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Feedback on powerflex upgrade

7K views 40 replies 17 participants last post by  simon12 
#1 ·
I would be grateful if people could provide feedback on powerflex bush upgrade autolusso now offers on 159/Brera's.

My front end is becoming a little noisy and would like to go down the powerflex route. The complete front end upgrade with Autolusso looks / sounds just the ticket with improved road manners and additional longevity of bushes but before I jump in and part with my hard earned cash i'd love to hear peoples feedback after a few miles running with the new bushes :thumbs:
 
#2 ·
You will notice the difference even without exceeding 30mph , just driving away from Ned's . It's very direct and accurate in placing the car , no holding the wheel with the car wandering about even a tiny amount --- where you stick it -- it will go . Apart from that of course the major benefit is getting the set-up right now it's adjustable PLUS it doesn't wobble around within that stupid standard lower joint , thereby writing off any adjustment made. Then of course is the much more sensible tyre wear due to all the above.
NEGATIVES -------- now't , apart from a little sqeekiness heard at sub 15mph or while parking etc. Brilliant :thumbs:
 
#3 ·
I had just the lower wishbone rear bush fitted and along with 4 wheel alignment it has made a great improvement, the car used to shudder slightly if I hit a bump, that has gone and the car now feels much more solid on the road.
The old bushes were not split or broken up.

Highly recomended
 
#4 ·
I think if you do a search on here you'll find pretty much nothing but praise for this mod.

I had the Brera S V6 done a while back and it has totally transformed the car. You can stick it into corners and roundabouts with confidence (aided by the Pirelli P Zero Neros of course) but like Jon and Rob have said, it goes exactly where you stick it!

I'm not usually really one for mods, especially with something already given the Prodrive magic, but this one IS really worth it! ;)

I don't even get the squeakiness at low speeds either! :thumbs:
 
#7 ·
It is well worth doing, I have been very pleased with the results and had great customer feedback

Depending on the age of your car you might also need new metal housings that the bush fits into, the power flex bushes only fit the later wider housings. My car had the earlier narrow housings, they were about £24 each
We don't have to do this any more as we have had small bushes made for the early arms

Ned
 
#15 ·
You should do or if an accident occured , they're always looking for ways NOT to pay up. However , if you have modded your car in any way and I've done several bits , it's best to insure with a company who specialises in only modofied cars like GREENLIGHT . All they require , once you're insured by them , is that you notify them of any mod's . I got mine covered by them at £365 after remapping then later fitted EIBACHS , BILSTIENS and later POWERFLEX from Ned. I emailed them each time explaining the mod's and cost ---- that was it , no further charges and if an accident occurs they cover you like for like.
 
#16 ·
I'll add my weight to the view that it's a good idea. I had it done as part of Eibach/B8 upgrade and if you have any thoughts of doing this you'll want the upper arms as well as the lower arm, as it is the upper wishbone that provides the camber adjustment. My suspension guy had the adjustment at its minimum camber setting to reduce the negative camber from lowering it. Since he's pretty good at setting up race cars and does most of the expensive stuff in the area, I'll trust him on that one. I got all the bits from Alfisti.net at what seems a pretty good price. Shipping to Australia was about 100 Euro.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I had this done on my 159 a couple of weeks ago along with fitting some Nokian winter tyres. Was pretty busy at the time and had more important things to think about, so didn't really get to drive the car too much and didn't just want to post "it's great" for the sake of it and to justify the cost. Spent about a week back in my old 156 (Autolusso courtesy car) while the work was being done (my choice for it to take a week for me to collect the car), so I'd gotten used to really light steering again. The night and day feeling that others have spoken of wasn't apparent to me, sure the car felt nice, I couldnt knock it, but I reckon because of me using the 156 for a week and not being able to recollect (due to only buying the 159 a few weeks ago) how the 159 handled, I wasn't blown away.

It was a few days later when I started noticing wierd stuff going on. I have to do a 3 point turn to get of our driveway, suddenly it dawned on me that it was a really easy manoeuvre. I can also forget the 3 point turn and reverse down my drive, again, it was really easy. The steering felt sluggish and thick before, now in these situations the steering feels clean, I don't even need to worry about how crap the reverse lights are anymore cos I can feel the car, connected with it if you get my drift.

So i was driving it the other night and suddenly I become aware that I'm whipping thru mini roundabouts and intermittent parked cars with only one hand on the wheel, defo never did this before. Can't say I've had a chance to drive it over 60mph yet, but I reckon it's sub 60 where this mod is of benefit to me and my Wife anyway, town driving etc.

So are the Nokians any good? Is it worth getting winter tyres? Not sure really, but the car feels really good and you feel a bit more confident with winters on, so no downsides. Love the car.

