Hey everyone,

I've been having issues with my suspension. I've gone over it in posts before, but I've just gotten back from a 5 hour haul from Wagga and I'm utterly ruined.

The ride in my car is so hard that a short drive will leave you aching. I've got KYB struts on the front, Monroe GT Gas on the rear, riding on 16" KE Verada rims. The tyres are running at 30psi all round.

I've also had a reconditioned steering rack put in, to replace the previous shagged one.

As far as I can work out, the springs are factory original.

There's also a clank in the front right side that can be heard and felt when you come off a speed bump, hit a rut in the road or drive up a shopping centre ramp.

When my car was last at the mechanics having the new brakes put on, I asked him to have a look, and he said that everything was fine. I know it's not, cause it's getting worse every time I drive.

I try and drive her as gently as possible, but on Sydney roads, it'll clank like there's no tommorow.

If anyone could offer any suggestions as to what the noise might be, and how I can remedy the hard ride, I'd really appreciate it.

I'm thinking one of the bushes may be worn/cracked? Might explain the clank.

Ever since I got mine lowered with 17" rims, the ride is harsh. Every bump or change in the road surface, you can feel it.

I got Monroe Sensatrac all round, which apparently aren't designed for lowered suspension, as they are a progressive rate damper i.e. get stiffer the more they are compressed.

Sounds like your suspension setup is a bit of a mismatch between front and rear. Take it to a dedicated suspension professional rather than the local mechanic.

No clanks at this end, but there have been a few threads recently about noisy suspension issues. Check this one in particular.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33571&referrerid=708

Good luck. :)

Sounds like either the shocks are just ridiculously hard (are they adjustable?) or something's not fitted right (maybe the right front by the sound of it).

Try pushing the corners of the car down. That would give you some idea of the resistance of the suspension & whether it's consistent at each wheel. If something isn't fitted right I'd expect to be able to feel a difference at at least one wheel - unless the guys that fitted the shocks were completely incompetent & got everything wrong...

One other thing - what tyre profile are you running? Skinny profiles take a hell of a lot of compliance out of the suspension.

If you can't see anything yourself, take it to a suspension specialist - they should be able to tell you what's going on.

I'm hoping it's one of the bushes.

The shocks aren't adjustable, but they do feel very hard when I push on the front two corners. The rears are quite old, and they feel fairly soft.

On the topic of the shocks being fitted, the mechanic/apprentice that installed my fronts had done the top bolts up SO tight that I needed to use a 4ft extension, with my brother helping me pull, to break them.

Sondar, now that you mention it, the clank has only been there since the new KYB fronts were installed. Lately it seems to have gotten worse, to the point that the clanking will vibrate the pedals. The rear suspension also creaks when you push those corners down.

I'm running a 215/60/R16 Dunlop SP Sport tyre, and it seems to be a little smoother than the 205/65 Dunlop I had previously been running.

OK, the tyres shouldn't be a problem at 60 profile. Sounds like the shocks are too hard for the car (did they definitely fit the right ones??) or he didn't fit them right - from what you say about the top bolts I wouldn't be too confident in his ability... Could be that the shocks are faulty, but that seems unlikely if they're both the same.

Get it sorted as soon as you can - it could be seriously compromising your cars handling & braking.