Fulcrum Superpro LCA bushes (group buy?)

This thread has been started to cease all the cross-posting going on - see:

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18287&highlight=fulcrum

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44673&highlight=fulcrum

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30047&highlight=fulcrum

 

The cross-posting is my fault - I got carried away

 

The U.S. distributor details are:

 

Glenn Dirkse

Global Performance Parts

4554 - 128th Street

Michigan 49423

Ph: 616 399 9025

Fax: 616 399 9174

Web: www.globalperformanceparts.com

E.Mail: glennd@globalperformanceparts.com

 

Here's my review on the product:

Well, they've been fitted - Fulcrum part #SPF2802K to my MY04 Subaru Liberty 2.5i. As mentioned, Wholesale Suspension (www.wholesalesuspension.com.au) did the deed & they did it well...really, really well.

 

Here's a pic of their premises:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0196.sized.jpg

 

I turned up at 08:10 & was a little late so was bumped behind some other early risers. No trouble - I had a leave pass anyway & didn't mind kicking about for a while. There's a car dealer down the road selling old MG roadsters so I checked them out 'til it was time for them to start on my car. Along with waiting, I took time out to snap the bushes fresh from the packaging:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0191.sized.jpg

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0192.sized.jpg

 

See how one bush is eccentric & the other symmetrical? That's cause the LHS bush is designd to provide more caster. See the

following instructions for more detail on this:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0195.sized.jpg

 

Installation

 

The car was up on the hoist & the mechanic (different guy to PeteH) looks at the instructions, checks out the lower control arm & starts work. Damn, the lower control arm was off in less than 5 minutes (air tools FTW!) and the OEM bush pressed out easily. Here's a pic of the LCA rear bush mounting post - it appears to screw into the chassis & seems extremely solid (as you'd well hope it was).

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0197.sized.jpg

 

And here's a cople of pics of the LCA w/ Fulcrum bush placed over the mounting post w/o installation.

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0200.sized.jpg

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0201.sized.jpg

 

And here's a pic of the whole thing installed.

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0202.sized.jpg

 

Now things are starting to take shape. What you can see is that the post is now offset with regards to the LCA bush centre. This forces the LCA outer knuckle forward & increases static caster. Good. Oh - and here are some pics of the shagged OEM bushes for good measure:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0198.sized.jpg

 

Once both sides were done, it was time for a wheel alignment & I asked for 1 1/4 degrees camber & minimal toe. The final settings were:

 

Caster L/R: 7'32"/6'35"

Camber L/R: 1'11"/1'11"

Toe (total): 0.2F/1.0R

Thrust angle: 0'

 

Now these are settings that previously ended up with a left-pull & steering wander. They should give perfect alignment, but never have. Well, I'm now on my way - the bill was $380 BTW:

 

$140 bush kit

$180 fitting

$60 alignment

 

I was happy with that - this is NOT a job achievable by the home mechanic.

 

Initial thoughts

 

Well, it feels different. Driving out of the shop onto Coreen Avenue wheel input was firmer (read: driving around a carpark turning the wheel is slightly harder) but there was no fore-aft wobble when I stopped to check for traffic. Pulling out onto the main road & what is this? Hey - self-centering steering! And not just self-centering to roughly centre...self-centering to perfect centre. They nailed the wheel alignment too...the steering wheel is exactly where it should be.

 

I was still trying to come to grips with the steering centering whilst turning right onto the next main road. You don't need to correct the car to make it stay straight - it just moves to the straight-ahead position & stays there. This is great!

 

Swinging left onto the freeway & yes, there's actually some weight to the wheel. You can feel beyond the power assistance to understand what's happening at road level. Onto the freeway & oh yeah, this is terrific. The car tracks dead-straight & all sneeze-factor has been expunged. Every tiny wheel input = immediate change of direction. Before, there was a lag before the car responded which meant high-speed driving was unnecessarily tiring. Before any of you declares that your car doesn't behave like that, you are wrong I'm afraid. You've just become used to the phenomenon & believe that it is normal. It is not, and these new bushes prove why.

 

Steering feel

 

Well, I have to say - where steering feel & feedback used to be one of my cars weakest points, they are now one of its strongest points. I can better feel the road texture & now have something to "lean" against when making small wheel inputs. The wheel is so much more stable than before. Previously, secondary ride (hitting ripples, potholes, etc) resulted in steering wheel squirm as the OEM bushes flexed & caused the LCA to walk about. Now, the steering wheel is calm & you sense that bumps are absorbed by the spring/strut & not the flexy bushes.

 

Ride quality

 

I have to say that ride quality has actually improved. Further to the point made above, the Fulcrum bushes don't allow LCA walk & therefore the suspension is asked to do what it's supposed to do. Hitting bumps under brakes results in a stable response, rather than the subtle off-course antics I used to have to chase with wheel input. Secondary ride noise has absolutely & definitely not increased. The only noise increase is possibly more co@rse-surface roar than before, but to tell you the truth the difference is so minimal I'm not sure if it has really changed.

