you should surmise, not assume. cause i was just made an a55 of. actually no, i wasn't aware, but does make perfect sense. i was thinking it would be a similar ride because they are the original bushings & have gone though 12 winters, and would be brittle & not as soft as new ones (so similar to a stiffer polyeurothane).
price for the lexus rubber bushings were about the same as the energy suspensions ones, plus they have a grease fitting, so thought they would be the better choice. perhaps not now.
i suppose the rubber ones lasted this long, & I highly doubt I will have the vehicle much longer than another 1 or 2 years. What are your thoughts on only putting the PolyE on the rear, new rubber on the front? I don't even think I could get front ones that fit after looking at the factory bracket (looks like the front bushing sits on a riser with the bracket around both)
I did use a crescent wrench to crudely measure the bars, and the front is ~14.5mm, and rear is 16mm. surprised the auto shop didnt have a caliper tool.
thanks so much for your responses. much better than the auto stores I have visited.