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      04-08-2015, 06:59 AM   #1
Sixle
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75D AKG Motorsport Subframe Bushings (4 month review)

I posted this in a reply to another post I had but thought I'd share since I hardly see any posts about AKG on this forum.


I built my own tool for the job and had all 4 stock bushings out and all the AKG bushings back in in roughly 1.5 hrs on my garage floor. Partly because the bushing is 2 piece on all four corners of the sub frame. The beautiful part is that after getting the stock bushings out, the AKG bushings with a little silicone grease slipped into the sub frame with a firm press of the hands. I actually never used the tool to re-install. I used the sub frame bolts to finish pressing in the last .25" of the bushing into the sub frame.

Just to clarify since there's always debate, these are polyurethane bushings and I've seen lots of threads saying poly bushings squeak, not so for these, I haven't heard a peep. There is also no increase in noise or harshness at all, maybe I'm not sensitive to it but it doesn't sound any worse to me. In fact, Id argue that the car actually feels smoother since the sub frame isn't wandering around under the car during spirited driving

One interesting thing I did notice is that when the rear wheels break traction it used to be very noticeable because it felt the the sub frame would shock load and bounce around under the car, now under heavy acceleration or slides if a wheel starts to spin I can barely tell through the chassis of car unless the wheel spin light is flashing. Hoping I can jump into an LSD later this year to see how those two work together but I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out.

These are the most underrated bushings for the 1 as far as I'm concerned, I would buy them over M3 bushings or Powerflex any day the ease of installation is probably the biggest selling point. Didn't have to disconnect brake lines or anything.

I bought my bushings from Harrison Motorsports in Alpharetta, GA. David explained how much he loved to install these instead of the OEM ///M Bushings

Last edited by Sixle; 04-10-2015 at 01:16 PM..
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      04-08-2015, 11:19 AM   #2
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Good call on the AKGs. I was going to get them as well but I landed a awesome deal on the Whitelines which are also 2-piece for every corner.

I agree these bushings maybe on the level or superior to the M3 ones. They are most definitely stiffer considering the material used.
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      04-08-2015, 02:30 PM   #3
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Good Review! I'll have to keep these in mind when I do mine.
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      04-08-2015, 04:18 PM   #4
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Pictures of your DIY tool??
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      04-08-2015, 04:29 PM   #5
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So, I'm definitively convicted with these bushings. Will buy them as soon as possible !

You took the harden, didn't you?

Like Andrey asked you: could attach here some pics of your tool? Could be interesting for me as I'm doing the job on my own


Edit: what about the torque? Did you use the advised one by AKG? Did you add some Loctite or whatever (don't like this option)?
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      04-08-2015, 11:13 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fidiman View Post
So, I'm definitively convicted with these bushings. Will buy them as soon as possible !

You took the harden, didn't you?

Like Andrey asked you: could attach here some pics of your tool? Could be interesting for me as I'm doing the job on my own


Edit: what about the torque? Did you use the advised one by AKG? Did you add some Loctite or whatever (don't like this option)?
I'll attach pictures next time I'm at the house. For torque spec I went with the recommended standard bushing torque of 74 ft-lbs. The 75D bushings are extremely hard, so hard that if you try to make an indentation in the urethane with your fingernail you'll likely break your nail before you make your mark. I believe the 95A are too soft for the stock torque specs because they don't have the aluminum inner piece.

If you look at AKG's website there is no torque spec on the 75D bushings, only the 95A.
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      04-08-2015, 11:14 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by klick View Post
Good call on the AKGs. I was going to get them as well but I landed a awesome deal on the Whitelines which are also 2-piece for every corner.

I agree these bushings maybe on the level or superior to the M3 ones. They are most definitely stiffer considering the material used.
Much harder than the stock M3 rubber, I'd say even more so than the Group N bushings by Bmw Motorsport.
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      04-09-2015, 07:24 AM   #8
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AKG is awesome, that's my plan for when I do full subframe bushings on my 1er. I'll use Whiteline inserts for now though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrey_gta View Post
Pictures of your DIY tool??
The tool I made for my E36 M3 subframe bushings and DIY for making the tool. The tool should be the same, just measure the bushing/carrier sizes to make sure the 3" pipe will work. Also FYI when I did it, heating the bushing made it worse. Also make sure to use grade 8 allthread/hardware and lube the threads before cranking on it.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...for-uber-cheap!

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      04-09-2015, 07:35 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by hoki06 View Post
Ah, the kitchen, that multi-purpose work space. You must have a very supportive family!
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      04-09-2015, 08:17 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fe1rx View Post
Ah, the kitchen, that multi-purpose work space. You must have a very supportive family!
Lol the perks to being single and living with roommates. And living in the city without a garage means the kitchen becomes my workshop sometimes.
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      04-09-2015, 09:01 AM   #11
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I think we need a thread on Subframe tool designs. I found some alternate designs
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      04-09-2015, 10:48 AM   #12
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I heard just heat with a big socket on the top and the weight of the car on the socket pushing out would get the stock bushing out. Kind of sketchy, but I feel like this would work.
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      04-09-2015, 12:45 PM   #13
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The tool is definitely over thought out for this job, With how much I read I was expecting a hell of a time getting them out. I realized i could make it work with little.

