[Jdub679]

Anyone do just the subframe bushings by themselves? Wondering if this is a worthwhile mod (cost aside).

Also, I know that most people recommend a good set of coilovers first, but would there be any negatives to this mod while keeping a stock M-sport suspension?

[scotty_miller]

All I can say is. Stay away from Powerflex subframe bushings, well not stay away but if you want a royal pain in the ass of a job then they are for you. I did the bushings cause i'm putting h&r coilovers on in the spring and mine were shot. I didn't really notice a big difference, it felt a little more connected since i'm on xi suspension. I wish I would've gone with m3 bushings but oh well. If you are planning to diy the bushings they can need some work. Especially trying to get them out and heating them till they almost melt and having the soft rubber go everywhere is super messy, it wasn't as easy as the diy says. trust me.

[cvc 22349a]

I replaced them with M3 bushings before I changed springs because the rear subframe felt disconnected from the car. Great mod
Lot's of info here about those bushings

[sle39lvr]

I did just those on my non-sport. But also did M3 rear sway with it, since you already have it out. You get way more information from the backend with the bushings..

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by scotty_miller

All I can say is. Stay away from Powerflex subframe bushings, well not stay away but if you want a royal pain in the ass of a job then they are for you. I did the bushings cause i'm putting h&r coilovers on in the spring and mine were shot. I didn't really notice a big difference, it felt a little more connected since i'm on xi suspension. I wish I would've gone with m3 bushings but oh well. If you are planning to diy the bushings they can need some work. Especially trying to get them out and heating them till they almost melt and having the soft rubber go everywhere is super messy, it wasn't as easy as the diy says. trust me.

You mean the full Powerflex bushings or just the inserts? Inserts were easy and noticeable improvement. I did Whiteline but same as Powerflex.

[ashmostro]

Originally Posted by scotty_miller

All I can say is. Stay away from Powerflex subframe bushings, well not stay away but if you want a royal pain in the ass of a job then they are for you. I did the bushings cause i'm putting h&r coilovers on in the spring and mine were shot. I didn't really notice a big difference, it felt a little more connected since i'm on xi suspension. I wish I would've gone with m3 bushings but oh well. If you are planning to diy the bushings they can need some work. Especially trying to get them out and heating them till they almost melt and having the soft rubber go everywhere is super messy, it wasn't as easy as the diy says. trust me.

The difficulty in removing the stock bushings had nothing to do with your powerflex vs m3 style replacement bushing selection. In fact, installing the powerflex bushings is easier than the m3's since they don't need as much force be pressed in.

[Casca]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

You mean the full Powerflex bushings or just the inserts? Inserts were easy and noticeable improvement. I did Whiteline but same as Powerflex.

The powerflex inserts, as far as I understand, do not require removal of the old bushings and just supplement it to stiffen things up. I would not waste the effort to install on top of my old 325i bushings, but it'd be interesting to hear of anyone who has pressed in the M3 bushings and then also added the Powerflex inserts on top of that.

The full on powerflex bushings are halves and a simple install compared to the M3 bushings which would requre you to actually press it in.

I'm planning on just taking the subframe out completely and using a 20 ton press to do whatever I can and big gigantic sockets (I think we have ones that go beyond 100mm) to Macgyver whatever can't be done with the press.

[ashmostro]

The powerflex inserts won't work with m3 style bushings since they don't have the air gaps that the non-M bushings have.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by Casca

The powerflex inserts, as far as I understand, do not require removal of the old bushings and just supplement it to stiffen things up.

Correct. They do provide noticeable improvement over stock. As to what % of true M3 bushings no idea. I looked into doing the M3 bushings myself and passed. Not something I wanted to get halfway through and find out I needed a full shop. Inserts you can do in your driveway in an hour or two.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by ashmostro

The powerflex inserts won't work with m3 style bushings since they don't have the air gaps that the non-M bushings have.

Also correct.

[scotty_miller]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

You mean the full Powerflex bushings or just the inserts? Inserts were easy and noticeable improvement. I did Whiteline but same as Powerflex.

Not the inserts, the whole bushing itself the rear bushings were a pain till I learned the trick of getting them in. The front rears of the rear subframe were easy to do.

[scotty_miller]

Originally Posted by ashmostro

The difficulty in removing the stock bushings had nothing to do with your powerflex vs m3 style replacement bushing selection. In fact, installing the powerflex bushings is easier than the m3's since they don't need as much force be pressed in.

I can agree with that. I'm not saying that removing the stock bushing was a result in the difficulty of getting the new bushings in. I was saying for me getting them out was difficult and messy. The subframe bushings for the back of the rear subframe are huge and have a big lip on them and trying to get them pressed in without them slipping out or going crooked in the subframe itself is the biggest challenge of putting of them in. it took me an hour of fighting one just to get it in.

[nikitino25]

I strongly advise to rent the subframe bushing tool from HP autowerks, I just did the job and sent the tool back yesterday.....(i'm sure they have more than one)

[avocet]

With tools and research it is a completely doable DIY. I made my own tools, and had everything ready to go before starting.
It is very time consuming. Not that difficult, just everything's a pain in the ass. I didn't drop the subframe. Just lowered it. In fact, the only thing I disconnected was the hyd. brake lines. I just unclipped everything else as required and it allowed enough drop.

I think it is absolutely a worthwhile mod with your oem susp., although I would highly recommend some quality new shocks.

Again, do your research and set your sights. If you want an incremental increase in handling performance, then you will be more than satisfied with this mod.

[Jdub679]

Originally Posted by avocet

With tools and research it is a completely doable DIY. I made my own tools, and had everything ready to go before starting.
It is very time consuming. Not that difficult, just everything's a pain in the ass. I didn't drop the subframe. Just lowered it. In fact, the only thing I disconnected was the hyd. brake lines. I just unclipped everything else as required and it allowed enough drop.

I think it is absolutely a worthwhile mod with your oem susp., although I would highly recommend some quality new shocks.

Again, do your research and set your sights. If you want an incremental increase in handling performance, then you will be more than satisfied with this mod.

Thanks for the advice. I'm putting in a set of M3 front control arms next month, and I figure since I need an alignment after those anyways, I could get the subframe bushings put in. Well, I'll have to see how much the labor is on it.

[sle39lvr]

Originally Posted by nikitino25

I strongly advise to rent the subframe bushing tool from HP autowerks, I just did the job and sent the tool back yesterday.....(i'm sure they have more than one)

I was managed to do mine with a home-made tool with parts from Home Depot. If you search for my posts, should be able to see a pic of it...important thing about it was ....so cheap to make

[ajsalida]

I read your DIY, which was very good, and I still felt like I did not want to tackle it. Had a limited amount of time to get it done. Ended up being a good choice because I did the rear M3 sway bar same time, and that took far longer than I had planned.

If I ever do an LSD I will do the M3 bushings then.

[avocet]

one more thing I noticed:

I often had a slight shudder from stand still as I released the clutch. I attributed this to the dual mass flywheel, which just very well might be the source.

however, I have not had it recur once since installing the m3 sub bushings.

m3 subframe bushings. they just keep on winning.