Suspension sounds after lowering spring install (2023 CX-5)

[teddymac]

I have some noise in the front end on mine as well, haven't had a chance to track it down. But it's worth noting, the noises have been there since the warranty transmission work 10k miles prior to lowering.

The noises on mine are only over pretty decent bumps/potholes/manhole covers at slower speeds.

However I did tighten the top bolts on the perches in the engine bay, seemed to help a bit. Note that I had those off after lowering, when I installed the autoexe strut brace.

Make certain that the swaybar endlinks were installed the correct direction... I've seen some posts on other forums/vehicles on which they were installed on the wrong side of the shock mount.

 

[N7turbo]

This was largely cured by tightening the left rear shock mount. I still plan to inspect the sway bars because there's another clunk to track down on the other side. It wasn't there before so I think it's related to the parts that were removed/reinstalled (hopefully not the control arms though, those are a b****). One hint is that the clunk seems to happen only on compression rather than decompression (the opposite of the sound we eliminated) and resonates through the body rather than being a sound that's in open air, so it seems like it's connected to the car...but that's the best I can tell right now.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

I do recall seeing a post in the cx-9 section and the OP found his springs to be defective because the coils would touch. MAYBE the coils are touching during compression?

 

[N7turbo]

I do recall seeing a post in the cx-9 section and the OP found his springs to be defective because the coils would touch. MAYBE the coils are touching during compression?

Were they CS springs, and was this recently?

 

[teddymac]

The C's springs have rubber on them to help reduce/eliminate spring chatter.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

Were they CS springs, and was this recently?

Yes CS

What have you done to your CX-9 today?

I would just show him the install guide and point out that CorkSport did not recommend damper upgrades, so its ok to trim the bumpstops. It won't be a problem. Note that if you don't trim the bumpstops, you may experience stiffness when you go over bumps or road imperfections due to hitting the...

mazdas247.com

 

[N7turbo]

The C's springs have rubber on them to help reduce/eliminate spring chatter.

Right.

And this sound only occurs with certain light bumps. Like something isn't tightened down enough and gets jostled. I can get a lot of compression and nearly bottom out on a certain street and it doesn't make any sound. I don't think my spring coils are touching.

 

[N7turbo]

I was able to solve the rear chattering sound by tightening the upper shock mount more.

I suspect I may be able to solve the final sound in a similar way, the front passenger clunk. Will investigate that soon.

 

[N7turbo]

Attempted to investigate the issue today; here is what I found.

Front Left Spring Investigation

youtu.be

• Spring silencer slightly out of place; end of coil touching bare metal
• Shock boot detached
• Bolts on the front left are torqued to spec; nothing appears loose top or bottom
• The lower bolts on the front right were at ~140 lb ft. I corrected that.

I'm not sure if these things on the left are causing the noises but it looks like I'll have to take it to a shop to fix this...I don't own a spring compressor.

 

[AL Cx5]

Is part of the spring issolator hanging down in the video? I would get that fixed.

Did you check the torque on your sway bar links. They will clunk too.

Either could be the issue.

If you a long pry bar, you can make the suspension flex and see or hear it make a noise. I picked up the longest pry bar HF sells. I NEED it about once a year. Handy tool. Or have a shop with a pry bar move the suspension.

My alignment shop can load the suspension on their alignment rack so they can see/hear an issue.

 

[N7turbo]

Is part of the spring issolator hanging down in the video? I would get that fixed.

Yup. That could be producing the metal-ish sound I hear on the left side.

The sound coming from the right is different. Lower pitch.

Did you check the torque on your sway bar links. They will clunk too.

Definitely. I just installed those recently and they are torqued as hard as I can get them by hand, plus blue threadlocker.

I also turned the top nut as described here, we'll see if that does anything.

I have a 21" breaker bar I am using for the wheels, and a 20" pry bar. How do you use it?

 

[AL Cx5]

Yup. That could be producing the metal-ish sound I hear on the left side.

The sound coming from the right is different. Lower pitch.


Definitely. I just installed those recently and they are torqued as hard as I can get them by hand.

I also turned the top nut as described here, we'll see if that does anything.

I have a 21" breaker bar I am using for the wheels, and a 20" pry bar. How do you use it?

First, I would remove the left side strut, compress the spring and insert the isolator correctly. Or replace if it's damaged.

I have to learn how and where to pry on our CX5s. I put the car on ramps so I can crawl under the car and pry on components.

The front suspension is much simpler than say double wishbone designs. There is not much to go wrong and make noises. I would fix the strut first. To bad you are not close by, I have an oem struts with 4k mi on them you could try.

When I was working through my coilover noise, I used my OEM struts to confirm the noise was in my coilover. Needless to say, I'm experienced how to change out front and back suspension parts.

 

[Buzzman12]

Why do folks race pickup trucks, lift trucks and Jeeps? Personal preference.

If you dont agree, that's just fine and move on.

It's not about whether I agree or disagree. Each to their own.
I was just curious as to why do it on this particular vehicle.

 

[AL Cx5]

It's not about whether I agree or disagree. Each to their own.
I was just curious as to why do it on this particular vehicle.

