CV or Strut?

[sudz]

So, I made the mistake of having 4 people in my car, Completely loaded, with about 3X24's of Beer and wine and all their gear for a weekend.

The BIGGEST mistake is that I drove in hamilton, with all its massive potholes.

Since that weekend, I've been getting a weird "pop/clank" noise from rear passengerside quarter when I hit an abrupt bump. (gentle rises/dips in the road don't do it, but it seems more prone to make the noise when i'm turning right.
No Vibration at speed, no noticeable change in handling, just the wierd noise.

If I hit a bump while going around a corner at speed (onramps, highway turns, etc) I feel less confident in the car... it feels like I'm on the edge of control sometimes, and I'm wondering if I've blown a strut? I thought the car would be noticably "bouncier" after this.

I am lowered on prokits on stock struts for about 70,000km now, with a total of 94,000km on the struts. I have 17's with 45 offset, 205-50R17 tires at 32PSI.

The front seems fine around the corners, but the car feels like it "rises" too much when I hit a dip or hump in the road. (which results in its nearly bottoming out after the "rise") ... it doesn't continue to bounce after that though.

What do you guys think?

[Noisy Crow]

Broken end-link?

[Gizzmo_jr]

I've been getting a weird "pop/clank" noise from rear passengerside quarter when I hit an abrupt bump. (gentle rises/dips in the road don't do it, but it seems more prone to make the noise when i'm turning right.
No Vibration at speed, no noticeable change in handling, just the wierd noise.

You are describing when my rear strut was busted to a T.

The description while going around a turn thou, i'm not sure about anymore.

[mzkaye729]

+1 on the busted rear struts for the pop/clank noise. I have that problem currently on my car and have yet to address it.

[TokyoKiller]

Well at least its not your front struts...those are expensive.

[TheMAN]

blown shocks
it was only the matter of time with a lowered car on stock shocks

if you really want to take care of it, replace/upgrade all of them

[sudz]

Hrmmm well, that's pretty conclusive.

What is the most durable/Comfortable/Cost effective (blend of all 3) replacement for a car with Pro-Kits?

[Noisy Crow]

What is the most durable/Comfortable/Cost effective (blend of all 3) replacement for a car with Pro-Kits?

Well, that is almost a religious discussion!

FWIW, I am very pleased with my Mazdaspeed dampers.

[mEtH]

So much talk with the FSDs on the M3F. Comfort with the advanced stiffness when driving aggressive in turns etc. (I dont know myself but that is what I get from reading the M3F) For a stock replacement KYB's would do...

Be sure to have it looked at before you get invested, it may very well be a broken or loose endlink. Have a mechanic look it over before you commit that chunk of change.

[sudz]

Thanks mEtH.

I'll see if I can get some of jimmy's time, he's the only affordable mechanic I know, and he was awesome when he installed my pro-kits.

... It really does seem that everything that has gone wrong with my car (minus the steering pump) has been related to lowering it. :-S

I wish there was a way to get the stiffer springs with stock ride height. (or maybe 1cm drop, just to make the wheel gap even all around)

[Donutz]

Racingbeat springs.

[sudz]

So... The clunking is getting worse. And now i'm getting a bit of it from the front driver side as well. Smooth Dips don't make the sound - Only more abrupt bumps (big and small bumps alike)

On top of that, I've always been fighting a vibration in my car - Since I got the pro-kits installed by Jimmy. I figured this spring when I got new tires, Rims, and an alignment done, it would have been fixed - But no dice. What else could it be?

Between the vibration and the clunking - I feel like i'm driving a shitbox - It's hard to have pride as you clunk and rattle down a street.

QEW mazda said the clunk was a tiny bit of play in the area wher ethe strut tower meets the mount... Starting to doubt this now.

Advice?

Did I mention i'm pretty much broke and can't live without my car?

[Noisy Crow]

Bolts at the top of struts loose?

[Donutz]

My advice is go back to Jim and ask him to diagnose it. That way you will know for sure what is wrong.

Broken / loose end link; loose / broken strut; busted lca bushing; unlikely, but possible a busted mm; loose wheel; loose subframe; loose FSB brackets; rocks in your under tray; possibly missing bearings from the upper strut bearing, but I don't think this manifests itself by clunking. That is all I can think of up front.

Did you get an alignment after you were lowered?

[warlord]

How about antiquated circa 1970's econobox suspension. Might be the best explanation for all the clunking. Put a torque wrench on every subframe and suspension bolt you find ! Rough roads loosen these cars up big time. Here's some Mazda dat sheets with torque settings.

[sudz]

So, the struts are blown, the bushings are gone and the dampeners as well...

So KYB GR2's or OEM struts?

Why are KYB's 50 bucks cheaper than OEM?

I have 30 minutes to decide!

[S.F.W.]

KYB's, but I say upgrade to Koni's all around.

[sudz]

I read a TON of reviews saying that KYB's fail rather quickly when you have a lowered car. I also read mixed reviews that they are slightly softer that stock.

I sprung for the Koni's. I asked them to set it to 30%/ 1/3rd from full soft.

I'll replace the front struts in the spring.

The koni's were about 160 more than Mazda OEM. Worth the worry free(ish) mind that they are designed to take the abuse of a lowered car.