Polymer control arm bushings (urq)

[John Karasaki <johkar@teleport.com>]

Scotty Boy brought up a topic that currently applies to me:

OE Audi control arm bushings vs. some type of plastic bushings

At 140k miles, my urq needs front control arm bushings.  I’ve found three
sources for these.  The classic supplier is Sport Wheels.  If memory
serves, they sell the polyurethane ones.  Unfortunately, I have no idea how
much they cost or if they are still available since they haven’t returned
my calls or e-mails over the past 2 weeks.

In desperation, I asked a lathe owning friend if he could make me a set of
8.  Gratefully, he said yes.  Unfortunately, it would take him an entire
day to do.  And like me, he already has too many projects to worry about,
so although $250 for a set of 8 in Nylatron is very reasonable, I’d better
check some retail sources first.

TAP sells polyurethane bushings for $20 each (thanks Nathan Belo for the
tip).  This would be $160 for the set.

2Bennett has a delrin set for $200, but I need to confirm application,
because this may be only for the front!

OE Audi bushings are about $10 each, or less than $100 for the set of 8.

TAP seems to be the winner here.  However, if the polyurethane fails in a
year, then there is no real savings using theirs.

The issue is still cloudy to me.  Hopefully, this helps others seeking
data.  I’d appreciate any informed discussion on this issue.  Please e-mail
me direct.  Thank you.