VW Parts International Blog
Powerflex Uprated Bushings

We love our cars, so inevitably we love to go for a blast on the fastest, most winding and undulating roads we can find. It’s an adrenaline rush, and a drug we can’t get enough of. Hell, most of us have even driven in our dreams. There’s one major factor towards lost love and frustration with one’s vehicle when driving – unpredictable handling. The lack of knowledge or feel for what the car is going to do next or how it will react to your input is often an uncomfortable and occasionally scary experience, and it can really affect how much you enjoy pushing your car.

This doesn’t have to be the case, with a little understanding of car handling rules and some moderately priced DIY upgrades. To this you’ll possibly say “I’m already on coilovers and have sports tyres”. To that we say that’s a great start, but if you speak with any track-day enthusiast, it’s really only a start! What’s the point in spending good money on sticky tyres and coilover suspension if the fundamentally important steering input, body roll, road hold and other factors are then affected by your car being full of worn rubber bushes. These rubber bushes are the factory standard on most production cars, and are great for a soft and steady drive around town, however they’re less than ideal for fast road or track days.

Consider this. You’re pushing along a twisty road, and you’re wondering why even though you’ve lowered your car you still experience body roll through corners. It’s pretty simple really, your anti-roll bar could be made of Wolverine grade adamantium, but if that is allowed excessive movement by a rubber bushing, you will less than Marvel at the outcome! Get it? I even impressed myself with that one..

Our point is, what makes the difference between an ok handling car and a tuned and perfected racer is the small factors. Powerflex have an enormous range of stiffer, polyurethane performance bushes for a massive range of cars. The chances are, whatever your car, they make the bushings for you. Trial and error has led top racing drivers to understand exactly what their favoured handling characteristics are. Some like oversteer, some prefer a more tame and forgiving understeer. The main thing is they’ve found exactly what makes them confident to drive fast, and you can too!

At the most basic level, a stiffer rear end will encounter more oversteer, where stiffening the front end will have the opposite effect. This is a very basic science theory lesson indeed, and realistically you’ll want to spend a few minutes on the internet researching the basic handling characteristics of your exact vehicle type, so you can buy safe in the knowledge that you’ll be getting the desired effect. With Powerflex you even get a choice in stiffness depending on your chosen need. The Road Series come in colours such as purple or yellow and they are your typical fast road upgrade, whereas the Black Series are stiffer still, and designed for track use.

A good example of this is the VW Golf Mk3 is a little more prone to oversteer when fitted with Powerflex VW Golf Mk3 Rear Axle Bushings for £69.58. These are a chosen favourite with Mk3 owners as they really help to counter their natural understeering handling which is very typical from a front wheel drive hatchback not fitted with a limited slip differential. Go on, spend a few quid on stiffening your car up, you’ll be surprised with the affect it has!

Own a Mk4 Golf R32 and want to increase on the already brilliant handling? How about some VW Golf Mk4 R32 Powerflex Rear Subframe Mounting Bushings for £119.76. Your 32 is 4 wheel drive, and handles well, but still a little prone to understeer. How about counter it by stiffening that rear end. Who doesn’t like a tight rear end anyway?

Want to give your VW Golf Mk3 a full piece of mind overhaul and save money overall in the mean time? How about the VW Golf MK3 VR6 GTI TDI Powerflex Handling Pack for £236.34 which includes all front wishbone bushes, rear beam bushes, and top mount bushings for  both front and rear. This will have a hugely positive affect on the handling and ride of your Golf, while giving piece of mind for future MOTs and roadworthy tests that your bushings will safely stand the test of time for years to come!

Some of our best sellers include:

VW Golf Mk3 VR6 GTI Powerflex Front Strut Top Mounts

VW Golf Mk3 GTI VR6 Powerflex Front Lower Engine Mount Bush With Inserts

All bushings come with a free sticker (besides exhaust rubbers and camber bolts) and if you spend over £50 we’ll even throw in a free keyring to sweeten the deal!