Spring sound after coilovers install

[Wryd3r]

I recently installed stance coilovers in my frs. Everything seems solid, no pulling during braking or acceleration, no shaking. When I turn my wheel to the right, it almost sounds like a spring is winding up, then when I cut it back, it unwinds.

The coilovers came with replacement adjustable sway bar end links, is it possible this link is too short on the right side and that is causing the straining sound?

Any input is appreciated, thanks

[Calum]

Sounds like the bearing in the strut mount might be seized. Can you get a sound clip?

[PNW FRS]

Same stuff... so despite the dang heat this afternoon (90's)... I put the front end up... took off the wheels and lo and behold... some surprises...

Right coilover: Lock rings had vibrated loose -- and moved! This was probably the cause of the spring "winding" - "unwinding" noise. Top three mount bolts were a tad loose... tightened up...

The last few days of twisting of the unit had actually cause the drop to change... returned to my spec.

I also took this opportunity to tighten up the spring preload by half-inch... I just dyno-butt felt it was a tad too soft.

Upper end-link (replacement that came with kit) mount bolts -- right and left were a tad loose -- tightened

Given the design of the coilover (Speed by Design Pro-street), I took a soft mallet and made sure all lock rings were snugged down nice and tight.

Went out for a test ride and after the initial small "chunck" of the assemblies settling in... NO MORE NOISES! Whoo Hooo!

Now.. the question will be whether I'll need to monitor the lock rings over time. I guess once I start hearing some minor clunk/chunk/sproing noises... I'll know...

Anyway... for NOW.. I'm a happy camper! Nice and tight again.. and riding like a champ.

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

use a punch and hammer to actually lock the lock rings

but yeah, when you turn the wheel the front springs wind and unwind. it may or may not make noise depending on if there's torrington bearings or washers to let the spring do this freely, and how much preload there is on the spring.

[PNW FRS]

Originally Posted by SomeoneWhoIsntMe

use a punch and hammer to actually lock the lock rings

Post-fix update. In the last post's info about soft-mallet on the supplied tightening tools (levers), I only used the soft mallet on the handle of the lever. Since then... after about 3-4 days of DD, I started to hear a faint spring winding sound again from one side. So... up went the car... off came the wheel and found that the lock ring for spring seat was a tad loose. So this time, used a large flat-head screwdriver and mallet to tighten the lock ring. (The lock ring has notches.) This got that ring REALLY tight... will now see if it comes loose again.

This points to how finicky these coilovers are... the lock ring was just a tad loose... and that was enough to allow the spring-wind to start-up again. IF I ever replace these, it will be with a product that includes some sort of set-screw-down locking function to keep the lock ring in-position (i.e., tight).

[limitedblkwrx]

Just FYI, I use the pipe that comes with my jack and the locking ring tool to get leverage.

Slide the pipe over the tool, if that makes sense?

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

Post-fix update. In the last post's info about soft-mallet on the supplied tightening tools (levers), I only used the soft mallet on the handle of the lever. Since then... after about 3-4 days of DD, I started to hear a faint spring winding sound again from one side. So... up went the car... off came the wheel and found that the lock ring for spring seat was a tad loose. So this time, used a large flat-head screwdriver and mallet to tighten the lock ring. (The lock ring has notches.) This got that ring REALLY tight... will now see if it comes loose again.

This points to how finicky these coilovers are... the lock ring was just a tad loose... and that was enough to allow the spring-wind to start-up again. IF I ever replace these, it will be with a product that includes some sort of set-screw-down locking function to keep the lock ring in-position (i.e., tight).

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

Post-fix update. In the last post's info about soft-mallet on the supplied tightening tools (levers), I only used the soft mallet on the handle of the lever. Since then... after about 3-4 days of DD, I started to hear a faint spring winding sound again from one side. So... up went the car... off came the wheel and found that the lock ring for spring seat was a tad loose. So this time, used a large flat-head screwdriver and mallet to tighten the lock ring. (The lock ring has notches.) This got that ring REALLY tight... will now see if it comes loose again.

This points to how finicky these coilovers are... the lock ring was just a tad loose... and that was enough to allow the spring-wind to start-up again. IF I ever replace these, it will be with a product that includes some sort of set-screw-down locking function to keep the lock ring in-position (i.e., tight).

most coilovers are like that, you just have to use a punch or a screwdriver and a hammer to lock the rings up, it's because they use a metric thread profile like M55-1.5 or some crazyness so it takes a ton of torque to lock the threads down. You'll also trash the threads if you use a setscrew.

That's the one thing I like about circle-track style coilover sleeves, most of them are threaded with what looks like acme threads, a more squared off thread profile and they just use a set screw to retain the height instead of a lock ring. The ground control perches (at least the ones I used in 2010) are really nice because they use a pinch bolt instead of a setscrew. best solution IMO, but the squared off thread profile is probably way harder to mass-produce

[PNW FRS]

Originally Posted by limitedblkwrx

Just FYI, I use the pipe that comes with my jack and the locking ring tool to get leverage.

Slide the pipe over the tool, if that makes sense?

Definitely... the longer the "lever" (vis a vis the pipe extension) the more leverage (torque) applied... makes perfect sense.