When i did the coil overs i bought OEM replacement struts. Strike 2.
Whenever i hit bumps in the road it sounds like the front springs bottom out.
Now i have a few questions. When my friend helped me install everything he threw out a yellow foam piece that slid over the struts piston. Do you know what im talking about? I swore to him we should put it on because we took em off the old ones but he swore up and down that you don’t need it. From the way i was looking at it… it kinda looked like it was there for a reason.
whenever somebody rides in my car it hit more of course because of the extra weight and its kind of embaressing.
Im sick and tired of these pieces of shit. i have heard good things about KYB struts. I guess what im asking now is… what is a good setup? I dont want the bumps to hit so violently anymore. im willing to dish out the cash now to get good stuff like i should have done in the first place. but i dont need top of the line stuff. i just want to the car to have a nice low stance.
Yellow things= bump stops. They should have been cut in half, not thrown out. That’s the hard smack you hear. KYB is good for minimal lowering 1" or less. They really aren’t made for excessive drops. Which ones did you get? I’m guessing the Gr2’s. I’d toss the KYB’s. Invest in some Koni Yellows. Ground Control coilovers are the only way to go if you want something adjustable.
Well i didnt get the KYB’s. I bought just replacements from the auto part store. and thats exaclty what i thought the yellow piece was for and we have argued about it for hours and hours. its been about a year since i lowered it and i dont remember if there where bump stops all around or just in front. Any ideas where to get a hold of some new or should i just go to a local pull-a-part or something?
Also heres a picture i just took of how low it sits.
Good news is you can order them from the dealer for about $10 a piece. Bad news is that you have to dismantle the strut again to put them on. The drop looks good! I’d raise it a tad in the rear to make it look more even. Our da’s tend to look lower in rear when they really aren’t. Let me know if you need a part#
a part number would be nice. I think i am going to call around to some junkyards to see if they have em. Both this g2 and a g2 i had before this one made the same thud… funny how the same friend helped me lower both ;). i have been driving around listening to it for a long time and i am very eager to spend the night tearing everything apart to fix it. lol. are there bump stops on all four shocks? and one more question… is this picture i found a good representation of how it should be reassembled? looks like he moved it from below the washer to above it.
They should go inbetween the #4 and strut itself. Yes, one on each including rear. I doubt a junkyard will have it. They usually don’t pull them apart like lthat. See #13 Buy 4. Cut them in half. Install. Be happier.
part #12 will not work with the ebay coilovers in the rear…at least not with the ones i ordered. took me a while to figure out why the rear was so stiff. but the front ones are ok and will work. but i if you want to put bumpstops on them…you might have to get rid of part #12 on both fronts and rears, me i tried to use them but it didnt fit so i said ‘f’ it and installed the coilovers without em’. now it makes that annoying thump sound as you described…not sure if that’s due to not have bumpstops installed or not.
with the bump stops, there is still a thud (harshness depending of shock and spring stiffness, and how big a bump your going over) all it does is soften the blow. the thud could also possibly be the ball joint end of the upper control arm hitting the inside of the tower. I live in an area with REALLY rough roads, and my front is pretty low. i often get the thuds and im running with half cut bump stops.
