Had my MS suspension on (springs, struts, sways) and first off , car rides amazing.

there is an ever so faint (have to have windows up, and listen hard) noise I hear over certain bumps- almost like a faint cowbell noise, very quiet. It seems to come and go but I do notice it on bumps and it feels as if its coming from the rear passenger area. when it happens, there are seveal "hits" of the cowbell-ish noise.

Again, its not a loud noise, nor is it prevalent during normal driving. Only over certain bumps. Any clues on what it could be, if anything?? It could just be normal I guess, but just thought I'd see if anyone had it.

Got it installed at a dealer of which I'm very happy with (rosenthal in arlington, basically finishlineperformance)

*** i did search and see that this type of noise may be common in some aftermarket springs***

that being said- any thoughts on those who just deal with it or have fixed it?

 

Welcome to the MS suspension club, I put mine in about 3 months ago. The noise you here is normal, everyone with the MS suspension has experienced the same noise. I heard it the very same day and every day since, it seems to happen when I go into pothole or of a curb. Many other members have had this noise; I think Brillo is one of them if I'm not mistaken. Not much you can do about it, there was word that a Mazda 6 boot that goes over the shock fixes it but in my opinion it's not worth it since you would have to pay to get all that done. I was a little more nervous because I installed it myself, but being that you had a dealer do it I'm sure they did a good job. In short don't worry it's normal, now go to the track and feel the difference

 

if i had to guess i'd say its the bushings from the sways

 

Its not the bushings, I greased them and checked them nay times. It's one of those noises that you can never fix I guess It would be one thing if only one or two people have experience that noise but everyone I know that has the MS setup has that same noise.

 

We always need more Cowbell!

 

thanks for the input- yeah, i did read the brillo threads but curious to see if anyone has succesfully solved it, but more importantly- to see if it is doing any harm. Honestly, if it truly is "normal" and not doing harm, based on its relative quietness than i'm cool with it cause I love the setup.

But if anyone has heard it go away or has new developments on reducing it, i'd love to hear it!

 

If you want PM brillo, he's had it much longer than I have. Actually hearing that the dealer installed it and you have the same noise is reassuring. Enjoy, let me know if you anything from him.

 

Amen. I installed mine and have the same issue. It's not the sways as I didn't want to spend big bucks on those for the modest improvement. Since you got it installed at the dealer you may want to bring it back and express your paranoia. Not making fun, just saying if you express that you are concerned it's a safety issue, they'll look into it.

 

I heard of this when I got mine so I bought the rubber sleeves for the Mazda 6 recall which was mentioned by devildog. Mine have been noise free since install Nov. '05.

 

cool, good to know. did you have to re do the install when you pu tin the rubber sleeves?

the service dept is great where I go, so perhaps next visit I'll have them look into it- hopefully they will do it no charge per warranty....again, so long as there is no proof that its hurting the car its so 'faint' of a noise i can live with it.

 

what was the turnaround time for them to install the kit? one full workday? did you have to leave the car there overnight?

 

Yea, go to the dealer and have them figure out exactly what is making the noise. Then let us know what they find out, I would definitly like to know. I would do the Mazda 6 fix but that's to much work, with my luck I'll strip something this time around.

jskup1,
Where do the sleeves exactly go?

 

It took me less than an 1 hour for the sways and about 5 hours for the shocks and springs. I was extremely cautious since I'm a novice, I'm sure the dealer can do the whole job in under 4 hours.

 

I've had my MS suspension for well over 2 years now I think. I do remember there being a very faint noise, almost like a vibration or grinding from the rear when travelling at slow speeds over bumps. I don't hear it anymore though since I now have an the MS exhaust and RP supercat

 

yup- dropped it off Friday morning, had it back Saturday by 1pm- and I told them not too rush as i wanted them to get their best techs on it. You could in theory have it same day if you pushed it. They put me in a rental as well no charge.

-this was for install of springs/shocks/sways, front tower brace, a full alginment and oil change.

....next oil change i'm gonna ask them to take er' out for a spin with me to see if they can't pinpoint this noise.

 

I used the mazda6 spring caps to help with the noise and it made some difference, but the bottom line is that the MS and most non coilover suspension mods make some noise as IMO the rear springs sit a little "loose" when lowered.

Its been that way for two years and I just accepted it as the price of aftermarket suspension.

 

That RP will drown out any noise

 

I put mine on during the initial install. The springs will have to be removed to get them on even though they have a split seam. The sleeves were each about 3-4 inches long. One goes on the bottom coil of the spring with an 1/8" overhang and one goes on the 2nd coil from the top. If you want to see the specifics, go to rosenthal's site and look through the Mazda 6's service bulletins for "noise from front suspension."

 

Excellent, thank you

 

i have hks coilovers and i had similar problems previously. not MS suspension, but i ended up taking it out 3-4 times and finally disassembled the coilover and it fixed the problem.

i do wonder why it's always the rear passenger though.

 

Have someone ride in the passenger seat and see if they still do it. Maybe the smaller load on the spring is the cause.

 

Hey, thats a good Idea.

 

I have the same noise from the MS suspension in the rear. good stuff

 

I wonder if a MS equipped car from the factory would make that same sound?

 

Guess What...!?!?! I got a fever... and the only cure...is more Cowbell!