I didn't have any noises from the stock suspension but I recently installed a new suspension setup on a '06 coupe, sport sus.

OEM Z strut/spring (all 4 corners)
-the rears look about the same or higher than stock (WHY???). o_O

Hotchkis sway bars

Hotchkis Tie bar

Now I have very loud creaking noises from the front (both sides). Going over driveways or speed bumps makes me cringe. Does this mean I need a new compression rod (like the other thread was talking about) or lube my components?

I had an issue before where I had a very soft creak in the front right suspension, but it was fixed by tightening some bolts or something by my shop. This time around the creaks are much louder and from both sides and I started noticing it after about a day or two after I put on my new setup and 20" wheels.

Any help or possible leads will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

not to thread jack but how much did using Z springs drop the front? Does it look like a even drop front and rear (ie wheel gap about the same)

 

Before I got the Z setup, I read a lot about the drop, etc... my experience seems to be different from the general things I've read on the forums. If you look around, there are posts where you'll see people measure the drops before and after with a tape measure. It is supposed to drop very close to 1/2 inch all around, pretty much evenly.

I am currently driving around looking like an old american hot rod. My fronts dropped nicely to fill the gap on my 20's. Looks almost perfect with 20's, not too low, not too high. But for some reason, my rears look like there is more gap now than with stock. I can't figure out why. I'm guessing a solid inch or more will be needed to make the gap about even front and back. This and the creaking noises have dampered my initial glee with installing the parts.

I can't complain about the ride w/ the Z setup and the sways. Night and day compared to the stock sport suspension. I'm hoping my front strut brace install will further improve the performance.

Does any know if the tie bar affects the way the car sits or how much the rear suspension angles... it seems that some of my negative camber is gone too.

 

you need to lube the bushings on the front sway bar. Same thing happened to a car i installed hotchkis sways on.
-GP-

 

thanks for the reply... I'll give it a try. Didn't know bushings could make so much noise.

Anybody got any ideas about the height of the rear w/ the oem z setup?

 

does anyone know if the sway bar settings can alter the ride height of the car?