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| Our home-made anti-roll bar end links mounted up. Be sure to use high grade bolts whenever piecing together suspension components. |
Our G20, while an earlier model that came with firmer bushings than did the later models, still had bushings that allowed far too much deflection. This unwanted deflection not only dulls steering feel and response, they also make alignment settings inconsistent under load and bumps, characteristics suitable for driving to work or not embarrassing yourself on a date, but decidedly not desirable in a racecar. This squish, combined with high spring rates and unyielding pillow ball mounts will add a degree of spookiness and lack of confidence to our suspension. The fact that these bushings were nearing two decades in age didn’t help matters.
We replaced the bushings in our front control arms with new bushings from SuperPro. For the lower control arms, we installed SuperPro part # SPF1340AK, and part # SPF1381K for the upper control arms. The lower bushings have a static increase in caster for the front suspension and the upper bushings allow camber adjustment. The SuperPro bushings are made of slightly yielding polyurethane, and have the added benefit of being a “free” mod in the Performance Touring series – these modifications do not count against your car’s point total.
Out back, we used Energy Suspension’s rear control arm master bushing kit for a 91-94 Nissan Sentra (part # 7.3110). Although not specifically meant for the P10 chassis, every bushing for this kit is compatible with our car except for the bushing that connects to the bottom of the spindle. Since replacing this bushing with a stiffer polyurethane unit has been found to cause some unwanted binding in the rear suspension in B13 chassis cars anyway, we felt we weren’t missing anything.
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| Getting the subframe off is only half the battle. The next step is removing the metal sleeves that held the OE rubber in place. |
After replacing the control arm bushings, anti-roll bar endlinks, and springs and dampers with parts more suitable to racing, we found the front of the car still had some unwanted flex and a slightly vague feel. After speaking to Pat Pruitt of Custom Steel, we were alarmed to find out the stock subframe bushings were so soft you could deflect them with a bolt and your bare hands. After only one race, these bushings – being the only stock bushing left on the car – took a beating and some of them had already begun to tear. Luckily, Pat was able to machine us replacement bushings for the front subframe of our G20 that eliminate any remaining compliance from our front suspension. Removing this unwanted compliance is the final key to giving our G20 the crisp steering and response we want. Pat’s stuff is so good that G Spec Performance has worked out a deal to be the exclusive distributor of Custom Steel products. Check out the rest of the Custom Steel line HERE.
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| Carefully tap and work the sleeve off, being careful not to score the subframe. |
