H&R Coilovers making noise in the front?

[Aries326]

I just had my H&R coilovers installed. When going over small bumps, getting up my driveway, I hear a clunking sound from the front. I think it is the coil overs. My brother says the kit didn't come with any rubber piece between the spring and perch. He says the OEM ones came with rubber pieces between the spring and perch. He thinks the noise should go away after the car settles. Any advice? Thanks.

[norcal_cyclist]

Hmmm it should not clunk with the absence of the isolators. The bottom will usually use a small diameter nylon isolator and I believe the top uses the OEM rubber isolator.

[Aries326]

Probably the sway bar end links but they seemed pretty tight to me. Seems to be louder now than when I first got the Z back. Ill have to take it to the shop.

[jrainlay]

I've had H&R coil-overs since January and the car is lowered about one inch from OEM. No noise at first, but a couple weeks ago I started hearing an intermittent popping/creaking/cracking noise coming from the left front. Most noticeable at slow speed when backing out of the garage, parking, etc. I can't hear whether it's happening at road speeds, but that's probably because the sound is being masked by my RPI exhaust! . Since the noise started, I've been on two vigorous weekend outings with the local BMW car clubs and have not noticed any deterioration in handling nor has the sound gotten worse. The strut braces seem tight and do not appear to be moving. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[GP20]

Check top strut nuts and end-links.

[Aries326]

Having the wife take it to the garage this Wednesday to have them figure it out. Sunny weather is precious up here in Western NY. By the time I get everything straightened out, it's time to put her away.

Here's how it looks dropped. Can't tell too much from this pic:

[norcal_cyclist]

Originally Posted by Aries326

Having the wife take it to the garage this Wednesday to have them figure it out. Sunny weather is precious up here in Western NY. By the time I get everything straightened out, it's time to put her away.

Here's how it looks dropped. Can't tell too much from this pic:

What a beautiful car.. I've never seen an AW Z4 in person. My H&R kit is going on this week with new control arms and suspension bushings. Thank you for the inspiration...

[jrainlay]

I just talked to John at H&R about the noise problem I'm having (left front). He said the first thing to look at is the ride height adjustment. He said that the measurement from the center of the lower mounting bolt to the top of the adjustment perch or seat should be in the range of 210 to 235 mm. If the ride height is out of this range it can cause problems/premature wear to bushings, etc. Guess I need to take it back to the shop and have them take a look.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

I just talked to John at H&R about the noise problem I'm having (left front). He said the first thing to look at is the ride height adjustment. He said that the measurement from the center of the lower mounting bolt to the top of the adjustment perch or seat should be in the range of 210 to 235 mm. If the ride height is out of this range it can cause problems/premature wear to bushings, etc. Guess I need to take it back to the shop and have them take a look.

Thanks for the info. The sound coming from my coilovers are also in the left front. My suspicion is that it is from the sway bar end links. The sounds coming out of mine is more of a clunking. It's going to the ship tomorrow. Hopefully they figure it out so I can start driving it the way it is supposed to be driven.

@Norcal_cyclist

Thanks for the compliment. Tires are starting to wear so I've got two choices. I'm either going to get some stud bolts, spacers and new tires or just get some new tires with EC-7 rims. Hopefully when I get the tires flush I can take some more shots of the car with its new look.

[jrainlay]

Originally Posted by Aries326

...It's going to the ship tomorrow. Hopefully they figure it out so I can start driving it the way it is supposed to be driven.

Aries326... Did they figure out what was causing the noise?

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

Aries326... Did they figure out what was causing the noise?

It was a loose strut lower bolt. Car isn't as low as I want it to be but it should settle. Suspension feels great. Hitting bumps isn't as jarring. This is how the car should have felt from the factory.

[jrainlay]

Originally Posted by Aries326

It was a loose strut lower bolt. Car isn't as low as I want it to be but it should settle. Suspension feels great. Hitting bumps isn't as jarring. This is how the car should have felt from the factory.

Thanks for the update. Glad you were able to sort it out. I love the way the H&R coil overs feel. I agree this is how the car was meant to handle!

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

Thanks for the update. Glad you were able to sort it out. I love the way the H&R coil overs feel. I agree this is how the car was meant to handle!

