SUSPENSION BUSHINGS
From Fun Talk BBS...
The AE86 is now over fifteen years old. Before starting on any suspension modification, the most important step is to refresh and renew all suspension bushings and weak joints and welds. Without this, none of the expensive modifications will come to any fruition. Be sure after any modification or installation, check the wheel alignment ...important!
Years of normal driving on older cars from the 80's have body and suspension bushings that are greatly worn, cracked, hardened, and in need of replacements. Since these parts locate the various suspension components in exacting alignment for proper handling, it is one of the first thing I recommend before any performance undertaking and even for daily, mundane use for the car. Here are some advices I have mentioned in the past about this topic...
Do keep in mind that aftermarket urethane bushings have very short lives of
about one year before cracks develop. Also, the urethane will make the car a bit
harsh in terms of vibration. With street tires and daily use, it's advisable to
use hard rubber bushing instead of urethane.
Side note, TRD did have this in mind with the soft chassis and body structure of
the AE86, and offers only rubber bushings for performance upgrades.
To be honest, if you are using the car primarily for the street, I would just
go to the dealer and get OEM replacement.
Trust me, the used 15 year old rubber is a far cry from the brand new rubber and
will give your car a taut overall feel again. OEM bushing will combine really
well with upgraded TRD Technocraft Race Short stroke shocks or Tokico HTS
dampers and springs with mild spring rates for a very forgiving car with natural
ride.
For daily driver and occasional drifter or autocrosser for people new to AE86
domain... I recommend the following.
New OEM bushings
Tokico HTS front short stroke dampers or TRD Blue 5 way short stroke
Front strut case conversion done correctly with Ground Control Coil-over kit, 8
inch spring with 400 lbs spring rate
Rear Tokico HTS or TRD blue 8 way adjustable shocks
5.1 kg TRD race coils (Coupe) 5.5 kg TRD race coils (3 door)
This will give very streetable ride quality (especially the above shock
selection and front coil over conversion) while giving proper stroke and
adjustability for street and semi-race tires for low to medium speed track
duties.
More on suspension and other advice and articles