Is the Lancer Ralliart really a car that has "tight as a drum" construction?

I've been all over the place and have read a bit about leaks and rattles and suspension squeeks for these cars. Meh, my test drive still has me a believer of this car's fun factor, but just wanna know the build quality of this car too.

 

no probs with mine at all. a cowoerk just got a chrystler crossfire and is big on tight construction and he cant believe how well the RA is built. he hates the crossfire as its a mercades with every possible corner cut. i have no suspension squecks and i dont now anyone who had any leaks. its a safe bet.

 

I've had mine for nearly a year now. It has a few rattles here and there (especially when the temps drop), but it is a very well constructed car. Mine may have more rattles because I've got the sunroof too. I have a suspension squeak too, but it's minor and I think it can be repaired.

 

<-- also sunroof. but im on FL so the temp doesnt go down

 

no rattles from me either, it really does have that "tight construction" feel to it. I like how I can fling the car left and right and it's still planted. Take turns @ 50-55mph and no body roll, and the turning radius is very nice. The RISE is really well put together.

 

The only time I have rattles is when my subs hit certain notes pretty hard, but you'll get that in every stock car out there. I think the car is put together well, and haven't seen a reason to believe otherwise.

 

My RA will be a year old in April. Solid as a rock! No leaks & no squeaks.

 

Mentioning leaks reminds me, I've noticed that when I go through the car wash, a few bits of water do make it through the seals on the back edge of the driver's side door, at about elbow height.

 

otter: i think thats called the 'resonating frequency'. every material will rattle when hit with a certain pitch/amp sound. nothing to do /w the construction, really. mroe the material. and did u see if ur stripping is cracked? in MI, it prob gets a good bit of abuse, especially if u get salt on it at all from the roads. its easy to install new stripping. but its also under the 30k warranty, right? =)

 

Only problem I would say that has to do with construction would be rattling. It only happens when I have the music turned up real loud and it's only in the door handles. Nothing that I'm really worried about.

 

Agreed. Seems that the major flaw in this car was the negligence they performed when choosing the Infinity sound system for this car, but failing to install extra dampening material to avoid the rattles. Even Scion did this for their customers!

 

The only problem im having is the squeaking from the passenger side rear strut. The car doesnt handle any differently or ride rougher, just an annoyance if i go over a small speed bump or anything like it. I only put on the lower tie bar and sway bar and RRM axleback, but those shouldnt have anything to do with the squeaking noises.

 

Yup. Cars tend to resonate around 150-200hz (estimate by ear). Thankfully this isn't a frequency you generally have set to play loudly.

I haven't looked closely at my weather stripping, but I doubt anything is wrong with it. The jets for the car wash point at the door in such a way that I don't think any weatherstripping could withstand it. As the car passes the jets, they are pointed like they're shooting from the back of the car towards the front, at maybe a 45 degree angle from the car. What happens is the water goes into the door seam and directly hits the weatherstripping. When I look at it we'll see if there's anything wrong with it. I may use a hose to check if it leaks under a more reasonable water pressure.

 

I've got the strut squeak in my driver's side. Gotta get it checked out soon.

 

No squeaks after 4 months and 1 wreck.