I recently wrote a review of-sorts on a different forum that I dedicate a lot of my time to. Since the majority of the parts were Powell parts, I thought I'd post it here too. Note: 2007 G5 GT with manual transmission, which means FE3 suspension, 2.4L engine, F23 transmission.

After 186,000 miles, the stock control arm bushings in my G5 were shot. Most of the time when braking, the steering wheel would VIOLENTLY shake from the wheels moving back and forth. When turning corners, the cracks in the pavement felt much bigger than they were. The car would sort of wander all over the road. Because of the high mileage and salty winters my car has seen, I feared the worst for the bolts that hold the control arms in place and I prepared for John Powell's "drop the cradle" method of replacing the control arm bushings. I bought the Moog Problem Solver bushings from Advanced Auto (I couldn't justify $199 for Powell's, but I wanted something a little better than the stock rubber bushings). Since I was going to drop the cradle, I figured what the hell.... and I ordered the thicker FE5 swaybar and bushings, Powell's rotated engine mount for the F23 transmission, LNF rear transmission mount, and Powell's Hardcore rear swaybar. I bought these to compliment the YYZ springs and FE5 shocks and struts that I installed a while back.

I also bought a new air filter, serpentine belt, transmission fluid, brake discs and pads (but I didn't install them yet), and cabin air filter.

The control arm bolts came out without a hitch, and to my amazement, had no corrosion on them at all! The only thing that would have caused problems if I hadn't dropped the cradle was the retaining clips that hold the bolts in place. We pressed out the old control arm bushings with a press and a huge socket from a 3/4 inch socket set. The old bushings pressed out without any problems, and the new bushings pressed in without a hitch either. The only thing we were unsure about was which way to press the new bushings in. There isn't an up or down indicated on the bushings, and the bushings are not perfectly symmetrical top to bottom, so we held them up to the cradle with the control arm and made our best judgement on which way they should be installed. (I forget which way we decided on, but it probably wouldn't make a big difference either way.)

The front swaybar installed very easily with the cradle removed. Basically unbolt the old one, and replace it with the new one. Just make sure you buy the right bushings that match the size of the swaybar and the style of bushing brackets. The bolts again were corrosion free, but the brackets that hold the rubber bushings were very rusty. If I had known this ahead of time, I would have bought new ones to replace them. The difference in size between the FE3 and FE5 swaybar is only 1 or 2 mm, and I thought the change in handling was subtle. If someone had changed the swaybar without telling me and asked what was different with the car's handling, I probably would have said that there is something different but I would have had a hard time putting my finger on it. That said, I'm happy with it. I didn't purchase it as a stand-alone upgrade; I purchased it to compliment the rear swaybar.... which is awesome.

A week later, I installed John Powell's Hardcore rear swaybar. I purchased it as a last-minute, spur of the moment sort of thing, and I didn't have it in time. Installation was a piece of cake. Results were dramatic. Excessive body roll is eliminated. Leisurely driving around town, the upgrade is not really noticeable until you take a sharp turn at an intersection and a smile appears on your face because of how awesome it felt, or you turn into someone's driveway and notice how the car feels more solid. Bad driveway transitions are pretty rough in terms of ride quality, but more stable in terms of handling. Curvy roads are even more fun now; you turn the steering wheel to make a turn and the car actually does what you want. I took a 35 mph corner at 72 mph the other day, and I was very satisfied. I probably won't do it again, but I'm happy to know that my car can predictably handle it. This swaybar is a piece of art. The construction is well-thought-out and flawless. Someone put a lot of time into making these bars look as good as they handle. The bar has caps welded on the ends, the welds are meticulously ground down, the spacing hardware is welded to the bar, and the powdercoating looks flawless. It is almost depressing to know that such a fine looking part is almost entirely hidden underneath the car.

I also changed the transmission fluid (5-speed manual (F23)). Oddly, the transmission fluid used in this manual transmission is just automatic transmission fluid. So I went with Mobile 1 synthetic ATF fluid. It takes 1.7 or 1.8 quarts (I forget exactly, but it says in the manual). It was a piece of cake changing it with the cradle dropped, but I can see it would take a little more work otherwise. The drain plug can be difficult to get to since the cradle is in the way. I've heard that you have to grind down an allen wrench in order to squeeze in there, but that is certainly not the case when the cradle is removed. I also heard that you use an 8mm allen wrench to remove the plug. I thought it was too loose, and had much better luck with a 5/16 (which is about 8.25mm). When I drained the fluid, I removed the plug that is just above the drain plug. It was recommended to fill the transmission through this plug because the required amount of fluid should just fit before starting to pour out of this hole. That wasn't the case when I tried it. When I first removed that plug, fluid gushed out.... so much that it shot over the ice cream pail I had in place to catch the oil. Hindsight tells me that I should have measured how much oil came out, but I didn't. It seems to me that it was overfilled from the factory. It filled my 4-quart ice cream pail half full, so I'm guessing it was closer to 2 quarts that was in there. I started filling it with a funnel and hose (beer bong style) and the fluid started coming out of the hole before I even got 1.5 quarts in. There is a fill hole on the top side of the transmission, just below the fuse box. It's a straight shot down from the top with a socket wrench and extensions, and it was much easier to fill the transmission this way. You just measure out the required quantity of oil, and pour it in.

