THE VERDICT

Hits

• Very affordable
• Delivered increased cornering performance

Misses

• Possible : not enough grease for future re-greasing? Is it necessary?

The Decision

For $12, you have to do this modification unless you can stomach for the cost of a real set of swaybars. You may want to look into getting the ES front endlink kit as well. Unfortunately, the GS-R, LS-SE, and delSol VTEC front sway bars are similar in endlink configuration and the ES kit will not work (although it's been reported the endlink bushings can be replaced)

I noticed no increase in ride noise or decrease in ride quality

From: Sean A. McGirk (smcgirk@ix.netcom.com)
Just got a set of Energy Suspension sway bar bushings for my '95 Integra GS-R, so far I have installed the rear set and the difference is like night and day!!! Installation took literally 10 minutes for the rear and required the removal of only four bolts. The difference is obviously in the corners, where the car used to understeer slightly it now comes close to oversteer. I have yet to install the front due to the fact that I have to put the car on jack stands and all that fun crap but I predict that the car will balance back out hopefully leaving a bit of oversteer, with the front installed. Next to installing Eibach Sportkit springs this is the best things I have done to the suspension, and all for $25 including tax. This is a very good route to take if you do not want to spend $200 + on a set of replacement sway bars, not to mention installing them. Energy Suspension can be found on the web at http://www.energysuspension.com/. They also offer a complete bushing kit for all the new Integras. While these bushings are not as good as swapping the whole bar, the price and effort to install them is excellent.

From: Dan Ponze
I originally was extremely hesitant to buy polyurethane bushings for my '95 GSR. My reason for this being that many publications, which I won't mention but which many people like you read, reported extreme loss of ride quality with polyurethane bushings. This is a total falsehood in my experience. The loss in ride quality was minimal and nowhere near the loss I suffered with my Koni shocks and Neuspeed (H&R) springs. I don't understand why these publications reported this to be the culprit in the deterioration of ride quality and I can now attest that it is not true at all. My only mistake was believing what I read and delaying the purchase of this Energy Suspension master set.

I got the set for $120 plus shipping from Alamo Autosports in Texas without haggling. They are courteous and I may do some more business with them in the future. The set includes control arm bushings, shock mount bushings, steering rack bushings, shifter bushings (both the one at the shifter and the one at the tranny) and two containers of grease. The kit also included end link bushings but only for non-GSR's. I called Energy Suspension and simply sent them these end link bushings and exchanged them at no charge for my front sway bar bushings. As I was changing my rear bar, I didn't need rear sway bar bushings.

First thing I noticed is that there are a lot of bushings which made their price seem an even better deal but which makes install that much more work. I have only installed the shock and control arm bushings at this time due to the complexity and high cost of the install. I will do a follow up when the other bushings are in. Since these are the ones that most affect handling and launching, they were deemed more important. The difference is incredible. The tire grip has increased substantially upon launch and no longer suffer wheel hop at all on dry pavement. Second gear shifts which also caused some minor wheel hop before are now smooth and with less wheel spin. There is less nose dive to affect braking and the stability of the car at speed has improved. Handling is sharper and steering response has improved even without the steering rack bushings. Some people I have consulted have told me that with the bushings in place they can "feel" every small imperfection of the road, however, I don't find that here. I suspect that the "feel" they are describing is coming through the steering wheel due to the steering rack bushings. I will follow this up when I put them in. In fact, the only degradation in ride quality is on sharp bumps which seem to create more impact harshness than before. On the other hand, part of US-94 which previously caused a lot of oscillation and "jiggling" before is now much smoother. I am very impressed with the bushings and would recommend them highly especially for their aid in launching the car.

The only bad part is that installing them is a nightmare. Cost of installing them will be easily $300+. On my high mileage 95, some of the rear bolts had seized which meant we had to drill them out and put in new ones increasing the cost further. I suspect that a newer GSR would not suffer these problems, but it is a time consuming affair nonetheless. Also, be sure to grease all the bushings adequately as 2 of mine have begun to squeak and need re-greasing. All in all I'm very pleased with the kit but would like them to offer an actual GSR kit so people don't have to send in their end links to get the sway bar bushings. Cost for the bushings is low but install cost make their actual cost much higher and close to the cost of some very nice shocks. Then again, for launching the car, there is nothing that helps more than these bushings. They can also be purchased separately which gives people some measure of flexibility. Follow up forthcoming.

COMPANY INFORMATION

Manufacturer
Energy Suspension
1131 Via Callejon
San Clemente, California 92673
(714) 361-3935
(714) 361-3940 FAX
Email: hyperfx@ibm.net

Dealer
CyberSpace Automotive Performance
(407) 725-3159 Voice and FAX
1496 Hyacinth ST NE
Palm Bay, FL 32907
Email: cap@cyberauto.com