[bubsie007]

So i just had a **** load of suspenssion work done to my car.

the symptoms: my car wasn't handling as it used to in the past and on a hard right turn, something from the front left side of the car would clunk. Also whenever i would take a turn hard, left or right, the wheel would get SO LOOSE, it felt as if the wheels would kind of lift off of the ground, ABS would kick in super easily if i'm giving brakes on a turn. this never used to happen to me. Car felt super unstable as well.

other symptoms: the car was accidently setup a little bit lower on the passenger side than on the drivers side but surprisingly for some reason my traction bar kept on ripping the boot on my axle on my drivers side (the higher side).

my setup:
tein flex coilovers, just bought last october or so,
omnipower front camber kit,
ingalls rear camber kit
skunk 2 rear lower tie bar
ride height is fender at tire in the front and in the back i have a finger gap
i have DSS stage 3 axles
jimfab tractionbar

My thoughts: I thought the clunking noise that comes on the drivers side on hard right turn was my axle, that'd had gone bad and it was causing a vibration when i'd accelerate so i figured the outer joint was gone bad as well.

so i took my car to my mechanic and he found several things wrong. and i asked him to replace a few others as good maintenance.

so here's what he replaced

he
-trimmed down the traction bar so it would clear the axle
and not touch it on turns any more
-raised up the suspenssion because he thought it was too low to handle well even though it used to be slammed when it did handle well, we set my car at the same ride height of his integra, we kept the front a little lower than the back and he set the tire pressures at 32
- changed tie rods with OEM acura tie rods
- changed front upper and lower balljoints (used Acura OEM balljoints for the lower ones and the front upper i have an omni power camber kit so i got the balljoints from omnipower)
- got a new drivers axle Driveshaftshop stage 3.9 axle that matches the DSS stage 3's that i had before (only reason the drivers one went bad was b/c the boot was ripped)
- added rear camber kit inglalls,
- rear sway bar bushings are new
- got an alignment, set toe at 0, camber at -2.5 front and -1.5 rear, set caster to stock speck (i have a traction bar so caster is adjustable)

so when we took the car for a drive, it still didnt feel stable on the highway, at 80 miles an hour my car would never EVER feel wobly in any kidn of way, but now it feels wobbly, and the tie rods are new. The car still clunks on hard right turns, the drivers side clunks still, and the car still feels as if the front wheels want to lift off the ground on a hard turn (left and right).

so what im starting to think.
why would the drivers side axle boot rip if the passengers side was lower then the drivers side?
why do the wheels feel as if they are lifting up whenever i take a hard turn?
why can my car not spin tires proporly?

im starting to think its the shocks even though the tein flex coilovers are a year old. Would they not cause these symptoms? But ive never heard of a bad shock to cause a clunking noise?
we looked through the whole car and thats the only thing he could think of that's gone bad.

 

[boridragon02]

possible bottoming out = clunking?? to me the only thing that would cause that are the teins going bad, get it replaced under warranty if u can if that's the issue.

 

[bubsie007]

this is what i'm going to try to do, the thing is that would the shocks going bad cause the steering wheel to feel really loose under hard cornering? It feels as if the teins aren't bad b/c the car is not like super bouncy, when i set the damper on like 2 its smoother than when i set it at like 12 so thats what makes me think that the shocks ARE in fact working cuz its making the ride less bumpy but i guess they arent working to their full potential which would cause it to handle like total ****! the car feels super unstable at say 70-80 mph. If i were to turn the steering wheel slightly the reaction time and precision isn't there, it feels super wobbly, could that be from the shocks or is there anywhere else i need to look?

 

[95integraLS003]

Alignment is needed and traction bar adjustment
as for the boot ripping, are you having a shop fix the boot or are you using the 2 piece from autozone?

do you have an LSD as well?

You would know if it was the shocks, there would be no dampning at all, just all bounce like the accords with cut springs..

Also, get your tires checked and balanced, that could be causing the wobble and it could be destroying other parts..

My car when above 80 the wheel gets super super loose, im still trying to figure out what the heck is going on there..

 

[bubsie007]

he aligned the car and adjusted the traction bar accordingly, he also trimmed down where the traction bar was hitting onto the boot of the axle. I ended up getting a brand new DSS level 3.9 axle and the vibration problem is gone just the handling issue. The car does not bounce all over the place I do not have an LSD but i never had an LSD before so i dont think thats what it is. Tires are brand new they have barely 2K miles on themthey are Kumho 711's, same tires i had when my car used to handle like a dream. he also re-balanced my front tires

 

[bubsie007]

I just don't believe its from the shocks. But i was thinking i do know that i have a rear engine mount that's gone bad and apparently the front passenger side is weak. I do know the front drivers side torque mount has a stripped bolt so i'm starting to think this could be the culprit? my mechanic insists the "clunking " noise is from the tires rubbing but i dont think it is from that. There's also a slight slight slight vibration as soon as i shift into 2nd gear and at about 72 mph. I dont think its from the axle cuz thats new and its a stage 3.9. so im hoping its from the engine mount. any imput on what else could me making it handle like ****? could it be the bad engine mounts?

 

[TheGSRGuy]

32psi is on the low-side and will cause sloppy handling. Try 35 or 36psi.

 

[bubsie007]

i'll be sure to try this next. any imput on the car feeling very wobbly though? like jellow. I'm starting to think its a more in depth problem like maybe my lower control arms are gone bad, or possibly like inner tie rods eventhoguh when he inspected the car he didnt say anything about those being gone wrong.

 

[Sparkyintergra]

I had the same problem with my skunk2's.

The shocks went and the car handled horrid and there was clunking noise every time i accelerated hard.

I replaced the shocks and it solved all my problems!

 

[bubsie007]

ok i think they should be covered under warranty by tein b/c i just bought them not to long ago. But the only thing is that every time i go over a bump or anything, the car doesn't like bounce at all. i'm gonna start by fixing the engine mounts and seeing how much of an improvement there is afterwards i'll get the shock fixed and we'll go from there...