Sparky16

Fastline Performance Compliance Bearing ordered through Heel Toe.

nfnsquared

Hope you like them as well as I do!! Post review after you run them through the wringer

wilspainar

I am going to have to try these out.

NoTLoud

I was at my mechanic today because I am still trying to diagnose the issue that is causing my car to pull. Sometimes it feels fine, other times it is pulling pretty hard to the right. The car kinda just feels wishy-washy on the highway. I had my OEM compliance bushings replaced back in February and they still look like they are in good condition with about 9k miles on them.

He had mentioned before that Toyota's had these large control bushings that cause all sorts of issues. He saw the LCA compliance bushing on the TL and said basically, "See, this is what I am talking about. These are poorly designed."

One of my biggest complaints right now with the car is torque and bump steer and the pulling to one side. The mechanic told me that since the OEM compliance bushings (CB's) are big, rubber bushings that aren't solid, they are going to cause a lot of excess movement in the front end of the car. Made sense to me. He was telling me to look at getting a more solid control arm bushing and it should fix most of the issues I feel with the car. He was also saying that once road force is applied, the OEM CB's are going to cause the alignment to get a little out of wack, especially the caster because there is a lot of give in them.

So... sockr (or anyone with these installed), how are you feeling about 8 months after installing these? Did you feel they helped correct any of the issues I am noticing with my car? Does the product truly does what it says it will?

Appreciate any insight! Seems like many are happy with these installed. Figured I'd ask for further opinions before spending the $200.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

dont' even second guess the purchase, make it happen. i absolutely love mine and i'd say 95% of time you don't notice they are harsh (only when going over some railroad tracks or potholes - which you should be avoiding anyway haha). i feel that the car is so responsive and solid up front. i wish i had gotten them a long time ago. hope that helps with some of your issues

what's even better is that you should never have to replace them again whereas even if you get new compliance bushings you will always wonder "do they need to be replaced again".

NoTLoud

RIP my wallet.

I will add this to my current mod list. Need new front rotors and pads, so I'm looking at StopTech drilled and slotted rotors. Still not sure on pads.

Next will be PCI Compliance Bushings, Front Type S sway bar and Progress Rear sway bar. Not sure what order. Probably the extent of what I will do to this car... for now. I want to get it driving predictable before putting any other money into it.

Oh, dude, I finally figured out my issue with the shaking during acceleration. It was the intermediate shaft. Tons of play in the bearing. Still a tiny bit of shaking during acceleration, but I am guessing the Raxles don't like the non-OEM ride height. Wondering if once the joints wear in if it will get better.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haha acurazine = RIP cash

glad you hear you got your issue dialed in! i think you should drive on it all some and see how you feel after a few weeks or so.

if you think my recommendations mean something, look into akebono ceramic pads. i put some on about 2 years ago or so and they made me a fan for life. they have almost NO brake dust and still perform very well. i've recommended and converted about 20 people to them and they all really like them. i think there was only 1 guy who didn't due to squealing but that could have caused by something else entirely. check them out! my current setup is akebono pads on stoptech slotted rotors all around, i love the setup.

nfnsquared

^^^^ This !!!!

NoTLoud

Well, what can I say after installing these, but that everyone was 100% right! I had the other two control arm bushings replaced with new OEM bushings. They were showing signs of stress and cracking, so it was time to replace them. I also did a bunch of other maintenance items as well.

First impressions:

• Front end of the car fees a lot tighter.
• At higher speeds, the steering also feels a lot tighter. I haven't had any alignment done or swap any wheels around.
• Not exactly sure how much these help with torque steer since my car was jumping to the right from a dead stop prior to install and is still doing the same after install. I suspect something else on the front end is out of wack, so I can't quite speak on this item. I do notice my car still seems to wander on the highway, so I am wondering if my rack or tie rods or done. Tie rod bushings seem tight when checking them for play.
• From other reports, it appears the durability of these is quite good, but obviously I can't comment on that since I've only had them on for 3 days.
• Potentially a reduction in bump steer. Still need to go over some bumps where it was quite bad before the install to test this fully.

I am quite impressed at how much this did for the feel of the car, like I said, the front end just feels a lot tighter now without making any other significant changes. It's hard to put into words exactly the effect these have. I hope I am not just experiencing placebo based on what I read here, but I genuinely feel like I feel a big difference in the car. What sockr and nfn have previously stated seems to be my same experience.

Next up for me is the Progress Rear Sway bar. I am hoping after this the car will feel the way I am envisioning it should drive.

BTW sockr, I went with some Akebono pads off RockAuto to go with my StopTech drilled and slotted rotors. Installed them at the same time as the bushings, 3 days in the braking feels great! Oddly though, I snapped the lower mounting bolt for the caliper to the knuckle on my drivers side on my way from home to Charlotte. It was making a hellish noise for 200 miles on the highway. Luckily it was as simple as replacing the bolt and no additional damage caused. I'll be double checking tomorrow.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

@sockr1 you still love these things 3 years later?
the oem made it 13 years and 195K miles but after pulling and reinstalling the front axle and letting the knuckle
rest on the compliance bushing, it's cooked. I'm going OEM because I think it's best for me but I was curious
how you felt this held up over time.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i still love these and would recommend them in a heartbeat. yes, they are slightly harsher across railroad tracks and sometimes the road markers, but overall the steering is so much tighter and more responsive! they have held up pretty well but given that your environment is similar to mine in san diego, no issues with salt, etc. i check mine every oil change and just wipe them down.

i'm surprised your oem ones lasted that long, i've seen them fail in as little as 5k miles sometimes

BROlando

I haven't seen any (genuine) OEM compliance bushings fail under 100K miles, personally. I'm surprised to hear about such early failures on any factory part.

I tried out spherical compliance bearings on my TSX and they rattled the car apart immediately lol. Maybe its because the roads in IL are mostly cracks and sharp bumps. That type of bump mimics RR tracks and markers.

Roads in SoCal aren't like the roads in the real world. There are mostly just rolling dips and heaves that wouldn't produce any harshness.

I'm glad to know they work in the right environment. I would wager that you would hate them if you drove on a midwest road. Anyone using these in the "real world" that agrees? Or was it just my bad experience?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I would say that overall, Sofla is smooth too
with that said, I find that lately I am going back to OEM on a lot of parts...
again, this set lasted 195K being lowered and beat on...shit...
not to mention $80 for both.


thanks you for chiming in!

thoiboi

damn 80 bucks for a pair is cheap! damn you and your dealer hookups!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Might be $90

thoiboi

nfnsquared

I 2nd this. Mine are still fine after 3 harsh ND winters and salted roads (installed summer of 2017). But I do park it in a heated garage overnight which probably helps.

Midnight Mystery

Seriously considering these for the AV6. I know my OEM bushings are on their way out and I'm only getting tight steering on perfect roads. On bumpy roads, my steering kind of floats a little and it vibrates under acceleration. I think this may be partly why my steering was feeling light and twitchy occasionally.

So, will the pci make the on center feel better or worse? Some say that it feels tighter on center, but one or two reviews described it as lighter. I want tighter, but definitely not light as to where my on center feel becomes awkward. I just want the car to feel solid on the road.

Also, if anyone has any experience with concrete roads that buck up and down on each panel, how do these perform? My worn lca bushings do give me a little bump steer I want to filter out.