hey guys, i installed tanabe gf210's along with 04-05 sti tophats on my 02 wrx about 3 months ago, and after mebbe a day or 2, they began to make 'clunking' sounds as described by those who have not done the 'washer mod'. i did this mod at the time of the install. i used 2 washers.

it seems as though the front and rear make equally as much noise.

it ONLY happens when i go over low-speed bumps (10-25mph) or hard, bouncy corners, obviously......

i have re tightened the strut tops and checked for loose bolts. i cant think of anything else besides the little rubber thing thats covers the tops of the spring before it goes into the tophats. it was a little torn, but not too bad....

although new struts will def make things alot smoother and quieter, i really dont think mine are blown. its not overly bouncy, just as much as you'd expect, given the spring rates and the level of stock dampening. i will be buying aftermarket struts very soon, but would like to find out what this noise is exactly.

any ideas?

 

no suspension gurus in here?

 

I read on a thread before that rubbing oil on the shock will help this.

 

i think im gonna go with the struts not being able to provide enough low speed dampening........... it will be fixed by getting aftermarket ones in about 2 months.

the valving of the stock strut doesnt match the rates of the springs....

 

Are you sure it's the struts? I've had a clunking noise before that was the spring moving around in the hat.

 

I've juss recently install my Prodrive Springs on my 04, the ride is excellent, expect when im at a stand still (dead stop), when i steer the wheel left or right, little turn or all the way, its make a low mellow toned clunking noise... i quessing something is turning slightly....

 

sonicsuby- it very well may be the spring moving around in the tophat....but im not too sure why it would move around.......the tophats match the springs....

its def worth checking out tho. could you explain to me how you fixed/diagnosed it?


and mine doesnt clunk when i steer from a stop, but it does clunk a little when i take off slowly.....like when you back out of a parking space....it'll do it then sometimes.

 

On mine it was on a set of coilovers. One day when the car was on a lift I walked up to it, grabbed the spring and pushed it. It was moving free in there and bouncing around a bit. Wasn't causing any damage or anything, just was a little annoying at first

I'm not real technical so I'm not sure what else you would do for a set of springs.

 

was the car jacked up on the lift by any chance? .......... cause springs tend to do that when the car is jacked up.......

 

did you line up the front top hats with the strut???

 

Wasn't that the 'porno thread'???

 

It just happens. When ever you buy a kick *** suspension system, you are giving up some of the creature comforts you all have grown to love.

 

what exactly do you mean by that? the strut only goes in one way....and yeah, i did make the 'triangle' on the tophat point outwards...... i think thats all one can do. besides, its happening at all four corners...

i think it is getting progressively worse with time, so like i said, i believe it is a low speed dampening issue in the strut. we'll see in a few months when i get some aftermarket ones. if there is an issue then.......yup, there's def a problem.


and checkpoint- its not quite a kick *** suspension....its miss matched. stock parts + aftermarket parts = noises/issues. besides.....i dont think that the sound of metal 'clunking' is a loss of creature comforts.....its more of ......a mechanical problem. yes?

 

^ nabisco wasn't treating you right so you decided to come on here huh heart?

 

hahaha.....i knew it! wussup hugo?

yeh teh nabisco is pretty gay........ like i said before....there is alot of good info there, but you have to sort thru all the bs to get to it. im sick of their flaming and know it all n00bs.

this forum may not move quite as fast, but it sure as hell is alot better than nasioc.

im actually on here quite a bit, but i generally read and refrain from posting....