i've recently installed my jic flt a2 coilovers. I luv how the car feels now, the inproved stance, the stiffness, bwah. although there is a rattling noise comming from the rear suspension. It sounds like something is loose at the top of the struts. This happens not only when bumps are hit but, also when any weight shift is senced. I've checked the torque of the bolts over and over. I was thinking of tightening the bolt that connects the strut to the pillow-ball mount. I'm guessing that might hinder movment of the mount. any other suggestions?
not enjoying uninvited noise!

 

I gave up on trying to sort out the noises. Not sure what else to tell you...

 

same here....might try to wrap the springs with rubber hoses

 

Get a louder exhaust.

 

It's not the springs that making the noises, I'm pretty sure it's the pillow-ball mount. And yes Chris, my exhaust is pretty loud, so that masks some of the noise...

 

yeah i just got off the phone with JIC. They said they've never heard of the pillow ball making noise. rightt. It has to be the pillow ball mounts, the sound is to loose to be comming from the spring perch. I was going to take the factory "nipple" bushing, modify it and put it between the perch and body but, i don't beleave the noise is from that. Any remedies for the pillow ball noise? Maybe i'll take them off and hammer things.

 

can we put something in between the mounts and body to insulate the contacts?

 

Typical selective ignorance...

 

so true... the "tech" from jic acted dumbfounded when i told him of the noise, obviously i must be crazy.

 

I just got the JIC FLT-A2's as well, and found that the spring perch is making the noise in the rear. I had the spring load tightened, and that solved about 60% of the noise, but i still get some when i go over the bigger bumps on the road. I was told that it could be remedied if u get some sort of a rubbery dampener inbetween the perch. I am getting this, as well as the JIC traction/camber arms installed this saturday, so i will be able to give u an update on this situation. Performance wise, i was told that it does not affect it at all.

Take a look for yourself. Lift ur car, take off rear wheel, and grab the spring and give it a little shake, and see if it makes that noise you are hearing. Try tightening the spring load and see if that helps as well.

I also softened the rear dampener, and that helped a bit too. give it a try, and let me know what happens.

-Brian

 

My dampers are always on full soft on the street, and I can tell you that on certain tracks, having more than 25% is too much as the car will hop over rough surfaces. I have a rubber grommet between the damper mount and the car, as well as the spring and the car, it didn't make any difference. I'm convinced the sound is coming from the pillow ball mounts.

 

hmm, maybe we have different problems then....what is ur next step to fixing this problem?

ill let u know what happens for me on saturday...

 

My "fix" was getting an exhaust to drone out the noises. That and since I now have a beater car for my commute, the Z really only sees track duty. My next step will likely be to ditch the JICs in favor of a double-adjustable suspension (that's currently in the development stage) that's made and supported here in the U.S. At that time I will send off my JIC dampers to Koni to have them conduct a shock dyno. I think you all will find the results suprising...

 

I have SOLVED spring noises in the past by removing the springs and sliding black shrink tubing over the winding of the first coils to negate metal to metal contact. Using an air compressor and blowing air into the tubing will facilitale sliding the tubing over the coil. Re-install the coils and no noises.

 

My noises are not coming from the coils. Case in point: I can put the car on jackstands, and administer a rubber malet blow to the underside of my tire, and I can hear a "creak" / "click" coming from the top of the damper assembly.

 

im gonna give that a try. Thx RCKTDAWG

 

i have just installed my jic's and it is the rear struts rattling. I shipped my struts back to jis they rebuilt them and now i have no noise.

 

I just installed a set 2 nights ago (10/12 setup, ie: small springs). It took me 3 hours and that includes drilling the rear lower arm to bolt the adjustable perch in place. Zero noises and great handling. Full soft is really not that bad. It's stiffer than OEM but much less harsh. I had Hotchkis springs with OEM shocks before and the improvement with JICs is quite surprising.

To make sure there was no noise, I made sure I used the OEM red plastic ring that was on top of the OEM shock. Pretty thin and useless so I'm sure that didn't help.

However, what I think did help is that I used the OEM lower rubber spring "pillow" that the OEM spring rested on. Since the JIC adjustable spring perch is flat on the bottom - and so is the inner diameter of the rubber mount, I drilled and bolted the spring perch down so it's resting flat on the rubber mount. Works perfectly and the car has been great so far.

Right now, the car is too low so I'd like to raise it 1/2". My question is how to do it properly? Do I first change the spring perch height and the loosen the upper spring perch so there's no large preload changes in the spring?Then, I imagine changing the shock length has to do with the lower red locking nut on the shock body. Do I move that nut as much as the perch moves? B/C there's a complete lack of directions I'm a little unsure how to adjust the height.

 

Besides the noise is everyone happy with the JIC's? I want ot get some coil overs and can't decide between the JIC's and the Cusco's zero 1 or 2. Let me know because they are on special right now and i want some.

 

They're stiff, and they perform decently. However, from what I've seen from other owners, JIC has very inconsistent shock valving and at many times, it doesn't fit the spring rate. This comese from shock dynos of the JIC dampers, and how they were articifially advertised. Cuscos are softer, but I don't have first-hand experience with them. Personally, I'm sick and tired of "JDM" parts, as I have been far from impressed. Yes, I'm bitter, and I can't wait until a true track-quality damper is released that has true U.S. support.