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It never ceases to amaze me, that after several years of engineering studies at a major University an engineer selects a material for an application it is not designed for. Plastic bushings are designed rotatory motion. In this particular application there is minimal rotation with an impact load. The bushing now becomes an expendable/wear item with a replacement schedule, rather than just a spacer a steel bushing would be. Depending on the plastic chosen, it could be 1,000 miles or 10,000 miles. BMW does it too, I had to replace the front shock on a Telelever suspension because they did not supply replacement plastic bushings.For reference I am a mechanical engineer who majored in material science. A common misapplication of plastic bushings is to subject them to impact loads. They do work in the application but do not have a long life, plastically deforming. Plastic deformation is a process in which enough stress is placed on metal or plastic to cause the object to change its size or shape in a way that is not reversible. It just happens at lower loads with plastics compared to steel or brass.
It never ceases to amaze me, that after several years of engineering studies at a major University an engineer selects a material for an application it is not designed for. Plastic bushings are designed rotatory motion. In this particular application there is minimal rotation with an impact load. The bushing now becomes an expendable/wear item with a replacement schedule, rather than just a spacer a steel bushing would be. Depending on the plastic chosen, it could be 1,000 miles or 10,000 miles. BMW does it too, I had to replace the front shock on a Telelever suspension because they did not supply replacement plastic bushings.
For reference I am a mechanical engineer who majored in material science. A common misapplication of plastic bushings is to subject them to impact loads. They do work in the application but do not have a long life, plastically deforming. Plastic deformation is a process in which enough stress is placed on metal or plastic to cause the object to change its size or shape in a way that is not reversible. It just happens at lower loads with plastics compared to steel or brass.
