Hey all
i got my mazdaspeed suspension, shocks/struts/springs all installed about a couple weeks ago. At first, everything was fine... i let it settle... then, the car sat in the garage for about 5 days... as i was backing out, i heard a large "CLICK" come from the front passenger wheelwell area. I was like... must be nothing, so i forgot about it... then it got progressively worse. Over bad road surfaces, it would click click click and "pop" and make metal against metal noises over bad roads.. or when i turned the wheel all the way and went up something (slowly).

I went back to the body shop, and the only thing that was different was tha tthe spring's end was facing outward... the left shock/spring doesn't make any noises, so we put it at the same setting as that... initially, it was ok, but after about 10mi of driving, the CLICK / POP / Clanking noise came back...

What could this be caused by? Input would be GREATLY appreciated guys... thanks for the help. :o

 

are all the bolts up top in the engine bay tightened ?

 

The car I had before (mitsu eclipse) this had this same problem. It could be either the ball joints or a ripped cv joint boot. Ripped CV joints can by checking if the rubber boots over the CV joint if it is leaking grease. Ball joints can be checked by lifting the wheel up and wiggling it (a little hard), if it moves back and forth/ loosely up and down, then chances are it's the ball joints. Like I said, this was a problematic issue with eclipses and chances are NOT on an RX-8, but it does happen often if you don't get an alighment after installing new suspension parts. Hope it helps!!

 

Did they put the car on the ground before they torqued everything to spec ??

 

from today... it was lifted on the jack and nothing was "loose." i will ask about the ball joints and the cv boot joint... any other input guys?

 

??

 

they torqued everything on the lift... then put it down on the ground
is that a problem?

 

Yeah.
Everything needs to be torqued with the car setting on the wheels. It's not easy, just necessary.

 

im going back to the shop today... any last suggestions i can throw at the shop before i go at 330pm? thanks for the help!!

 

Make sure they check clearances on EVERYTHING! The MS lowers the car which affects the clearances on everything. If the clicking has happened quite a few times it may have "marked" something hitting something else. Also, if they had loosened anything that pivots and then re-torqued it while the suspension is "hanging" on the lift, it will be loaded improperly when the car is compressing the suspension. I haven't installed the kit, but I'm getting one. You may suggest that they loosen any pivot point bolts and put the car up on an alignment lift that has the car setting on the wheels to re-torque them. That way they don't have to try to get to stuff with the car setting on the ground.

 

PS- How does the car ride with the MS kit? Most of my miles are hiway, back and forth to my shop. I want firmer suspension for having fun, but I don't want the car to beat the crap out of me either.

 

kwullen was the closest to the problem. They said it was fixed, but i guess i will find out on thursday *when i pick the car up*
Anyways, the MS suspension is much greater than stock. It is a lot firmer, but it won't rock the hell out of you b/c it's not super stiff... like when i go up an hill and quickly down, it won't rock the car up and down... it's very smoooth...!!

I love it.

As for the problem. they said that the ALIGNMENT pin was out of line? And that everytime iturned the wheel, it would hit . etc etc...

So that was the problem. I hope they cured my baby!! Can't wait. Just wondering, i just ordered the mazdaspeed shiftknob... anyone have any impressions on it? It looks a lot sportier!

 

Make sure the swaybar end links are tight and yes the instructions state not to tighten evrything until the car is on the ground...

 

Does this go the same for coilovers?