What are the benefits in replacing the rear diff bushings? I'm about to upgrade to a 1.5 way 12 plate rear diff. Are the bushings something I should look into? Thanks

 

Aside from a tune they're the single best driveability mod I made. The eliminate a massive amount of drivetrain slop. You won't get that bucking sensation at low speed, stop-and-go, parking lot, quick on/off throttle situations. The clunk elimination was the least of the benefits. But don't put it in if you want your evo to be factory quiet. I'd like to think if you can stand an aftermarket exhaust you can stand the whine on these bushings, but I think some people are more sensitive to the whine than me.

In my car I really don't hear it unless I'm cruising 70-80ish on the highway. Its very mildly there in 1st and 2nd on a street start but thats barely worth mentioning.

 

Interesting! I upgraded the coils with a Spoolin Up cop kit and that reduced a lot of the throttle buck, but it's not completely gone; the bucking I especially notice now is when I'm lightly feathering second gear.

I'm curious to know how much more the rear diff bushings would do to eliminate the bucking sensation. But the whining noise is what I'm concerned about. I watched that Youtube video in this thread and noticed the whirring noise y'all are talking about, however, I'm sure the noise is more than what was in the video (because unless you have a super sensitive microphone, it doesn't fully demonstrate how it really is 100%, y'know?).

So what are all of your thoughts? Is it really worth it? Should I pull the trigger and do it on my daily driver? Are the results really noticeable? Does the noise irritate you? Thanks in advance for your insight.

 

I asked a friend of mine what Diff bushings he went with, he told me the Energy Suspension bushings but get them in black. All other bushings from Works, Whiteline or even the ES bushings in red (not sure why) will be louder.

So I did what he said, and went with the black ones. I just did this mod 2 weeks ago. I can hear a slight whine at 70+ mph but not even a big deal at all. The average person wouldn't notice it. I love the benefits of having it installed, so that's my recommendation to you. =)

I daily drive my car. Rattles bothers me to no end. I would do this mode again. Only thing that sucks is they are not easiest thing to install.

 

Bad news guys. Energy Suspension makes a rear diff bushing for the Evo 8, but doesn't make a rear diff bushing for the Evo 9. What's my next best option for noise reduction?



CORRECTION EDIT: I did just find it online but only in a master bushing kit:

http://www.jscspeed.com/catalog/Mits...ution_8_9.html

Is there a way I could just buy it separately and not with the rest of the bushings that I don't need? Can someone PM where they found theirs? Thanks a million!

 

Yup the whine is definitely more pronounced than what is in the video. Its basically as loud as the road noise on my winter tires. The sweet spot for the whine is 70-80mph, with vacuum of 20-35cm/kg. So if you do a lot of highway driving and you think the whine will really get to you, don't do it. I don't find it as annoying as drone, and usually it just gets zoned out of my head. This weekend I was road tripping with two female very-non-car-oriented friends and they didn't seem to mind. I'll ask them if it bothered them.

Keep in mind that I'm very much an **** person. Nothing goes unnoticed by me. So for things like this I make the conscious decision to live with it for the benefits (which I LOVE), but others may not even think its a sacrifice. Like Thore mentioned.

And yes it will get rid of all the remaining drivetrain slop. My car feels as slop free as a subaru with rear diff bushings. Which is to say, very steady. I have the blox front mount, engine damper, and these bushings.

Its the same part for evo 8 and 9. They use the same mustache bar and same differential carriers. Contact MAP if you have any doubts.

EDIT: My gf says on the highway it is noticeable but not really that annoying. And shes very sensitive to annoying noises.

 

Yeah 8 and 9 use the same. MAP is good but here is a link I had saved for STM.

http://www.streettunedmotorsports.co..._rear_diff.htm

 

I ordered my ES rear diff/mustache bar bushing kit from Buschur for my IX not too long ago. Also did the Torque Solution carrier bearings bushings and it made a world of difference in driveability. The shifting is more precise. And no more clunk on hard shifts! And I didn't notice any noise really. I got the black bushings. One of the best mods I've done and it's cheap.

 

Thanks Deeman101 and ElectricBlueIX. Both of your input helped me out in my decision and I went ahead and ordered the Energy Suspension rear diff bushing kit along with the Torque Solution carrier bearings per ElectricBlueIX's recommendation. Was the Torque Solution Carrier bearings hard to install or was it pretty easy? I think my car is about to be supremely responsive--the way it should have been from the factory!

While I was on the STM site, I also saw something that interested me: shifter base bushings. Has anyone used these and if so, is it a noticeable difference? Right now I'm using the Works short shifter for my Evo MR.

 

I'm going to do the driftshaft support bushings my self in a few days. I briefly looked up the install process and everyone says its easy and takes 15 minutes max in your driveway.

http://youtu.be/sLMfeUPQTTw

Warning. The music is rather obnoxious.

 

I got mine from MAP, he had em drop shipped direct from ES. So far very good.

 

fyi, i'm one of the ones who has had a whine that's a little less bearable.. a lot less. may just be my car in particular - i have the ES bushings, the set of 3 that comes with the mustache bar bushings. all 3 are coming out. swapped the stock rear diff for a cusco 1.5 way. whine is louder than anything else in the car by far aroudn 75mph.

 

The whine was unbearable with the Stock diff or the Cisco diff? Did you have any other bushings/mounts?

Were the bushings red or black? I remember the bushing kit came with 4 bushings.

 

no problem before the bushings, both with stock diff and cusco. don't recall color of bushings. other changes including reshimming the diff, shot peening plates etc, which have all since broken in. if it's the diff alone, i'll find out soon enough once my car's back on the road. i'll also mention that i noticed no improvement in what most people mentioned as benefits to the rear diff bushings. my driving is 99% street, and auto-x about once a month.

 

Driveshaft bushings did absolutely nothing good or bad for me. Waste of 20mins and $40.

And I needed to dremel one of the holes in the driveshaft carrier to fit the bushing. It wasn't perfectly round enough. So that may add time...