hey there. I have a95 civic hatch with tokico whites in the front and eibach sportlines. The rear has tokico blues with eibch. Every time I hit a rough spot in the road or a little pot hole, it sounds like someone takes a sludge hammer and wackes my steering column. The rear sounds the same like someone is smacking my control arm or something metal. The loud smack is heard inside my car. When I drive friends lowered hatch, the bumps are heard but the noise is on the outside.
Why is that? Maybe shocks going out? Should I try stock (I got gsr ones) shocks?
Even when you hit the reflectors on the road, the sound is heard inside the car.

Help me out...if you whould

Thanks

 

Check bushings, including the shock mounts.

If they're fine, and if a front camber kit is being used, check the shock towers for signs of UCA contact (bottoming out the UCA sounds like a hammer hit).

If you're bottoming out the shocks too often, and the bumpstops have degraded from it, it could also cause such a sound.

 

well I cant be bottoming out. I got to hit a heck-of-a pothole to bottom out, which I still think I wont do. I dont think there is any contact, but I will check it out.

Can it be because my suspension is too stiff? because I threw in a adjustable sleeve to stiffin it a bit since it was a bit bouncy.

 

do you have the dust covers still in place?

 

Please explain. You said you had Eibach Sportline springs in the first post.

Do you by chance have your interior stripped out?

 

If you increased spring rates and left the shocks alone, the car will be even more bouncy. Bouncy is the result of being under damped.

Consider pulling the spring out (leave the sleeve in place if that is what you intend to use going forward) and move the suspension through its full range, check for contact, binding, or anything else that could produce the noise.

Oh, might not hurt to check the steering rack bushings and tie rod ends too.

 

well... no no dust covers over the tokico's

yea I always has eibach sportlines and still do. why you askin?


interior is 100% complete

 

ok so this is what I did. I had just the tokico whites with eibach sportlines and the front tires were past the fender. I did not like that so I tossed on a adjustable sleeve to raise it up a bit. The car is more stiff now. Now the rear I did not touch. Its tokico blues with eibach sportlines. It sits about 1 inch from the quarter panel. That sometimes makes a louder BAM then the front.

 

Wow.
Tapered end spring on a flat perch. That's just asking for trouble.

Throwing an adjustable height sleeve on there like that won't make it any stiffer. It can't, the same spring is being used...

Just going off of looks, but is the sleeve loose on the shock body? You could just be hearing it rattle around.

Either way, get that swapped out for a correctly installed setup.

 

yea dude i'm telling you, its stiffer. I dont get that bounce bounce bounce no more.

And no... its not the sleeve thats causing the bam to be heard in my car nor is it making any noise.

I might just try my gsr shocks. Or should I put on the little adjustable spring that goes with the sleeve?

 

Stiffer means more bounce.

And it is physically impossible for the same spring to be stiffer when placed on a different perch.

What exactly is an "adjustable spring"?

You should use a flat ended spring with a flat perch, such as what that sleeve has. Those tapered end springs shown, should only be used with an appropriate perch, such as what the shock has.

 

ok so you say there is no difference when the spring is set in normal and when it is compressed and then set in?

yea I guess. its more like a 240sx, but they have more bounce. I thought bouncy is when the car is dumped and it just bounce bounce bounce down the road.

the little spring is what came with the sleeve. thats what I said was adjustable spring.

 

Bounce in uncontrolled oscillation. Think, "dead shocks" feeling. I'm also being overly **** over terminology. Accept my apologies.

See how the ends of the "little spring" are ground flat? That is the correct spring type to use on a flat perch.

However, none of this will cause the noise described.

I don't see a bumpstop in those pictures. If you're lacking those, bottoming out the shock will be very harsh, and can produce a loud bang.

 

bumpstop? whats that?

and yes I know about the little spring and what it goes with. I just wanted to try something

 

how low is the car?

 

Is everything tightened properly and installed properly on the car? You don't have any of the shock pistons sticking way up through the top hat bushings do you?

 

you can but 1.5 fingers in between the fender and the wheel. Also same in the back.

I guess everything is. nope not sticking up. Its all good there. Like I said, even the reflectors on the road; when I drive over them, I know for sure it should not be that loud inside my car as it is.

 

Its got to be those bumpstops. You'll feel every nook and cranny with those off the car. Its used to soften the blow. Put them back on.

 

dude really ...what is bumpstops? "Put them back on"- I dont remember taking anything off

 

The white parts in this picture.


They act as an additional spring when the shock is nearly bottomed out, helping to protect the shock and reduce the impact from bottoming.

 

oh dude I got them in every shock