Super Pro Bushes
THOR Racing are UK distributors of Fulcrum (Australia) Polyurethane bushes through the European distributor SuperPro.
SuperPro bushes are a polyurethane elastomer based material and is a class of "Thermosetting" synthetic polymer that involves the reaction of various types of isocyanate resin with curing agents to give an extremely durable material with the best features of rubbber and plastic.
The SuperPro polyurethane product range is fully backed by a professional research & development program based on many years of hands on experience in the suspension industry.
Click here to download Application and Price List
The Benefits of SuperPro
The SuperPro component offers many individual improvements. Here is an indication of what can be expected:
- LOW MAINTENANCE
- RESPONSIVE STEERING
- INCREASED TYRE LIFE
- LONGEVITY
- IMPROVED STABILITY
- LESS WANDER
WHY SuperPro ?
Since the introduction of polyurethane into the aftermarket suspension industry in the early 80's many have tried but few have succeeded in manufacturing accurate, durable parts consistently. Anyone can take two jam tins and mix part A with part B, pour it into a mould and get a result. It takes proper management and high technology to achieve the right result every time.
At Super Pro, we use nominally 70,80 and 90 Shore A material and have adopted a policy of progressive hardness reduction, using sophisticated polymers, design and casting techniques to eliminate noise, vibration and harshness.
It is in this "NVH" area that we are concentrating our greatest developmental efforts. Super Pro polyurethane suspension bushes are not copies of the original rubber component they are specially developed to take advantage of the material's unique properties.
Our shackle bushes for example, may feature flat or grooved sections, or domed heads to eliminate noise. Similarly, steel sleeves may be grooved for lubricant retention. Diametral interference and preloads are carefully controlled to minimise bending or other stresses on mating parts, to prevent cracking or breakage.
Bushes being used in strut bar, radius rod or trailing arm locations, will improve the road holding, handling and tyre wear of the car. This is possible because Super Pro will achieve consistent tyre to road alignment, particularly under braking and cornering loads. In many cases there is little or no effect on NVH, thanks to careful design by our technicians.
SuperPro and Resilience
This is one of those buzzwords and really what Super Pro is all about.
Q. What is resilience?
A. The Speed at which an elastomer will return to its original shape after being deformed.
For example: A cricket ball has low resilience and a golf ball has high resilience. Both have similar surface hardness. Suspension bushes with low resilience will tend to transmit NVH, which bushes with high resilience will tend to absorb NVH.
Material
The Polyurethane that is specifically blended for the SuperPro product has mechanical properties that make is extremely successful in its application. The properties of extreme resistance to abrasion, low compression set, high tear strenth and a resistance to oils and solvents make it ideal fo automotive applications. These properties lead to a resilient product that is highly versatile in its applications.
Steelwork
The crush tubing is an integral component of the suspension bushing system and is necessary for free pivoting. The crush tubes are made to precision tolerances to ensure that the precise fits are maintained. All SuperPro tubes are made of STEEL & ZINC plated for corrosion protection and appearance. In some applications SuperPro incorporates end knurls and hardened tubes to provide positive location. As required SuperPro provides presion machined steel SHELLS to allow the installer to quickly and easily replace worn components.
The Double Helix
The double helix is used on the inside of the bushing. This design is primarily used on shackle bushings providing a region for grease to travel along. This allows the boundary layer of grease to form between the inside diameter of the bushing and the outside diameter of the tube. The double helix is extremely successful in greasable shackles as the grease can travel from the centre of the bushing, along the helix and out to the grease grooves in the head of the bushing.
Knurling
This is used on inside diameters of bushings to enable unrestricted pivoting of the poloyurethane bushing around the crush tube. The knurling has two inherent design advantages. The knurling reduces the surface area of polyurethane in contact with the crush tube. This reduction in surface area results in less frictional forces being developed. The SuperPro knurl bore keeps the lubricating grease intact for the life of the bushing, and eliminates the necessity for periodic re-greasing.
Bullet Grooves
When polyurethane is used to replace rubber in many suspension applications, it often has to accommodate large variances in tolerances.
Rubber is not a precision component and will compress or distort readily to allow fitment, which in turn creates binding of the bushings. This is one of the main reasons why SuperPro polyurethane is superior to rubber bushings, as they have a free pivoting point and not a torsion pivot like rubber. SuperPro had to develop a method of achieving the correct pre-loads while still accommodating a range of variances in sizes. Bullet grooves allow the bushings to flex and accept a much wider range of sizes while still maintaining free pivoting of the bushings.
Vehicle Applicaiton and Price List
Download the SuperPro vehilcle application and price list in Excel *.xls format.
All SUPERPRO bushes are supplied as kits including Polyurethane Bushes, Mild Steel Sleeves,Washers, Grease and Instructions as required.
The kit quantity shown in the listing for each car type is the number of kits required to service one car.
Some kits are available with Stainless Steel sleeves and Washers. Where appropriate these kits are shown as alternatives with the suffix 'SS'
SuperPro Catalogue
The SuperPro product range covers modern, classic and commercial vehicles. Our aim is to ensure that when we supply suspension bushes for specific vehicles our coverage of the vehicle is complete. This enables us to supply individual bushes as well as complete car sets where appropriate.
The New Catatlogue edition 6.1 (20MB!) is now available which has a complete listing of all superpro products. Because of SuperPro's commitment to continuingdevelopment they are constantly adding and updating. Please check back frequently or contact us for a specific application.
