Ultimate Guide to Installing PCI Spherical RTA Bushings

To call the PCI spherical RTA bushings the best upgrade I’ve ever installed might sound bold—especially after years of working on Hondas and trying countless great mods. Yet, nothing has delivered such an instant, across-the-board improvement to the driving experience. I know what some of you are thinking: ‘You put those in a daily driver? Are you nuts?’ You’ve probably heard they increase road noise and feel too aggressive for everyday use. And yes, that’s partly true. Replacing the rubber bushing with a spherical bearing does transmit more tire and road noise into the chassis. Hitting those raised lane dots sends a sharper jolt, and driving over cracks or potholes feels a bit like dragging rolling luggage over uneven pavement—you get that solid clunk and a faint vibration through the wheel.

But don’t let that scare you off. It’s not as jarring as luggage rattling over every airport tile; it’s just a noticeable shift in feedback. On regular roads or highways, the difference is mostly a slight uptick in road noise, since the metal-on-metal bearing lacks the rubber’s vibration-dampening effect. For me, that trade-off is worth it for the precision and responsiveness these bushings bring.

From the moment I backed my car out of the garage, the improvement was undeniable. I took it for a spin around my usual testing loop, and before I’d even reached the end of my block, the braking felt sharper. Merging onto the freeway, the car hugged the turns with a planted, confident stance. Through tighter corners, the turn-in was quicker and more responsive than ever. I typically run my ASR 24mm rear sway bar on the stiffer setting, but with these bushings, I noticed more oversteer. Switching to the softer setting (the outermost hole) fixed that instantly. Now, the car locks into turns with precision—hard braking into corners no longer feels unstable. It’s controllable, confidence-inspiring, and tough to fully capture in words how much it elevates the driving experience.

Since installing these PCI spherical RTA bushings, I’ve been telling everyone I know: this is the next mod you need, whether it’s for a daily driver, track car, race build, or autocross. Yes, there’s a slight increase in noise, but it’s far from a dealbreaker—honestly, an aftermarket exhaust would be more intrusive. The pros outweigh the cons by a mile, and I’m convinced this is the upgrade you’ll be raving about to anyone who’ll listen.

If you’ve been following the blog, you will know that this is the third installment of suspension modifications I have completed in the past month. The previous ones included Tein Flex Z’s along with Hardrace camber kits (rubber bushings) and Hardrace rear LCA bushings (also rubber). You can read those articles here >>>>>>>

Is this the BEST civic ever?!

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Hardrace Front and rear camber kit Install/Review

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You can read those to find out my opinion about each one of those modifications.

I know what you’re probably thinking: ‘Of course your car handles better with all those mods!’ But I installed each upgrade one at a time, testing every part to isolate its gains and drawbacks. I ran the Tein coilovers and Hardrace camber kits for about two weeks before adding the PCI spherical RTA bushings, so I’m confident my take on them is spot-on. I push my car hard, constantly driving spiritedly to explore its limits. The difference these bushings made over the Teins and Hardrace arms was dramatic— they genuinely transform the car’s dynamics. Do yourself a favor and make these your next upgrade. Yes, they add a bit of noise, but it’s a small price to pay for the performance boost you’ll feel.

I often hear people hesitate about switching from OEM rubber bushings to these spherical ones, worried that the install is too complicated. That’s exactly why I decided to write a detailed how-to— to ease those doubts and boost confidence. Sure, there are videos and articles out there, but most gloss over the process, leaving you with vague steps like ‘hammer out the old ones, drill some holes, and you’re done.’ They don’t inspire much trust. That’s where I step in. I’m here to break down every single step clearly and simply.

First off, let me say this: installing the PCI spherical RTA bushings is straightforward—don’t let it intimidate you. PCI provides a drilling template that only fits one way, so as long as you follow the basic instructions, you can’t mess it up. Below, I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step to install what might just be the best mod you’ll ever do.

Step 1:

Start by loosening the lug nuts on the rear wheels. Then, jack the car up as high as possible and secure it on four jack stands—two in the front and two in the rear—to maximize ground clearance. This gives you plenty of room to lie underneath and work comfortably. (To be clear, you don’t have to remove the entire rear trailing arm if you’d rather not. That said, taking it off makes the job much easier, even though you’ll need an alignment either way.) I recommend removing it completely, like I did—it simplifies measuring and drilling significantly.

Step 2:

Remove the rear wheel. Disconnect the E-brake cable

Remove the spring clip holding the e-brake cable in. Use pliers to clamp onto the clip, then press down on the handle of the pliers to lift the clip up and out.

Thread the E-brake cable back through the rear trailing arm. (Don’t forget to thread it back through on installation.)

  

Unbolt the rear caliper and tuck out of the way. 

