W-body Trailing Arms W/poly

[d.o.h.c]

I Have A Set Of Stock Trailing Arms That I Had Custom Made Poly Bushing Made For. They Cost Me Around $50 Just For The Bushings.
I Will Shoot Up Some Pics Soon.
$50 Shipped

[dohcfiend]

can your guy make stock front poly control arm bushings?

if so lmk.

[GPRacer]

can your guy make stock front poly control arm bushings?

if so lmk.

word

[d.o.h.c]

Yeah anythings possible with anough money. The poly is expensive and the maching is going to be some money. Probably around $200, but then it will be more things we can sell for the w-body

[d.o.h.c]

If I can get like 10 people then I can get them made. I will start designing them.

[dohcfiend]

out of curiousity, how much would it be if i wanted a one-off set for myself?

[d.o.h.c]

Well its about 100 for the poly and what ever for the machining

[GPRacer]

damn...so how come you can buy the energy suspension bushings that are what, $30 for a set of two, including brackets? And they have just as much poly that would be required for the control arm bushings.

[SappySE107]

ROFL! Cheaper to get them from RSM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[bszopi]

Because energy suspension mass produces them, therefore the price will be much cheaper than just a single run.

[dohcfiend]

i was thinking that too. $100+!?!. didn't get a whole estimate but for now based on some other numbers above i will say around $250-$300 would be a closer ballpark. it is high for my taste for the moment, but at least there is something available if i feel the urge.

but.... now that i have something to go off of for a comparison, i can perhaps talk to some larger companies and see what their estimates are vs d.o.h.c.'s estimate.

unfortunately, i have some other projects going on for the moment, so this will have to wait until something get's completed.

things usually do cost more for a 1st time R&D run. i know for certain that i could probably beat that price but the would the amount i save be worth my time spent finding it?

that leaves me with my last question for the moment. if i do pay for a single run for myself, do i get the cad files and stuff needed to cnc the bushings?

[CNCguy]

Poly bushings are usually made in a molding process. The issue is, someone has to invest in having a mold made. Over time you have to recover the cost of the mold. The cost of poly bushings can be pretty cheap depending on the mold. The more cavities that a mold has, the cheaper the production costs are. I have some poly bushings made in a four cavity compression mold and my cost is $8 per bushing. The same part from a single cavity mold would probably cost around $20 each. A molding machine with a single cavity mold has to be cycled four times to get the same production as one with a four cavity mold. Of course, the price of the mold increases as you add more cavities.

Poly bushings also need to be greased regularly. Poly is a step up from rubber but materials like teflon impregnated nylon offer less flex. Nylon has its drawbacks as it requires a perfect axis of rotation or it will bind. Heim joints are the ultimate connection as they provide almost zero flex and can rotate easily on a misaligned axis.

Chassis Engineering by Herb Adams offers some good info on this and many other topics.

[Juglenaut]

Can the right CNC machine cut poly?

[CNCguy]

Can the right CNC machine cut poly?

You can machine harder (80+ durometer) poly with extremely sharp cutting tools. Softer materials need to be frozen first using something like liquid nitrogen.

[dohcfiend]

oh, it's molded? well damn.