focus st170

[jack_st]

can anyone help. just lowerd a 2004 st170 on apex springs. since haveing them on they knock on every bump. had it checked out and the bloke said everything is fine its just hitting the bump stops. but surely it cant be hitting the bump stops on the most tiniest bumps. it sounds like there knocking.

[ALY77]

Did everything get bolted back together properly???
Are they springs for a 170? Different weights of models need different strength of springs, your 2ltr engine is heavier than a 1.6.

More questions aren't giving you an answer but if it really is smacking off the bump stops they shouldn't and thats not ok!

[Dave^]

Knackered shocks?

[jack_st]

defo right springs for the car And the shocks are fine. i just cant work out what it is.

[Dave^]

When you say "they're fine"...

Are they OEM shocks? How old are they?

[ALY77]

I had knackered strut top mounts on a VTS many moons ago that became much more obvious when the car got lowered. Not exactly easy to look at though.

[jack_st]

there standad shocks. if the shocks were knackerd surley i would notice on the cornering. because it handels so much better and on the motoway its fine.

[Dave^]

It's never a good idea to fit lowering springs to standard shocks, especially old ones...

How much lower than standard are they?

[jack_st]

30mm drop. i woundering it its the links arms?

[Dave^]

www.ehow.com said:

While it is not necessary, it is also recommended that when you install lowering springs to also install stiffer shocks. The stock shocks are designed to work with stock springs, which are softer than aftermarket lowering springs.

http://www.allcorsa.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/lowering-springs-old-4975.html

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/civic-si/163492-usi...

http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-suspension-brak...

I'm still putting my money on worn/tired/too soft shocks...

[jack_st]

umm think i might just have to bite the bullet and save for some shocks. apex wanted £500 for front and back!!

[UncappedTag]

Dave^ said:

It's never a good idea to fit lowering springs to standard shocks, especially old ones...

How much lower than standard are they?

What? They are made to be compatible with the original shocks. OEM shocks will be fine.

[Chris_w666]

I would double check they are for an ST170, you need to verify this to be sure but I am almost certain the ST170 has totally different springs and dampers to the 2.0 zetec on which it is based. I looked into upgrading suspension on mine and foudn lowering springs to be a total waste of time unless you plump for the more expensive Eibach ones that IIRC provide a 10-20mm drop, bearing in mind that the chassis is already 20-30mm lower than the Zetec.

To improve anything other than the looks (and to be sure of not destroying the handling) you need to look at an expensive coilover setup or replace the standard spec stuff all round.

[jack_st]

if i can my hands on some uprated shocks i'll get some. never mind these things happen i spose its all a learning curve lol...