Replacement front lower control arm bushes for the Range Rover Sport L320 and Discovery 3/4
Land Rover’s engineers faced a number of technical challenges when designing the Range Rover Sport L320 (2005-2013) and Discovery 3/4, as they strived to create a luxury vehicle that offers excellent performance both on and off the road. Suspension bushes play a significant part in this issue, in particular those fitted to the front lower control arms, as they are required to provide precise steering and handling characteristics on the road and a substantial amount of articulation - whilst maintaining steering geometry - when it comes to off-road driving.
In order to achieve this, Land Rover introduced a bespoke hydraulic bush that was fitted to the rear of the arm and, even though it looks from the outside to be a standard rubber bush, it is in fact filled with oil. This design has proved to be vulnerable to failure, often caused by impact, as drivers of 4x4s often believe that their ‘off-road’ vehicle can cope with mounting pavements and negotiating speed bumps at a pace that would not be attempted if driving a normal car. This, coupled with the natural degradation of rubber, can cause the hydraulic fluid to leak out, which results in excessive movement in the lower arm.
Having carried out a thorough evaluation and, calling on experience of cars fitted with similar types of bushes, SuperPro has designed a replacement unit (SPF3456K or as part of the front control arm kit KIT5299K) which is constructed from three pieces of polyurethane which includes a central section with deep cutaways. These ‘voids’ allow the material to flex and move in line with Land Rover’s original parameters, without the use of fluids and consequently, the risk of damage or leakage.
Added to this, the resilience of the material used in the manufacture of SuperPro bushes ensures that the suspension retains its alignment and eliminates the possibility of any noise or harshness of ride that is sometimes associated with other brands of polyurethane products.
