The bad front struts - Page 2 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Billy10mm · 04-01-2020, 11:31 AM

Just so everyone's aware. They don't 'go away' so much as its an inherent design flaw. Shocks 'go away' for one of two reasons, the oil that fills the shocks breaks down with age and heat, or the fluid leaks out. Neither of these things happen in this case.

What this is, is an improper amount of rebound dampening built into the OE front shocks. Because of the weight of the car, your shocks are always in a state of compression. Not full compression obviously, only about a half-inch to an inch. When you quickly release that compression by driving off of any sort of 'ledge', whether than be the leading lip of a pothole, a transition in pavement, or a driveway curb ... if the ledge is big enough to allow the shocks the expand to their full height (again, you only need less than an inch or so), you get the 'bang' as the shocks slam violently open to full extension.

You don't get this is other cars because rebound dampening slows the expansion down, the same as compression dampening slows down a shocks compression preventing it from hitting the bump stops easily.

For me, the biggest problem is when I hit those little ripples in the highway where pavement expanded in the hot summer months and created a little one or two inch tall 'bow' in the pavement. If I hit these at speed (45mph or higher), the front of it quickly compresses the shocks and knocks the car up an inch or two, and then as I crest it, the more-compressed-than-normal shocks violently expand now a full 2 to 3 inches and slam the shock body so hard, that is sounds and feels like my windshield is about to shatter.

And by the way, you hear it in the corner of the windshield because all of those forces are transmitted from the shock body up to the shock tower right near the corners of the windshield.

I thought about the B6s, but that would bump me up into the next Autocross class (and I'm having enough trouble making podium in my current class). I'm quietly researching the sneaky-sneaky approach of swapping out for the full Z/28 kit because I might get away with no points penalties because the Z/28 kit is OEM parts.

Still checking though. I won't cheat ... but I want to be sneaky sneaky.

KJZ28 · 04-01-2020, 11:58 AM

I just replaced my B6 Bilsteins with 1LE shocks, I couldn't afford to buy the bilsteins at this time. B6 are a lot, a lot, smoother. I prefer the stiffness of the 1LE. I have heard the bang, but I can live with it for $75 a strut compared to the $212 per B6 strut.

GONIF · 04-02-2020, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJZ28

I just replaced my B6 Bilsteins with 1LE shocks, I couldn't afford to buy the bilsteins at this time. B6 are a lot, a lot, smoother. I prefer the stiffness of the 1LE. I have heard the bang, but I can live with it for $75 a strut compared to the $212 per B6 strut.

The bang is way too annoying to live with. It freaks out passengers too. IMHO it gives GM a black eye for not addressing and repairing the flawed design .People who buy cars like these are very particular and have spent more to buy the performance ,these aren't Hyundai Accent's .If GM wants repeat customers they need to do the right thing and have a recall on the struts. Or at the very least show some good faith and give anyone who has the problem a $1000.00 discount on any new GM vehicle . They need to realize that the performance and cost of a new Ford Mustang is on par with the Camaro .

Billy10mm · 04-02-2020, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GONIF

The bang is way too annoying to live with. It freaks out passengers too. IMHO it gives GM a black eye for not addressing and repairing the flawed design .People who buy cars like these are very particular and have spent more to buy the performance ,these aren't Hyundai Accent's .If GM wants repeat customers they need to do the right thing and have a recall on the struts. Or at the very least show some good faith and give anyone who has the problem a $1000.00 discount on any new GM vehicle . They need to realize that the performance and cost of a new Ford Mustang is on par with the Camaro .

Yeah, but then you'd have to own a Mustang. And you'd be nervous every time you drove near a crowd of people that your car would just suddenly turn towards them. Who really wants that?

KJZ28 · 04-02-2020, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

Yeah, but then you'd have to own a Mustang. And you'd be nervous every time you drove near a crowd of people that your car would just suddenly turn towards them. Who really wants that?

GONIF · 04-02-2020, 05:15 PM

Been a GM customer for many years and have owned 10 Camaro's over the years .First was a 69 Z28 . Owned a new 87 IROC and an 87 Mustang GT at the same time . The IROC was mine and the Mustang GT was my 2nd wife's. Even though the IROC was a 350 auto , it was no better that the Mustang GT with a 5 speed . The IROC looked better for sure ,but performance wise they were about equal . Not planning on going over to the dark side ,but really dissapointed with the bad strut bang at under 15000 miles on a meticulous maintained car . Totally un acceptable IMHO.

