Shock absorbers, lowered or not?

[Linzi]

I bought my car, and it had already been lowered, but I'm not sure which height and I THINK with pedders springs. Anyway, I recently changed the lower trailing arm bushes and the bar thing that links the shocker an the sway bar at the front. The front drivers wheel now makes a creaking noise when I turn. I asked the bloke that did a wheel alignment to check it out and
He said the spring isn't sitting right, and I need lowered shockers, not the standard ones. But how come it never did this before with the standard shockers?

[troykinsvt]

springs would have moved into a position that was comfy for them then? so they didnt make a soundthen , now the wheels are straight they dont like how they sit same as mine , its lowered springs and standard shocks , the preload rate (i think) hits the bumpstops and wont sit right wheras to putting proper shocks in will allow the car to sit lower without hitting the bumpstops on the shocks , if that made sence??

[Fenix_Longbow]

It will also make your car handle like crap because of the shocks are not paired correctly with the springs the damping rate of suspension is now changed. The shocks are used to a lot more travel and will bottom out, a very cheap way to get out of lowering a car but unfortunately a lot off people dont care and/or dont realize. Generally pedders i think are Red, kings are yellow, eibach springs are green... This is my experience but if im wrong plz correct me guys.

Did you use the lube when you replaced the bushes? That can cause a creak like noise...

[Linzi]

Yeah my springs are red. Yeah I did use lube, but I'm pretty sure it's not that. I just find it weird that it never made this sound before, and now it does, and I need new shocks, when I didn't before...

[Fenix_Longbow]

If your car gets lowered by over an 1 1/2" (in general) you will need new lowered shocks to suit. If for example you are cornering hard and you hit a pothole; instead of the dampers doing their job, they will bottom out and more than likely cause the car to become unstable which leads to over or understeer... more likely under since thats the way cars are meant to be balanced.

I prefer to think of it as doing the job right which is safer and ultimately more fun in the long run.

The spring could indeed be sitting wrongly but depending on your model (which is it btw?) I would try just jumping on your car at various points at the front and asking a mate to see if any sounds show themselves?

[goose202]

The bigger problem to think about when using lowered springs and standard shocks is that if the lowered shocks are considerably shorter unloaded than the stockies, at full droop of the suspension the springs are no longer "captive"; they can move around on the seats, and theoretically even fall out. That sounds to me like what has happened. Check it out for yourself by jacking a wheel off the ground and checking that the springs still have a little pressure on them.

[Fenix_Longbow]

I think he was talking about the springs not the shocks being shorter... It has been to a tyre place for an alignment and it would have been noticed if the shocks were too short...

[goose202]

Sorry, I should have read the first post a bit closer. Use of the term "trailing arm" on the OP made me immediately assume he was talking about the rear.

But my comments are still valid - if the spring is not captive at full droop, it can dislodge. A shorter travel shock would be needed to keep it captive. But I'd be surprised if there's not at least some pressure on it, jack it up and see.

[Fenix_Longbow]

In my experience, very few lowered springs like these are captive even at full droop. The only time this will happen is if the car is jacked up or the car is on some seriously steep culvert etc. loose springs of which would be the least of issues. A friend of mine that works in Suspension warehouse in sydney fitted a set of bilstein dampers, eibach springs and whiteline swaybars- All of which is perfectly suited yet if i jack my car up both my rear springs fallout.

Be that as it may the rear is not in question, the noise is from the front under change of direction.

[goose202]

I'd disagree, Fenix. In my very lowered VX, even with stock shocks, the springs had a small amount of pressure on them. As has been the case with my cars in the past. I just wouldn't be happy to drive a car if the springs weren't captive at all stages of the suspension travel.

If the springs aren't seated right, the OP needs to find out how they got like that. Perhaps they're not captive and he just went over a seriously steep culvert and dislodged them.

[Jonah 101]

I have heard the noise happens if your springs are in upside down. I have that noise to on one side because who ever put the springs in the car before me put one in upside down, I must get round to flipping it lol

PS. I have shortened moroe GTS all round so springs are captive

[Fenix_Longbow]

The front drivers wheel now makes a creaking noise when I turn. I asked the bloke that did a wheel alignment to check it out and
He said the spring isn't sitting right, and I need lowered shockers, not the standard ones...

The back is irrelevant. Problem is front. Front are struts yes?

Not to be an ass but if a car is that lowered and you hit a culvert or ditch etc that causes the rear tyre to go full droop- as i said a loose shock will be the least of your worries. You would have heavy damage to other and more expensive parts of the car.

I would take my hat off to anyone that can cause a lowered vehicle to pop a wheel like that without serious damage and/or injury to yourself.

Anyways, back on track to the original issue...

[goose202]

Yes, fronts are struts, but there are still spring seats that the spring can dislodge from, but of course it can not completely fall out.

If you slowly cross a deep culvert diagonally, you could get a wheel to go full droop.

[Fenix_Longbow]

Jonah, try and dertermine of you get the noise under load, or at a standstill or only when turning. Jack it up and turn the wheels... Can you provide anymore info on what the car was doing when you first heard the noise?

[Jonah 101]

just turning on the spot. to be honest i cant even remember if its still there. I always meant to check if it was the bearing in the top. I might av a look tomorrow

[Linzi]

It's a VS commy. How do i know if they're seated properly? I tried it before to what I thought felt right but it still did it.

[Fenix_Longbow]

You can only really sit the springs in one way and then the strut top bearing sits on top of that then up through the hat and tighten the nut and then the big centre one.

Is the noise from the turning on the wheels or is it the transfer in weight?

**That said common sense isnt common anymore and i would have thought that the wheel alignment shop would have noticed a spring put in the wrong way... The only real possibility that i can think of is its coming from the swaybar linkages

[Jonah 101]

I only noticed because they were side by side, on the car it would be very easily over looked.