The front rubber ones are for springs and dampers, the rear are just dampers....correct. however what controls the rate of compression and rebound of the spring....the dampers. so i believe they have a lot to do with the handling. are you getting confused with a rear strut brace?
Daz
no im not getting confused, if you throw a car in to a corner the forces that act on the inside front wheel are trying to push what ever they are in that direction to the middle of the car - and the thing that gives the most in the front is the top mounts
and obviously the front suspension legs support the top of the hub so any flex there will affect camber/castor.
getting rid of flex there is going to be a worthwhile improvement
where as with the rear the hubs are supported completely by the beam so the shocks arent supporting anything.
i see what you are saying about the compression rate but i cant see the bush thats on it at the moment making any noticable difference at all in that alone