Pfadt clunking?

[SSSoon]

Originally Posted by PQ

EASY PEASY test for that.

Jack the car up, stuff rags between the coils and jack it back down and try it then. I found coil slap as a tick in a set of springs before. The rags were the easiest test and the most effective in that case because they did the trick. I had taken the coil wraps off when I installed those ones. lol Put them back on and done. But the rags determined the noise.

At this point it has to be something. And it's time to think anything is possible. I had Pfadt drop springs before I went with Pedders. Never had any weird noises or anything. Odd that you would hear it on both sides but it's really an easy test.

You'll want to make sure you get any area that could be grinding. Or just use rope strips. Just enough to buffer while testing the theory.

Great suggestion - easy to test, yup. Put rags around all coils on one side this aft, dropped her back down and tested - no change. Same popping. But, good that we have that possibility eliminated. Plus doing something is better than sitting around waiting for parts to show up...

[PQ]

Well stick with it. When you finally find it you might just laugh your ass off. I know I have twice now.

I actually had a dream last night that I got in my car and I heard that popping. I was gonna post it (in my dream) and say that mine is doing it now too but I woke up.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by SSSoon

Great suggestion - easy to test, yup. Put rags around all coils on one side this aft, dropped her back down and tested - no change. Same popping. But, good that we have that possibility eliminated. Plus doing something is better than sitting around waiting for parts to show up...

Can you list all the front end parts you touched (removed or loosened) during the installation?

[BLACK10]

i have had to remove the black rubber isolators from every set of pfaft front springs i've installed due to clicking noises, which is about 4 sets

[SSTG]

Originally Posted by BLACK10

i have had to remove the black rubber isolators from every set of pfaft front springs i've installed due to clicking noises, which is about 4 sets

And replace? Or just remove?

[Transfusion]

I have been watching this thread for the past couple of weeks just to see what the support response would be to solving this issue. I am looking for coilovers and considering Pfadt. I can't believe it takes this long to figure out what the issue is and why Pfadt itself hasn't stepped up, taken care of the persons problem and been done with it. I will be reconsidering my future purchase. I have to also admit I haven't read the entire 9 pages here, but my thought is that this should have been solved by at most page 2, or am i missing something.
pfadt respsonse seems in direct correlation to the non response I have gotten from them. I don't know this person with the problem or am I looking for a handout of my own, only a product and a producer of the product that actually stands up for what they make and takes care of the customer.

[BLACK10]

Originally Posted by SSTG

And replace? Or just remove?

i pulled off and threw away the black front rubbers on every set. everyone of them made popping and clicking noises. all the cars rode fine after and all the noises stopped. I could care less what the purpose of them are, just telling my experiences. i've installed over 20 sets of lowering springs on camaros


Eibach and H&R springs that Ive installed never made noises and they don't come with rubber isolators.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by Transfusion

I have been watching this thread for the past couple of weeks just to see what the support response would be to solving this issue. I am looking for coilovers and considering Pfadt. I can't believe it takes this long to figure out what the issue is and why Pfadt itself hasn't stepped up, taken care of the persons problem and been done with it. I will be reconsidering my future purchase. I have to also admit I haven't read the entire 9 pages here, but my thought is that this should have been solved by at most page 2, or am i missing something.
pfadt respsonse seems in direct correlation to the non response I have gotten from them. I don't know this person with the problem or am I looking for a handout of my own, only a product and a producer of the product that actually stands up for what they make and takes care of the customer.

I gotta say that's a little unfair. I'm a Pedders guy but Pfadt makes a good product too. If you ask me I'd tell you to get Pedders anyway because that's my preference but these suspension companies can't oversee every install. I've seen LOT of different suspension problems and it has never really been the parts, but the install or the car design.

Originally Posted by BLACK10

i pulled off and threw away the black front rubbers on every set. everyone of them made popping and clicking noises. all the cars rode fine after and all the noises stopped. I could care less what the purpose of them are, just telling my experiences. i've installed over 20 sets of lowering springs on camaros


Eibach and H&R springs that Ive installed never made noises and they don't come with rubber isolators.

I had the opposite effect. I had a set of coils that clicked because I removed the black rubbers thinking they were packing material.

Put the black rubber back on and noise gone.

[garcmol]

Originally Posted by PQ

I had the opposite effect. I had a set of coils that clicked because I removed the black rubbers thinking they were packing material.

Put the black rubber back on and noise gone.

Been there, done that.

[SSSoon]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Can you list all the front end parts you touched (removed or loosened) during the installation?

Pete, wish I could. Wasn't there for part of it, so don't know for sure. Steering rack was moved a few inches to get the stock bar out. Other than that, probably just what had to be touched...