LCPLPunk · 04-02-2020, 09:12 PM

This bang is really interesting. I installed some used 1LE shocks/struts on my SS awhile back and initially I had no bangs. I tore them back apart about a month later to put new donut isolator things in and then for a few months later the bang occurred. I'd say I haven't heard the bang now though in definitely over a year. I'm not sure what happened, but I just don't hear it.

PapaKlutch · 04-04-2020, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

Yeah, but then you'd have to own a Mustang. And you'd be nervous every time you drove near a crowd of people that your car would just suddenly turn towards them. Who really wants that?

Currently, about 2 to 3 times the number of Camaro buyers. lol. The 5th gen was a true sales success for GM. Not so the 6th gen....sadly.

'10CamaroDude · 04-05-2020, 02:03 AM

They also knock because, if you look at your strut tower washer, the dished washer,
there is a gap under it. It does not sit flush with the top of the strut tower. So,
when the suspension bottoms out, the strut pulls downward, and the washer makes
contact with the metal of the strut tower. When it goes back up, the strut mount
makes contact with the under side of the strut tower.

I noticed the same thing on an HHR I had. I thought the struts were just bashed
up good, but when I saw the same thing/design in the camaro, I was like, WHAT?
I put new struts in on the 4th, and still have the gap. The bottom of the dished
washer tightens right up against the rod retainer nut for the strut mount. The whole
thing moves up and down on bad roads, so it knocks.

I am going to experiment, and turn the washers upside down, domed. The struts go
into a socket, as deep as the strut mount, so there is never any lateral movement.
They are nothing like the struts with the studs that go through the corresponding
holes in the tower for bolt in. This has one huge hole, with a dished washer that
does NOT secure the strut from vertical movement. I want to know what kind of
a design this is, that allows the entire strut to move downward if the suspension
should bottom out in a hole, or a deep enough dip on one side of the car...

LCPLPunk · 04-05-2020, 09:07 AM

It was designed that way...seriously, do a search on it.

Tmcgee2010 · 04-15-2020, 10:28 PM

which B6 shocks are you referring to for 212$
I put some in my amazon cart a while back after hearing they eliminate the pop over bumps but they are only around 140$ each.
PN-Bilstein 24-222976 Shock Absorber says its a factory replacement for my 14 1le
I'm guessing I'm looking at the wrong ones?

nvm just realized I added the rears to my cart (glad I didn't order yet)
found the front for 250 each. ouch

PapaKlutch · 04-16-2020, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tmcgee2010

which B6 shocks are you referring to for 212$
I put some in my amazon cart a while back after hearing they eliminate the pop over bumps but they are only around 140$ each.
PN-Bilstein 24-222976 Shock Absorber says its a factory replacement for my 14 1le
I'm guessing I'm looking at the wrong ones?

nvm just realized I added the rears to my cart (glad I didn't order yet)
found the front for 250 each. ouch

Yep, 222976 are the rears.

$802 for a set of 2 fronts and 2 rears at Summit Racing.

ThisGuyDrives · 04-25-2020, 03:15 PM

I don't even understand what the hell you people are talking about. My 2014 has 40,000 miles and yet, still going strong. Guess it's just me.

'10CamaroDude · 04-25-2020, 04:53 PM

I just put NEW struts on, and that knock came back within three weeks. I
do not think it is the struts design, it's how they're mounted in the vehicle.
IT can also be sway bar bushings, or end links. They were also quick-struts
but I have a set of 2 mile SS ones I can put on, but I do not want to do the
spring swap thing, so I will just sell them.

These struts do not bolt to the tower like most cars. They go up into a
socket, and only the weight of the car keeps them up in the socket. The
plate on top, keeps them from puling all the way out on potholes.

When the car is on the ground, there is a gap between the plate and the
top of the tower. When I rack the car, the strut is pulled down, and that
plate is now on the top of the strut tower. That's why there is a rubber
strip around the plate, so you don't get metal to metal contact when the
strut is pulled down.

I bet that, if you could retrofit it with the regular bolt in struts, that noise
would be gone.

