So I've been lurking around the boards for a while, trying to absorb everything I can, but it seems the best way to get help is to just come out with a question directly, and hope for a response.
I've been running Tein Monosports for the past year, and while I love the tautness of the chassis, I just can't get away from the all pervasive clunk. Seems like this is quite a common problem, and while my car does exhibit some of the same noises I've heard in clips in other posts, mine seems to have another, more extreme sound. On uneven roads, I get the usual rattle and what some call clunking (video credit to white86's earlier post):
However, if I manage to find a pothole, or a mini speed bump (which seem to be everywhere in Raleigh), I get a bang that would wake the dead. Honestly, its as if someone took a 12 pound deadblow mallet, reared back and slammed into the strut mount. It's violent.
Now, I've done the usual troubleshooting, used vernier calipers to confirm proper preload; disassembled the struts and collars, cleaned, and lubricated them; greased the pillowball bearing; confirmed torque at all locations, according to factory and tein supplied specs. Yet I consistently get these banging sounds, at any speed 20 mph+ from my passenger front suspension.
Now, I've heard a lot of folks talk about replacing pillow ball mounts, but others advocate for adjustable end links. I understand the real advantage of end links are to allow for corner balancing of the vehicle, but could a certain level of drop necessitate them to prevent binding? Here's a picture of my current setup, front right jacked up, front left on the ground:
Is that angle normal for an endlink mount? Could the ball and cup arrangement meet such a point where the travel is insufficient, and the result is my banging noise?
I'm at roughly 1.3 inches of drop. Doesn't sound like a necessity to folks at similar heights, but maybe the end link mounting location on the strut is different. Anyhow, I'm open to an any and all suggestions or advice.