red95_240sx
Member
hmm feel better than ksports
New BC Suspension Install
- Thread starter Rogue
- Start date
B
BeachVibes
Am I The Only One Not Happy With BCs?
I've had BC's installed on my P5 for two months now.
My decision to purchase them was mainly because of this thread and no one had anything bad to say about them.
My question is..... is it normal for BC's to be making clunking noises every time it hits little bumps? I live in NY and the roads really aren't forgiving in any way with all the potholes and stuff........ The funny thing is that the car is great when I go over big bumps...... no clunking noise at all and pretty smooth coil rates (too bad I don't plan on using my P5 in any rally races).
I have the settings on full soft and installed them at the same height out of the box.
I can't say I'm fully happy with them and it seems in order to raise them...... you have to completely take them off to adjust the height.....
Is anyone else experiencing this or could there possibly be something wrong with just my set.... or settings?
I've had BC's installed on my P5 for two months now.
My decision to purchase them was mainly because of this thread and no one had anything bad to say about them.
My question is..... is it normal for BC's to be making clunking noises every time it hits little bumps? I live in NY and the roads really aren't forgiving in any way with all the potholes and stuff........ The funny thing is that the car is great when I go over big bumps...... no clunking noise at all and pretty smooth coil rates (too bad I don't plan on using my P5 in any rally races).
I have the settings on full soft and installed them at the same height out of the box.
I can't say I'm fully happy with them and it seems in order to raise them...... you have to completely take them off to adjust the height.....
Is anyone else experiencing this or could there possibly be something wrong with just my set.... or settings?
red95_240sx
Member
ur endlinks might be clunkig, and u shudnt have to take them off to adjust them. u may also be hiting the bumpstops, or the endlink is reaching its max length.
AzteCypher
black ops modifications..
- :
- 2001 Mazda Protege LX
You don't have to take them off completely. You do however need to remove the tire, then remove the two bolts that connect the coil over to the rotor assembly. Then you loosen the lower locking nut and rotate the bottom portion of the coil over assembly clockwise to raise the vehicle. If you wish to lower the vehicle, rotate counter clockwise. Raising or lowering the vehicle in this manner is the best method of doing so.
You can raise or lower the spring perch itself but that will only give you millimeters of adjustment while compressing the spring too tightly or shortening the distance that the strut can travel. Both of which are unfavorable.
As far as clunking, make sure everything is tightened down correctly. If you have the AWR endlinks, the are notorious for making the clunking sound. You should also check to make sure that no part of your suspension is hitting on the car or frame. Not saying that you installed the correctly but even the best of us miss little details. I put in a coilover once with the camber adjustment as toe adjustment. DOH! Good thing my friends caught that before I drove off.
You can raise or lower the spring perch itself but that will only give you millimeters of adjustment while compressing the spring too tightly or shortening the distance that the strut can travel. Both of which are unfavorable.
As far as clunking, make sure everything is tightened down correctly. If you have the AWR endlinks, the are notorious for making the clunking sound. You should also check to make sure that no part of your suspension is hitting on the car or frame. Not saying that you installed the correctly but even the best of us miss little details. I put in a coilover once with the camber adjustment as toe adjustment. DOH! Good thing my friends caught that before I drove off.
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agreed... check your endlinks... i can almost bet thats your problem right there.... mine kept coming loose at the top(part that connects to the strut) put some blue thread lock and tighten them down again and no more funny noises.
as for adjusting... you do have to remove the tire...
i didn't take out the two bolts though... i loosend the bottom and the top (not the top top one)... after loosening i could just spin the threaded portion no problem and adjusted it from there... out of the box the back was to low and the front was too high... so i corrected it and got a pretty even ride...
i never went full soft... with the weight distribution of my car i got the best feel 12front 15rear from soft.
as for adjusting... you do have to remove the tire...
i didn't take out the two bolts though... i loosend the bottom and the top (not the top top one)... after loosening i could just spin the threaded portion no problem and adjusted it from there... out of the box the back was to low and the front was too high... so i corrected it and got a pretty even ride...
i never went full soft... with the weight distribution of my car i got the best feel 12front 15rear from soft.
To adjust the strut length you do have to remove them. That was discussed much earlier in the thread already. And I can pretty much give you a 99% probability that the clunking is the endlinks.
B
BeachVibes
I just want to thank everyone for your advice and input!
The main reason I got the BC's was because I had a lowered spring on stock strut setup while I was living in California, and the strut totally caved in about 2 years into it. I actually wanted to go back to a complete stock setup because I moved to NYC and the potholes are killer. Can you believe going back to stock costs as much as the BC's ???
My question is since it is pretty much agreed my endlinks are the cause of the the clunking noises...... just tightening them would solve the problem (assuming it is the source)? The only way to tighten them is by using blue thread lock?
What could also be some consequences for driving with loose endlinks for a few months?
Thank you again and Mazda drivers are the best!
The main reason I got the BC's was because I had a lowered spring on stock strut setup while I was living in California, and the strut totally caved in about 2 years into it. I actually wanted to go back to a complete stock setup because I moved to NYC and the potholes are killer. Can you believe going back to stock costs as much as the BC's ???
My question is since it is pretty much agreed my endlinks are the cause of the the clunking noises...... just tightening them would solve the problem (assuming it is the source)? The only way to tighten them is by using blue thread lock?
