Our CTS-V Subframe / cradle bushings completely replace the OEM rubber bushings. The OEM bushings are very soft which make them ideal for isolating vibrations and road noise. They were installed by the factory to make your Cadillac drive and feel like a Cadillac. As designed, the OEM bushings control side-to-side movement of the cradle (the “cradle” is what all of the rear suspension components connect to, then the cradle is bolted to the body of the car) when the car is going around corners but have air gaps fore and aft. These air gaps allow the four bushings to deflect under hard acceleration, in turn adding the existence of wheel hop.
Our bushings are made out of a durable, long-lasting polyurethane that are designed with performance in mind. Our bushings are stiffer than the OEM units and have no air gaps which diminishes deflection even further under load . To add even more structure to the polyurethane, we have imbedded a metal ring inside the bushings. This ring prevents the tube on the cradle that the bushings press into from cutting into the polyurethane under high loads causing premature failure, as well as spreading the load of the thin wall tube across a larger surface area giving the bushing more structure. Our bushing kit also comes with thicker safety washers that don’t bend like the originals, and they also spread out the bottom bushing over more area than the factory washer.
We are now selling two different hardness’ of urethane for these bushings:
Daily Driver/Street: For those who want to replace the factory bushings with something stronger that will hold up to the power of the V8, but still want to maintain the noise and vibration feel of OEM.
Race: For those who use their vehicle at the drag strip or autocross and/or don’t mind the added noise/vibrations.
Rob jackson –
I installed the red cradle bushings on my 06 Cadillac CTS V they were not too hard to install after using their cradle press to remove the old ones. Traction has improved 70 to 80 percent and we’ll hop is almost non-existent it also feels substantially more secure going around the corner and doesn’t seem like it wants to step out loose on you. I am extremely impressed with this product and this company’s customer service I would recommend my friends and family
Derek Elphick –
The estimate for this project is four hours. It took me more like seven hours (an evening to pull all the necessary parts out of the way, and then the morning to remove the old bushings and install the new ones). The rental tool is a must. I installed the black (street) rear cradle bushings which are plenty stiff if you live in an area that has bad roads like I do. The feel of the car is totally different. The car feels more planted on the ground, especially under straight acceleration through the gears. Cornering is much more fun, solid and predictable. Whereas the car would jump out on you under hard cornering, now it grips the corner tightly allowing you to throw the car around with more confidence. I would recommend installing the Creative Steel trailing arm poly bushings along with these cradle bushings if you want to completely enhance the driving characteristics of this fun car. In summary, the install was a lot of work (but doable) and totally worth it.
Shane –
RENT THE TOOL!!! Made the removal of the old bushings so much easier. I got the red ones, and the ass end feels more planted and much more solid around corners. Creative Steel makes the best stuff out there. Thanks so much for being a great resource to the V community!