J__

Hi guys, just had H&R sports installed on my 2012 C200 CGI and after the install, I turned off everything to listen for abnormal noise. At a standstill when i turn the steering fully to the right or left, there's a slight creaking noise audible from the inside when the steering reaches the max on both sides. Never heard it before the install but then again I've never turned everything off to listen for noise. Also on a cold start, when I go over a larger speed bump at slow speeds, there's a creak when the front dips down after the bump. Again, I never listened for these noises prior to the install so am not sure if it's normal. The car has only 6000 kms on it so parts should be like new condition as I'm pretty careful with avoiding pot holes or huge speed bumps. I'm wondering if the shop that installed my springs here messed up on the install or buggered my suspension while testing the car, there's a HUGE pot hole on the long stretch of road out of their place. All else seem to be normal.

sjbtax

Could be an issue with a shock absorber. We had a similar sort of creaking sound when we first picked up our car and it turned out to be a faulty shock absorber with minimal kms (miles) on the clock. Of course replaced under warranty.

Knightmare69

If you're lowered on stock shocks then that's probably the problem. My wife noted the same issue till I swapped the oem shocks to bilsteins.

J__

ya i'll eventually upgrade to bilsteins when these wear out. My car dropped only 30mm, on my w202 I dropped 45mm on stock shocks and never had this problem =(

which bilsteins did you go with knightmare?

Knightmare69

Wait what? You have a w204 now or did they change the chassis id with the 2012's? I went with Bilstein B8's.

blue00r6

mind posting a pic for reference?

J__

my bad typo, i had a w202 dropped on h&r previously. Now with 2012 w204

J__

sure i'll go take some pics and link tomorrow.

bringtherain

should be normal. I mean you're putting shorter springs onto OEM shocks that were designed for longer springs.

kevink2

First, since you never tested that way for the lock to lock steering, you can't say it's new. ( BTW, what you did is steering system max-torture ... do that on a sandy surface, or move a tiny bit as you do it and the load/pressure on the steering is about 1/10 th of that test. )

If it is a new noise, have shop pull wheels and look at the spring seats, and make sure the end coil faces are nested in the matching seats at top and bottom. Also, verify that all pivot joints on anything that was undone @ the install, was kept loose until the car was parked on drive-on type lift rails, then torqued to spec. This prevents most bushing-pivots from being left in a twised bind with the car cruising.

Same stuff applies to the cold dip after a speed bump.

I doubt the noise is related to a pot-hole hit, but you can usually see evidence of a bad hit by pinch marks on tire sidewall, or damage to the rim lip.

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kevink2

Bilstein B8's are great shocks. what drop-springs do you have?

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Knightmare69

Supersports, wife who was never into modified cars constantly comments how smooth the drive is now.

J__

awesome info thanks!

kevink2

Did the shocks and springs go in together at same time? That is, did you try springs alone?

I've heard from seveal people, various makes, that when adding stiff springs alone, the ride was then made smoother with shocks that have more damping. It makes sense, from a dynamic perspective, to increase the damping as the rate is increased.

The SS springs seem have a dominant, dual rate, IMHO. And, from JimmyTheGreek's experience, at least some of them based on winding tolerances, can already be riding on the stiff zone just cruising (vs the soft zone), and would really improve with more damping.

The Bilstein B6 seems like a great shock for less agressive springs, like the Sports or the Pro-Kit, but I can't find anyone that stocks them ???

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Knightmare69

Did the SS first on stock Luxury shocks, I note luxury because I think the OEM sports shocks is valved differently which might be why alot of owners noted minimal change in ride comfort after switching to SS springs. For us though as said in an older thread, we noted "bouncing" after just the springs. Wife also noticed suspension noise/creak.

Of course the obvious reason is throwing such short and stiffer springs on a shock made for the complete opposite so I had already planned on changing out the shocks. After the Bilsteins went it the ride firmed up alot and minimal "bouncing".

I was initially concerned that the ride would be too harsh for my wife as you really get feedback from the road now more than before. But as I said, she's actually found it a pleasure to drive now compared to before with the SS on softer OEM shocks. I was quite surprised.

As for the B6 I thought they were discontinued? OR it could be a region only item. Have you tried to email Bilstein about it? I know some brands sell specific items only in certain regions of the world.