What could also be some consequences for driving with loose endlinks for a few months?
Thank you again and Mazda drivers are the best!
red95_240sx
Member
u need a 5mm allen or hex and a 14mm wrench. if u leave em loose, the bar will rattle, and the endlinks might get caught in the wheel :-/
Q to Rogue:
Can you fit 225/45/17 or 235/45/17 all around, especially in the back since it's tighter then the front ??
I was thinking: would 225/50/17 be somewhat better then 225/45/17 ??
i'm thinking i'll buy BC instead of using Espelir springs after all
LMK Rogue
Can you fit 225/45/17 or 235/45/17 all around, especially in the back since it's tighter then the front ??
I was thinking: would 225/50/17 be somewhat better then 225/45/17 ??
i'm thinking i'll buy BC instead of using Espelir springs after all
LMK Rogue
- :
- 92 & 16 Meyatas
so, everyone using them likes them? (uhm) and what do they go for? thanks!
AzteCypher
black ops modifications..
- :
- 2001 Mazda Protege LX
Yup, I like them and they go for about $900 and change.
I must retract part of my previous statement as to how to raise and lower the coil overs. I found the instructions to my BC's which happen to be in very poor English. Basically it says that you can adjust the the coil overs up and down by rotating the threaded body without unbolting in from the rotor assembly. You rotate the threaded body clockwise to lower it and counter clockwise to raise it. I'll see if I can scan that part of the instructions and put it in a pdf file.
I must retract part of my previous statement as to how to raise and lower the coil overs. I found the instructions to my BC's which happen to be in very poor English. Basically it says that you can adjust the the coil overs up and down by rotating the threaded body without unbolting in from the rotor assembly. You rotate the threaded body clockwise to lower it and counter clockwise to raise it. I'll see if I can scan that part of the instructions and put it in a pdf file.
red95_240sx
Member
^ what i do to rotate the thread body is i use the spanner under the spring, as long as u keep em tight, u can use them to turn the entire thread body
Part of it will depend on the offset of the wheel you're using. The other part depends on the position of the knuckle in relation to the strut.
There are two bolt holes where the strut attaches to the knuckle. The top one looks like "(_)", and the bottom one looks like "(__)". That's what gives you your camber in the rear, and another place to adjust camber in the front.
If you start off putting in camber at the knuckle:
(o)
(_o)
that will cause the tire to be closer to the suspension.
If you start off at 0 camber at the knuckle:
(o)
(o_)
that will give you more room, but if they are not super tight, there's a slight chance that it will work loose and cause a lot of vibration. That happened to me once, so that's why we went with the other setup. What they did is raise the car, loosen the nuts, lower the car and let it settle, then tighten the nuts. After that, used the camber plates to set the camber. Doing that caused the 245/45/17 Kumho V710s on 17x7.5 +48 to hit the springs. So I had to use 3mm spacers. The tires would rub at full lock in the front, but you should be at full lock when autocrossing...
As far as the rear, I was using 225/50/15 on a +40 wheel. It rubbed on the fender, not anywhere else.
Make sense?
yup , makes sense to me
I'd like to get 17x7.5 or if it can fit 17x8 and tires have to be at least 225x45x17 or 235x45x17 all around.
Offset will be a bit different for both rims but I think +43 will do for 7.5 wide rim , i'll have to check and measure as well since rims have different spec's
So, 235x45x17 tire in front would work with rolled fender but in the rear i'd see rubbing the fender even if i rolled the fender ??
btw, this is the rim i'm looking at getting
http://www.hopupracing.com/ssrevde.html
I'd like to get 17x7.5 or if it can fit 17x8 and tires have to be at least 225x45x17 or 235x45x17 all around.
Offset will be a bit different for both rims but I think +43 will do for 7.5 wide rim , i'll have to check and measure as well since rims have different spec's
So, 235x45x17 tire in front would work with rolled fender but in the rear i'd see rubbing the fender even if i rolled the fender ??
btw, this is the rim i'm looking at getting
http://www.hopupracing.com/ssrevde.html
yeah, i've been playing around with that site but i think i understand why you rub on the fender and not against the coilovers.
Your rear rims backspace it's too small which pushes the rim outward from the brakes so the rim in other words is displaced more to outer side and thus tire rubs the fender.
For 7" wide rim , you need +45 offset to avoid rubbing the fender.
Is your rear fender rolled ??
I get the feeling that 17x8 +35 with 235x45x17 might fit all around ,considering rolled fenders as well ??
Your rear rims backspace it's too small which pushes the rim outward from the brakes so the rim in other words is displaced more to outer side and thus tire rubs the fender.
For 7" wide rim , you need +45 offset to avoid rubbing the fender.
Is your rear fender rolled ??
I get the feeling that 17x8 +35 with 235x45x17 might fit all around ,considering rolled fenders as well ??
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based on the site you mentioned before i'll need 35 or 32 offset to have similar backspace as the stock MSP rims , so they won't hit coilovers.
I think it has to be 32 or 35 offset since EVO's run the same offset with 17x8" stock rims all around.
I believe i can fix the rear by over rolling the fender as much as i can.
Coilovers will make it impossible for the car to lower much even w/ ppl in it, so hopefully it might not rub at the fenders (dunno)