I have access to a cnc mill to i cut out my own aluminum discs in lieu of washers but in my opinion doing that just saved me the trip to the store.

get a 5/8" coarse threaded rod, get a nut welded to one side of the rod(or double lock nut), a couple large diameter washers (if you can weld them together its even better) and get to pulling.

I used an adjustable wrench to hold a nut and the aluminum disc on the top of the bushing while using a long handle ratchet to turn the welded nut and pull the bushing through and out the bottom of the sub frame.

I recommend also grabbing a benzomatic torch to heat the sub frame, it causes the rubber of the bushings to get greasy when they're heated and they pull out quite nicely.
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      04-10-2015, 12:10 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtla1 View Post
I heard just heat with a big socket on the top and the weight of the car on the socket pushing out would get the stock bushing out. Kind of sketchy, but I feel like this would work.
I had a 15" handle snapon and was pretty much making a rowing motion pulling it out. I'd be hesitant to think the weight of one corner would push it out. Leaving the whole weight of the car on the bushing to press it out is super sketchy, Id rather spend the $30 to make a tool than lose my arm.
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      04-10-2015, 08:08 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrey_gta View Post
I think we need a thread on Subframe tool designs. I found some alternate designs
My tool, made based on the images I had seen of the HPA tool:

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It worked, obviously, but not as well as I had hoped.

For some perspective, here is a professional tool:

http://www.kochtools.com/index.php?p=product&id=242

Pricing is really not that bad, considering the number of elements involved. Refinements include bushing pre-compressors, ball bearing thrust washer on puller screw, adjustable feet to engage the subframe.

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The Koch tool is much nicer than the HPA tool, and much cheaper.

http://www.hpashop.com/Bushing-Tool-...g-tool-kit.htm

Name:  HPA Subframe Bushing Tools.jpg
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      04-10-2015, 01:14 PM   #16
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The beauty of the AKG bushings is that you only have to build the tool to remove bushings, It doesn't need to be built so that it has to reinstall the bushings because AKG's can be pressed in most of the way by hand and you can use the actual subframe bolts to finishing pushing them into the subframe.

That tool looks awesome for $300 but imo unnecessary if you're going with AKG.
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      04-12-2015, 05:35 AM   #17
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thanks for the review. Does the rear AKG subframe bushings have a stainless steel sleeve in the center? the m3 ones have the cast sleeves from the images i have seen
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      04-13-2015, 04:13 AM   #18
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Nope, AKG bushings only have a structure in polymer!
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      04-14-2015, 05:31 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MR RIZK View Post
thanks for the review. Does the rear AKG subframe bushings have a stainless steel sleeve in the center? the m3 ones have the cast sleeves from the images i have seen
Like Fidiman said, these bushings are solid 75D Polyurethane
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      04-24-2015, 01:52 PM   #20
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I see AKG makes a 95A polyurethane set, too. Can you comment on pros/cons vs the 75D that you went with?
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      04-25-2015, 02:08 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by will-go View Post
I see AKG makes a 95A polyurethane set, too. Can you comment on pros/cons vs the 75D that you went with?
I went with the 75D bushings because of the experience of the shop I was dealing with (Harrison Motorsports). Both the owner and friend of mine who works there both commented on the quality as well as some track rats I know.

I wanted to minimize the movement of the subframe as much as possible to keep the car tracking straight and to ensure future upgrade to stiffen the rear wouldn't be negated by soft bushings.

Multiple sources had me convinced that solid or near solid subframe bushings for the e82 wouldn't increase NVH in the slightest and that any of the noise would come from solid diff mounts.

I went with 75D purely for stiffness of over the 95A bushings. The reason I went with the 75D bushings over aluminum or Delrin was because each have a particular fault I didnt want to deal with.

Solid Aluminum: The one downside to this that I was told was that if the subframe wasn't welded 100% to tolerance or had been tweaked slightly from ownership was that the subframe might have a tendency to tripod because the bushings would not give to self align the subframe. What this could cause is that when the 4th leg is tightened it might actually bend of subframe and stress the member and welds which I wasn't to keen on.

Delrin: 75D poly is roughly the same hardness as solid delrin but the 75D has the characteristic of elasticity. If the delrin bushings were in during a hard hit which loaded the suspension awkwardly it could very well make an impression in the delrin from which the delrin would not rebound to its machined shape. Since the 75D has a 'memory' it would return to its original shape and resist the tendency to dent.
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      04-25-2015, 07:34 AM   #22
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You almost convinced me for the 75D bushing !
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