It has been about a week or so after installing my stance coilovers.
I had them corner balanced and aligned from Westend here in So. Cal.
The car is only dropped about an inch all around.
I've been driving around at the stance's recommended damper setting of 6 and because of the following situation, I'm now down to 2.... and the problem still occures.

When I go over certain bumps there is a very loud thumping sound from the rear, only from the rear- as if i hit something really hard. This sound is not prevalent on every bumps, but just certain ones. I can not replicate this when the car is not moving. It always happens when I'm driving. And it is driving me nuts.
I've did some search online and found this thread

http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-tires-wheels-brakes-suspension-sponsored-tire-rack/268370-cusco-02r-loud-thump-sound.html

very similiar to what I am experiencing.
at the end of the thread it ends with
"so i assume is normal for the suspension to act this way?
thanks for all the replies..."

so, is this it?
i know evo's and rx8's are like comparing apples and oranges but the situation seems very alike.
are there anyone else out there with similiar experiences with coilovers?
any input would be appreciated.

ps- i've already contacted stance with the issue. i sent them pictures of my install as well. It's been couple days and i've not gotten a reply yet so thought i post something here to get some help.

Thanks.

Don't make it softer make it stiffer.

Don't make it softer make it stiffer.

tried it.
thump is worse.
softening it actually lessened the severity of the crashing thump sensation.

Is it hitting on something while the shock is compressed?

Is it hitting on something while the shock is compressed?

nothing i can see.
even Darin (owner of Westend) who corner balanced and aligned the car didn't see anything wrong with the installation.

the thing that bothers/confuses me the most is that it DOESN'T happen on all bumps- just on certain ones.
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

Sounds like you are rubbing.

Sounds like you are rubbing.

so how do i fix this?

so how do i fix this?

Get more camber in the rear I would say, that is IF you are rubbing it'll help. What are the specs on your wheels size/offset.

Get more camber in the rear I would say, that is IF you are rubbing it'll help. What are the specs on your wheels size/offset.

no rub.
stock wheels.
sorry i misread your rubbing suggestion.
I guess i was tired or something when i posted the reply.

Weird...I would suggest just playing with the dampening settings, till you find something that works for you.

possibly problem solved!!!!!

i was looking through some of the pictures that i took of the installed coilovers (the pics i emailed to stance for support), i noticed something odd in these pictures.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0731.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0733-Copy.jpg

i don't know if it was the angle of the picture but the springs didn't seem correctly positioned. They seem to sitting at an angle....
so what the heck- what have i got to lose~
I jacked up the car, undid the wheels, unscrewed the spring perch, shook the springs, turn it, wipe the dust around the seating area, etc, etc... and re-tighten it.
The beauty of these stance coilovers is that ride height is independently adjusted so that even though i unscrew the springs, the $220 alignment and corner balancing job is not compromised.

well..what do you know.
as i drive to my girlfriends house, driving down the usual route where i would get about 3~5 "thumps"- nothing happened.
this was furthered confirmed by driving back from my girls house to my place with the damper settings at 6 (up from 1) and no crashing thumps~!!!!!!!!!
I am not yet going to say that the crashing thumping sensation is gone, but even intentionally going over bumps, so far so good.

so...when you get your stance coilovers or whatever other coilovers, don't be an idiot like me, in pure excitement of wanting to install the damn coilovers and not sitting the springs correctly.
Hope this helps out with some of you guys.

so the springs were not sitting in the perches correctly?

and nice job.. looks nice.. what fender height are you running?

beers :beer:

so the springs were not sitting in the perches correctly?

and nice job.. looks nice.. what fender height are you running?

beers :beer:

thanks.
yes. it must have been the springs.

i'm right now at only about an inch dropped...
with driver sitting in car i was exactly at 25 13/16 for front and 25.xxx for rear.

My height before the drop was 26.5 in front and 26 in rear. (i believe the difference is due to the design/difference of the fenders for front and rear)
Darin from Westend gave me the exact numbers but... i can't find the paper right now...

you know what....here are some pics.

before
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/rx8_00021.jpg

after
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0724-Copy.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0730-Copy.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0726.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/100_0727.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/SNC00007.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/limitedsky/rx8%20parts/SNC00005.jpg

fender height of 26 inches front and rear is a good place to be.. aesthetics and what the guys that run track for a living do.. ;)


beers :beer:

fender height of 26 inches front and rear is a good place to be.. aesthetics and what the guys that run track for a living do.. ;)


beers :beer:
good to know.
i think i'm close enough as my rear is a little bit higher than the fronts.

good to know.
i think i'm close enough as my rear is a little bit higher than the fronts.

very good place to be!!!!! ;) :)

beers :beer:

Hey Trust,
We're working on Zelse's Stance coilovers right now and he too had the same clunk in the rear. We're trying to figure out how you can tell it's perched wrong...any suggestions? The spring perch is flat and the bottom and top of the spring is flat so there doesn't really seem to be a perch to put the spring in. Did you just mean tighten the spring more or what? Any light would help..Thanks!

Looks like we're going to finish it tomorrow...have to take the whole damn thing off. :/

Looks like we're going to finish it tomorrow...have to take the whole damn thing off. :/

Hey Trust,
We're working on Zelse's Stance coilovers right now and he too had the same clunk in the rear. We're trying to figure out how you can tell it's perched wrong...any suggestions? The spring perch is flat and the bottom and top of the spring is flat so there doesn't really seem to be a perch to put the spring in. Did you just mean tighten the spring more or what? Any light would help..Thanks!

wow, i guess i wasn't the only one with this problem.
I unscrewed the spring and spun around it in place hoping that it somehow finds the right sitting area. basically, moving it around...
i tightend the spring perch 2 turns as the instruction states.
i don't think i would tighten the springs too much.
even with the two turns, i was able to spin the spring in place with both hands...