Is £500 worth it for this powerlex/Autolusso thingy? Yep, you'll forget about the 500 pretty quickly, but you'll have a clean handling car, personally, I'd get this done as 2nd top of the mod chart after tyres, before dampers, springs, brakes. Drove a 6 month old merc e class estate today, sporty one. 159 way better!
__________________
GT 3.2 V6 - Q2, KONI FSD & EIBACH PROKIT, GTA REMAP, MICHELLIN PS3's, BMC CDA
159 SW 2.4JTDM TI - NO MODS (YET)
 
#18 ·
if i am wanting to replace suspension and use power flex bushes is it better to replace suspension first and then later fit the powerflex bushes or does it not matter in what order these upgrades are performed if they cannot be carried out at the same time
 
#20 ·
I've had Powerflex stuff on 2 cars now. Before I got the stuff done to the 159, I said to Ned I wasn't interested in it if it made the feel of the car hard. He assured me it wouldn't and it hasn't,it just feels much cleaner. The reason I was worried about it being being hard was because I had a bad experience in jail :) seriously, when I had my 156 powerflexed and GTA ARB'd, it was tougher on town driving, I wasnt too impressed, but you end up taking for granted how flatter it corners. I was always concentrating on ride comfort, but until I went around corners in the 159, I didn't appreciate how much better the pflex/GTA arb 156 is. You have to figure out whether you want a comfy ride around town or confidence in speedier driving. My GT has no powerflex stuff, just Eibachs and FSD'S, it's just right for me. Quite honestly I've had too much wine to carry on and make any sense. I'll edit tomorrow.
 
#24 ·
I've just had the Powerflex bush upgrade, along with 4 new tyres fitted @ Autolusso and all I can say is, wow, thanks Ned :thumbs:

I didn't realise the car could feel that nice on the road, it feels poised & refined, the turn in is excellent and it's got rid of annoying vibration I would sometimes get at motorway speeds. I've only done about 100 or so miles on the upgrade and I've yet to push it hard 'til the tyres are scrubbed properly and these are obviously my first impressions, but a very good impression has been made......Very happy!

Just need the remap now to add the extra bang to go with the extra handling. :thumbs:
 
#28 ·
Very happy since getting the front lower wishbones powerflexed along with 4-wheel alignment by Neds Autolusso branch.

By going from knackered bushes to powerflex, the improvement was night and day, the classic symptom of worn bushes - the front-end clonking was gone but there were more positives.

1.) Car feels much more solid and precise, going over speed bumps for instance, car was solid, smooth and not crashy.
2.) Steering feels a lot more controlled and on-point, where you steer it goes and with very little input. Steering wheel is perfectly centred and goes where it is pointed.
3.) Small maneuvers, especially reversing is now a lot easier.
4.) No more clonking noises when at full-lock.
5.) Car feels smoother when in motion, quicker, less road noise most likely due to the better alignment corrections done afterwards.
6.) Braking; no juddering or wobbling when slow or hard braking.
7.) More confidence when cornering; before the mod I didn't always feel confident turning at speed, but the car feels alot more 'planted' since powerflexing.

Overall a highly recommended mod, for the price the transformation is well worth it, only regret is not doing it earlier and putting up with the god-awful noises for too long.

Cheers.
 
#34 ·
I paid £300 + £79 for the alignment, would be more to do other areas but usually not needed.
 
#30 ·
The Giulia has the same type of rubber bush with the correct voids to allow for movement. The car has many reviews for how it beats Merc and BMW for a nice compliant suspension. I wonder how long it will be before somebody decides to put on plastic bush to destroy this compliance.

PS A new rubber bush will repair any 159 Brera.
 
#36 ·
Yeah really appreciated that, I like Craig lol. Also appreciate the complimentary wash, never looked so shiny.
 
#38 ·
We are the main branch in Houghton Regis

Autolusso

Best get the ball joint on the arm at the same time as the Powerflex and alignment as you have to take the arm off to do the Powerflex job. If you do it the way you suggested you will be paying labour twice. We keep the the arms in stock

Ned
 
#39 · (Edited)
I had just the lowers on my 159 and was so pleased with it I have fitted them to my Brera, only positives, no compromise to the noise, hashness etc.
Dont listed to the doubters, Ive not heard any one post negative feedback after they have had them fitted to their own car.
I fitted them to my Brera myself, you need to use a press to remove the old and fit the new bushes to the housing but it didnt take a lot of force and the housing assembly just knocks on and off the wishbone.

It would be handy if they could sell the housings, either new or used with the polly bushes fitted.
 
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