Delrin door bushings installation on Mazda MX5/Miata ND/ND2 - not what I expected

[@saviordream]

Thanks for the honest review; now I can hold off on buying something like this, at least for the time being. Just picked up the car about a week ago, and haven't noticed anything that would lead me to feel like changing these bushing out at this point would be worth it.

[@Themazcorner]

Hope it gave some insight. As with many things it's down to each person. If you do opt to get bushings it seems that cravenspeed is the one to go for as they seem to have narrower tolerances. Also it's a rather cheap mod so it wont break the bank in case the result is not as expected :)

[@98JamesNixon]

I feel these made a good difference for my nc1, has lowering springs so the noises from rough roads etc were much more noticeable from stock. With the new bushings it seems to be a bit more rigid and less creaky especially when hitting bumps etc. Nothing crazy difference but worth doing for the price IMO

[@Themazcorner]

I will have to take mine of an re-install the OEM ones again and check again :D. I guess it depend on the car model and also how old some of the rubber parts etc are. Thanks for the input

[@williamc.6168]

I appreciate your honest opinion. Like others here, i think this is probably a good modification when it actually wears out and needs to be replaced. You'd think if it was a big deal, the manufacturer would put these in , in the first place. Considering pretty much mazda has done to make this convertible right, this should have definitely been something they should have done when building it by putting in stiffer bushings than the softer ones for better sturdiness.

[@Themazcorner]

thank you for the feedback. Again it might just be me or me in combination with mods I already have on the and therefore I don't feel much difference. But as you say it would have not been difficult or expensive for Mazda to actually do this from factory

[@duckbizniz663]

Thank you for sharing your honest experience with everyone. You have a relatively new Miata so I am not surprised that it made no noticeable difference. In the case of an older Miata where the bushings may have worn down, a new pair of bushings would make a noticeable difference. I suspect overall rattling of the car body cannot be solved by a pair of door bushings. Again thank you being honest. By the way I think your 30th Anniversary Orange Miata is very distinctive and "sporty" looking.

[@Themazcorner]

Glad you liked it! as mentioned I did no feel any difference and as you say on older cars/not as rigid cars then maybe it makes a noticeable difference. The car is comig along ju nicely I have some more things to throw at it before I am done :)

[@bikebert]

After having delrin door bushings (Cobalt) for over a year in my 2009 Miata PRHT I got tired of constant need of using considerably more force to close my doors (almost slamming). Many times I had to try couple of times before successfully closing the door. It can't be any good for frameless doors. I noticed that window in driver's door developed some rattle from all that slamming the doors, that some call "door closing with a clunk". I tried to adjust and sand bushings, then bent metal cups; unfortunately nothing fixed the problem. Also, I never noticed any advertised increase in rigidity or reduction of rattle. Personally, I find it total BS and snake oil. Do yourself a favor, learn from my mistake and don't waste of your money on this gadget. At the end I went back to OEM rubber wedges and doors finally close as they should. I believe rubber bushings actually works better in reducing NVH than hard polyoxymethylene (derlin) or polyurethane. Sometimes I feel the more I drift from OEM parts and factory design the less happy I am with final result. This only proves how well our Miatas are designed and executed ;)

[@Themazcorner]

yeah I am also a bit concerned over the fact that having to use more force to close the doors will make something else in the doors to go bad. The rubber bushings will most definately give less NHV compared to Delrin bushings anywhere on the car. I'll see what I will do as I did not experience anything worth noting. I have driven the car hard, slow, over bumps, rail-road track etc but no difference

[@SweetoothDS]

Have the same Cobalt bushing installed , works well reducing noises from the door in twisty roads, just that , no miracles

[@Themazcorner]

Great that you are experiencing a difference. are you running any other mods on the car with regards to suspension/chassi? I mentioned in a earlier comment I did not experience any noises/rattle from the doors with the rubber ones. Did your bushings sit somewhat snug in the cub by themselves or they were "loose" as mine?

[@SweetoothDS]

@@Themazcorner Im on stock wheels/suspension, no strut brace on mine. Im looking to put coilovers and front/rear braces

[@Themazcorner]

@@SweetoothDS The coilovers will make a big difference :)

[@SweetoothDS]

@@Themazcorner Im looking for a set of Koni+ Eibach or something similar for every day

[@malice_wonderland]

I've got a set of Cravenspeed bushings on the way and will let you know if I have a better experience. I've also got a 30AE soft top, on Ohlins R&T 7kg/4kg coilovers, so the experience should be comparable.

[@Themazcorner]

awesome would be great to hear your experience. I am running the MeisterR Clubrace coilovers(10/6) it's a bit bouncy :D. How do you like the Öhlins?

[@MishMoves]

How'd the bushings go?

[@lm5370]

I do feel slightly faster suspension feedback and reduced NVH in the back trunk (metal top plates). Like you I have a set of MeisterR but GT1 coilover 7/4.5, I have a cobblestone driveway out of my garage and I deliberately only changed this part while keeping all other settings consistent to feel the difference if any.

[@Themazcorner]

I am keen to take mine off and try withouth them to see if I fell any difference :D. The clubrace ones have a bit stiffer springs so that can also be a factor that eliminates at least what I feel as the car overall becomes more stiff/bouncy

[@Jadedgr4ce]

Generally speaking, across the board, I would say that replacing bushings in a new car with new bushings, is going to be fairly ineffective and unnoticeable. This applies to bushings anywhere on any vehicle. If they're not worn out and you replace them, you aren't going to notice much change. What you will do, is extend the life of the associated part..

