Control Arm Bushings - The Final Word?, Who is telling the truth? Options

[bcheney]

I need to replace the control arm bushings on my 6 conversion. I am using stock 914 contral arms. I purchased a set of OEM style rubber bushings. The manufacturer is URO Parts. They have a U-tube video explaining why they made their bushings along with a demo of how to install them. The price of a complete set of four bushings was about $50.00 Here is the link to URO's U-tube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45IvTOZxtBE

Elephant Racing makes there own version and claim that brand X (It looks like they may be referencing the URO parts) will not stand up over time. Their price for four bushings and installation tool is over $200. They say the brand X bushing significantly deforms after just one load. Here is the link to Elephants
U-Tube video that compares the two types.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X03h2gE4Rao...feature=related

I am really beginning to wonder if I should just go ahead and install the poly bushings I had at the beginning of all of this. They ran about $40.00 OR $50.00.
I was told they will squeak...so that's why I looked into the OEM style rubber type. I Really dont want to spend another $200 if I dont have to. If you have experience with any of these bushings please give me your thoughs. I would like to know what the real world report is...

[charliew]

Bearings are intended to be used in a high speed rotating enviorment where a bushing is intended to be a slow speed rotating enviorment. The suspension arm is not either. From my industrial maintenance experience I know that in a rotational use where the bearing is constantly revolving that roller bearings will always be the correct best application if the rotational speed is too high for the bushing application and the vibration or radial shock is low. Also the roller bearing will have less friction as the rollers are only touching on their radius where they touch the inner and outer race. On the suspension application where the arm is only rocking in a minimum angle the rollers will be staying in the same spot a lot. With the forward and backward (radial shock) vibration that is not what the roller bearing is designed for although it is better than the ball bearing. I'm sure I'm not the only one that knows this. A bushing is the best design for this application, the surface area is many times more and therefore the friction will be more. I'm sure the rollers are really impressive from the frictional observation but 20 years from now I bet they will need replacement if used on a street car. I am positive in 20 years a bronze bushing will not need replacement if it is just greased a little. I picked the number 20 because I only usually drive my toys about 5k a year. Water intrusion is also a big concern on any suspension pivot and I believe the bushing will survive better in that regard. Of course with a lightweight race car everything is different.