Chrysler / Mopar Solutions

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LX Overview Continued

The elegant design of the LX suspension is limited by highly compliant rubber bushes. People often ask why Pedders places so much emphasis on bushes before coils, dampers (struts and shocks) or sway bars. The answer is you can't set a fence post in Jell-O and expect a good result. As engineers strive to isolate vehicle occupants from Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) suspension stability is reduced. In this video demonstration you can see how little effort is required to generate large amounts of motion in the LX Upper Front Wishbone Style Control Arm. You will find similar range of motion in the lower front control arm and radius arms.

The videos are demonstrations of motion. In your LX the loads are similar, but the arms are attached at both ends. Under actual installed conditions the energy applied against the arms and bushes are much higher than those generated by hand in a vice. As you drive your LX and the componets move withing the range allowed by OEM bushes the dynamic alignment changes. With the replacement of the EP6570 Radius Rod Bushes the Virtual Pivot suspension operates more effectively resulting in imporved driver control and experience. Combine the EP6570 Radius Rod bushes with EP2113 Bumpsteer Correction and your Rear Wheel Drive LX becomes more composed responding to your steering inputs with great precision.

Using an index finger the OEM Radius Rod bushes allow significant motion. Using his whole hand the vice wiggles more than the Upper Control Arm moves with Pedders bushes installed. Any company can make a rock hard urethane bush for race car like handling with race car like harshness. The challenge is to gain maximum control with maximum ride comfort. Pedders does not make race car parts. Pedders makes bits that are daily driver comfortable with close to track style handling. Pedders EP6570 is daily driver comfortable and adds adjustment for front wheel camber and castor adjustment. In the hands of a Pedders Suspension Specialist your LX can be aligned to optimize tire life, turn-in for the most aggressive driver or for maximum rear tire contact at the drag strip.

Most OE bushes are not designed for the rigors of enthusiast driving. These pictures are of LX Radius Arm bushes that were driven hard by enthusiast on the street and track. These bushes did not fail from regular driving and are should not be covered under OE warranty. The use would be considered abuse by most manufacturers.

These pictures show an OE front radius arm bush after 18,000 miles of conservative daily driving . On the car the tear is barely visible. A close inspection is required to find it. Out of the car pressure from a finger shows the tear clearly. Inspection should be done on a lift that allows the wheel to hang at full drop. With wheels hanging tears are obvious and easy to find. Any cotrol arm bush that is torn requires immediate maintenance. A Torn radius arm bush allows dynamic castor change. Castor changes increase toe changes. Torn radius rod arm bushes can be felt in your daily driving. Brakes pulls, wander at speed, sawing the steering wheel through turns.

Envision the load your LX places on this bush on a spirited turn. Pliersor screw drivers are used to make clear how deep and severe the tears are.

These torn Radius Rod bushes were found on 3.5L Soccer Mom 300C. The SRT 8 models come with more robust bushes that the rest of the LX range, however the brakes are larger and more powerful, the engines are larger and more powerful, many owners select stickier and larger wheels and tires and SRT 8 owners tend to drive more enthusiastically, all of which place higher loads on the bushes even the SRT 8 bushes fail. The next video is of the lower front control arm in a 3.5L AWD driven in the Chicago area. His inner control arm bushes are shredded.

Pedders is developing a urethane solution for the AWD Front Lower Control ARM. The only repair option available at this time is a complete arm assembly from Chrysler. Radius and Control Arm bushes this failed to this state should be replaced immediately. Torn LX Radius Rod bushes are a common discovery during a 28 Point Suspension Inspection. To check for failed and torn bushes the vehicle must be lifted and the wheel at full droop. Pedders recommends an Annual 28 Point Inspection be part of your routine maintenance program. These were found during a 28 Point Inspection on a 2005 Magnum.

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