[cw_itr_805]

A few months back I had Bilstein B14 coilovers installed, no issues with the installation and had an alignment done per stock specs. Fast forward about a month and I started to notice what I can describe as creaking, and some thunk/thud like sounds when slowly turning the wheel or backing out of a parking spot. At first this would only seem to happen at a particular angle of the wheel, but it progressed to happening more frequently, almost every time when I now maneuver at slow speeds. Once at say over 5mph, and driving normally, the sounds go away completely. We put the car back on the lift, checked movement of the suspension/sways and everything was tight, also moved the hubs to full lock and various angles with some tension on each side and saw no rubbing of any kind. It only makes the said sounds when driving with full load on the suspension. The stock top hats were re-used, but otherwise only had about 12K on the stock suspension.

I've been reading that this "could" be normal with some coilovers, as the springs might just be noisy when sitting in the hats and turning under load, OR the bearings in the hats might need to be changed, but with them being so new I did not think this would be an issue. Has anyone had the same sounds with coilover installations or any suggestions to try? The car rides great otherwise and has no other problems. Just trying to figure out if this might just be something to deal with, and will not cause me any issues or abnormal wear... Thanks.

[Richy_Boy]

Sounds to me like the top mount isn't able to rotate when full weight is applied to the spring, resulting in the spring binding, then jumping as you turn the wheel?

Hard to know for sure.

Richard

[i8ur911]

Originally Posted by Richy_Boy

Sounds to me like the top mount isn't able to rotate when full weight is applied to the spring, resulting in the spring binding, then jumping as you turn the wheel?

Hard to know for sure.

Richard

I agree. I have this same issue with my Bilstein Clubsports. It's just spring bind. It shouldn't be hitting anything, but it is certainly annoying.

[Pparana]

Oem shock perches have bearings, so should no bind. Could be loose tie rod ends, loose strut mount, or the shock perches could need replacing.

[amw896]

I had a set of BC coilovers that had this issue in the rear which was a preload issue. Did you check the preload all around?

[cw_itr_805]

Everything was double checked for tightness/clearance, or anything else that could be loose pertaining to the suspension. We did not do a full preload for these, as it was not really a requirement. The rears are fine, it's just the slow speed maneuvering sound from the front. I'm leaning a bit towards spring bind the more I read similar descriptions from others... guess I'll just learn to live with it for now... like I said the car rides great and has no other issues.

[M-terkait]

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...-isolators.asp

I installed type A on my front tckline coilover top side couldn't get it on bottom because the coil thread lockers aren't tall enough to fit the spring isolator and the spring so the spring couldn't sit properlly .
and did use it on rear springs a while ago i believe it helped the noise is greatly reduced.

Be sure to check your spring Inner diameter from top and bottom they may differ by5mm or so.

[qJai]

Originally Posted by cw_itr_805

Everything was double checked for tightness/clearance, or anything else that could be loose pertaining to the suspension. We did not do a full preload for these, as it was not really a requirement. The rears are fine, it's just the slow speed maneuvering sound from the front. I'm leaning a bit towards spring bind the more I read similar descriptions from others... guess I'll just learn to live with it for now... like I said the car rides great and has no other issues.

any updates on the coils? I just purchased and installed b14s myself so want to get a heads up. BTW how low did you go? any pics? my car feels a bit bouncy after install. thinking potentially lack of preload? thanks.