Hey guys, lowered my ride on VAP lowering springs and been having a clunking noise coming from the rear left suspension area when going over any bump and dips(front left, front right and rear right are perfect). Been trying to identify the cause and after checking many many things it is still there, I will be taking it apart tomorrow but would like a few questions answered to pin point the problem.

I'm suspecting the culprit is the lack of spring isolator. Contrary to my reply in TheRock's DIY thread, my installer did not transfer them to the new springs, I wrongly assumed they were on the strut and only realized when I picked up my old springs.

So just in case fitting them doesn't fix the noise, my questions are:

1a) can the strut be mounted "wrong"? See pic, if bolt 1 were reinstalled to where bolt 2 was, is it wrong? My installer didn't leave mark as TheRock suggested in his DIY.




2) What is the torque spec for the strut tower nuts and the strut center nut? I checked and they were tight but not sure how tight.


Thanks!

 

I think your issue is definitely going to be the missing isolator/pad. I like to keep the same orientation, but likely rotating it a bit will be OK.
The torques are below and image with parts and orientation.

DC

 

Thank you so much DC, I'm heading to the shop now. Good to know the active shock center nut requires only half the torque of passive shock, mine is probably over tightened.

Do you have the torque spec for the front? Might as well check em all.

 

 

I'm glad to report back that putting on the spring isolator have completely fixed the issue. There were no obvious signs of other installation problem and i can answer my own question #1 now, it does not matter which bolt goes into which hole.

 

Can’t believe I’m having the same issue again🤦

Strut nuts and center nut torque to spec, spring well seated, no movement on lift, insulator fitted, what else can be wrong??

i stumbled upon another thread having the same issue, someone mentioned there is a washer under the center nut?

i had another person help me bounce the rear but it barely moved, and zero noise were heard.

Front is dead quiet.

Only thing changed this time around is i fitted h&r instead of vap, drop looks gorgeous and seems to be even front and back. The ride actuality feels better than stock and vap??

To say I’m a bit baffled is an understatement, i expected zero noise with my previous experience yet it’s there.

Also expected harsher ride than stock and vap yet it feels better and smoother.

🤦🤦🤦

 

I lowered with H&R several months ago and had [have] the same clunking issue. We decided that the original isolators after five years did not conform properly to the new springs so we are in the process of ordering new isolators [although this does not seem to be a serious priority for my installer]. My clunking is F&R.

As far as the effect of the lowering, I couldn't be happier. Although stiff, the handling of the car is far superior and it really looks great, as well.

 

Guess i will try that. i will let you know if replacement fixes the issue, going with these, getting 2 pairs just in case, would be really dumb to be hit by the same issue 3 times 😂





it’s weird i don’t really feel the extra stiffness, i have had stock, vap and now h&r, supposedly h&r should be the harshest? But all i feel is buttery smoothness, vap was very similar to stock, maybe stiff does not equal harsh?

Needless to say I’m very happy with the decision to go h&r for the lowest drop and actually fell an noticeable improvement over stock ride quality.

 

I like the stiffer springs but I can definitely feel the road more but it's worth getting rid of what I thought was an excessive amount of body roll. The car really seems planted around curves now. I'd appreciate if you would let me know how it works out. I'll do the same.

 

I vaguely recall a few years ago others reporting "spring bind" (or whatever it's really called, clunking from when the coils of the springs hit each other) with H&R springs, and that those spring sleeves fixed the problem.

 

I will do it on Thursday and report the result.

Drove quite a bit today with light traffic, i think what I’m perceiving as smoother is basically less up and down movements, instead of jerk and bounce after hitting a small bump, it’s just a jerk now.

Cornering felt great, there’sa particular long sweeping turn on Highway that i frequently take at ~70 mph, car basically stayed flat through it.

All that combined with the gorgeous drop, h&r really did their home work here. Now if only they included those damn rubber thingy pre installed!!!

 

So…someone broke one of the dynamic mode pins on the shock shaft, probably an apprentice not familiar with such system, the way he was describing it with broken English, he probably shoved an Allen key too small down there.

What a bummer, i had the proper tools(8mm Allen key and open side socket) right there with my wheel lock key, and they didn’t use it.. but shop is ran by a friend’s friend so no issue getting it replaced, and instead of replacing one shock for $6xx with new oe part, we agreed to get 2 bilstein oem replacement for less than $600 a pair.

 

New Spring insulators installed, added one extra loop per side, no more clunking, these damn rubbers should be standard on lowering springs!

i can also confirm there is a washer on the shock shaft, but it’s more like a metal sleeve with a flange on top, not something that’d be easily forgotten when you put things back on.