04-01-2020, 11:31 AM	#15
Billy10mm Drives: 2014 Camaro 2SS 1LE NPP Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Hartsdale, NY Posts: 1,434	Just so everyone's aware. They don't 'go away' so much as its an inherent design flaw. Shocks 'go away' for one of two reasons, the oil that fills the shocks breaks down with age and heat, or the fluid leaks out. Neither of these things happen in this case. What this is, is an improper amount of rebound dampening built into the OE front shocks. Because of the weight of the car, your shocks are always in a state of compression. Not full compression obviously, only about a half-inch to an inch. When you quickly release that compression by driving off of any sort of 'ledge', whether than be the leading lip of a pothole, a transition in pavement, or a driveway curb ... if the ledge is big enough to allow the shocks the expand to their full height (again, you only need less than an inch or so), you get the 'bang' as the shocks slam violently open to full extension. You don't get this is other cars because rebound dampening slows the expansion down, the same as compression dampening slows down a shocks compression preventing it from hitting the bump stops easily. For me, the biggest problem is when I hit those little ripples in the highway where pavement expanded in the hot summer months and created a little one or two inch tall 'bow' in the pavement. If I hit these at speed (45mph or higher), the front of it quickly compresses the shocks and knocks the car up an inch or two, and then as I crest it, the more-compressed-than-normal shocks violently expand now a full 2 to 3 inches and slam the shock body so hard, that is sounds and feels like my windshield is about to shatter. And by the way, you hear it in the corner of the windshield because all of those forces are transmitted from the shock body up to the shock tower right near the corners of the windshield. I thought about the B6s, but that would bump me up into the next Autocross class (and I'm having enough trouble making podium in my current class). I'm quietly researching the sneaky-sneaky approach of swapping out for the full Z/28 kit because I might get away with no points penalties because the Z/28 kit is OEM parts. Still checking though. I won't cheat ... but I want to be sneaky sneaky. __________________ My thoughts on some things: Driving Nannies: If I'm that far out of shape on the street, something has gone terribly wrong and by all means Mr. Computer man, come and get me. G2s: Rock throwing is like like a tramp stamp; although problematic, it's a sign of good things to come.

04-01-2020, 11:58 AM	#16
KJZ28 Drives: 2018 Buick Regal TourX Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: North of NYC Posts: 546 View My Garage	I just replaced my B6 Bilsteins with 1LE shocks, I couldn't afford to buy the bilsteins at this time. B6 are a lot, a lot, smoother. I prefer the stiffness of the 1LE. I have heard the bang, but I can live with it for $75 a strut compared to the $212 per B6 strut. __________________ SOLD: 2010 2SS/RS L99-A6 K&N CAI, Speed Engineering Long Tube Headers, Stainless Works hi-flow cats, Flowmaster American Thunder Cat-back. Tuned by Corvettes of Westchester. 1/LE rear suspension conversion, Bilstein B6 Stuts/shocks.

04-02-2020, 05:15 PM	#20
GONIF Drives: 73 VETTE ,, 05 2500hd diesel,14 1LE Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The Left lane PHOENIX AZ Posts: 2,626	Been a GM customer for many years and have owned 10 Camaro's over the years .First was a 69 Z28 . Owned a new 87 IROC and an 87 Mustang GT at the same time . The IROC was mine and the Mustang GT was my 2nd wife's. Even though the IROC was a 350 auto , it was no better that the Mustang GT with a 5 speed . The IROC looked better for sure ,but performance wise they were about equal . Not planning on going over to the dark side ,but really dissapointed with the bad strut bang at under 15000 miles on a meticulous maintained car . Totally un acceptable IMHO. __________________ OLD GUY FLYING FAST AND LOW

04-02-2020, 09:12 PM	#21
LCPLPunk USA-1 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS L99 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Near DC Posts: 1,893 View My Garage	This bang is really interesting. I installed some used 1LE shocks/struts on my SS awhile back and initially I had no bangs. I tore them back apart about a month later to put new donut isolator things in and then for a few months later the bang occurred. I'd say I haven't heard the bang now though in definitely over a year. I'm not sure what happened, but I just don't hear it. __________________ "A Camaro in the garage is safe, but that's not what Camaros are built for..." R2C CAI / Apex Scoop / VMAX Ported TB / Speed Engineering LTHs / X-pipe / GPI port/rod-mod intake manifold / Circle D 3200 278mm Converter / 3.91 gears / DynoSteve tuned / 1LE Shocks/Struts/Toe Links / ZL1 Rear Sway Bar / Z/28 Trailing arms / Prothane Radius Arm & Subframe Bushings / BMR UCA Bracket, Steering rack bushing / B&M Tranny Cooler / RX Catch Can / Jannetty Tranny Dipstick / 2012+ Heater Hose / 2013+ Rearview Mirror / Fuel rail flip / Drake shifter / Oil Cooler Delete