And then that was it? Hmm..Alright. I'll take a look at that. Thanks Trust.

And then that was it? Hmm..Alright. I'll take a look at that. Thanks Trust.

yeah, no need to un do the panel in the trunk, uninstall the whole darn thing...Just try to work with the spring- at least that's what i did.
let me know how it goes.
If this is a common problem among stance owners, maybe we can email stance and hve them possibly work on future production units...

Weird. I had three different sets of springs on the rear of my car last year (7k and 6k in a couple different lengths) and I didn't have this problem. The angle the spring is rotated shouldn't make a difference.

Yeah but we took apart my rears to adjust the height acordingly. So that could've been it. And good point Trust. We should get an email going should anyone else experience this so they can add a FAQ or something. It's a great product, I just wanna be careful with install is all.

Oh, I don't blame you. By all means, send them email. Stance was great to work with.

It seems that the rears were actually past the maximum height just slightly, so that may have played in this.. we moved around the springs and all to make sure they were good, adjusted the height and made sure all was good..put it all back in, tightened and jazz...bam. Took it for a ride down one of our bumpiest's roads and not a single clunk. Just heads up. :D

It seems that the rears were actually past the maximum height just slightly, so that may have played in this.. we moved around the springs and all to make sure they were good, adjusted the height and made sure all was good..put it all back in, tightened and jazz...bam. Took it for a ride down one of our bumpiest's roads and not a single clunk. Just heads up. :D

yeay!

over max height bad. :)

beers :beer:

It seems that the rears were actually past the maximum height just slightly, so that may have played in this.. we moved around the springs and all to make sure they were good, adjusted the height and made sure all was good..put it all back in, tightened and jazz...bam. Took it for a ride down one of our bumpiest's roads and not a single clunk. Just heads up. :D

Oof, over the max height. Glad you fixed it. What length/rate springs are you using in the rear?

7k. Length? Whatever they offer normally as I didn't really customize my order. But yeah we're just at the tip of under max height so it is sitting nice now, no noises, nothing. :D

It was MAYBE 1/4 inch too tall.. one quick adjustment and recheck to make sure it was level and it was done

good to hear!!!

Yeah, big up to Astral and Greenblurr for all their love and support.. Or just support in this case. (we've taken off the suspension 3 or 4 times to make it all right..*grumble*)

7k. Length? Whatever they offer normally as I didn't really customize my order. But yeah we're just at the tip of under max height so it is sitting nice now, no noises, nothing. :D

I switched the shorter 7k rear springs for longer 6k springs right away. I found, with the 275 tires I was using at the time, that I didn't have enough adjustment range to keep from rubbing.

The rate change was to solve handling problems I had with the car in competition. If you want to read about it, see the Stance thread in the AutoRnD forum.

I don't remember the exact lengths. I know I have the springs labeled at home. I want to say the springs that shipped with the coilovers were 650mm and the ones I eventually settled on were 700mm.

Wow, really? That's surprising. I'll be honest though, not sure I'd ever go that wide for competition tires. I think 255 is a pretty good fit all around..but then again I'm also basing this off my skill level and stuff I've read. Once I get more seat time in both autocross and track, then maybe I'll switch springs and agree. :D Thanks for the heads up though. BTW more pics of your car?

I don't take a lot of pictures of my car. Look up other ti greys and that's what mine looks like. :P

I'll have different wheels on it this year. I'll put up some new pictures from events once those are on. This year I'll be on 255s, not 275s.

I recommend treading very carefully when you do take your car to an autocross or track. If you find it to be a handful, you'll know what change needs to be made.

Gotcha. I'll keep that in mind. As for dampening..any recommendations? I have 8 all around right now and it feels fine..maybe a bit softer rear though?

Gotcha. I'll keep that in mind. As for dampening..any recommendations? I have 8 all around right now and it feels fine..maybe a bit softer rear though?

I started out at +6 front and rear, as Stance recommended. I finished the season with the rears set to full soft and the fronts to +2. I have little doubt that will change, but probably not drastically unless I start changing spring rates...which I just might do. I am also undecided on the issue of tires, and I'm sure adapting to something new will affect my settings.

Good point. Well what would you recommend for someone like me? The reason I'm asking is because Astral took my car back from the alignment and all and said the car felt like it had a bit oversteer feel to it. Ran a similar alignment before so don't think it's that..but I could be wrong. Maybe +8 front and +6 rear? And whats the benefit of running softer anyways?

Good point. Well what would you recommend for someone like me? The reason I'm asking is because Astral took my car back from the alignment and all and said the car felt like it had a bit oversteer feel to it. Ran a similar alignment before so don't think it's that..but I could be wrong. Maybe +8 front and +6 rear? And whats the benefit of running softer anyways?

I don't know you. Have you autocrossed or been to a track before?

In what situation did your friend determine that the car was oversteering?

I was adjusting for the rear. The car was twitchy and oversteering in nearly every situation. The rear tires were very quickly overwhelmed. I couldn't count on it in sweepers, quick transitions, under braking, etc. I eventually set the rear to full soft, and I kept the front close to it but a little stiffer because the responsiveness seemed to work up there.

Again, this may all change this year on different tires. I consider what I arrived at a good baseline to start from.

This is what Zelse and Mr. Pockets are thinking:

http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/files/thumbs/t_threadjack_831.jpg

http://www.austinthirdgen.org/upload/threadjack.gif

Good point.. :P I'll just PM him..