oe or poly bushes

[tricky nicky]

So last year I had slight play in lower ball joints as an advisory on my mot, now it's that time of year again and I know it will fail on them this year.
As most of you are aware, renault don't sell the ball joints seperately (unless you get the ren 19 ones )BUT as the car is nearly 9 years old I think it is worth changing the bushes to tighten things up again so the question is do I

A: get the new wish bones from renault which means new bushes and ball joint with the easy of a straight swap and get new arb bushes while there

B: get the lemforder ball joint from ECP and powerflex full bush kit

Price wise cost while be very similar as I will be fitting them myself. Less work to go oe. Will the extra time and effort to fit polybushes be worth it?

If I went poly how long does it take to change bushes once the wish bones are off? As it's my daily I don't want to get half way through and not get it finished in a day. I've seen a lot of people burn the old bushes out but does it damage the paint work?

My car is a 172 cup so the suspension is already pretty hardcore for a road car, do I take it to the next level or keep it as renault intended? I do the occasional trackday and it felt great as it is but will hopefully get new oe shocks and springs before the cambelt is due next year to spread the cost

opinions please

 

[KevF182]

My opinion would be to just do the balljoints (lemforder from ecp is what I used) if the bushes are still taught - my bushes are still suprisingly good after 82k miles but balljoints wear out much sooner.

I would only replace bushes if there is clearly some play. I'm not keen on aftermarket bushes but then again I've not tried poly in clio lower arms so can't really pass judgement on that.

 

[klem]

as above really.

my cup is on 72k, balljoints were clearly past their best but the wishbone bushes are still really tight... when this changes I'll have no reservations in fitting the new style powerflex bushes though.

 

[tricky nicky]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Probably right Tbh, just do what needs doing and check everything else is in good serviceable order.

Never used polybushes before but been in a few cars with them so just wondered if it made a noticeable difference day to day, I know they're not meant to deteriorate as much as rubber

 

[5678]

Curious to know what sort of difference you feel with powerflex bushes in place too.

 

[JezzaMac]

Il be interested to see what people say as I fancy powerflexing all my bushes whilst the car is off the road for winter!