It should feel better once I get some new rims with non-RFTs. I think I can squeeze out one more season from these tires.

[norcal_cyclist]

Originally Posted by Aries326

It should feel better once I get some new rims with non-RFTs. I think I can squeeze out one more season from these tires.

Once you get off those RFT's you'll never look back. It's one of the worst modern automotive innovations I've ever seen.

[jrainlay]

Yikes! Just returned from the shop where I took my car to have them diagnose the source of a bumping noise I've been hearing from the left front suspension area. Much to my dismay, they determined that BOTH front H&R coilover struts are blown out and leaking oil. I have called Vivid Racing in Gilbert AZ, the local H&R distributor that installed the H&R coilovers back in January, and am waiting to hear back from them regarding next steps to get the front coilovers repaired or replaced.

Supposedly, H&R has a life-time warranty on their product, so in theory this shouldn't be a problem... except for the hassle of having to take my car to the shop again.

Has anyone else had experience with H&R warranty claims???

'll keep you all posted...

[inTgr8r]

IIRC Villa-Barney had a claim that was refused for some reason.
I dont recall the details, but There was a thread here somewhere about it.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

Yikes! Just returned from the shop where I took my car to have them diagnose the source of a bumping noise I've been hearing from the left front suspension area. Much to my dismay, they determined that BOTH front H&R coilover struts are blown out and leaking oil. I have called Vivid Racing in Gilbert AZ, the local H&R distributor that installed the H&R coilovers back in January, and am waiting to hear back from them regarding next steps to get the front coilovers repaired or replaced.

Supposedly, H&R has a life-time warranty on their product, so in theory this shouldn't be a problem... except for the hassle of having to take my car to the shop again.

Has anyone else had experience with H&R warranty claims???

'll keep you all posted...

Hmmm very worrying !! Fingers crossed my club sports don't give any issues!!!

[dubsesd]

Villa was on bilsteins though, and I think his road conditions had a lot to do with it.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by dubsesd

Villa was on bilsteins though, and I think his road conditions had a lot to do with it.

agreed but all of us with aftermarket dampers should be checking reguarly i guess.... what a pain in the ass it would be too have to strip out and send back to be rebuilt..... ive seen a few KW owners report the same issue so im touching wood i dont... either way things happen one of those things i guess!

[seank]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

Yikes! Just returned from the shop where I took my car to have them diagnose the source of a bumping noise I've been hearing from the left front suspension area. Much to my dismay, they determined that BOTH front H&R coilover struts are blown out and leaking oil. I have called Vivid Racing in Gilbert AZ, the local H&R distributor that installed the H&R coilovers back in January, and am waiting to hear back from them regarding next steps to get the front coilovers repaired or replaced.

Supposedly, H&R has a life-time warranty on their product, so in theory this shouldn't be a problem... except for the hassle of having to take my car to the shop again.

Has anyone else had experience with H&R warranty claims???

'll keep you all posted...

I will sell some cheap DA tcklines if you need to drive it the next 2 months.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by jrainlay

Yikes! Just returned from the shop where I took my car to have them diagnose the source of a bumping noise I've been hearing from the left front suspension area. Much to my dismay, they determined that BOTH front H&R coilover struts are blown out and leaking oil. I have called Vivid Racing in Gilbert AZ, the local H&R distributor that installed the H&R coilovers back in January, and am waiting to hear back from them regarding next steps to get the front coilovers repaired or replaced.

Supposedly, H&R has a life-time warranty on their product, so in theory this shouldn't be a problem... except for the hassle of having to take my car to the shop again.

Has anyone else had experience with H&R warranty claims???

'll keep you all posted...

That sucks. Hopefully you get it fixed/replaced. Do you need to send in any warranty cards? I better go through the paperwork that came with it. So far, no problems with mine.

[Endless619]

This is odd. I had mine on for over 6 months and had them at their lowest setting tucking tires on my CE28s and never had clunking issues or leaking issues. They performed flawlessly.

I do recall from the E46 M3 days that they had some issues but hadn't heard anything on the Z4M. You are one of probably thousands of owners I have heard of since 2007 that has had serious issue such as this.

Either a mistake in the installation or you got a bad set.