Stainless Steel Crush Tubes

Whilst Bright Zinc Plated (BZP) steel crush tubes may suffice in the Australian outback, the AmericanSouthwest and other dry climates around the world, in colder, wetter, climates - especially where roads are salted - this is often not the case.

Bearing Surface

Unlike rubber bushes that torsion pivot on their bonding to the crush tube, PU bushes rely on their crush tubes as a bearing surface.

Rust

We are under no illusion that a smear of assembly lubricant will be a substitute for stainless steel. In time, grease gets displaced allowing water to enter between the tube and the bush as the bush flexes in use. When water - especially salted water enters - the rust sets in …

Abrasion

Once a crush tube becomes rusty, the surface acts as an abrasive to the polyurethane, clearances increase, more water enters, play develops and the bush fails …

Reputation

At SuperFlex, we are also car enthusiasts, and put ourselves in the place of the customer, while sadly, some suppliers simply cost cut, or just have a corporate indifference to this matter. Indeed, some suppliers at the bottom end of the market don't even zinc plate their steel tubes … At SuperFlex we value our reputation. It is our policy to supply stainless steel crush tubes with all our mainstream suspension bushes, wherever volumes make this viable.