Softening that thud

One thing that's bothered me since day 1 of ownership was that thud when going over a pothole. Almost akin to having blown struts. Never really looked into any suspension mods, I've been focused under the hood up until now, but I think I'd like to start looking at making the car a bit more buttoned down but at the same time smooth over bumps and we got plenty of those in Nebraska unfortunately. What am I looking at replacing and what would you suggest? Just about 90K miles on the car. I'd very much like to avoid getting taller tires, I like how the stock size handles.

Fish - You are under-damped and hitting the bump stops. Consider going Koni Inserts or another combination with an adjustable damper (my personal preference) and a progressive rate spring.

 

Tires themselves sometimes thud as well, what tires are you running?

Koni inserts are what I recomend due to the adjustability. However I think only rebound is adjustable. Look into that. Tires make a huge difference. Maybe swith to a grand touring tire might soften up the impact.

Joe, I currently am running Eagle F1s, which I am not happy from the standpoint of noise and the fact that I have never before owned a tire that needed topping off once every other week, but that is besides the point. Once they are worn I am getting a set of Michies.

I was considering a set of Eibach springs which are progressive but generally people recommended I get IONs instead. I can do some reading on here as well what people prefer and why, I just wasn't sure where to start. Thanks, both of you

The Eagle F1s are a clomping tire based upon reviews I have read. I can't speak to Pilot Sport A/Ss, but I will say that my michelin pilot exalto a/s in 225/45/17 vastly improved the day to day comfort of the car.

 

If money is a bit of a concern, consider Kumho ASX's as a low cost but pretty solid riding tire that provides decent handling, decent winter weather, and impressive life span for the cost and performance.

How are your Lower Control Arm Bushings?

my blown out Perrin spherical bushing made quite a racket after I blew it out

 

http://www.xcceleration.com/images/js/perrin_lgt_psrs.jpg

How are your Lower Control Arm Bushings?

They are ... there, stock and with 90k miles on them

I am not underestimating the impact the tires have on things and I do think they may be in fact the reason for the clomping. I need to get under the car for a visual inspection anyways so I will pay special attention to the suspension parts. Right now it just feels like the car is riding on very stiff tires with soft suspension.

I am considering Eibach Pro springs with the OEM dampers and if I don't like them or don't work well, go from there. And I don't know how I feel about Koni inserts, nor do I want to do irreversible mods to the strut towers with any other struts.

 

I do regret not having a set of Pilot Sport A/S but they were not on the market IIRC when I went with the F1s. They were already replaced once, all 4, under the cupping recall and even though they checked out good, I swear I hear the same noise when slowing down.

Fish - What do you mean irreversible damage to the stru towers? Your original struts are shot - you are goign to replace them. If you go with Konis, you'll be re-using their frame essentially of the stock struts instead of replacing the whole strut altogether.

 

CTATV - Do you mean your perrin replacement bushigns made tons of noise, or that your OEM bushings were making the noise before replacing them with the perrins?

Perrin PSRS will beat your fillings out of your teeth. Ask ClimberD.

Fish - What do you mean irreversible damage to the stru towers? Your original struts are shot - you are goign to replace them. If you go with Konis, you'll be re-using their frame essentially of the stock struts instead of replacing the whole strut altogether.

Sorry, I essentially meant I want a strut that I can swap in and bolt up. No drilling or modding.

I have never replaced a strut unless it clunked. That does not mean mine are not shot, I take it.

50 Series tires, Fish....

I'm not sure I follow

50 series = more sidewall= less impact harshness.

They are ... there, stock and with 90k miles on them

I am not underestimating the impact the tires have on things and I do think they may be in fact the reason for the clomping. I need to get under the car for a visual inspection anyways so I will pay special attention to the suspension parts. Right now it just feels like the car is riding on very stiff tires with soft suspension.

I am considering Eibach Pro springs with the OEM dampers and if I don't like them or don't work well, go from there. And I don't know how I feel about Koni inserts, nor do I want to do irreversible mods to the strut towers with any other struts.

 

I do regret not having a set of Pilot Sport A/S but they were not on the market IIRC when I went with the F1s. They were already replaced once, all 4, under the cupping recall and even though they checked out good, I swear I hear the same noise when slowing down.

 

 

with 90k on your stock struts you have maybe another 20k before they will likely be making noise. That said, I've seen many threads where people have had blown/warn struts in the 70k mile range.

 

A few months ago I put on Eibach springs on stock struts and they felt great initially, but my stock struts were not damped enough to control the spring oscillations over larger bumps. It's gotten slightly worse over the last 4000 miles that I've driven. I'm also in the process of cutting up some extra struts and installing Konis so I can control the springs more.

 

If you put Eibach, or any aftermarket spring, on your stock struts with 90k miles they will likely be done soon afterwords and you will need to replace the struts anyways. I too didn't want to cut up my struts so I purchased an extra set from a member on this site. They weren't cheap to ship, but the extra struts + konis were still cheaper than blistiens for very similar performance.

I had the Epic/Eibach springs installed on my stock struts at 37k. When I finally upgraded to Konis at 39k, my mechanic said the stock struts were already on their way out. Commuting to and from NY on swiss cheese roads will definitely do that since they're hugely underdamped paired with the new springs.

Thread revival. Had the car in for a balance/rotation today and the tech said my front LCAs are just about shot. I'm thinking Whitelines as a replacement. I'm currently doing a search on endlinks, see what I should look for, what to replace them with, in the meantime if you guys want to throw some ideas at me, now's the time I don't know yet the condition of the endlinks, the tech didn't say anything about them but that may just mean he forgot to try to upcharge me on those as well.

You know what ... I think I'm going to do the whole shebang at the same time, might as well and do just one alignment.

I plan on replacing the springs with a Pro Kit, get KYB shocks (I think they are good enough for me), Whiteline LCAs and I have yet to decide on sways and endlinks.

The joys of owning a car with almost 100K on it, but at least no monthly payment!

I'd wait on the sways until you get used to the new springs and shocks. Then decide on what size sway bars you want depending on how much more roll you want to eliminate. And for endlinks, I recommend Kartboys, as well as the rear reinforcement brackets.