rear differential bushings

[92683]

powerflex black series
rear diff bushings. front and rear positions.
bushing stiffness are 95A durometer.

i had ordered these and wanted to see if they will tighten up the car.
its a cheap up grade with hopefully good results.

they just came in today after about a week after ordering.

i dont know how difficult the installation will be but im going to try to tackle it soon.

i bought the front and rear position bushings for the s3 2015 sedan.

they do feel very solid in the hand and when i tried to bend them, so i am sure they will not allow much deflection. this is what i am looking for for a performance bushing. i am very happy i selected this product.

i am all about feel and handling. so i dont mind vibrations or noise if they produce any.


https://www.powerflex.co.uk/black-s...+8V+125PS+plus+(2013-)+Multi+Link-3178/1.html

powerflex part#'s:

PFR85-525 REAR POSITION
PFR85-524 FRONT POSITION

for installation help, the instructions that came with the product sucks. i am now using the one from ecstuning for better instructions.

http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...Motion_Rear_Diff_Bushing_Set_Installation.pdf

 

[92683]

found this video with an audi B8 chasis.
same concept but different car.


[video=youtube;A57gR8j6Qng]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A57gR8j6Qng[/video]

 

[LonestarS3]

Installation doesn't seem very difficult, let us know how they work out.

 

[92683]

i sure hope so.

ill tell ya, most things never workout right away or the first attempt! lol
there is always a hiccup in custom projects.

 

[92683]

i was planning on doing the install today but i just found out i dont have the correct tool to open up the bolt (first hiccup). so i had to track down the socket set. so if you guys want to do it, make sure you have a triple square 14M socket ready to go.

its getting late but i may still try to install it.

update:
i just attempted it. i only got the front position done. taking it apart was long and tedious (another hiccup). the real difficult part of it all is getting the stock bushings out (and another one). it was a pain in the ass. its really stuck in there. no glue just pressed in. its hard plastic. i decided to just cut it open, but once you get the bottom one out you can push out the top one which just pops out real nice. i didnt have enough time to even start on the rear position, ill be doing that earlier tomorrow morning.

 

[92683]

 

[92683]

after doing this one i cant wait to get the two rear position bushings completed. the car does feel a little tighter. i need to finish the other bushings to give a fair and complete critic of this mod. with just this current feel i get is any indication of what it could be when all three are in, i would prefer these to be stiffer than the 95a durometer they are now. maybe somewhere around 120+ or even a solid mount instead. the single one so far doesnt feel harsh at all when idle or soft acceleration. therefore, you may not even notice its in there, but it does give a bit more feed back when it accelerates or when i release the gas pedal. the thumping feel when i mash the gas pedal is less now too. i used to get this little thump (or i might be just sensitive) when i hit the floor with power. now its more solid and feels like it just goes, less of a lag per se. again this is only after one bushing and not all three. ill finish the other two tomorrow and ill give a better feed back on how it works.

for proper comparison, i have done other things to tighten up the car. hence, these are in conjunction with other stiffening mods. again im not doing power mods as some if not a huge majority of audi owners do first.
here i am just getting the car to feel more alive and less of the comfort the car was meant to be. the car does vibrate more and makes more noises. i actually enjoy the new feel, its not faster but its a whole lot more fun driving.

 

[GlacierS3]

Dang, were the marks on the metal as the result of removing the old bushings?

 

[AlltrackMike]

Thanks for being a guinea pig for us, nice write-up!

 

[92683]

Thanks for being a guinea pig for us, nice write-up!

no problem. i do a lot of custom work on my car and i rarely put it up for show. i notice a lot of people are so negative online that it discourages me to share. i noticed that this forum is pretty chill and thought i would share here.

 

[92683]

Dang, were the marks on the metal as the result of removing the old bushings?

after spending hours getting to the part you need to swap out to find that your spending another few hours trying to remove it without scratching parts gets old real fast.

i am like you, i really hate to scratch or damage my car but trust me after spending hours under there, you will not care how you get it out.

but i will say its not as bad as it looks and i came to a conclusion and doing it this way was fine. you just have to out weight the pros and cons of a minor scrape inside something youll never see again. these bushings are life time warranty and they dont look like they are going to break anytime soon.

1. its really superficial. its not bad at all.

2. it wont cause any issues with the workings of the bushings.

3. its under the car and no one will see it.

4. to take it out without scratching it will require you drop the whole subfram and differential unit to the floor. that requires a lot more time and a lift and for me thats not going to happen.

 

[92683]

i just finished the install. i have not driven it yet.

this time i needed to remove the last rear position bushings and to get to them was little easier but longer, if that made sense. it didnt require me to figure out what i needed to do but rather i had to unbolt a lot more things to get the rear subframe area.

here you need to loosen a bunch of items which are listed in the instructions ecstuning has.
once those are done then you lower the rear subframe about 10-12 inches. do one bushing at a time as you dont want the diff separating from the subframe. being that you dont want them separating, it then becomes really tricky to remove the bushings with tools with such a tight space. this is where you really need to decide if scratching the car is your thing or not. at this point i cant figure out how to do it without scratching it. so, if you figure it out please let me know. in the end i went at it with my dremel tool and screw drivers, trying to pry it out. it came out pretty fast this time as i knew what i had to do and i didnt hold back.

i would like to also mention that ecstuning has their own version. now that i have installed this version i can safely say what the differences are. the other version would be a more mild type. since ecstuning's version doesnt replace the whole stock bushing. theirs will add into the stock void areas. i do feel that the whole bushing should be replaced for a full effect to be felt.

ill be going for drive shortly to see how it feels.

while i was down there i was thinking about the tyrolsport rear deadset kit aka rear subframe inserts.
http://www.tyrolsport.com/suspension/chassis/tyrolsport-deadset-kit-rear-awd-mk5/6/7/mqb/a3/s3/

the question is will it fit the s3?
they described it as;
"Tyrolsport Deadset Kit Rear AWD MK5/6/7/MQB /A3 /S3"


i talked to the guy who designed it at tyrolsport today (greg). he says it should fit but its not tested on the s3. he says the units are similar to the golf R and the oem parts are the same number but he says no testing has been done.

 

[92683]

 

[92683]

my tyrolsport inserts came in today. ill attempt to install them soon so i can get another alignment done and really see how they feel.

update:
did the install. pretty easy. took like a few minutes to drop the subframe again to put them in. getting the car on jack stands took more time than the whole installation.

does need an alignment.

in case you guys dont know what subframe inserts do, illl put a video in to explain. and yes it does feel vastly different. the car does feel more solid now. i love it and would do it all over again. in the mean time im im looking for more bushing upgrades.

[video=youtube;L_h-2X6FWcw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_h-2X6FWcw[/video]

 

[92683]

just got them in. the car feels very good!

i didnt get an alignment yet, which i do recommend immediately. it throws it off a bit and will be squirrelly, but even without an alignment it feels tight. i think i can feel all four wheels now rather than a floating feel when i take corners or accelerate. i would have to say its very planted and its on stock suspension and wheels and tires. it does vibrate a bit but nothing that i would say is uncomfortable, but it might just be me.

footnote: i have done a few additional bushing upgrade to have this effect. these alone will not create the effect im talking about. a culmination of multiple bushing upgrades is what will allow the car feel and handle better. these make the car feel like i installed a full coilover setup, its that dramatic in driving feel.