Suspension fix - no more front end clunk

[dyn085]

I firmly believe that the clunk in my suspension is related to the top-cap/bearing assembly. Everything else in my front suspension was pristine, short of the gouging that occurred when the techs replaced my left strut.

I'm not horribly worried about it as I listen to my music rather loud (wrong answer, I know), but when I order the parts and make the swap I will be sure to drop intel here and in the clunk thread.

[slowmazda3]

Originally Posted by BigDandthegirls

Wow! Thats a little rich for my blood. Guess you have to pay to play.

I agree. In the long run... there really isn't that much difference in cost between this replacement and 4 leaking front struts from Ford. There's a reason why they are so cheap.

Originally Posted by Zillon

Any particular reason you didn't go with Koni rears for a Mazdaspeed 3? They will fit.

I've been considering this option for some time now, good to see everything bolts up with minimal modification. Did you cut a hole in the cowl for adjusting the front struts, or do you plan to just set them and forget them?

I am running a 32mm rear bar in addition to stiffer rear springs that are progressive in nature. I wanted more compression damping than the Koni had do offer, and more consistency in damping force throughout the damper range of motion. There is alot of spring equivalent back there with the focus motion ratio and it needs a damper with a lot of compression and rebound force. (B8 >>> Koni in that respect).

No holes were cut. I set the rebound damping to "half" (1.25 out of 2.5 turns) and may bring that down to 1 turn depending on testing and the current alignment. I believe the chassis is still erring on the side of understeer, but without much more spring rate, I dont know how I could possibly reduce this. Keep in mind, this is at the extreme limit when the car is going in WAY hot.

Originally Posted by Dysan911

Thats awesome that you were able to resolve this issue on your own. Big time kudos for taking this issue head on!. You've done a big service to this community as far as im concerned.

I know you wanted to go aftermarket on the struts, etc. Just curious if you felt the clunk was mainly due to the strut bearings and that someone could fix thiers by changing just that part or was there failure on all the parts you replaced as well?

Thanks!

Thank you. Part of the clunk was strut bearings, part was the broken strut. It was clear that the strut would clunk at the end of its stroke.

Originally Posted by dyn085

I firmly believe that the clunk in my suspension is related to the top-cap/bearing assembly. Everything else in my front suspension was pristine, short of the gouging that occurred when the techs replaced my left strut.

I'm not horribly worried about it as I listen to my music rather loud (wrong answer, I know), but when I order the parts and make the swap I will be sure to drop intel here and in the clunk thread.

See above. Both the strut and the bearing caused the problem IMO.

[Bimmer-Bob]

How are you setting damping on the Bilsteins? Aren't the B8's just the Sport shocks, with a fixed damping rate? I thought the only adjustable Billies were the PSS series?

[Sonic_HedgeHog]

Nicely done... Let's see how it is in 5,000 miles or so... See if those Ford parts stay intact.

[Rememo]

Originally Posted by Sonic_HedgeHog

Nicely done... Let's see how it is in 5,000 miles or so... See if those Ford parts stay intact.

Yeah... I was kind of surprised to see that you went with the Motorcraft strut bearings, since they don't seem to be holding up very well. 'Course replacing them again would be a piece a cake compared to what you just did.

[slowmazda3]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

How are you setting damping on the Bilsteins? Aren't the B8's just the Sport shocks, with a fixed damping rate? I thought the only adjustable Billies were the PSS series?

They are fixed damping. I went with them because the native compression damping is valved "higher" and more digressively than a Koni Sport is capable of.

Originally Posted by Rememo

Yeah... I was kind of surprised to see that you went with the Motorcraft strut bearings, since they don't seem to be holding up very well. 'Course replacing them again would be a piece a cake compared to what you just did.

If there were an aftermarket part that fit, or if the mazdaspeed 3 part fit, I would have bought those instead.

[Zillon]

Originally Posted by slowmazda3

If there were an aftermarket part that fit, or if the mazdaspeed 3 part fit, I would have bought those instead.

Have you had a chance to compare the OEM MS3 strut bearings and mounts to the OEM MK3 Focus bearings and mounts?

From what I can see in photos, they're identical, but I haven't had a chance to hold both in my hands yet.

[slowmazda3]

Originally Posted by Zillon

Have you had a chance to compare the OEM MS3 strut bearings and mounts to the OEM MK3 Focus bearings and mounts?

From what I can see in photos, they're identical, but I haven't had a chance to hold both in my hands yet.

ehh... they are the same part. for 3x the cost

[raptor1956]

Originally Posted by slowmazda3

I agree. In the long run... there really isn't that much difference in cost between this replacement and 4 leaking front struts from Ford. There's a reason why they are so cheap.



I am running a 32mm rear bar in addition to stiffer rear springs that are progressive in nature. I wanted more compression damping than the Koni had do offer, and more consistency in damping force throughout the damper range of motion. There is alot of spring equivalent back there with the focus motion ratio and it needs a damper with a lot of compression and rebound force. (B8 >>> Koni in that respect).

No holes were cut. I set the rebound damping to "half" (1.25 out of 2.5 turns) and may bring that down to 1 turn depending on testing and the current alignment. I believe the chassis is still erring on the side of understeer, but without much more spring rate, I dont know how I could possibly reduce this. Keep in mind, this is at the extreme limit when the car is going in WAY hot.



Thank you. Part of the clunk was strut bearings, part was the broken strut. It was clear that the strut would clunk at the end of its stroke.



See above. Both the strut and the bearing caused the problem IMO.

On the understear issue .. you could try running a bit more negative camber up front. It will tend to increase wear on the inside, but it should improve understear...


Brian

[slowmazda3]

Originally Posted by raptor1956

On the understear issue .. you could try running a bit more negative camber up front. It will tend to increase wear on the inside, but it should improve understear...


Brian

Brian,
I am aware of this; however, camber is relatively fixed with the McStrut design the focus uses. Short of lengthening the control arm there is no possibility of increasing camber on the Mk3 platform (plates will not work as the strut tophat is boxed in.

I also am speaking relative to the OE dampers which leads me to believe I dialed in a bit too much rebound stiffness and in turn reduced weight transfer. The passive rear steer/toe gain on the control blade suspension setup relies on weight transfer for rotation.

The focus is surprisingly agile and gains little camber with steering input when compared to other McStrut designs (A La BMW).
Thank you for your input.