You don’t need to disconnect the brake line—just the e-brake cable. (I rested my caliper on the rear sway bar, but you can also zip-tie it out of the way.) Next, remove the brake rotor. (This step is optional—I took mine off because my rotor isn’t secured with screws to the hub.) If you choose to remove yours, there are typically two Phillips-head screws holding the disc to the hub. Be cautious here—they’re prone to stripping. I use an impact drill to remove them, but an impact screwdriver works too. Once the screws are out, the rotor should come off easily.

Step 3:

Now, unbolt all the suspension arms to detach the rear trailing arm from the car: the camber arm, lower control arm, toe arm, and the rear trailing arm bushing. (I didn’t snap a photo of the toe arm removal—it’s tucked under the car at the frontmost part of the trailing arm.) Before removing the toe arm, mark its position in the slotted hole. This ensures your alignment stays close enough to drive to an alignment shop afterward.

you should be left with something like this.

and the arm will look like this. (Also note that I have an SCAREBIRD drum-to-disc conversion bracket; that’s what the gold-looking plate is. Yours will not have this.)

Step 4:

Hammer the old bushing out… That’s right just smack it with a hammer a few times and it will come right out. Pre soak the metal aera with WD-40 where the bushing goes through the arm. * pro tip hit it from the backside and it will come out easier. You are going to make sure when hammering it out that you evenly hit around the circle. As I point out in the 4 pictures below ( im showing you the front side but make sure you hit it from the backside. I did the first one from the front side, then the second one from the backside. so either way it won’t matter. but it just came out easier hitting from the back.)

Go ahead and give the bushing a solid whack, making sure to hit each area evenly. It’s a good idea to remove your rotor first to avoid damaging it while hammering. If you’re careful about where the rotor rests—say, on wood, towels, or just off the ground—you’ll be fine keeping it in place during the process.

The bushing will just pop out, it should look something like this.

Step 5:

Clean the entire rear trailing arm with WD-40—it makes marking the drill spots easier and ensures no debris prevents the aluminum bushing from seating properly. There’s no real prep work required since the bushing simply bolts into the two holes you’ll drill. It’s just a great chance to wipe away 200,000 miles of road grime from your trailing arms.

Step 6: (Here is the whole kit)

Place the silver template in the hole where the old bushing used to be.

I know the pinch welds on the arm might seem like the spots to align the holes, but that’s not the case. If you accidentally drill through one or both pinch welds, don’t worry—it won’t compromise the arm’s structural integrity. You can see in my example how the drilling went right through the pinch welds.

When you place the silver template, it should just ‘fall’ into place naturally. Don’t stress about spacing the gap evenly around the arm—just set it in the hole, ensure it’s flat against the arm, and you’re set. You’ll feel it settle into position. For me, every time I shifted it, it slid back to its natural spot. I know that sounds vague, but the key is not to overthink the template’s position. It might shift slightly when you move it, but it tends to return to a neutral spot—that’s where you want it.

Step 7:

Installing the bushing. As you probably noticed with your kit, there are two styles of “upper brackets” (the black brackets that fit in the top portion of the hole).

There’s a slight difference in how the templates fit. The two-hole version is the one I used, designed for EG/EK/DC models, while the three-hole version suits older Integra/CRX models—I can’t recall exactly which, but the instructions included with the kit make it clear, so check them. Only one will fit properly anyway; the other won’t line up at all.

The “upper bracket” (I’m really not sure what to call it) goes on first.

Then place the bushing on top of that, making sure the arrow is pointing up.

Next, run the bolts through; the bolt goes through from the front so that the tapered bolt centers the bushing. Then, the washers and lock nuts go on from the back.

the pictures give a good view of the fitment of the bushing and the bracket on the arm. don’t be scared if you can see light through the arm.

Here is what it looks like completely installed on the arm.

Step 8:

Grind down or bend back the vertical steel at the peak of the trailing arm hump where the bushing sits. If you skip this, the arm might contact the chassis. I didn’t do it on mine—hence no photo—because I missed it in the instructions until after I’d reassembled everything. You can see in the picture how close that steel gets to the chassis (just above the silver hex bolt). It doesn’t need much—just a slight bend or a little flattening of the vertical piece—since there’s minimal up-and-down movement at the pivot point.

I drove the car and noticed it dented the chassis slightly. So, I jacked it back up, removed the wheel, and used a punch and hammer to bend the vertical steel back, adding more clearance. It worked for me—though, in hindsight, I wish I’d bent or grinded (probabaly grinded with a flappy disk) the pinched area while the arms were off the car.

Step 9:

Reinstall the arm. As with all my suspension how-tos, start by loosely threading each bolt: camber arm, trailing arm bushing, toe arm, and rear lower control arm. Then, reinstall the rotor, caliper, and e-brake cable—be sure to rethread the cable through the arm. Once all bolts are halfway threaded, jack up the suspension to approximate ride height. This prevents preload, binding, unnecessary tension, and premature bushing wear.

Now tighten up all the bolts to the correct specs, and you’re all done.

Step 10:

Repeat steps 4–9 on the other side, then enjoy what might just be the best mod ever.