ok,just replaced my springs for aftermarket ones lowered by 25/30 mm just to complement the wheels and give it a slightly more aggressive look.coilovers are planned when funds allow!!anyway,the whole job went fine and it gave me an excuse to copperslip all nuts and bolts but when test driving i found the suspension knocked over speedbumps,deep potholes etc,but not as much over small holes and bumps!i have brand new whiteline bushes so i ruled those out,the strut top bearings didnt knock before in fact there was no noise before at all.i can hear the actual boing!! of the spring compressing when going over large bumps.its almost as if ive left all the bolts undone!have i missed something?im going to take fronts off later to see if ive replaced them incorrectly.im sure i havnt.also something which is really wierd is the rear wheel bearing (which i wrote a thread about recently) which has been replaced,but still whined has gone!!!!!amazing.to think i was pricing up a new hub.why would this be?any advice appreciated.thanks

 

it might not be the wheel bearing but tire noise as lowering the car has changed the camber of the wheels. as for knocking can the springs be fitted upside down. i dont really know unless as u say loose bolts

 

Its notorioulsy hard to get the front springs aligned into lower cups and then the top cup aligned while assembling, I've also seen cars where the main top strut nut is loose as it wasn't quite all aligned right at first assembly and has 'settled', that can be checked in 5 minutes just by taking the caps off and checking!

Simon

 

cheers guys,but how do you mean strut aligned?am i looking for any particular markings like the arrows on the rear struts?also ive held the allen hex socket in the strut tight while tightening the nut and im sure it is tight although i will check again.it does seem like they aren't comfortable sitting in the cups.as for the tyre noise,you aren't the first to say that.weird how these things work lol.

oh and the springs were put in as the old came out with the tighter coils nearer the bottom cup.

 

it can also depend on the tire as how they groove. and on diferent tarmac it can make the noise louder or quieter. but i can understand an irritating noise as i had wheel bearings go in my rs turbo and focus.

 

The top cup spring seat isn't at right angles to the damper shaft, its at an angle to accomodate the fact that the top coil has a step formed by the end of the coil and where its cut. When assembling the struts its easy not to sea this, the workshop manual however makes it clar how to align them!

Simon

 

just came online after doing front shocks again.i know where i went wrong.i put springs and steps in exactly the same place as the old ones came off as spring steps matched new for old.however the cups didnt sit at correct angle when i checked.i tried to alighn by eye and hey presto its sorted.i did notice for future readers that there is a hole drilled into the top cup which seems to co-inside with the strut to hub mounting point.i lined these two up and all angles match.rookie you were on the right path.cheers

 

looking to lower my 05 sti ppp only had a few months, what psrings would be best, want it to sit lower and more aggressive stance, been told to put on prodrive springs but probably wouldnt notice much differenc???

cheers

 

i used spax coils as ive found these to be good in the past although the current trend sways towards eibach of tein.you can pay from £100ish tup to £180 for the top brands.ive gone 30mm lower and ive found this to be the lowest i would go as ride quality may start to suffer anymore than that.ive heard people going to 60mm!!.looks awsome but must ride like a go-kart lol.

 

cheers man have been told this also going to daztech on thursday to get them sorted and part with some cash looking forward to the new look