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ATL BRZ · 09-19-2012, 09:37 AM

So last night got my BRZ in the air and with the wheels on I turned the steering wheel left and right and my Dad could see the rubber surrounding the bearings and top nut in the Com-C's deforming, as the bearings did NOT want to rotate properly even when the suspension was unloaded. I wish I had gotten video of it.

I disassembled the front struts again and found no incorrect fitments or clearances:

The Com-C's did spin around freely when still assembled to the strut off the car, but a very faint noise could be heard inside them.

When taking them apart I found marks on the upper spring perches where they had been hitting the bottom of the Com-C's under compression over bumps WITH and WITHOUT the camber bolts:

I don't know why but it's got to be camber related IMO.

So I compared the Com-C's to the stock top mounts and sure enough, found the Com-C bearings to be notchy as hell and you could see and feel it when rotating the bearing with your finger. So again, under load, this is bad news.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRSmwXSoks"]Whitline Com-C BRZ top mounts - YouTube[/ame]

Compared to the stockers, which were buttery smooth, and were completely silent when spinning around after tightening them back down onto the struts.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km4mleBXdrE"]Stock BRZ top mpunts - YouTube[/ame]

So now we have some good evidence that the Com-C's are shipping with BAD BEARINGS.

Now, the POPPING noise when turning did NOT go away when I drove around after reassembling the front struts with the stock top mounts. That turned out to be coming from the REAR strut assemblies (as determined by my Dad standing outside the car in the cul-de-sac as i turned around) so we disassembled the rears next. Turns out the rear springs were assembled incorrectly at first and the very end of the springs at the bottom were not lined up with the notch on the bottom spring perch; it was about 1.5 inches off. Correcting that and reassembling them made the popping noise go away.

So now I'm running stock top mounts and camber bolts, after reassembling both the front and rear struts, and I have no noises at all.

09-19-2012, 09:37 AM	#175
ATL BRZ TEQSPORT Brand Manager Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: '24 GR86 + '16 FR-S Location: Atlanta Posts: 3,666 Thanks: 3,725 Thanked 4,137 Times in 1,707 Posts Mentioned: 90 Post(s) Tagged: 6 Thread(s)	So last night got my BRZ in the air and with the wheels on I turned the steering wheel left and right and my Dad could see the rubber surrounding the bearings and top nut in the Com-C's deforming, as the bearings did NOT want to rotate properly even when the suspension was unloaded. I wish I had gotten video of it. I disassembled the front struts again and found no incorrect fitments or clearances: The Com-C's did spin around freely when still assembled to the strut off the car, but a very faint noise could be heard inside them. When taking them apart I found marks on the upper spring perches where they had been hitting the bottom of the Com-C's under compression over bumps WITH and WITHOUT the camber bolts: I don't know why but it's got to be camber related IMO. So I compared the Com-C's to the stock top mounts and sure enough, found the Com-C bearings to be notchy as hell and you could see and feel it when rotating the bearing with your finger. So again, under load, this is bad news. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRSmwXSoks"]Whitline Com-C BRZ top mounts - YouTube[/ame] Compared to the stockers, which were buttery smooth, and were completely silent when spinning around after tightening them back down onto the struts. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km4mleBXdrE"]Stock BRZ top mpunts - YouTube[/ame] So now we have some good evidence that the Com-C's are shipping with BAD BEARINGS. Now, the POPPING noise when turning did NOT go away when I drove around after reassembling the front struts with the stock top mounts. That turned out to be coming from the REAR strut assemblies (as determined by my Dad standing outside the car in the cul-de-sac as i turned around) so we disassembled the rears next. Turns out the rear springs were assembled incorrectly at first and the very end of the springs at the bottom were not lined up with the notch on the bottom spring perch; it was about 1.5 inches off. Correcting that and reassembling them made the popping noise go away. So now I'm running stock top mounts and camber bolts, after reassembling both the front and rear struts, and I have no noises at all. Last edited by ATL BRZ; 09-19-2012 at 02:20 PM.