ST XTA Coil Over questions

[razorlab]

Just as an FYI.

KW owns ST.

The ST's are basically KW V1's with galvanized steel bodies instead of stainless and a couple other little differences. Pretty good value.

 

[JP6spd]

Exactly, hence my comment on how waiting for his quality parts will be worth the wait. Only reason I went with KW is because of the winters and salty roads my car will see.

 

[BlueBomber]

ride quality is nice, over the road ride is very smooth but I am having rubbing issues unrelated to the coilovers

 

[JP6spd]

Is the rubbing due to your 45 versus 40 tire?

 

[MKVIIST]

ride quality is nice, over the road ride is very smooth but I am having rubbing issues unrelated to the coilovers

Hey Nick, do you have any pictures?

 

[FineTooned]

running wider tires?

 

[BlueBomber]

Running taller tires.
I raised the car 7 turns to 17 threads up for about two fingers of gap and this has resolved the rubbing.

 

[razorlab]

Running taller tires.
I raised the car 7 turns to 17 threads up for about two fingers of gap and this has resolved the rubbing.

Yup, that will do it. My upper fender liners have nice wear marks in a couple different places from the 45's. Some even through and into the metal. However the car was basically 2" lower than stock in front. No longer!

 

[BlueBomber]

http://blog.modbargains.com/project-update-stage-iii-fiesta-st-mods-cobb-fmic-st-coilovers/

Did my writeup--

Head over to the ModBargains blog to see the pics of the car after the drop.

 

[BlueBomber]

Hey Nick, do you have any pictures?

http://blog.modbargains.com/project-update-stage-iii-fiesta-st-mods-cobb-fmic-st-coilovers/

 

[FineTooned]

Great write up. Even more excited to get my XTAs installed now.

So what size tires are you running, BlueBomber?

 

[BlueBomber]

215-45-17 et38 on 17x7?

The XTA's had a bit of issue with coil bind initially, so grease the upper shock mount area/top hat area before install to prevent any noise. the pass side didn't need any lubrication but the driver's side needed to be lubricated because it was making noise even though it was properly installed.

That said, after installing these I feel like (when I don't get overzealous over dips) the ride is much, MUCH smoother and even without putting it on track, just throwing it around a street corner, it sticks much better.

Not disappointed, and contrary to what my buddy kevin was telling me they did NOT ruin my ride quality and my lady DOES NOT hate the ride.

 

[FineTooned]

Well, I finally got my XTAs and got them installed yesterday. Wow! What a difference in ride quality. So much better than I was expecting. They make the FiST feel like a much higher end car.

The only issue is some creaking noises coming from the rear, right suspension. Not sure what could be causing that. Hope we can figure that out tomorrow when I get the alignment dialed in.

 

[BlueBomber]

Coil bind. Spray some lubricant on the upper section of the offending coilover. I had a squeak in the rear right that went away after lubricating the area.

 

[FineTooned]

Thanks for the advice. Do you mean where the spring meets the adjustable perch? Or perch threads, or where the perch rests against the chassis? Thanks again.

 

[BlueBomber]

I just sprayed the hell out of the upper spring area because I think it's the helper spring that makes the noise, as well as the upper "hat"...I sprayed dry silicon in from the top of the shock towers on the offending front left coilover and rear right coilover, the front left was binding and clunking and the lubricant fixed it- I got the information by reading Megan Racing's "FAQ"/fixes for coilovers, and this was the solution listed, and it works. Apparently KW/ST sometimes forget to include some kind of anti squeak insert, or so the rumor goes. Love the coilovers and the solution was a 7.99 can of lube lol

For the rears there is a hole in the towers just big enough for a wd-40/lubespray straw and that's how you can get the rear one. The fronts I hit through the openings in the top of the front strut tower, and then also jacked up the car and lubricated the helper spring/main spring where they come together and that fixed the noises.

 

[FineTooned]

Thanks for the additional info. I doused the spring and perch with silicon lubricant. Didn't stop the scritching and squeaking noises. I think it may be coming from the upper shock mount. I'll try your suggestion this weekend. Thanks again.

 

[FineTooned]

Did some more digging around in the back of the car. It appears that the top of the ST damper that pokes through the hole in the shock tower is rubbing against the edge of the hole. Weird since we double checked to make sure the damper was centered in the top insulator. But there it is.

solutions that come to mind:

1. Grind out the hole in the shock tower a bit so there's no interference. Then paint it to prevent corrosion.
2. rotate the isolator 180 degrees and see if that centers the damper post within the hole better.
3. buy a new isolator and try the whole install process again.

grinding the hole seems like it shouldn't be necessary. ST made the setup to fit the car. And there aren't any interference issues on the left side damper.
There isn't a specific way to install the damper, and the damper appears to be centered in the isolator, so rotating it 180 degrees probably won't make a difference.
And the isolator was bored out on a drill press, and it appears to be spot-on centered, so getting a new isolator and redoing the install doesn't seem like it will make a difference either.

Hmmm. Anyone have any additional ideas?

Thanks!

 

[aballphoto]

Any long term updates guys?

 

[FineTooned]

Oh yeah. Sorry I left you hanging.

My mechanic filed the hole a bit to fix the squeak. There is very little clearance around the top nut in that opening. So I can see how see how there could be some contact even with e most careful of installations.

The ride is great. Much more comfortable ride on the rough stuff and it still hunkers down and sticks in the curves.


No other issues to date. I have tried different settings. Their recommended strut settings were great but with the rough roads around here, I softened the ride a couple notches all around. That's the sweet spot for me on these torn up roads. Haven't tried adjusting the height, but I am happy with it at it's near-stock ride height.