[SSSoon]

Originally Posted by Transfusion

I have been watching this thread for the past couple of weeks just to see what the support response would be to solving this issue. I am looking for coilovers and considering Pfadt. I can't believe it takes this long to figure out what the issue is and why Pfadt itself hasn't stepped up, taken care of the persons problem and been done with it. I will be reconsidering my future purchase. I have to also admit I haven't read the entire 9 pages here, but my thought is that this should have been solved by at most page 2, or am i missing something.
pfadt respsonse seems in direct correlation to the non response I have gotten from them. I don't know this person with the problem or am I looking for a handout of my own, only a product and a producer of the product that actually stands up for what they make and takes care of the customer.

Gotta say that a big part of the delay here was on my end. Went on vacation for a week before Christmas, so nothing happened then. Got back and the isolator/perch GM shipped didn't have the neoprene piece in it. So, just waiting on that now. None of that is Pfadt's fault.

There's a couple of possibilities:

1) it's the isolator (top of strut assembly) and something about changing springs on my car made us need a new set of isolators. Doesn't make sense that the isolators go bad just when I change springs, which is why I think it might be how the neoprene formed around the old spring that is causing the new spring to slip. Dunno. JusticePete says no way, but it's worth a shot.

2) Something was messed up in the install. Again, not Pfadt's fault. If we swap isolators and the noise doesn't go away, we'll swap back to stock springs. If noise doesn't go away, our fault on the install.

I am pretty sure it's going to be one of these options, but we have checked everything else so many times it makes me sick. So I really doubt it's #2. Really hoping it's #1 above.

What you haven't seen is a whole bunch of emails and phone calls directly between me and Pfadt and I have to say that up until the point where we got stumped, they were extremely responsive, very friendly, and they really tried to be helpful. But now we are all stumped and waiting for parts.

Pfadt can't take responsibility for a poor install or a funky thing with the isolator. I'm not a fanboy but I'll give them that. If we swap the isolators and the popping persists, and then swap back to stock springs and the popping goes away, I am going to be pissed beyond belief at them, though.

[SSSoon]

Originally Posted by PQ

Well stick with it. When you finally find it you might just laugh your ass off. I know I have twice now.

I actually had a dream last night that I got in my car and I heard that popping. I was gonna post it (in my dream) and say that mine is doing it now too but I woke up.

Looking forward to laughing my ass off. I really hope it's just something incredibly stupid we did that is easy to fix once we figure it out. Would like to wake up from this bad dream too.

The funny thing is I kinda want to get to the bottom of this. Part of me wants to just say, screw it, and try something different. But I figure if this has happened to me it will happen to someone else in the future so I might as well push this to the end to get a definite answer, save the next guy a huge headache.

[Transfusion]

Originally Posted by PQ

I gotta say that's a little unfair. I'm a Pedders guy but Pfadt makes a good product too. If you ask me I'd tell you to get Pedders anyway because that's my preference but these suspension companies can't oversee every install. I've seen LOT of different suspension problems and it has never really been the parts, but the install or the car design.

I had the opposite effect. I had a set of coils that clicked because I removed the black rubbers thinking they were packing material.

Put the black rubber back on and noise gone.

Are you saying that every pfadt set of springs does this, of course your not.
I would think though that the pfadt guy on the website would be getting asked at least once a week from his employer, "what's going on" " anything unusual". Because I would think that pfadt would like to be aware and send someone if necessary to oversee and evaluate not only the product but the installation process. And if they knew wouldn't they have a duplication site at their facility to walkthrough exactly what the installer on the other end is doing and could give feedback, not saying hey take some pictures and send them too us when you have time. I'm not throwing blame or trying to find a head to put on a pole and yell "we got em". But we are looking at this situation from completly different angles and seeing the same thing, something I don't think pfadt has been robustly doing. You obviously have a ton more experience at this than I will ever have, but if it is parts or install this should have been very easy to fix and get this car back on the road in a couple of days, and i have to believe it is one or both. Just my 2 cents.

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by Camarowguy

I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the noises we experience. From what I recall the noise in mine didn't start until I put mine on the lift for the first oil change.

Shines situation has to do with our coilovers with a race spring package and is completely unrelated from what's going on here with SSSoons drop springs. With the drop springs as installed on SSSoon's car the springs are always under at least a small amount of preload which would prevent the springs from coming unseated.

In the case of Shines coilovers it's a combination of the aggressive spring rates he needs for track performance, installed to reach the ride height he's looking for. The only situation in which he should need to make sure the spring is properly seated is when it's coming off the lift, while the car is in operation there isn't a situation in normal street or track driving which will cause his springs to become unseated.

Originally Posted by elsololobo02

I had a Stage 4 Pfadt kit put on my 2011 LS last week minus the engine mouts as their support guys said they don't fit on the LS. I had similar noise but they eminated from the sway bars/endlinks. The next day after the install (from a reputable shop) I had a 4 wheel alignment and endlink adjustment done as per Pfadt's spec sheet. This got rid of the "loose lumber" sound but there is still a noise in the front end that is hard to describe...

