Review of Pfadt Poly Control Arm Bushings and Camber Kit
03-28-2012, 09:37 AM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Review of Pfadt Poly Control Arm Bushings and Camber Kit
Background Information: Car is a 2007 Corvette being prepped for high performance driving events and time trials (autox and hillclimb). Suspension modifications include factory sport swaybars, shocks, and springs. Tires are still the stock Goodyear Runflats (heatcycled to the limits of their use) - will be replacing later this year with competition oriented tires in Z06 sizing.
First impression: Right from the get go, the car felt a bit stiffer and more attached to the road. Every bump and crack was more apparent (but in a good way); comfort was not really affected in the ways some people have concerns about - the car just felt more responsive.
After some short testing, I was able to get a better impression of the modifications. The car was hitting maximum lateral grip (approx 1g) much easier with less effort; I barely realized when Id be hitting .9g until I looked at the hud. While I could feel the car out at the limit with the softer rubber bushings, the car was no longer communicating this to me with the polyurethane. At first this was distressing, until I realized what the car was "communicating" was the slop from the body shifting around. With the soft sloppy bushings gone, it was apparent that I was going to have to relearn where the vehicle was in terms of grip - it was as if I was driving a totally different car! The best comparison of poly vs stock rubber bushings would be like going from a vehicle with tall sidewall tires that roll over/ flex a lot at the limits, to one with lower profile tires that provide more performance, but give less of that flex/roll indicator at the grip limit.
The camber kit was also a great addition - I have had issues with the original plates slipping and issues getting the most possible camber out of them while still retaining stock ride height. With the new plates I was able to go from having a maximum of -1.2 degrees camber to well beyond -2.0 degrees without lowering the car.
These relatively cheap modifications took an already great car and brought it one step closer to feeling like a race car. If someone has issues with the "disconnected" feel that the corvette comes with from the factory, this is what they need to look into doing. My -only- regret would have to be not going for pfadt's full metal bushing replacement kit for even more performance. Overall Im very happy with these modifications and would suggest them to anyone with a C5/C6 corvette.
First impression: Right from the get go, the car felt a bit stiffer and more attached to the road. Every bump and crack was more apparent (but in a good way); comfort was not really affected in the ways some people have concerns about - the car just felt more responsive.
After some short testing, I was able to get a better impression of the modifications. The car was hitting maximum lateral grip (approx 1g) much easier with less effort; I barely realized when Id be hitting .9g until I looked at the hud. While I could feel the car out at the limit with the softer rubber bushings, the car was no longer communicating this to me with the polyurethane. At first this was distressing, until I realized what the car was "communicating" was the slop from the body shifting around. With the soft sloppy bushings gone, it was apparent that I was going to have to relearn where the vehicle was in terms of grip - it was as if I was driving a totally different car! The best comparison of poly vs stock rubber bushings would be like going from a vehicle with tall sidewall tires that roll over/ flex a lot at the limits, to one with lower profile tires that provide more performance, but give less of that flex/roll indicator at the grip limit.
The camber kit was also a great addition - I have had issues with the original plates slipping and issues getting the most possible camber out of them while still retaining stock ride height. With the new plates I was able to go from having a maximum of -1.2 degrees camber to well beyond -2.0 degrees without lowering the car.
These relatively cheap modifications took an already great car and brought it one step closer to feeling like a race car. If someone has issues with the "disconnected" feel that the corvette comes with from the factory, this is what they need to look into doing. My -only- regret would have to be not going for pfadt's full metal bushing replacement kit for even more performance. Overall Im very happy with these modifications and would suggest them to anyone with a C5/C6 corvette.
03-28-2012, 02:36 PM
#2
_Sloth Whisperer_
Member Since: Jul 2008
Location: Malaysia Air Flight 370
Posts: 3,372
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes
on
6 Posts
Good review, man. Good to hear all your thoughts, and I'd been waiting for a similar writeup for some time. If theres already been one, I missed it.
My next C6's first modification (before anything) will be the CO's, T1 bars, and full bushing set. This is essentially exactly what I was hoping to hear.
My next C6's first modification (before anything) will be the CO's, T1 bars, and full bushing set. This is essentially exactly what I was hoping to hear.