[@Themazcorner]

thanks for the input! Agreed on all points. But also with certain areas of the car and by changing to stiffer bushings it will enhance the driving experience and feel. Door bushings maybe is not that relevant though :)

[@Frank-ut5mj]

I had them on my NB and the change of NVH is very noticeable, although I don't think it does anything to chassis rigidity. Maybe It works less effectively with newer cars with newer rubbers?

[@Themazcorner]

most likely also the ND as such is much more rigid structural wise and also as you are saying replacing worn out parts will make a bigger difference

[@Trigger-xw9gq]

I bet that if the cars came from the factory with Delrin bushings, somebody would be swapping them out with rubber ones as a "mod" and selling them. "Look how much quieter the door-closing is!"

[@coyotecarguy2076]

I can only imagine that those bushings get changed when the factory ones wear out. . . not sure what problem gets solved with using firmer bushings. . . Interesting review!

[@Themazcorner]

hey buddy, sorry for the late reply. On the older MX-5 it makes a bigger difference I would think #1 those cars are not as rigid from the get go #2 as you say worned out bushings. However there are many saying they have experience less rattle and that the car feels stiffer even on the NDs but I did not experience that.

[@CitizenXFR]

don't wait. You get two benefits: - structural, the car body back-front twists less as the door connects better and stiffens the body together better - quality feel, door closing flush, no rattling, no moving, and a deeper sound closer to a german car. Go with Cravenspeed or flying Miata bushings.

[@Scott.Mariani]

Dude, I love your garage! Thanks for the review. As a Mechanical Engineer I am always reluctant to replace elements like this. A lot of R&D go into these designs and so unless it is a "looks" or "performance" mod there is always going to be some trade off over what the original design was trying to accomplish. I need to go look at your antenna video. I am not bothered by the factory antenna but do like the look of the stubby.

[@Themazcorner]

thanks buddy! Hope it gave some insight! For the antenna install have a look here :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGe8d4qreZebg9k I have a bachelors deegree in Mechanical Engineering but my masters is in another area. Never worked with the engineering stuff unfortunately. Yeah I can imagine they wouldn't just throw something on there. I would think the bushings would be more beneficial on the older models as they don't have the same chassi rigiditiy as the NDs also most likely the ones experiencing a difference on old cars may have had worn out bushings! Glad that you like the garage, I have built it myself (apart from the concret foundation and the tiles) :)

[@grandtourisbros]

I noticed the same looseness in the door cups on my ND2 with delrin bushings... not really sure if the bushings are doing anything at least on my ND2.

[@Themazcorner]

Yeah! Not sure. However there seems to be a bunch of people that have experienced less rattle etc. I cannot say I did experinece that from the get go with the rubber ones

[@mr.single281]

What at they for? Change de sounds or the strengh u need to close the door? Btw, nice car🤙🏼

[@Themazcorner]

not sure I didn't notice any difference apart for the doors required mor force to close :)

[@Polyrytmi]

ska kolla videon efter jobbet inatt, fick ett par såna gratis, är det värt att montera på dessa ens ?

[@Themazcorner]

Vettefan om det hjälpte något :D

[@spektrumlaserspa708]

i feel like these are only good mod to do when the car gets older and the bushing gets weaker or to soft over time

[@Themazcorner]

yes most likely and maybe more so on a stock car

[@jssw3618]

Use of tape is what I recommend.

[@Themazcorner]

yes that helped me at least

[@Eros_Racing]

My passenger door doesn’t close unless I apply more force than normal

[@Eros_Racing]

But I feel they close tighter which has to be a good thing lol

[@Eros_Racing]

I would keep em on. I have a feeling the difference is not something owners can notice but it might be there

[@Eros_Racing]

Thanks for the vid anyways. It was good

[@Themazcorner]

yes there is some extra force needed as the bushings are sitting tighter in the cups. I might try the oem again to check if I can feel any difference now that I have had them on for some time Glad you liked the video!

[@Dr.IanPlect]

@@Themazcorner "I might try the oem again to check if I can feel any difference now that I have had them on for some time" - did you try them again/results?

[@D3X1M3REMIXED]

Should have gone with CravenSpeed

[@Themazcorner]

it would be so expensive to get them shipped to sweden. I'll just leave them be for now

[@captainjackfender3757]

Flyin Miata has a much better version that uses continuous strand carbon fiber reinforced carbon nylon 3D printed bushings

[@Themazcorner]

I might have a look at the ones FM. However with freight/customs and VAT to get them to Sweden they do get quite expensive :(

[@Treys_Waterboy]

Seems like a waste of money. Good video.

[@Themazcorner]

thank you! I did not experience on my car with the other stuff I have on it. Maybe the experience is different on other cars. It's a rather cheap mod in case anyone wants to try it out

[@D3X1M3REMIXED]

CravenSpeeds version is much better and night and day difference.

[@WizardTerence]

In my opinion , everytime you add an after market item , you are taking away from the value of the car. Especially when you are lucky enough to be able to get a 30th anniversary edition . If you ever sell that car then you better have all the original parts. I can almost guarantee they will want it or subtract the value of the missing parts from your asking price.

[@Themazcorner]

Everything that has been out on the car can easily be removed. One thing that will not be removed is the XPEL PPF I have on it. But I do get your point, but no changes have been done which are not reversible