Don’t let your old car sound like one | Fresh bushings for our 911

Update by David S. Wallens to the Porsche 911 Carrera project car
Oct 25, 2023 | Porsche, 911, Porsche 911

Photography by David S. Wallens

We’ve all heard it, likely from the driver’s seat–that horrible, nails-on-a-chalkboard creaking from the suspension.

It makes an old car sound really old, right?

Our 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera was not immune, as it announced its presence–and its age–whenever it encountered a bump.

It was embarrassing.

It made us want to duck beneath the dashboard.

It wasn’t helping us endear classic cars to a new audience.

Fortunately the fix wasn’t too involved, as a look at our front anti-roll bar bushings said a lot. The 40-year-old rubber looked hard, brittle and misshapen.

So we ordered new bushings.

But we didn’t go with factory rubber replacements for our anti-roll bar bushings. Instead we went with stiffer urethane ones from Powerflex–stiffer for less deflection.

Less deflection makes the anti-roll bar more effective, as it’s no longer surrounded by soft, squishy rubber that must compress before the bar engages.

[What is an anti-roll bar and how does it work?]

But for those concerned about original looks–even for things not out in the open–aftermarket suspension bushings usually have an associated cost: They’re often formed in brightly colored materials.

Powerflex offers an alternative with its Heritage Collection: It features the same polyurethane as its Street bushings but formed in dark gray for an OE appearance. We ordered a set for our Porsche’s anti-roll bars–along with most of the other bushings that’s we’ll be installing later.

Rear bushing in Powerflex Heritage Collection shown; front looks remarkably similar.

What about squeaking from the urethane? These bushings come with lubricant–grooves keep the lube in place–and as we’ve found with other bushings from the brand, even after 20-plus years, the Powerflex pieces remain quiet.