delrin full front bushings?

[MiltonHavoc]

Well my bushings are warn because of the extreme temps here
i keep seeing posts about wanting better bushings up front.
The Z guys are turning subframe lca's and other smaller stuff and seeing good results.
i know one guy went full solid and hated it. Said delrin was a good compromise.

Do you think delrin would be too stiff ?
I'd also want a set of swaybar bushings done as well.

[gergorian]

I would think that Delrin would be much too hard. I have the Nolathane bushings and they are much firmer than stock but not too firm. ( At least it feels that way to me. Some people may think it is too stiff with poly bushings.)

[moz]

Yeah
I wouldn't go any harder than polyurethane unless it was a fully fledged race car.

Super pro bushings are great.

[rmoltis]

I would think that Delrin would be much too hard. I have the Nolathane bushings and they are much firmer than stock but not too firm. ( At least it feels that way to me. Some people may think it is too stiff with poly bushings.)

I agree. Just go with all 3 sets of nolathane polyurethane bushings.
Inner control arm bushings with sleeves, outer control arm to swaybar, and swaybar to frame oem fit.
They will stiffen it up just nice for you. no need for delrin.

[Advancedynamix]

Delrin control arm bushings would bind on a Festiva because the control arm bushing has to flex a little as the suspension moves through its stroke. Delrin could be used as a Sway bar to body bushing, but would wear quickly and become sloppy in no time, especially in winter environments. Delrin is really only a good option on a race car and it is way over used in the industry. I've thrown bucket loads of delrin bushings away because they were a poor choice for the application.

Also, a delrin sway bar to body bushing would be a terribly expensive option because each bushing would have to be machined from a block of delrin, whereas polyurethane bushings can be cast.

[MiltonHavoc]

Binding was my major concern on the control arm.

I have moog all the way around. Those wore premature but i think it was mostly due to the weather. I might see if shore will make some out of the material he made my mounts from.

I also want a delrin shift knob.... :-) or maybe wood with leather and turquoise accents.

Thanks for the imput guys. Ive been curious for a while now.

[Advancedynamix]

Delrin works great for shift knobs, especially here in AZ.

[bhazard]

How expensive is delrin? I practically swim in the stuff at work...

[skeeters_keeper]

Delrin is pretty cheap… I use a bunch of it at work too. From thin sheet to 6" dia rod. Fun stuff, practically never wears out tooling, chips nicely, and pretty dimensionally stable.

[bhazard]

Yeah the worst part is the chips tend to get a little messy with all the coolant. Tends to carry the coolant out to the chip bin too. Though I noticed a bit of a "skimmer" effect when the coolant is oily.

[Advancedynamix]

Use air to cool it instead of coolant. White Delrin chips make good Christmas decorations, especially if you're turning it. Little curly Qs. Haha. Graphite impregnated Delrin makes really good shifter bushing material.

[skeeters_keeper]

Yea I always cut it dry or with air blast, no coolant, that's super messy! It's hard to get it too hot even taking some pretty crazy cuts.

[MiltonHavoc]

Thats funny Advanced, it was the Az..Z guys that brought this up for shift knobs. One guy set tritium into his. Ill see if i can dig up the pics.

Never thought of it for shifter bushings.
Might be a bit easier on the sheet metal than the solid brass.

Wonder what the exremities of its heat tolerance are like.
headgaskets....
lowr intake manifold gaskets and plenum gaskets for the Z

Carb gaskets and butterfly seals (?) (The ones made of cork) on the old carbs. I have a 318 that is past its prime.

[Advancedynamix]

There are better plastics for insulators/ isolators and gaskets than Delrin. Teflon phenolic blends, Thermalite, and even certain nylon blends are commonly used. The old standard was bakelite, and it still works fine.