GTLocke13

iTrader: (1)

Read that thread I linked to. There's more to it than just a harsh ride. If you're not looking to be competitive on the track I would look into the Bilstein PSS9. They're engineered well, and it's not a pain to get them rebuilt every three years (you'll have to). The drawback is the compression and rebound adjust in lockstep. If you're just looking for a firmer ride and better performance on a budget, I would try to find a used set of MR bilsteins and put stiffer springs on them. The MR is lacking in spring rate, not shock valving. That and a beefy set of swaybars will control body roll. If you're willing to spend a little more, I think the ZZYZX EM Sports are the best bang for your buck right now.

MondoBongo

iTrader: (10)

well, i wouldn't say it is a life or death issue. it actually happened to me for a couple months before i tracked down the problem. mitsu ended up replacing the whole top hat under warranty, and that stopped my binding. the top hat is actually very cheap too. if i remember correctly, it is under 20 bucks. but it sure is annoying.

used to drive me nuts when i was driving around.


i know one or two people that have used those on evos and i haven't anything but negative reviews of them. alot of side stepping on the highway, and generally not the ride they were looking for.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

MR Bilsteins with Swift Spec R's for instance? The ride I have with the Tiens and OE strut isn't bad, as far as bumps go. The handleing and this new found "spring binding" is what's bothering me. I'm sure it's not the Tein's fault, but they're not helping the situation.

I'm not looking to being competative. I know this soudns crazy but later on down the road, I plan on seeking out a LHD Evo VI and becoming competative with it. I want the keep my VIII as my weekend street car... But who knows, I may become competative in the VIII. My plans always change

Are MR's with Swift Specs are good enough for light track duty?

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

Thanks! I'm very convinced that the spring binding is my problem. Did your car ever do it in a straight line (slowing to a stop sign)?

GTLocke13

iTrader: (1)

Yup. If you're looking to minimize body roll and give yourself a little adjustablility in the suspension get a front swaybar and an adjustable rear bar. I like the Perrin setup with their stout mounts.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

I'm going to look into Megans a bit more, but I'm defiantly keeping MR Bilsteins and Swifts in mind.

First off I need to fix my tie rod ends, align the car and save money for some coil-overs. I'll just do a quick teo and go and then do a more specific alignment with the coil-overs. For now I'll just go 0 toe all around. Maybe a litte toe out with the coil-overs.

Is the spring binding a big concern, as in is it harmeful to performence of even regular driving? It doesn't seem to be hurting performance at all. IF this is my problem, which I'm almost certain that it is, then coil-overs should doon come.

MondoBongo

iTrader: (10)

no, usually it did it when turning at slower speeds. but as it progessed, it started to do it more and more, and there is a good chance that it would have eventually.

here is the diagram from the manual by the way.



the red arrow is usually the problem part when this occours.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

I did pop off that cap to try and tighten the bolts. My Mirage made a similar sound and was due to those bolts being loose.

When I had the cap off I saw that there was grease in there, but in order for me to know if there was enough, I'd have to see what it's supposed to look like.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

I FOUND IT!!!!!!!!! I saw a little spot on my subframe and sway bar where they rub together a little bit. The sway bar has about a 1/2" of play. You can slide in front right to left. You need to give good bit of force, but it does have play. I found this when replacing my tie-rod end.

Is this play in the endlinks, or the bushings? Is this a normal problem? Should it be addressed, and how is it fixed? I was just going to rig-up a rubber peice between the subframe and sway bar until I can get buhsings/end linis (whatever will solve the problem). The car still handles fine. It has Tein S-techs ( ) Could that cause the sway bar to have play?

I just know that, I DO NOT want to replace my front sway bar. I'm not dropping the subframe. I hope it's an easy fix, if it needs to be fixed.

Help?

GTLocke13

iTrader: (1)

Completely normal. Just think, what's holding it in place? Once you start driving it settles down and finds it's center.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

So it's normal to contact the frame? I checkd the bushings. Not cracked, end links seem perfectly fine.

I just aligned the car after doing the tie rod. DAMN the rear toe was out. I'm still not totally comfortable with the alignment rack so I had my buddy do it for me. Rear toe is abut 0.02 (cloestest we could get to 0) and rear camber is -1.2. Front camber, the machine said -1.6 on side and 0.4 on the other. NOT true. A difference like that you would SEE. I looked at both front wheels, both have roughly a degree or so negative camber. Front toe is 0.

Now all I need to do is get rid of these JUNK springs and replace my driver side tie-rod and I'll be golden I'll do 0 toe all around (maybe -0.1) and -1 camber front and -2 camber rear...

Thanks for the help so far guys

bboy_RES

iTrader: (18)

so did you ever figure out the problem? i have a similar problem after installing my Swift Mach Sport MR springs. my car only has 12k miles and i already put about 500 miles on the springs so i'm pretty sure they're broken in. i lubed the front strut bearing thinking that was causing the problem/noises, but it didnt fix it. when i start my car i can hear a short, deep rattle from the left front wheel. it goes away but i can hear it sometimes when i'm driving in a straight line with the stereo turned down. i reinstalled the spring on the left front shock 3 times just to make sure it was seated properly and it still makes the noise. i jacked the car up and lifted both front wheels off the ground and turned the steering wheel left to right and i didnt hear any sounds. i dunno what the problem is.

GTLocke13

iTrader: (1)

Normal to be able to slide it back and forth. Without the endlinks on, the only thing holding the swaybar on are the frame mounts. They don't restrict movement left and right. If it's contacting the frame in the middle between the mounts, it doesn't really move much in there. You definitely wouldn't hear it.

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

It contacts the sub-frame on the driver side almost directly beside the endlink. I searched and heard about this complaints before, I'm just not sure how commen it is, and if it should be a concerned (other then being annoying). I can deal with sounds, as long as I know they aren't harmful noises...

MitsuJDM

iTrader: (6)

I apologize ahead of time for the resurrection of this thread. It's not TOO old

Back when I had Tein S-techs I developed this problem. I installed Swifts a few weeks ago and greased the strut hats and never heard the noise. The past few days, the noise has returned with a vengance. I regreased the strut hats, but it only made a slight differance. Maybe not even a differance at all.

As far as my front sway bar endlinks go, they have a lot of play (I thought this was normal in my previous posts). Are they supposed to have play? I work on Hondas and their sway bar end links have ZERO play what so ever. When I checked out my Evo, they were loose as all hell. Are the end links the culprit? So loose they're allowing the sway bar to contact the frame?

I read in another thread about it possibly being an axle. I don't think it's an axle because it makes the noise in a straight line. Axles and CV joints tend to only click and pop when making slow turns, and it's usually a consistant noise. This noise I'm hearing is INconsistnat and defiantly feels and sounds like a suspension component.

Any more help? I thought the sound was gone for good with the Swifts, because I didn't hear it for weeks, but it just suddenly came back

Cold weather? It's been fairly warm since I've had the Swifts and it was cold tonight, and the pat few days (when it came back suddenly). Like I said I re-packed the strut hat with grease. We'll see if that helps :-/