Hi,

I have an 06 RX-8 brought almost brand new in 2008. I use the car mainly for lapping and autocross, so it a sizeable amount of aftermarket modifications, but that doesn't matter much for this post.

​​The car has now 140 000 KM (~87 000 miles) so the steering and the suspension are not as sharp as they were 10 years ago.

I would like to replace the suspension bushing and the engine/diff bushing to gain some stiffness. Also I think it would be a good idea to replace the ball joints (front and read) and the tie rods altogether.

I have searched a lot on this forum but I still didn't find the answers I am looking for:

- Is it best to change the bushings for urethane one or should I use a new set of OEM ones ? There is some conflicting answers, some saying that the OEM are much better that urethane and some saying otherwise.

- Is it worth it to change the ball joints at the same time ?

- Assuming it's better to change the bushing for the OEM ones, should I brought a new set of OEM control arms that will come with their ball joint instead of changing the parts separately?

It would be much appreciated if someone could give me some tips, but please take into account that I use the car mainly on a racetrack.

 

Before all that, have you had the front control arm recall done? Because that might be a free pass to fresh bushings.

I've had urethane and went back to OE (due to said recall). Given the effort involved in changing them, and the lack of any significant improvement on track (admittedly without a super hard suspension to match), I would stick with OE.

I'm not sure you *can* buy the ball joints separately?
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I will check with the dealer to see if the recall has been done.

 

the ones saying otherwise have no idea what they’re talking about. The OE bushings are a very unique design and superior to urethane bushings in every regard. The only thing superior is a good spherical/pillowball bushing and they’ll transmit a lot of noise and vibration on the street.

but all the ball joints have all that mileage wear and swapping out all the arms and links is probably the best thing if you intend to keep the car.