some types of polyurethane being ether 75 shore hardness Urethane to 92 shore hardness Vulkollan. What works in Europe falls to bits in Australia , our climate has some of the hottest and driest conditions.

You have all seen the urethane that cracks itself to bits this is caused by overheating which dehydrated the urethane; once this happens it becomes hard and brittle, any high impact or compression will destroy it.

When all else fails we return to rubber full stop, natural rubbers are the best product for shock absorption full stop.

What Durometer Scale are we talking?

Superpro PU is cast in different durometers to suit different applications.

Its also well within the -10c to 100c operating range

Urethane that is cooked will harden and crack, otherwise its only going to do exactly like rubbers do and 'take a set'. This is the nature of any elastomer when subjected to varying loads.

PU is not affected by oils, unlike the rubber compounds used in suspension bushes, and once cured is not bothered by water up to 80c...

Originally Posted by Tombie

What Durometer Scale are we talking?

Superpro PU is cast in different durometers to suit different applications.

Its also well within the -10c to 100c operating range

Urethane that is cooked will harden and crack, otherwise its only going to do exactly like rubbers do and 'take a set'. This is the nature of any elastomer when subjected to varying loads.

PU is not affected by oils, unlike the rubber compounds used in suspension bushes, and once cured is not bothered by water up to 80c...

We would be in the upper region of D for this application around 92 I would say , I know for a fact the Bayer are working on a 95 to 97 shore D as we speak .

Originally Posted by Dockstrada

We would be in the upper region of D for this application around 92 I would say , I know for a fact the Bayer are working on a 95 to 97 shore D as we speak .

Cheers... Shore D is heading into the hardness of UHMWPE and other plastics... Definitely not suited to suspension

Originally Posted by Tombie

Cheers... Shore D is heading into the hardness of UHMWPE and other plastics... Definitely not suited to suspension

Your right I just shot my mouth of to quick ,whet to check my notes, hardness 92 A which is driving and friction quality is around what we use , I have tryed it on my f250 panhard rod and its doing OK so far .

well, the technical stuff is a bit over my head but in the rally cars that we have had over the years, I always used the super pro bushes with bilstein suspension, love it although we did want as stiff a ride as we could get.
My puma is still under warranty so wont be changing anything to soon.
I havent heard anything about rancho shocks although 15 years ago they looked alright.
Anyone got any idea on these guys?

I wouldn't touch Rancho with your barge pole, let alone mine.

That blunt enough for you

Re Super Pro and PU, I know nothing about the chemistry side, all I know is that stuff is cast here and has been for a very long time and the durometer of the bushes is appropriate for each spot and a good compromise between flex, NVH and life, unlike most PU bushes that are hard, hard, hard.

I've been using their bushes on a Defender for about eight years and over 200,00km and they are still fine, or in other words, they have lasted over double the distance that the OE bushes lasted (although I still have the OE axle rear trailing arm bushes in place. All the rest are now SP PU bushes)

The other big plus, as Ben has already mentioned is that IMO they are a much better design in most spots than the OE bush too.