Woody1

I had Prodrive springs fitted last year. I noticed straight away that the near side rear was clunking, most noticable when under sudden compression such as recovering from a pot hole (sounds as though the coils are hitting each other). I have had it in to two dealers now to cure the problem but with no success. My last visit resulted in both rear wheel bearings and both shocks being replaced under warranty (they were necessary), but the noise is still there. My dealer has concluded that the spring must be the cause of that problem.

I had it in last week for a service. I asked them to replace the spring as it was under 12 months old. They contacted Subaru and after 3 conversations, Subaru refused to provide replacement springs. They have said that due to previous owners asking for them to be changed, they now require you to purchase new springs, send the old ones back upon which they will be checked. If found out of specification, then you will be reimbursed.

I asked my dealer would he recommend changing them. He commented that the problem doesn't warrant replacement as it is, however the problem will only get worse.

My concern is firstly that if I return the springs and spend further money changing them (and getting geometry reset), there is no guarantee that a problem will be found. The springs may well be in spec, but does this spec include 'Noise Free' operation. I suspect not. Secondly, the fact that others have had similar problems must mean that the suspension setup is poorly designed (or manufactured) or else this would not be an issue of discussion.

I chose Prodrive springs as this is an OE product. I could of purchased standard Eibach springs for £30 less, but felt that the extra was worthwhile when investing in something as important as a suspension setup (I believe that Eibach manufacture the Prodrive springs, but are slightly different). I do not believe that a clunking suspension should be accepted as part of the cars characteristics, especially for a rally bred design.

I will be writing to Subaru with my complaint as I feel that they have left the problem with me. Any further modifications will not be Prodrive or Subaru UK supplied as the quality and service has been no better than any 3rd party components that I have purchased (this is in noway a disrespect to the dealers in question or 3rd party suppliers. It is a direct complaint with Subaru / Prodrive policy). I was considering purchasing the PPP upgrade, but this problem has caused me to look towards other upgrades which are available.

Has anybody else had similar problems with Subaru / Prodrive accessories ?

Neil

Apple

You don't say to which car you had the springs fitted - are they the correct springs for the year and model, e.g. bugeye springs are different to classics, blobeyes etc and STi ones are different to WRX ones and so on...

I had Prodrive springs on my bugere WRX and didn't have a problem with them. Were yours fitted correctly? Did they seat correctly in the upper and lower cups because if they were twisted, this could make them knock? Are you sure it's the springs and not the dampers or anything else that may be loose on the car? Does the spring kit include rubber inserts for the mounting cups that would remove metal to metal contact?

Woody1

Ironically, that spring was the only one that was fitted correctly !!! Wrong fitment of the others was corrected soon afterwards. Top mount mod was done and rubber shrouds are fitted to stop metal to metal contact. Like I say, I have had two dealers investigate the problem over the last 12 months and recently had new shocks and wheel bearings fitted to rear due to wear noticed. I can only comment about my individual problem, but have read other threads on here from owners with the same vehicle experiencing problems after prodrive springs being fitted. In fairness, I have also heard of other types of springs giving similar sounds. This leads me to believe that the tollerances generally used for spring manufacture are too wide for the application. Maybe someone in the business could shed some light on that one ????

Still, I reiterate my concern and that is the policy of how to deal with the problem, not the fact that the clunking noise exists.

My car is an 02 UK STi.

Neil

911

My hill climb Sti v3 with AVO coil-oners do exactly the same, and have done for 3 years.
I am sure it is the reat top mounts that are the problem.
Anyone with Cusco rear top adjustable mounts had this noise issue?

Graham.

crusher

Sounds like you've got the common rear end clunk that these cars suffer from...isn't that caused by the seating of the upper mount of the strut?...with or without the Prodrive springs?...and fixed by using a modified strut?..

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

It's a noise that's usually associated with Coilovers and STi7 onwards standard suspension. Seems to be on the same corner too.

The conclusion I have come to is that the top mount needs to be changed at the same time as new springs are fitted.

F

Woody1

Top mount was replaced soon after fitting of the springs as a result of the noise. Compared to the standard springs, the Prodrive ones have three coils at the top which are very close. In my opinion, these are touching when being compressed. This would explain why the noise is more prominent when going over a pothole as they compress very quickly as the wheel returns. Tried fitting extra rubber sleeving to cure the problem, but it didn't cure it.

fuji

Just spent many weeks trying to get to the bottom of the same noise on my 03WRX with coilovers fitted. Everytime the nearside wheel hit the trailing edge of a pot hole or sunken drain culvert I would get a real clonk from the top mount. After stripping the unit down it turned out that the top of the strut wasn't fitting sqaurely on the shoulder of the mount i.e. with the strut bolt tight you could rock the mount from side to side. The problem was caused by the shoulder of the strut not passing fully through the hole in the mount - only two thirds of the shoulder had passed through because of the deformation on the outer edge of the hole. I believe this was a design fault in the strut, the O.E. struts have a shorter shoulder - solution refit the O.E. struts with prodrive springs together with a new top mount that had become worn with all the loose play. Pictures available if you require.

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Yes, post or send pictures.

F

superstring

I second that!

fuji

Don't seem to have the facility to add images, can anybody advise?

warrenm2

click go advanced at the bottom, type up your message then click the little button that looks like mountains, add the url to the pics and voila!

Woody1

I am assuming my dealer would of spotted this problem having replaced the shocks. I haven't bothered to investigate too much my self as don't want to interfer with warranty work.