04-05-2020, 09:07 AM	#24
LCPLPunk USA-1 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS L99 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Near DC Posts: 1,893 View My Garage	It was designed that way...seriously, do a search on it. __________________ "A Camaro in the garage is safe, but that's not what Camaros are built for..." R2C CAI / Apex Scoop / VMAX Ported TB / Speed Engineering LTHs / X-pipe / GPI port/rod-mod intake manifold / Circle D 3200 278mm Converter / 3.91 gears / DynoSteve tuned / 1LE Shocks/Struts/Toe Links / ZL1 Rear Sway Bar / Z/28 Trailing arms / Prothane Radius Arm & Subframe Bushings / BMR UCA Bracket, Steering rack bushing / B&M Tranny Cooler / RX Catch Can / Jannetty Tranny Dipstick / 2012+ Heater Hose / 2013+ Rearview Mirror / Fuel rail flip / Drake shifter / Oil Cooler Delete

04-05-2020, 02:03 AM	#23
'10CamaroDude Account Suspended Drives: 2010 Camaro LS Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Pgh Posts: 739 View My Garage	They also knock because, if you look at your strut tower washer, the dished washer, there is a gap under it. It does not sit flush with the top of the strut tower. So, when the suspension bottoms out, the strut pulls downward, and the washer makes contact with the metal of the strut tower. When it goes back up, the strut mount makes contact with the under side of the strut tower. I noticed the same thing on an HHR I had. I thought the struts were just bashed up good, but when I saw the same thing/design in the camaro, I was like, WHAT? I put new struts in on the 4th, and still have the gap. The bottom of the dished washer tightens right up against the rod retainer nut for the strut mount. The whole thing moves up and down on bad roads, so it knocks. I am going to experiment, and turn the washers upside down, domed. The struts go into a socket, as deep as the strut mount, so there is never any lateral movement. They are nothing like the struts with the studs that go through the corresponding holes in the tower for bolt in. This has one huge hole, with a dished washer that does NOT secure the strut from vertical movement. I want to know what kind of a design this is, that allows the entire strut to move downward if the suspension should bottom out in a hole, or a deep enough dip on one side of the car...

04-15-2020, 10:28 PM	#25
Tmcgee2010 Drives: 2014 SS 1LE Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Crosby Posts: 35	which B6 shocks are you referring to for 212$ I put some in my amazon cart a while back after hearing they eliminate the pop over bumps but they are only around 140$ each. PN-Bilstein 24-222976 Shock Absorber says its a factory replacement for my 14 1le I'm guessing I'm looking at the wrong ones? nvm just realized I added the rears to my cart (glad I didn't order yet) found the front for 250 each. ouch __________________ 2014 1LE cold air inductions kooks BTR stage 4 UDP GPI ported Tb & manifold 491whp pump 510whp E85 715 whp RCSB silverado for the straight line stuff Last edited by Tmcgee2010; 04-15-2020 at 11:10 PM.

04-25-2020, 03:15 PM	#27
ThisGuyDrives Drives: 2014 Ashen Grey Metallic 1LE/1SS/RS Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Tucson Posts: 116	I don't even understand what the hell you people are talking about. My 2014 has 40,000 miles and yet, still going strong. Guess it's just me. __________________ Cold Air Inductions Intake SPEC Stage 1 Clutch BMR 1.4" Springs Borla ATAK Catback Exhaust Kooks 1 7/8" LT Headers w/ HF Cats Last dyno tune was with just intake and catback exhaust did a 401/379.

04-25-2020, 04:53 PM	#28
'10CamaroDude Account Suspended Drives: 2010 Camaro LS Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Pgh Posts: 739 View My Garage	I just put NEW struts on, and that knock came back within three weeks. I do not think it is the struts design, it's how they're mounted in the vehicle. IT can also be sway bar bushings, or end links. They were also quick-struts but I have a set of 2 mile SS ones I can put on, but I do not want to do the spring swap thing, so I will just sell them. These struts do not bolt to the tower like most cars. They go up into a socket, and only the weight of the car keeps them up in the socket. The plate on top, keeps them from puling all the way out on potholes. When the car is on the ground, there is a gap between the plate and the top of the tower. When I rack the car, the strut is pulled down, and that plate is now on the top of the strut tower. That's why there is a rubber strip around the plate, so you don't get metal to metal contact when the strut is pulled down. I bet that, if you could retrofit it with the regular bolt in struts, that noise would be gone.