DCAWD.com

well after 1 day of driving with the Tiens, I'm not sure if I'll keep them. the ride is extra firm, almost to the point of making me feel like the car isn't quite stable in some conditions. now maybe it's just me trying to get used to the new setup, but...

I'll get an alignment in the next couple weeks once the springs have time to settle. maybe things will get better once the springs settle and I get the alignment.

I will say the car sure does look good with the summer wheels and tires, big brakes, and nice stance.

Gabe, drive my car around a few blocks. If your springs are firmer than mine, I feel for you man...

Good to see you got the springs all sorted out.

the car now feels a lot like my ride in Colin's STi

I'm shocked! From what I've read, the H-Techs are some of the milder springs out there and I've read nothing but good things about them. As I recall, Colin had a set of them on his old WRX and, if I recall correctly, he really liked them. I'm deffinately going to need a ride.

next meet is Hard Times on Thursday night...

I cut the bump stops per the instructions. I don't remember the ride being this harsh when I installed Eibach "sport" springs on my 2000 Civic Si.

maybe I'm just being hypersensitive about the whole thing? /shrug

I'll take you up on that thursday. We'll have to hit hooes rd. I only got one ride in Colin's with the tein set-up and I didn't remember it being that harsh. It's what made me want the wagon H-Techs!

I also thought that the springs were quite soft (H-techs). But then again after coming from a semi-race setup in the miata, ANYTHING felt like a warm cloud of happy.

If you think those are stiff, wait until I get the Tanabe springs in the STi.

324front, 246rear (05STi Tanabe DF210) *Measurements are in lb/in*
224front, 194rear (05STi Stockers)


229front, 196rear(04 WRX H-Techs)
163front, 132rear(04 WRX Stockers)
(just for comparison)

bluscooby23 wrote: 324front, 246rear (05STi Tanabe DF210) *Measurements are in lb/in*
224front, 194rear (05STi Stockers)

Now your talking! Aren't those like a 2" drop ta boot?
Let's all keep track of how long Colin's fatory struts hold up.

In other news, I keep looking into the STI Wagon 4-Way adjustable suspension (Pinks) seen here:
http://www.jdmpartstx.com/pics/GGB_Adju ... pinks1.jpe

The cost: $1,100!
A version 7 STi wagon set-up would run me about $700

This is what I was considering:
Tein H-Techs: $220
Koni inserts pre built: $830
KYB AGX: $440 (hopefully can get chamber adjusted for -0.4 Front -0.6 Rear. 2 sets of chamber bolts at $100 each would fix it)

I gotcha beat

559 lbs/in front and 447lbs/in rear.

We broke Julian's car early this morning and he is driving mine around. I don't know what is going to cause him more pain, sitting on the AC coolant purge valve all night, or a day of driving my car.

YAr! I be the thread pirate around these parts, mates...

zaxrex wrote:I gotcha beat

559 lbs/in front and 447lbs/in rear.

We broke Julian's car early this morning and he is driving mine around. I don't know what is going to cause him more pain, sitting on the AC coolant purge valve all night, or a day of driving my car.

In all honesty, I find your car has a smoother ride than mine! I was atually going to talk to you about that... ya, my suspension is probably the next thing to get the full "BluBallz" treatment...

after a little more driving last night, perhaps it isn't as harsh as I first thought. but what is still troubling is the amount of noise coming from the front suspension when I go over low speed bumps. just a lot of clatter. I checked the bolts on the top hats and they're solid. the noise persists even when I'm on the brakes so I don't think it's coming from there. will just have to keep driving, see what happens as the car settles...

bluscooby23 wrote:I also thought that the springs were quite soft (H-techs). But then again after coming from a semi-race setup in the miata, ANYTHING felt like a warm cloud of happy.

If you think those are stiff, wait until I get the Tanabe springs in the STi.

324front, 246rear (05STi Tanabe DF210) *Measurements are in lb/in*
224front, 194rear (05STi Stockers)


229front, 196rear(04 WRX H-Techs)
163front, 132rear(04 WRX Stockers)
(just for comparison)

*shudders*

IMO your car is already on rails. i cringe at the thought of the tanabes in your hoopty.

so the car is starting to feel more "normal" but it's a bit bouncy on small highway undulations. the clunking noise might be coming from the 4pots, but the noise doesn't stop if I'm on the brakes... will need to get some expert opinions on it, but everything feels solid. can't wait for the AutoX class now that the engine, brakes, and suspension have all been upgraded.

Mr Kleen wrote:so the car is starting to feel more "normal" but it's a bit bouncy on small highway undulations. the clunking noise might be coming from the 4pots, but the noise doesn't stop if I'm on the brakes... will need to get some expert opinions on it, but everything feels solid. can't wait for the AutoX class now that the engine, brakes, and suspension have all been upgraded.

from the brakes? are you calipers on tight? i mean whats the "clunking" sound, can you feel it in the wheel when it happens?

calipers are tight, no physical sensations accompany the noise. going to pull the wheels off this weekend and double check everything.

Mr Kleen wrote:after a little more driving last night, perhaps it isn't as harsh as I first thought. but what is still troubling is the amount of noise coming from the front suspension when I go over low speed bumps. just a lot of clatter. I checked the bolts on the top hats and they're solid. the noise persists even when I'm on the brakes so I don't think it's coming from there. will just have to keep driving, see what happens as the car settles...

I PROMISE this is the front springs moving around a little in the perch... They're not seated perfectly. I know the noise all too well. Chances are you'll have to take the fronts apart again. You might get lucky and be able to shift the springs while still compressed. Just jack up the front first and see if you can spin them a little.

...don't ask how i know.

I'm gonna take a look at it this weekend. I really thought I had them seated, but nothing can be overlooked because SOMETHING is making noise...

I had to do that several times with the AGX and Eibachs on my old GVR4.
Spring seating was always a bit of an issue.

so Zak, care to share your opinion after a quick consultation with the patient last night?

any chance that the front struts are bad? seems unlikely they would both fail at exactly the same time, but I'm not discounting anything until I arrive at a solution.

When my GVR4's struts failed it was a constant thumping. The strut piston was simply topping and bottoming out on every stroke. You should be able to hear the valve on a full compresion. Find a speed bump and go over it back and forth (slowly) and listen for the valve. If you can hear the vlave and the car doesn't bounce up and down more than once then your strut hasn't "failed" yet. Compress and rebound that's all it should do. It doesn't mean they are perfect, they just aren't totally shot yet. If the car bounces more than once than your struts are out or on their way out.

Asside from the vibration of the clunking sound, the damper is still doing it's job. From the frequency and "volume" of the rattle, it sounds a lot like the Teins rattle issue. the solution was to crank down on the strut top nut to ensure the shaft has more pre-tension on it and stops the clunking inside the shock body.

Because I am weird, I would actually loop a couple turns of plastic coated picture hanging wire around a coil on the spring and the damper shaft and make it tight. Go out for a parking lot ride and see if the noise is attenuated at all. That would at least help isolate it to the spring/strut as opposed to some other structural attachement.

For the record, I don't have my dust caps on the strut top, so if tightening down the strut top nut works, I say ditch the cover...

when can I use the compressor, Zak?

How about after your boat trip?

I should be home after noon on Saturday if you want to come by and we can wrench on them