I recently installed a set of vogtland lowering springs for a 95 w124. The car is lowered about 2.25 inches. However my stock 124 shocks are still in and I noticed that when Im driving and hit bumps the rear passenger side is making klunking noises. I brought it back to the mechanic and doublechecked everyting, and all bumpstops, bolts, etc are installed correctly. Is this clunking sound simply an overcompressed shock? It is only on the right rear side.

On another note, I understand that shocks do not affect lowering height but does their compression have something to do with it? In other words, the front is lowered so much that the tire is tucked beneath the fender. The stock 195/65/15's barely clear it but when my 225/40/18x8 Carlssons are in I am not able to turn without running into the fender. Again, I still have stock shocks in the front. Is the fact that these are stock shocks contribue to this severe lowering. Will bilstein sports prevent the car from sagging so much in the front? I already have bump 4 pads in the front.

Thanks

IF the shocks are BOTTOMING out, then you will have noise!

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You are supposed to change the shocks to sport shocks (bilstien sport shocks for example or Koni sports) to compensate for the shortened travel. Lowering springs of the H&R, vogtland and SPAX variety really lower the car and give a serious work out to stock shocks.
I would buy new sport shocks and UP the spring pads.

Geez- can I comment here. I lowered a car in the past (Japanese make back in '93) with Eibach springs 2.5". What a mess. Here is my experience and my opinion.

What I learned (most of this from numerous phone calls to Eibach)- is that lowering a suspension means MUCH more than putting shorter springs on the car. First, many people will tell you that "it's ok" to use your factory struts/shocks, or replacement factory struts/shocks. This is WRONG! Shocks/struts use a certain length of travel to work properly. If you shorten the travel, you DECREASE the effectiveness of those shocks/struts by at least that much. This is why so many "lowered" vehicles bottom out over speed bumps and pot-holes. Have you ever seen a lowered car do 20 mph over a speed hump?

The inexpensive remedy that everyone used back then was to insert big rubber blocks to absorb the impact of the car/truck's body on the suspension. (What a great idea!) Now there was a "cushion" for the weight of the body as it can crashing down onto the suspension- didn't fix the problem but made "bottoming out" not as loud.

I "bottomed out" on every silly bump I went over, in a 1900 lb. car! So next came the shocks/struts designed for lowering applications. These were expensive, but did help quite a bit- and provided a "sportier" and tight ride. The problem was that the car STILL bottomed out over potholes and speed bumps because there STILL wasn't enough travel. Eibach explained that shocks/struts DO NOT PREVENT BOTTOMING OUT, the only slow down/dampen the movement of the suspension, which I had shortened by 2.5." As long as I had shortened the length of travel for the suspension, I would have problems bottoming out. They explained- there are no speed bumps or pot holes on a race-track, and THAT'S what these springs were designed to be used for.

I learned to live with my suspension, and just made sure to be very careful when on bumpy roads. My friends moved on to installing inflatable "Bags" on their suspensions to prevent "bottoming out" and providing a means of controlling the firmness of their ride. But then riding in their vehicles seemed ridiculous because it felt like we were in a fishing boat going over choppy water. If the "bags" weren't inflated to to this level- we bottomed out.

End of the story is that while the struts and springs had been changed and provided my car with a sportier ride, the geometry of the front suspension was changed- and the car would not align properly. Over time, all of the suspension components (other than the springs and struts) either broke from the stress of the change in geometry and weight, or quickly wore out and I went through a set of tires every 20,000 miles.

My opinion is that the strange sounds you are hearing are likely related to this change in geometry, and swapping your struts/shocks will probably not do much to solve the problem. I would have a shop that REALLY knows suspension work take a look at your car. You could be doing very expensive damage to the drivetrain or suspension without realizing it.

Good Luck- J

satyr

Good comments and shared experience. I am amazed how often shorter springs are installed, especially on Japenese imports.

I used to work at a Porsche specialty shop and everyone wanted to lower their 911s. Often cars would come in with burnt fenders from tire rub or complaints of poor ride quality or even worse, horrible handling stories.

To me a significant lowering on a street car is about 1-1 1/2" at the most.

What is important is to know what the total wheel travel on your car's suspension. Many people mistakening think it is around 8 to 9 inches. They are amazed to find is is a little more than half that.

Haasman

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