J__

here are some photos of the drop on sport springs. Theres about a 2cm wheel gap. I would of much preferred the more aggressive drop on Super Sports, but couldn't get them here =(

J__

so the creaking noise when turning the steering wheel seem to be getting worse, but only happens when the car's been sitting for a while IE over night. After the car's been driven, the noise is gone, however now it's much louder. I'll bring it into another shop to get it checked as the one that did my spring install said it was normal and just rubbed some grease on the springs saying that was the problem.

In the meantime, I opened the hood and popped off the shock cover to try and pinpoint where the noise was coming from. It was very subtle from outside of the car and in the engine bay, but much louder from inside the cabin. However I did notice when the wheel is turning, the top of the shock would move around a bit inside it's perch. So instead of just rotating on the Y-axis, the top of the shock would move up and down on the X/Z-axis as well. I'm not too familiar with these cars yet as I don't have the resources here to jack up the car and take it apart myself as back in Canada, but on my other cars with Mcpherson front struts, the shock would only rotate and not move around like this.

Can anyone else confirm that the top of the their shock moves around too when turning the steering wheel to the max or did this shop make a bad install. thnx

Knightmare69

You should be able to get supersports in China. I know I've seen shops there that carry them. As for your suspension problem, its likely the shop did not install them correctly. God knows those Chinese shops don't know their right from left hand at times. Did you watch them do the install? I'm a hoverer, even with shops I know, I'll still either get involved or hover behind them. If you have that much movement the shocks may not be bolted down tight enough.

Back when I did my own installs, I made it a habit to tighten the bolts again once the car was on the ground, many shops just tighten when the car is on the lift and leave it. Also, seeing as how you say the noise is only when you turn, have you checked your steering rack?

You have 3 things to check, 1- springs are seated properly 2- shocks bolted down completely 3- steering rack.

J__

I hovered around them for the install but they took the fronts to a back room for the spring compressor and I didn't follow them. I looked at the steering rack but seemed fine. Without a jack, it's hard for me to tell. Springs seem to be seated well from what I can see without jacking up the car, is there a left or right written on the front struts? getting me worried they reversed the install.. ugh i wish they had rent a shops here so i can do my own work, much more trustworthy than a "certified" mechanic in this place...

Knightmare69

You have a jack in your trunk. There's no difference between right/left springs. Don't get worried, we're just trying to eliminate possible causes. You sound like my Canadian friend here in HK whenever he gets parts installed and starts hearing noises. I thought you Canadians were suppose to be laid back lol. You're still on stock shocks correct? As I said before, my wife noted noises when we had the hr springs on stock shocks but said it went away after I installed the bilsteins.

J__

Haha I guess we are the exceptions.

Brought it back to the shop and had the struts removed, everything was seated properly and turned out it really was just the shocks that are making the noise, they would creak when spinning the piston. The shop suggested to put the factory springs back on and bring it back to the dealership to have them replaced under warranty. I decided to just leave it for now and live with the noise until I get Bilsteins since replacement shocks will creak again after a while if not immediately after lowering. Just disappointed factory shock would creak only after 30mm drop.

On a side note, when the shop re-installed the struts, one of the guys didn't tighten the sway bar linkage bolts enough, the first bump I hit after driving off the lot, a very loud clunk made me turn right back. After figuring out the problem, they tightened the bolt and proceeds to strip the hex nut because they couldn't find the proper sized hex socket so they used a smaller one.... In the end the bolt is tight, shocks are still creaking, and I'm worse off with a stripped sway bar link, but at least I know now for sure the noise is coming from the shocks which are inevitable going to get toast. I think i'll stay away from modding my car in this country from now on, the experienced people sit behind a boss' desk while noob children mess things up =(

kevink2

With H&R Sports, you could get away with "Bilstein HD" shocks ( may be the B6 ) which are less expensive but should be good for the life of the car.

BTW, what tire sizes do you have. Definitly not 18" .

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Knightmare69

Sorry to hear about your problems but yea, modding cars in that country is quite difficult unless you go to the more reputable shops that will charge you alot more. At least now you have confirmed where the noise is coming from.

Kevin, I think he's on the stock 17's no?

kevink2

I just found that you can see the tire size on the side shot of the tire. At about the 8:00 position, it says 205-55-16 !

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Knightmare69

Good catch, I thought we had 17's stock. Oh well.