Got the Vogtland GT's halfway on...

**j_korteS4** · 05-29-2008 02:22 PM

Only had enough time last night to get the fronts on. My buddy who owns the shop had something come up so we'll finish the rest this evening.

So driving home last night and to/from work this morning I was expecting it to feel weird but I wasn't expecting the noises.

-Lots of clunky sounding noises with any bumps

-No play in the steering so I'm pretty confident that everything is tightened correcty

-Also we set the front two spring perches equal with 4 2/5" of thread showing on both passenger and driver side but when we put the car on the ground the driver side is obviously lower. (not something that can't be adjusted, but why???)

I have noticed that the inner fender (which are being rolled on Mon.) have been slightly rubbing since last night...could this be the noise I'm hearing??

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

**quicksilver_S** · 05-29-2008 02:44 PM

Its possible the clunking came from the top bolt that wasnt tighten. As for the uneven height, I would check if the perch moved when you were moving the car down.

**jutny** · 05-29-2008 02:50 PM

did you torque all the control arm bolts with the weight of the the car on the suspension (as if the car was sitting on the ground). If you didnt, that could cause binding and uneven ride height.

fwiw, when i did mine (properly) i got within a 1/16" of an inch side to side on front and rear by setting the height to the values he has on the startup racing page. That also happened to be the "perfect" ride height as far as i'm concerned. (probably a little higher than most here would like)

as far as the clunking... something must still be loose.

did you use all new control arms? difference in Control arm wear from side to side could also the unevenness (because they act as tiny little torsion bars because of the bushings)

**j_korteS4** · 05-29-2008 04:07 PM

I didn't use new control arms, but the bushings looked decent and have NEVER made any noise before.

Nothing was torqued down after the car was put on the ground, perhaps that's the mistake, something's definately loose.

I will report back to this thread after this evening and we get it all done.

P.S. Now that I think of it, how would one have any room to get under the car to torque anything down once it's on its wheels?

**j_korteS4** · 05-29-2008 04:13 PM

Also, just for referance, I just measured the fenders. Pass-25.9", Dri-25.0"
Tomasz suggests 4.5" of thread left on the strut, I went with 0.1" lower. Anyway, I will post more when I have more info and the answere to what's going on.

Thanks for your reply's!

**Mike@PureMS** · 05-29-2008 08:14 PM

You shouldn't have any clunking. Like mentioned earlier, the top nut on the shock bushing is more than likely not tightened properly. An impact gun is not the proper way to tighten it.

**j_korteS4** · 05-31-2008 12:12 AM

It was the top bolts of the struts as suggested, thanks.

Got them all done today and they feel GREAT!!! Whole differant car for sure.

Still have issues with uneven ride height.

Am I supoesed to use the stock rubber perch bushing in the fronts??
(modified them to fit the new springs)

Corner balancing tomorrow morning for perfect height

(I'm right at 25.4" in front) but the rears are at about 26.3". Want em down under 26"
so far no rubbing issues in front even under hard cornering)

Thanks for everyone's reply's!

**Sleeeper X** · 05-31-2008 08:56 AM

hey, how do they handle bumps?

**j_korteS4** · 05-31-2008 02:32 PM

Got the corner balancing done this morning. Front fenders are at 25", rears are at 25.25"

Honestly, it feels like it eats the bumps better than stock. There's no cringing when aproaching uneven road, that's for sure.

These handle extremely well, very happy with my purchase. I will post pics after I wash it this weekend.

**JayyyyyC** · 05-31-2008 03:18 PM

Can't wait to get my GT's on. Just need to find out which control arms I need to replace.

**AMC** · 05-31-2008 03:32 PM

have you put the rears on yet?

**j_korteS4** · 06-01-2008 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by j_korteS4

Got the corner balancing done this morning. Front fenders are at 25", rears are at 25.25"

Sure did, can't corner balance with stock suspension.
The rears go on like butter.

**Mike@PureMS** · 06-02-2008 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by j_korteS4

It was the top bolts of the struts as suggested, thanks.

Got them all done today and they feel GREAT!!! Whole differant car for sure.

Still have issues with uneven ride height.

Am I supoesed to use the stock rubber perch bushing in the fronts??
(modified them to fit the new springs)

The spring sits directly on the plastic ring, which sits directly on top of the adjusting perches.

On top of the spring will sit a rubber packing part, then the aluminum control arm frame.
There is NO rubber on the bottom of the spring.

**j_korteS4** · 06-02-2008 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by Mike@PureMS

The spring sits directly on the plastic ring, which sits directly on top of the adjusting perches.

On top of the spring will sit a rubber packing part, then the aluminum control arm frame.
There is NO rubber on the bottom of the spring.

Hmm...
That's exactly how the rears are, but the fronts for some reason did not come with that plastic ring. So instead of them sitting directly on the perches, I used the stock rubber piece and ground it down to fit the new spring.

Was this kit suposed to include the two plastic rings for the fronts??

Thanks again