 

Cornering

 

To tell you the truth, this is one area I have yet to fully explore. Yes, turn-in is cleaner & I have noticed that necessary wheel input is reduced but I'm not yet 100% ready to make a call on this aspect. It's certainly better, but I'm still coming to grips with the quantum improvements listed above.

 

Braking

 

The transition out of the 80 zone into the 50 zone into Maianbar is a steep downhill section with noticable camber to the left. I used to pull up here & need to pull the car back over to the crown of the road. Today, I hammered the brakes with no hands on the wheel & it pulled up 100%, completely, absolutely dead straight. Under brakes, caster is even more effective & I could feel the car self-centering. That's pretty much how & remembered my Porsche 944 behaving & is something I've missed for a long, long time.

 

Other points to note

 

You can actually see the increased caster with the naked eye. The front wheels are noticably further forward in the wheel arches, but unless you were looking for it I doubt you'd say anything. It certainly makes it easier to gaze upon the Fulcrum bushes of goodness. I still can't believe that Subaru could foist us with the OEM crap when these bushes effect such a huge improvement with (from what I can tell) no downsides. It's really quite amazing that you can fit something that located the LCA so much more precisely w/o causing NVH issues.

 

WTF Subaru? Get your act together, would you?

 

 

As far as where the effectiveness of this mod sits in my mod list, it needs to be looked at as a seperate line item.

 

It's not better or worse than the Bilsteins, or the RSB, or the strut brace. It's simply something that makes driving my car so much more relaxing & rewarding & could be added to an otherwise-stock Liberty with amazing benefits.

 

Wow.

 

[later] Ok - I pulled my finger out & took a photo of the front-wheel pushed-forward offset:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0210.sized.jpg

 

For a larger image, click here.

 

Oh - and here's another gratuitous image of the LCA bush http://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/3applausi.gif

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_Fulcrum-LCA-bushes/IMG_0216.sized.jpg

What a lot of U.S. based buys need now is a volunteer to organise a group buy (or group buy type thing).

Thank you SO MUCH - great write up!

Great review. I'd like to hear more about the impact on turn-in.

 

Hmmm, I kinda don't like the wheel being forward. I can definately see it. Also, it's just me or your front rotors are smaller than USDM ones?

 

EDIT: I realized you have 2.5i. Of course you have smaller rotors.

Yeah, the 2.5i rotors look weedy

 

The left-front wheel is perhaps just over an inch further forward, and the right front is just under an inch. That give you all a good idea on how much difference the offset bush (left) compares with the non-offset bush (right).

 

Turn-in is absolutely improved. A mate drove my car & commented that turn-in is more linear & less affected by mid-corner bumps. Mid-corner grip is definitely increased, probably cause of reduced postive caster effect experienced with the OEM squishy ones.

 

BTW - I now have 4,000 km experience with the new bushes. I can guarantee there are no NVH issues.

why no post in 'group buy' forum??

'Cause I don't want to own the group buy

 

Care to move it, Pat GT?

Why did you only increase the castor on one side?

 

Do you have a scan of the install instructions you could post that is more legible?

'Cause I had a caster imbalance (less left than right) from factory & wanted to reduce the way my car fell off the left-hand-side of the road. We drive on the left down under

 

Don't forget that caster is increased even using the standard Fulcrum (non-offset) bush - the OEM ones flex so much caster is all over the place!

 

I'll try & remember to scan the instructions tonight, but going here might suffice.

subscribes

'Cause I don't want to own the group buy

 

Care to move it, Pat GT?

 

somebody needs to organize it. who wants to step up?

Subiescribed...

As i have said before in other threads, this mod is a must. It is as good if not better than swaybar upgrades. This is what our cars needed from the beginning. For all the people looking for that precise turn in and steering response that all the german cars seem to have and which ours lack, this mod will give it to you.

I am definately buying this, GB or not.

I've never set up a group buy, but with the opportunity to get a great and logical modification at an already reasonable price... I'm in.

 

DO EEET!

What do you have to do to start a group buy?

I can contact the distributor if there is interest. Give me 10 names and I will give you pricing...

I need to know I can sell them before pulling the trigger.

I'm in for this, though I'd get the regular version. Adding enough caster to noticably move the wheel that much may cause axle issues, especially for those running high horsepower or on track.

 

Warren

1) unclemat (reg. version)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

I was so interested I already ordered mine a few days ago.

Oh Oh Oh Pick me! Regular version

I'm in, but don't understand the different versions.

1) unclemat (reg. version)

2)fweasel (reg. version)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

100

I'm in, but don't understand the different versions.

01K is the standard version

02K has one offset bushing - corrects a pull to one side

03K has two offset bushings - increases caster equally on both sides

Fulcrum.pdf

OK, so bear with me if I'm being an idiot, I don't know much about this.

 

If the car pulls to one side I get an alignment. You're saying these bushings are another way to correct it or does it correct some factory defect? And if so, how do I know I have a factory defect?

 

For the most part my car tracks straight, definitely after an alignment. So maybe the standard version is right for me?

 

[ <--- Holy Cats, 800 posts. Time to get a life, huh?]