Need help with my Coilover Situation (HKS Hypermax IV) - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

Nonstopper0 · 12-31-2020, 10:33 AM

So I was having ALOT of clunking issues with my front suspension all around so I decided to just take everything apart and go from there. (I also snapped a top hat bolt while making sure everything was tight)

I took my HKS Hypermax IV struts off to find that the top hat where i also seared the bolts bearing (drivers side) was bad. It was having alot of trouble moving the coil around on the bearing yet the passenger side top hat moved around without alot of effort. (Im guessing the resistance to move means its blown and could cause clunking)

I have contacted: Evasive Motorsports, HKS Japan (kinda, very hard to contact them), and Vivid Racing.

None of these companies could or even bothered to help me out on this and im at a loss. I want to just buy new top hats but i'm not sure what will fit and what wont with these struts.

Does anyone have experience with this ?

(This one seems to be just fine)

(This one seems to have a bad bearing)

NoHaveMSG · 12-31-2020, 10:44 AM

Need to measure the shaft diameter(where the nut screws on) and the bushing and I would correlated it to Raceseng's chart to see what top hats are interchangeable.

https://raceseng.com/media/pdf/casca...ck-fitment.pdf

They also have this if you are interested in purchasing their top hats.

https://raceseng.com/media/pdf/races...iloverform.pdf

Z06ZN6 · 01-03-2021, 08:19 PM

Did you try to contact HKS USA? support@hksusa.com.

Another option if you are unable to rebuild it yourself would be to take it to a local machine shop. Once the parts are pressed out and measured, replacements can be ordered from a supplier like aurora or somewhere else and pressed back in.

NoHaveMSG · 01-04-2021, 06:27 PM

You could pull the pillowball out and try to source it. I be it presses out the bottom of that housing.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...QaAuxAEALw_wcB

https://www.mcmaster.com/63195K18/

CSG Mike · 01-04-2021, 06:59 PM

Have you tried contacting your Vendor? They should be the ones helping you, not Evasive, HKS Japan, or Vivid.

HKS USA would be your secondary source of support.

If you bought these used, caveat emptor.

Replace the broken/worn parts. If replacements are not available, then you may need to get new coilovers to eliminate the noise.

Nonstopper0 · 01-05-2021, 03:49 PM

HKS USA was completely unable to help in any way and directed me back to a vender. Who were also unable to help.

I think I am just going to switch brands if it is really this hard to get a miniscule amount of customer service from them.

These were not used but they are very old. Probably the first generation they came out with.

norcalpb · 01-05-2021, 07:04 PM

In my experience bearings/ball joints are really hard to move around when new, and super easy to move when blown. Unless of course one is seized because of how old your coils are.

Try grabbing the coil assembly by the top hat and shake it up and down. Is there play/does it clunk?

It will cost you about $200 to service those top hats for parts and labor (more than likely get nicer bearings from like FK), which is the option I’d do after exhausting the warranty option which it kinda sounds like you have.

CSG Mike · 01-06-2021, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nonstopper0

HKS USA was completely unable to help in any way and directed me back to a vender. Who were also unable to help.

I think I am just going to switch brands if it is really this hard to get a miniscule amount of customer service from them.

These were not used but they are very old. Probably the first generation they came out with.

Your loose bearing is the issue. Try McMaster Carr.

And yes, support is king.

Nonstopper0 · 01-13-2021, 01:21 PM

Hello everyone, Noob question.

How do I actually measure the size of the bolt on the damper so i can buy another set of top hats? I'm used to just going to ACE hardware for smaller bolts but they wont have anything that size

Z06ZN6 · 01-13-2021, 09:00 PM

They're Japanese parts so they'll be in the Metric system. To measure a metric bolt, first simply measure the bolts outside diameter ( the threaded portion, or the shank) in millimeters. The center shaft threads are probably 12mm so in that case it would be an M12 bolt (double check because I didn't actually measure it). Then measure the distance from one thread to another (the thread pitch) in millimeters. As an example, it may be something like 1.25 or 1.5mm, etc. So an example bolt would be a M12x1.25. After that, the length of the bolt is appended in millimeters such as 15, 20, 25, etc. For a typical bolt like a hex or socket head cap screw, that's measured from under the bolt head to the lther end of the bolt. For a flat head (countersink) its measured as the entire length of the screw. Google measuring metric bolts. Its not hard. Good luck.

Z06ZN6 · 01-13-2021, 09:00 PM

Here's a simple guide...
https://www.pro-bolt.com/bolt-measuring-guide/

01-03-2021, 08:19 PM	#3
Z06ZN6 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Drives: 2017 Toyota 86 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 126 Thanks: 39 Thanked 132 Times in 71 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Did you try to contact HKS USA? support@hksusa.com. Another option if you are unable to rebuild it yourself would be to take it to a local machine shop. Once the parts are pressed out and measured, replacements can be ordered from a supplier like aurora or somewhere else and pressed back in. Last edited by Z06ZN6; 01-03-2021 at 09:16 PM.

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01-04-2021, 06:59 PM	#5
CSG Mike Join Date: Jul 2012 Drives: S2000 CR Location: Orange County Posts: 14,532 Thanks: 8,920 Thanked 14,177 Times in 6,835 Posts Mentioned: 966 Post(s) Tagged: 14 Thread(s)	Have you tried contacting your Vendor? They should be the ones helping you, not Evasive, HKS Japan, or Vivid. HKS USA would be your secondary source of support. If you bought these used, caveat emptor. Replace the broken/worn parts. If replacements are not available, then you may need to get new coilovers to eliminate the noise.

01-05-2021, 07:04 PM	#7
norcalpb Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2023 Model 3 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 2,297 Thanks: 1,215 Thanked 863 Times in 570 Posts Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	In my experience bearings/ball joints are really hard to move around when new, and super easy to move when blown. Unless of course one is seized because of how old your coils are. Try grabbing the coil assembly by the top hat and shake it up and down. Is there play/does it clunk? It will cost you about $200 to service those top hats for parts and labor (more than likely get nicer bearings from like FK), which is the option I’d do after exhausting the warranty option which it kinda sounds like you have.

01-13-2021, 09:00 PM	#10
Z06ZN6 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Drives: 2017 Toyota 86 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 126 Thanks: 39 Thanked 132 Times in 71 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	They're Japanese parts so they'll be in the Metric system. To measure a metric bolt, first simply measure the bolts outside diameter ( the threaded portion, or the shank) in millimeters. The center shaft threads are probably 12mm so in that case it would be an M12 bolt (double check because I didn't actually measure it). Then measure the distance from one thread to another (the thread pitch) in millimeters. As an example, it may be something like 1.25 or 1.5mm, etc. So an example bolt would be a M12x1.25. After that, the length of the bolt is appended in millimeters such as 15, 20, 25, etc. For a typical bolt like a hex or socket head cap screw, that's measured from under the bolt head to the lther end of the bolt. For a flat head (countersink) its measured as the entire length of the screw. Google measuring metric bolts. Its not hard. Good luck.

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