It’s not just the six-starred AWD brand that is catered for however; a glance at SuperPro’s comprehensive website also reveals a vast range for Land Rover, most off-road Toyotas, Isuzus and Mitsubishis as well as a plethora of other 4WD and AWD machinery. In addition to offering direct OEM replacements, certain models can also benefit from upgrade packs that allow geometry adjustment far outside of the factory parameters with increased castor or camber being available - ideal if you are planning some extreme driving, or just looking to correct inaccuracies on an older vehicle. A three year, 60,000 mile warranty also helps to make it a sound financial proposition when comparing against stock replacements.

Keen to see the difference for ourselves, we got hold of a suitable patient. In this case, a well serviced, if slightly careworn, 2003 Subaru Forester. The Forester is a great all-rounder, with more than passable off-road ability, thanks to decent ground clearance, a shift on the fly dual-range box and symmetrical AWD, balanced with exceptional on-road manners by virtue of the fact it’s basically just an SUV wrapper on an Impreza chassis. Even on a cooking version like this, all of that rallying heritage is clearly evident when hustling along any decent ‘B’ road.

The front lower arms bushes were easily pushed out using the appropriate Subaru tool before the new parts could be pressed in - although a similar effect can be achieved with the careful selection of an appropriate socket or two. Some of the SuperPro bushes are incredibly simple to fit, thanks to being moulded in two halves, which simply drop into the arm before the steel crush tube is easily slid inside. With all lubricant required coming as part of the kit, Tom made short work of this, despite the old outer bushes fighting back a little bit! The pursuit of precision continued with even the steering

rack benefitting from a pair of uprated items!

The full kit is very comprehensive, offering even uprated bushes for the gearbox cradle and the numerous rubber washers that are littered around the car. Basically, anywhere that the factory had fitted rubber, SuperPro seemingly has a polyurethane alternative.

After fitting and aligning, we were naturally keen to see what difference all of this work had made. None of the bushes that were removed were in a particularly bad way, and with just

110,000 miles and a full dealer history under itsbelt, the little Subaru felt very sorted to begin with. How much difference could a few clever bits of posh plastic make?

Quite a lot as it turned out. It took all of two sweeping turns to reveal a newfound crispness to the Forester, which was readily apparent through the steering wheel. The quality of the gear change was also a revelation. Before the work was carried out, it already had the lightness and ease of action that Japanese manufacturers do so well, but now, thanks to the gearbox mounts, it had a delightful

mechanical rifle-bolt feel that makes grabbing a gear feel much more akin to hustling a sports car, rather than bimbling along in a family runabout. High-speed handling was easily the area of greatest improvement however; although the Forester is a still a lofty and softly sprung conveyance, with every part now performing precisely with zero movement, it now felt much more like its sporty big brother, which is no bad thing.

So in summary, the SuperPro bushes seem to offer the best of both worlds. Restoring a showroom -fresh demeanour, but with a clear dynamic improvement across the board. The lack of cabin noise is

impressive, as is the compromise between precision and comfort. If you’re considering a service replacement on your 4x4, or indeed just want to future proof a cherished steed,

then this is certainly worth considering.

 Words and photography: Paul Cowland 4x4 Magazine November 2012 www.4x4i.com