I also installed the rear LNF transmission mount. It is identical to the F23 mount in dimension, but the rubber insert is rotated slightly (probably 15 degrees or so). I didn't have the keyhole spacer at the time, nor the front rotated mount, so I haven't installed them yet.

Final thoughts: I would recommend this upgrade to anyone. I am very happy with how the car handles. I did all the disassembly with air tools, and all the reassembly with torque wrenches (I'm really picky about this sort of thing.)

One additional thought: It's bittersweet. Now that my car handles so awesomely, it makes me realize that it is severely lacking in the power department. ****. 172hp really isn't cutting it anymore.

Thanks for all the help, John. I'm glad we talked on the phone, and your parts are top-notch.

 

thank you! enjoy your ride. Good post.

 

I know exactly what you mean in the power department, every Powell part is worth it just depends on if you want to have to do it right the first time or the second time, hope those bushings last for you... I regret getting Moog sway bar endlinks now I have to go out and buy PowerGrids and the $60 for the moogs is just wasted.

 

the moogs were a big disappointment for me as well not that i purchased them, as I have always used powergrids since 2004, but so many customers buy them and they look strong but they just dont hack it.

andrew is taking care of the power equation lol

 

Somewhat, I'll send you a PM about that.

 

Do you notice a difference just in daily driving with the powergrids?

 

Haven't actually bought the Powergrids yet, still on the moogs that are clunking, difference would be you really can't destroy the Powergrids.

 

Take it from someone that doesn't have this problem guys; The more power increases, the more impressed you'll be with Powell suspension parts. If I wanted to, I could steer my car around the road track with only one hand, and still post a respectable lap time. That's how balanced my car is with all of the Powell goodies

 

I don't track my car besides autocross and I know how good the Powell stuff is, I was on street tires in a class for slicks though, my about 160 wheel 2.2 beat other way more powerful cars because it could handle where they were much more strait line.

 

Well if the even the moogs are clunking then might as well get the powergrids lol I'm on the moogs, but my car doesn't have a lot of miles on them. We should start a powell mods list haha

-Lnf pcv kit
-yyz(with f&r konis)
-trailing cabs
-front mount, rear bushing(ottp mount)
-hardcore rsb(sold a while back, but will upgrade to the xxx eventually)
-used 4.45

How are the rear twist beam bushings, are those more of a track upgrade or could you use those in the street?

 

 

-twist beam bushing
-leading CABs
-Trailing CABs
-Rotated mounts , front new with LNF rear
-XXX swaybar
-Under car rails
-YYZ V3 with Koni's front and rear
-LE5 custom PCV
-hub spacers for Brembo conversion
-tow hooks front and rear
-trap door oil pan

Everything he makes is worth it.

 

LOL

That's how I felt with the cabs, tightened up the steering response so well

 

How are those under car rails? I forgot about those.

 

Very nice, definitely noticed they added rigidity.

 

Even for the jacking point I bet they're worth it

 

Yes makes it so much easier, no worries of bending the pinch welds anymore either.

 

-PCV oil separator
-YYZ's (with f&r konis)
-trailing cabs
-rotated engine/trans mount
-rear twisting beam bushings
-tow hooks f&r with license plate bracket and quick disconnect pins
-trap door oil pan
-XXX bar
-Fully cryogenically treated F35 transmission with 4.45 final drive

 

Nice, do you have a pic of the disconnect pin setup?

 

I forgot about my tow hooks and trap door oil pan. You just like running the 4.45 in my face though

 

A guy on facebook with an hhr pt6262 set up broke his fully cryogenically treated 4.45 powell built transmission, so they're not bullet proof but definitely a good solution for guys making moderate power.

 

The plus of the F23, stronger and cheaper.

The big negative is it costs $1000 for an LSD which has to be added.

 

I thought the f23 wasn't a direct swap or something?

 

I have a 2.2 LAP looking to swap in an LE5 not a LNF

 

Well that would make more sense lol