suspension bottoms out

[DAM GTi]

mostly from the front..over any pothole all bump..violent banging out that is not enjoyable one bit..has happened knly recently..ive read the bushings on the the top of the front strut become compressed and faulter over time..if so to which I swap these out for?
car isnt lowered which would usually cause this from past experiences..

these bushings are just for the front or back have them on the tops aswell?

cheers for any feedback

[Sirocco20348]

I would say your struts are well stuffed. Unless your strut tops are not existent anymore. How old are they? What is your suspension history?

Both the front and rear suspension struts have rubber top mounts.

If you have average roads around where you live, I would keep stock rubber top mounts. If you have slick roads or don't care about mild discomfort, but some powerflex purple poly strut mounts.

The fronts are known to compress over time. You open the hood and check the gap between the top hat of the suspension and the chassis.

[DAM GTi]

no I havent measured..
and they are jic coilovers installed by previous owner about 2 years back..not sure if still using these bushings or aftermarket

think i mite change back to standard as its not lowered andnor do i want a aggressive stance more into functional

[dylan8]

Worth just doing the strut bushes and bearings if the age is unknown
My current front struts do bottom out on a couple of known dips. They are toast. I'm itching to get the shortened bilsteins back in but police no likey

[DAM GTi]

oem bushes and bearing or the poly as heavily and readily available?

[dylan8]

I went r32 ones but Sirocco20348 who posted above had good feedback on some firmer ones in a recent thread

[LeStig]

If it's got coilovers then it's lowered..... coilovers are physically shorter than oem struts to start with.... so your losing suspension travel no matter what !!
If their adjustable then touch up the rebound settings to compensate for general wear .... if not then your up for replacement.
Top mounts compress and distort .... I've tried the updated rubber and currently have kmac rose jointed mounts so semi solid ... no discerniblle difference in ride comfort or noise at this stage ....

[Sirocco20348]

It's pretty obvious if the strut mounts need replacement. They look like this or worse.. there should be zero gap.

The only way strut mounts make a knocking noise is if your car is Airbourne enough so the mount will come away from the chassis and then smash back into the chassis when you land. Unlikely.... The cars weight will always keep the mount firmly against the chassis.

Or the more common situation, you reverse diagonally over a curb, the strut mounts will make a knocking noise as one corners wheel lowers while the other one remains static. Either way just do a visual check

With stock suspension and similar height struts you have around 3" travel.

You say you are using coilovers... What is the maximum travel of the suspension? and do you have the height wound all the way up?

Who knows the previous owner may have the lowered the car to the extreme and stuffed them.

[Sirocco20348]

Sounds similar to your problem..JIC magic coilovers problems

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk

[DAM GTi]

yep-that link rings true....previous owner had it lowered on its guts from what he said..he even had it defected because of it..so possibly cactus..may go a new front end like the rear and be done like the rest of the money pit it has become lol..love the little bugga still dammit!

ordered some tops give that a whirl and a raise..other than that which perfect shock spring rate or coilover for front would one look into
part no.specific or link if you could aswell please

[DAM GTi]

It's pretty obvious if the strut mounts need replacement. They look like this or worse.. there should be zero gap.

The only way strut mounts make a knocking noise is if your car is Airbourne enough so the mount will come away from the chassis and then smash back into the chassis when you land. Unlikely.... The cars weight will always keep the mount firmly against the chassis.

Or the more common situation, you reverse diagonally over a curb, the strut mounts will make a knocking noise as one corners wheel lowers while the other one remains static. Either way just do a visual check

With stock suspension and similar height struts you have around 3" travel.

You say you are using coilovers... What is the maximum travel of the suspension? and do you have the height wound all the way up?

Who knows the previous owner may have the lowered the car to the extreme and stuffed them.

no dont look like that haha..jeeezus

[DAM GTi]

thanks my friend,sorry your going through the same $$$$

[Sirocco20348]

Get a set of Bilstein HD struts if you want stock height OEM+. Springs will be soft but at least struts are high pressure. Use with standard springs if you like or source another set.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk