KYB AGX w/ Prokit, rattle/knock over sharp bumps normal?

[Fred Allen Burge]

Just got some KYB's installed w/Prokits. They ride great until I hit a sharp bump or expansion joint in the road then they make a knock/rattle sound (front and seem rear do this). They seem to do it worse on the harder settings of the AGX's but I'll need a little more experimenting to verify that.

They are used but supposedly had very low mileage (like 250 miles) and new top mounts. The top mounts did look good as did the bottom bushings on the rears.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,
Fred

[bejota180sx]

dont know if im helping but i have kyb GR-2 with my pro-kits and when i hit a bump or imperfection in the road the front rattle a bit... i think it something these springs make normally
if you dont FEEL anything strange or something well i think its just noise they make ive been running them daily for almost 2 years and still no problems just that rattle...

[dahbeeed]

im having this same situation and was wondering if it was normal also? but checked it out and everything seems ok.

[bejota180sx]

yeah when i first heard it i also checked and it turned out to be nothing... dont worry its something normal with prokits on our S chassis...

hope this helped u out....

[Fred Allen Burge]

im having this same situation and was wondering if it was normal also? but checked it out and everything seems ok.

What's your suspension setup exactly? AGX's w/prokits?

Fred

[Fred Allen Burge]

Ok, just set everything to full hard and test drove on some bumpy paved back roads and the rattle/clatter was pretty bad. Definately annoying.

Then I set everything to full soft and test drove. The sound was greatly reduced especially in the rear. The majority of the problem seems to be the rears.

The springs only lowered the car about an inch in the front (if that) and none really in the rear (maybe 1/4"?).

Is this just a normal side effect of lowering springs or something? Do coilovers do this? I can't live with this for sure, I want nice firm ride w/ NO sounds at all coming from the suspension - like a new performance car would be (350z, RX8, etc.).



Any thoughts?

Fred

[bejota180sx]

well some springs make a slapping noise if u can call it that when the coils hit each other... the prokit is like swift springs not meant to actually lower its more for a better feeling of the car... and if u cant handle that little rattle i dont think u can handle coilovers... and those cars have STOCK suspension when u put something like springs or coilovers its the same as ours...


are you sure its comming from rears? cause ive always hear about the noise in fronts not rears...

prokit lowered mine about... mmmm... 0.7(lol) in front and less than that in the back not really any difference in height i think...

[axiomatik]

I never had any knocking when I had the exact same setup. Go back and double check all your hardware to make sure it is tight, even if you didn't touch it while installing the springs/shocks.

edit: my prokits dropped the rear more than the fronts, probably 1.5" in the rear and .5-.7" in front.

[dahbeeed]

What's your suspension setup exactly? AGX's w/prokits?

Fred

ya same exact setup

[Fred Allen Burge]

I'm noticing that most of my rear noise is coming from the RH side and now that I think about it more it made more clanking on the RH rear w/ the stock struts too. So, I'm wondering if maybe I have another problem back there like a ball joint bad or something that I can just hear better now since the stiffer struts/springs are transferring more sound to the cabin.

What are the common symptoms of bad rear lower ball joints and how can I check them to be sure?

Fred

[bejota180sx]

I never had any knocking when I had the exact same setup. Go back and double check all your hardware to make sure it is tight, even if you didn't touch it while installing the springs/shocks.

edit: my prokits dropped the rear more than the fronts, probably 1.5" in the rear and .5-.7" in front.

lol yeah same here now that i think of it... and right at this moment my shocks are almost blown and the car is sagging in the back it looks ugly as hell really really low in the back and really really high up front :loco:


I'm noticing that most of my rear noise is coming from the RH side and now that I think about it more it made more clanking on the RH rear w/ the stock struts too. So, I'm wondering if maybe I have another problem back there like a ball joint bad or something that I can just hear better now since the stiffer struts/springs are transferring more sound to the cabin.

What are the common symptoms of bad rear lower ball joints and how can I check them to be sure?

Fred

You should check everything back there if it made the same noise when stock just to be sure nothing is damaged or anything back there...

[soreballz]

Are the springs seated properly? Are the tophats new or reused?

Things to ponder...

[Fred Allen Burge]

Are the springs seated properly? Are the tophats new or reused?

Things to ponder...

Ok, just pulled the RH rear to look it over and found that I had rotated the shock body during install so it wasn't technically seated quite right on the base. Might have causes some noise but I really doubt it, we'll see I guess.

More curious is this:
http://www.engineswaptech.com/photos/freds_s13_gallery/images/5525/640x480.aspx

Both sides have this stack of washers and two top nuts. Is any of your guys' AGX set up like this?

Fred

[OETKB]

I've owned agx's and prokits for 7 years. I blew out the right rear and it made a lot of banging and rattling noise. The extrra washers makes me think your shocks may have way more than 250 miles on them.

[goldee240]

is it a click sound?

[Fred Allen Burge]

No, not a click, a rattle, loud. But I figured it out, the guy I bought them from put them together wrong. There was a rubber bushing missing, I guess he must have lost it or something and stuck a stack of washers in there in place of the bushing but they didn't work. It's all good now.

Fred

[boske]

Are the washers in there to keep the spring tight? Those springs might be a little shorter than factory, you don't want the spring moving around.

[drift freaq]

That stack washer deal is odd. I have seen lots of AGX/Spring setups. I have never seen a stack of washers like that.
Does that side of the car seem to skitter when the ratttle noise is happening? If so you quite possibly have a blown shock. Honestly that setup should not make any noise.

I have run AGX's with HKS springs, Tein Springs and Eibach springs. As well as AGX/Eibach Ground Control setups.
When there is a rattle its because something is loose. If there is a rattle and the ride is extremely harsh on that side or it seems to skitter across stuff it usually means the shock is blown.

I actually have a set of KYB Buzz Spec short strokes for s13 for sale (like AGX's but short stroke, purple and dope)for sale.