[mrsinister2424]

My car is lowered on H&R SS springs(1.5" rear, about 2.2" front no ISOs). No other suspension mods. Car has 120,xxx miles on it. Rear shocks were replaced with cheap shocks by last owner, unknown mileage on shocks.

The issue I am having is that my car rides ridiculously rough, and it has been degrading of late. The front of the car feels solid. But as soon as I go over the SMALLEST bump or crack in the concrete the back end sounds like bottoming out, but I don't think it has THAT much travel when going over relatively small bumps. Very loud clunk, gives you that cringe you get when you miss 3rd and mash the gas.

Overall, the ride (at least in the rear) is starting to finally break down my "I'm too badass for comfort" barrier.

SO:

I'm looking for some suggestions/help on what could be making the noise/what I need to replace to make the rear of the car go over bumps and not sound like its going to blow up. This car is a street car, it sees no strip usage. I like to drive aggressively once in a while through twisties, and straight line acceleration.

I need some guidance on what shocks/struts/bushings to buy for a car lowered as mine is, and I'm looking to spend only what I need to, to get this clunking resolved. So, as little as possible without compromising too much on quality. What parts do I need? And where should I get them?

Thanks!



EDIT: 1600 posts! Yeahhhhh

[carnut59]

It sounds like you have a broken torque box on the rear. Lift the car and see if the control arms move at all.

[mrsinister2424]

Is there going to be any physical evidence that they are broken? The control arms are bolted to the torque boxes... am I right?

[carnut59]

Yes they bolt to them. It needs to be off the ground to tell, just grab them and try to move them one at a time. You might see some tears.

[quiksilver225]

For starters since you r lowered your gonna need cc plates right away along with a bumpsteer kit. After that a pair of beefier steeda x2 ball joints won't hurt either. The rough ride is a result if your springs bouncing around. Since your lowering springs have a much higher spring rate they cannot be dampened by stock struts and shocks. You need to get a set of performance struts and shocks that can handle the added spring rate. I'd recommend koni yellows or tokicos for your needs. Both are a great adjustable street strut/shock. If adjustability isn't your thing bilstein makes a nice monotube part.

[DickH]

probably just bad bushings, get some upper and lower control arms and see how much that helps.

[PowerShiftz02GT]

I love my Tockio's Adjustables D - Specs. You can tune them for Extreme Comfort(not joking, better then stock) or you can tune them to Extremely stiff.

Quickly tuneable for the fronts. If you want to tune the rear Often then i suggest you buy this adapter that will run you 30.00 i think. to tune the rear you have to take out all the carpet in the trunk to get to them. Thats why i recommend the adapter that is basically a long hose that punches through the carpet and all you have to do is pop your trunk and tune it.

But yeah, i love mine. So glade i got them.

[Ryguy33]

Originally Posted by PowerShiftz02GT I love my Tockio's Adjustables D - Specs. You can tune them for Extreme Comfort(not joking, better then stock) or you can tune them to Extremely stiff. Quickly tuneable for the fronts. If you want to tune the rear Often then i suggest you buy this adapter that will run you 30.00 i think. to tune the rear you have to take out all the carpet in the trunk to get to them. Thats why i recommend the adapter that is basically a long hose that punches through the carpet and all you have to do is pop your trunk and tune it. But yeah, i love mine. So glade i got them.

+1 i love mine to..at the stiffest setting its incredable how much better the handeling is

[mrsinister2424]

Excellent. Thanks for the suggestions! Now I've got some info to start troubleshooting..

I'm going to check the torque boxes first, and take a good look at the underside rear of the car. Hopefully I'll find some stuff that shows need of replacement.

@DickH/everyone: Is there any way to tell if the bushings are shot on the lcas or ucas? As I said before, I'd like to replace only what needs replacing. I'll go back through later and rebuild the suspension.

And wtf are quad shocks good for? Is it to reduce wheel hop? I ask because they are sitting almost completely horizontal(parallel to the ground)...

[Imran]

LCA's will let you remover those quad shocks, but i noticed a difference in ride quality, or maybe it was just the whole LCA's in general, but yeah.

[carnut59]

they try to help stop the axle from wraping up

[Imran]

I know

[mrsinister2424]

Hmm.... so there's no way to check the bushings, without taking everything apart?

[mrsinister2424]

UPDATE:

I went out and jacked the rear up. No visible damage to the torque boxes... Really nothing looked wrong with any of the suspension pieces... no visible problems.

This clunking only happens once in a while, and sounds like its coming from the rear passenger side..

Also, I have my rear seats out, and I always hear this pretty loud hissing when going over bumps... again, this sounds like its coming from the rear passenger side. This sound is coming from the shocks(obviously), but are the shocks supposed to be loud?

[dansgt]

shocks are supposed to be quiet. i'd venture to say your are blown...

[ModMustang97GT]

Ok, there are a few possibilities.
1. The torque boxes are bad, you said they look ok, so not likely its there.
2. The bushings could be bad, they would be really loose or look cracked or ripped. You should be able to get a decent idea when you look at them. Either end of the control arms, you want to look at them.
3. The last one is that the shocks are not mounted correctly. The shocks could be blown resulting in inconsistent reaction, but I doubt it. Its more likely the shocks are mounted wrong and shifting around.

OK. Moving on.

CC plates, maybe. If you can't get it into alignment without them, then go for it. Otherwise, if you can get it in alignment, and don't need the added strength for Coil Overs or anything.

What kind of shocks. There are a lot of options.
Non-Adjustable:
1. Cheap - Tokico Blues (HD) - Awesome all round
2. Medium - Bilstein HD - Awesome all round but better
3. Expensive - Koni Yellows - Very expensive, very stiff, but best road racer shock out there.

Adjustable:
Tokico D-Spec - Awesome all round, very easy to adjust.
Illuminas - Awesome all round, better drag racing than D spec.

[quiksilver225]

Originally Posted by ModMustang97GT Ok, there are a few possibilities. 1. The torque boxes are bad, you said they look ok, so not likely its there. 2. The bushings could be bad, they would be really loose or look cracked or ripped. You should be able to get a decent idea when you look at them. Either end of the control arms, you want to look at them. 3. The last one is that the shocks are not mounted correctly. The shocks could be blown resulting in inconsistent reaction, but I doubt it. Its more likely the shocks are mounted wrong and shifting around. OK. Moving on. CC plates, maybe. If you can't get it into alignment without them, then go for it. Otherwise, if you can get it in alignment, and don't need the added strength for Coil Overs or anything. What kind of shocks. There are a lot of options. Non-Adjustable: 1. Cheap - Tokico Blues (HD) - Awesome all round 2. Medium - Bilstein HD - Awesome all round but better 3. Expensive - Koni Yellows - Very expensive, very stiff, but best road racer shock out there. Adjustable: Tokico D-Spec - Awesome all round, very easy to adjust. Illuminas - Awesome all round, better drag racing than D spec.

Koni yellows are adjustable