I want to get LCAs (with relocation brackets) and a panhard. Which is better for street use--poly bushings or rod ends w/bearings? What lasts longer (like in years, not months--they cost too much to replace often)? I know the rod end parts cost more, but if they are better, I'd rather get them.

 

Any thoughts on this, Steve Spohn?

 

Both are good for street/race use. It comes down to how much noise and ride quality you're willing to sacrafice. Natrually the rod ends will transmit much more noise to the passenger compartment than the poly ends would.

I would imagine that the poly ends would be more cost effective in the long run since poly bushings appear to be more abundant and accessable than rod ends. Replacement poly bushings are pocket change.



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I got this email from a company (forgot which, but email is brockey@tampabay.rr.com):

While we do offer rod-end versions of the control arms and panhard rod, it is not recommended to use them on street driven cars. Rod ends are built for high strength,
limited use only are not designed for the amount of miles that street use places on them. On a typical street car, you might get 3-6 months use out of them before they become extremely noisey(and sloppy). If you are hesitant to use our polyurethane, let me tell you a little about them first. Most of our competitors use low durometer rated, large diameter polyurethane bushings. While they are still better than stock rubber bushings, there composition and bushing thickness still allows a lot of deflection. We specifically designed ours to be smaller diameter so there is less material
to flex. Both our PHR and LCA's only have 1/4" thickness bushings, which
translates to less than 1/8" deflection under max loading(stock will deflect
to 1-1/8").

Global West says that poly/poly parts should only be used for drag racing, as they will bind during hard street driving or road racing. Global West says that rod-end parts are the best choice for any application.

Will rod ends actually get "sloppy" in 3-6 months? (I don't care about the noise) I guess a lot of companies do put race only on their rod-end parts. Help me out!!

 

While I haven't run the LCA's with solid spherical bushings, I have run solid steel bushings in the A-arms up front for over 100,000 miles.As long as they're greased frequently, they last quite a while. The road noise increase is significant, but they react quicker to changes in the road surface than any poly or rubber I've used.If you're really serious about handling, I think the solid bushings or rod ends are the answer.
If you don't want to get underneath the car regularly (at least a couple times a month) stick with the poly bushings in the Rear LCA's.
Mine is a daily driver,so although I currently have Global West Del-A-Lum Bushings in the front, I'm using poly with grease fittings in the rear.
-Rich-