I mistook the meaning of your question. Thank you for clarifying.

Speaking for myself. My wife did not want a sedan. She desires to ride higher and have a lift gate. I want a sport/mini/SUV.

Adjustable coilovers, aftermarket sway bars, urethane sway bar bushings and lighter wheels achieved my suspension goals. Handles precisely, a little firmer ride. I've been in a couple situations where I needed to avoid a car. It handled like a dream. Driving down the interstate it's rock solid. When we change out the A36 tires, I can push it through curves a bit. I can imagine it will drive like it's on rails. Mazda has a good basic design to build from.

We did some light engine mod: tuned engine, grounded and variable flow CAI, smooth wall elbow with turning vane. All of these improved DD FE and WOT performance. FE is as high as 33 MPG over 1500 mile trip over EPA 29 MPG for a turbo. When the weather cools down, I expect to see 34 to 35 MPG. Again, Mazda put better than average components in their engines, forged crank and rods, so it can take a little more power.

Living in the South, I insulated one line from the AC compressor to the firewall. This produces cooler air soon after startup. I do this to all of our vehicles.

I've stopped my mods and enjoying the ride, unless there is some break through tuning/mod like tuning the transmission....

From what I've read, about 1% of Mazda owners modify their cars. I would guess 90% of the 1% are Miata owners. If Mazda offered a sport version of a CX 5, I would have bought one if I could have gotten my wife to agree to what would have been sport interior!

I wish you could drive my CX 5 to get an A to B comparison.

Cheers

 

[Buzzman12]

I mistook the meaning of your question. Thank you for clarifying.

Speaking for myself. My wife did not want a sedan. She desires to ride higher and have a lift gate. I want a sport/mini/SUV.

Adjustable coilovers, aftermarket sway bars, urethane sway bar bushings and lighter wheels achieved my suspension goals. Handles precisely, a little firmer ride. I've been in a couple situations where I needed to avoid a car. It handled like a dream. Driving down the interstate it's rock solid. When we change out the A36 tires, I can push it through curves a bit. I can imagine it will drive like it's on rails. Mazda has a good basic design to build from.

We did some light engine mod: tuned engine, grounded and variable flow CAI, smooth wall elbow with turning vane. All of these improved DD FE and WOT performance. FE is as high as 33 MPG over 1500 mile trip over EPA 29 MPG for a turbo. When the weather cools down, I expect to see 34 to 35 MPG. Again, Mazda put better than average components in their engines, forged crank and rods, so it can take a little more power.

Living in the South, I insulated one line from the AC compressor to the firewall. This produces cooler air soon after startup. I do this to all of our vehicles.

I've stopped my mods and enjoying the ride, unless there is some break through tuning/mod like tuning the transmission....

From what I've read, about 1% of Mazda owners modify their cars. I would guess 90% of the 1% are Miata owners. If Mazda offered a sport version of a CX 5, I would have bought one if I could have gotten my wife to agree to what would have been sport interior!

I wish you could drive my CX 5 to get an A to B comparison.

Cheers

Very interesting. Thanks for clarifying.
I like a sporty ride as well, so in my case, I have 2 vehicles. Not everyone can afford that, i get it.
My wife passed away last June (2023), and she was not a car person, so she never understood my interest. She was happy with a grocery getter.
I have a 2016 Lexus RX350 as my daily driver. I don't have, or plan to do, and mods on it.
My fun car is a 2023 Kia Stinger GT Elite. It's the top of the line model in Canada.
3.3 twin turbo V6 @ 375 HP. Goes like stink. I've been doing mods on it pretty much since I got it.
Earlier this week I swapped out the OEM brake pads for high performance EBC pads. Stuff like that.

 

[N7turbo]

Fixing the spring isolator ("silencer") solved the problem on my front driver's side. Had no idea springs could move that much and make such a racket.

I went through with torque wrenches and made sure everything was torqued to spec, including the lower nuts at 175 lb-ft, uppers at 43, my brake calipers at 68 and brackets at 75.

The top nut is my final suspicion on the passenger side for the remaining flutter I hear over there.

 

[N7turbo]

I'm getting around to this final noise, which I suspect is caused by the top nut. I could be right or wrong. Only way to find out is to try.

I picked up a set of Husky Torx keys and with a 19mm socket and wrench pliers, this should be doable. But it would work a lot better if I had a socket with straight sides. I would rather not use teeth and mar up the socket.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

Try something like this

https://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-metric-offset-box-wrench-set-32042.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12169518939&campaignid=12169518939&utm_content=114845719377&adsetid=114845719377&product=32042&store=580&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr9m3BhDHARIsANut04ZYEkYHtOwlUg1YG-yX-JzybrM---zd6BL1VM9oM6p-Oc7LcONZccsaAnT0EALw_wcB

 

[N7turbo]

@Silly Wabbit nice, that may work.

Also, I found this:

19mm Strut Nut Socket - CTA Manufacturing 7513

 

[FukuokaKid]

A while back Craftsman sold a set called Max Axess. I think it was picked up by GearWrench and is now called Pass-Thru. Perfect for this kind of stuff.