It sounds like squeaky bed springs inside of a empty 55 gallon drum. It only happens when I go over speed bumps or semi steep inclines like at some gas stations/convienant stores at very slow speeds. It doesn't occur during normal city/highway driving or by simply turning the wheels back and forth while stationary or while moving. The rear suspension is completely quite and sounds/feels like they are funtioning properly. I have a appointment with the install shop this Tuesday and will post what they come up with. It may not have anything to do with OP's issue but maybe it could help.

Let us know how the appointment at your shop goes, if they have any questions please have them contact us. This is again an issue that's probably not directly related to SSSoon's situation since our Stage 4 package includes coilovers and not drop springs. The springs installed on the coilovers are very different than the springs installed on SSSoon's car. After talking with the folks who performed your installation we can recommend troubleshooting steps to fix issues you may still have!

Originally Posted by Transfusion

I have been watching this thread for the past couple of weeks just to see what the support response would be to solving this issue. I am looking for coilovers and considering Pfadt. I can't believe it takes this long to figure out what the issue is and why Pfadt itself hasn't stepped up, taken care of the persons problem and been done with it. I will be reconsidering my future purchase. I have to also admit I haven't read the entire 9 pages here, but my thought is that this should have been solved by at most page 2, or am i missing something.
pfadt respsonse seems in direct correlation to the non response I have gotten from them. I don't know this person with the problem or am I looking for a handout of my own, only a product and a producer of the product that actually stands up for what they make and takes care of the customer.

As mentioned by SSSoon the support we've provided has not been limited to only the forums. We've been in contact with him via Email and Phone as well to help him get his issue resolved. Typically problems like he's been having are relatively easy to troubleshoot since the drop springs themselves are a pretty simple installation. Just like with any product occasionally you run into a situation outside the norm which requires a bit more attention. We have been working with SSSoon to get his issues taken care of in the best and most responsive way possible.

Doing a quick search through our PM Box here on the forums we haven't received any questions from you in the past. If you have any questions about our products we're open 9-5pm Mountain standard time at 1-888-972-2464 and will be more than happy to answer any questions and will do our best to get you the parts to reach your goals. Additionally our email is info@pfadtracing.com , or you can send me an email directly to jarrett@pfadtracing.com . I want to make sure that any questions you might have are taken care of!

Originally Posted by Transfusion

Are you saying that every pfadt set of springs does this, of course your not.
I would think though that the pfadt guy on the website would be getting asked at least once a week from his employer, "what's going on" " anything unusual". Because I would think that pfadt would like to be aware and send someone if necessary to oversee and evaluate not only the product but the installation process. And if they knew wouldn't they have a duplication site at their facility to walkthrough exactly what the installer on the other end is doing and could give feedback, not saying hey take some pictures and send them too us when you have time. I'm not throwing blame or trying to find a head to put on a pole and yell "we got em". But we are looking at this situation from completly different angles and seeing the same thing, something I don't think pfadt has been robustly doing. You obviously have a ton more experience at this than I will ever have, but if it is parts or install this should have been very easy to fix and get this car back on the road in a couple of days, and i have to believe it is one or both. Just my 2 cents.

Customer feedback is extremely important to us, and forum posts have always been key in gathering that feedback. Interaction between the forum and the engineering staff happens on a daily basis, and you can be assured that we have been doing everything we can to resolve the issue. We would absolutely love to personally install all of our products onto every customers vehicle, but that's simply not possible given the volume of product we have in the field. It's just impossible for us to fly an engineer from Salt Lake City to Virginia to install a set of drop springs, this is where we rely on our dealer network to accurately install and diagnose issues as they arise.

Before we go to market with any product we hand it off to select dealers in our dealer network as well as members of our non technical staff to evaluate both the product and the installation instructions provided. We then take their feedback and can make changes to installation procedure or include any tips or iron out hiccups before they end up in the hands of the end user. Our product validation procedures are both exhaustive and effective, but given every vehicle and installer is a little different it's impossible to replicate every possible issue that will arise once a product has reached market. SSSoon and his shop have been extremely responsive to our troubleshooting suggestions and we will provide him all the support we can, but in the end we are doing the best we can while troubleshooting as a third party.

SSSoon does have some replacement upper mounting hardware on order, and will be installing that shortly. If that doesn't take care of his issues for the sake of troubleshooting we've suggested he reinstall the OEM springs. The spring coils at the top stacking at ride height are exactly the way they are intended to be used. There is a only a very slight change in overall spring position while turning the wheel on the ground so the chances of the popping sound actually being the spring it's self are pretty slim and is much more likely related to another piece that was taken apart during installation, or a part that was marginally functional to begin with and is now making it's self known. After hundreds of these kits have been sucessfully installed on all kinds of different model year Camaro's we are confident that it isn't a spring issue.

Again... if anyone has questions about our product please shoot us a PM on the forums, an email to info@pfadtracing.com , or a phone call to 1-888-972-2464. We are always more than happy to help!