Mine tended to rub way up high at the top of the strut so look carefully all the way up. Also, my top nut torqued up on the strut but was actually not down all the way so the spring was loose and clunked. I had to take the strut back apart to find out that the strut threads were slightly damaged causing the nut to torque up prematurely. I had to cleanup the threads and it then torqued down properly. So, just because the nut torques down does not mean that the nut went down far enough on the strut to properly hold the spring.

 

Thanks again for more info! I'm sure this will help resolve the problem quicker!

 

Just came back from BMW, car has been there since Monday. They did as all indicated. The noise is still there, they are quite certain it has to do with the front right spring.

Their questions were.
A) You don't get left/right springs? If so maybe 2 left front springs were sent.
B) Going to see if the front right can be installed upside down.

They also pointed out the gap between the coils on the right is inconsistent with that of the left side of the car. There is around 2 and a bit fingers gap between the coils on front left with the suspension under load, where as the front right suspension has around 3 and a half.

Do you think the front right spring could be faulty?

 

Sounds like you should call TSW about the springs.
It as been awhile since I did my springs but I am pretty sure there is different top and bottom for the front springs and they will not seat correctly in the perch if installed upside-down.
Also, it still could be that the top nut is not screwed down all the way so that the spring is not compressed all the way. Grab the right spring and pull on it to see if it wriggles at all. It should be tight in the perches. You can compare tighness to the left side. You can also look at the top strut nuts to see how far they are screwed down on each strut shaft. There should be about the same amount of threads showing at the top on both sides. If the right has a lot less exposed threads, it is probably loose.

 

The springs are exactly the same, so there is no need for a right/left spring.

They cannot be installed upside down, as the shapes of the windings are specific to the orientation of the spring on the strut.

It is possible that you got a faulty spring. We have had one issue like this before, where the upper coil's material must have been out of spec and caused it to sag a bit more than it should. This caused a "bump" noise. The winding was correct, but it appeared that the material was inconsistent. From your description, it appears that might be the case. Have them inspect the top-most coils on both sides and see if they were making contact - my guess is the one with 2 fingers is the one with the issue (I'm assuming that you got the sides backwards, as there should be more space than 2 fingers). Given the relatively open wind of the springs, there should be plenty of distance between the coils when loaded.

Anyway, we will rush 2 replacement front springs over to you right away! It will go out today via USPS and should arrive quickly...

 

I've been having clunking on the left side since the springs were installed 3 days ago whenever the car is turned left or right, however I believe I need to massage the inner strut tower a little more. This will be done tomorrow, however the springs do ride better and feel much tighter than the OEM setup. I paired the springs with Koni adj. yellows and IE fixed camber plates.

 

I had similar issues with these springs. The inner wall definitely needs to be massaged a lot, but also make sure everything is aligned and torqued properly. Good luck... mine worked out after a couple of reinstalls. Its a pain, but really worth it.

 

We're working on a solution to having to hammer on the strut towers now with our V3 springs. The first set of prototypes didn't come out quite right, so we're having a second set made now. The V3's should alleviate interference issues for those with stock to around -2 degrees of camber, but will likely not completely remove the requirement to clearance if you're chasing something like -2.5. The V3 springs should be fully QA'd, track tested, and production springs in hand by early February.

The biggest thing on the V2 springs is that most people don't do far enough with the first round of hammering... The easiest way to check it is to do some massaging, then install the strut and make sure there's at least a finger gap between the coils and the inside wall of the strut tower. Turn the wheel to full lock in both directions while someone checks for clearance. This will save you from having to install, drive around, pull, hammer, drive around, repeat, etc.

FWIW, the last set we installed with camber plates required us to pull the fronts and do some more massaging after the test drive - doh! See, even we don't go far enough some times...

 

Hello Mike, I want to know have you felt any vibration from the slotted rotor with the JCW brake? because my friend told me I have vibration with the JCW slotted and drilled rotor.

 

pad could have broken up inside the caliper ? disc run out off ?

 

My springs are already on their way - TSW service is beyond anything what I expected! I'm speechless! Thank you all at AutoX and TSW. Wow!!

I'm really crossing fingers this time round.

 

I have no vibration what so ever, it works fine and feels a lot better than before. I think you need to have yours looked at, perhaps the rotor is a "dud" or was dropped somewhere before going onto your car?

 

Is this easy to check? After my TSW springs and shocks (FSD's) were installed, my MCS is sitting noticeably higher than before. It's been more than 200 miles...

Thanks.

 

After "massaging" the strut tower wall, everything is fine, had the car aligned and it's awesome. cheers.
My car has 1.8 degrees negative camber on both sides of the front after being aligned and settling.

 

My springs should arrive in the country on Friday. Then I have to wait for it to clear customs. The soonest I will know is next week! Can't wait!

 

Yup. Jack the car up and move the little rubber boot out of the way on the front struts... Check that they cut the bumpstops according to the directions. If they didn't, you can do it while they're on the car (although it's harder and you need to MAKE SURE you do not nick the shaft of the strut!).

 

What do bumpstops look like? How will I know if they need trimming? I would like to check for myself this time round to be 110% sure.

PS. Springs are not on the local post office's system, but I'm positive I should receive them this week.

 

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...41&hg=31&fg=10

They look like #9 in the picture in this link...

They should have trimmed off about 5/8" - 3/4", which is roughly 15-20mm.

 

I have a similar clunk on my V2 TSW springs (03 MCS) on the passanger side that I can also feel through the entire chassis of the car.

I have replaced the swaybar endlink and outer tie rod end to no avail, I was figuring that the top mount is not fully tightend, but we have retorqued it several times and even tried with an impact.

I was assuming that the top mount maybe got damaged on install or somthing was not seated correctly, it is only on larger bumps that compress the passanger side only, on small bumps there is no noise, it also seems to change in its severity depending on whether there is alot of weight in the car or not (passangers).

Perhaps I should be checking spring clearance to strut tower? I figured I would be ok with stock camber settings, but I am still banking that somthing is not seated properly in the top mount, the issue only developed a few hundred miles after installation.

 

Yes, be sure to check... If you find that you have clearance and that the mounts are all in place, all nuts tightened, etc., please call us right away...

 

That sounds like the EXACT problem I'm having. Please keep me posted if you find a solution. I'll also update with my findings, hopefully it's something that can be resolved soon enough

 

Thanks for the diagram, helps a lot! Do they have to trim off at the top or bottom?

 

We trim the bottom...

 

Thanks, sorry I'm really a noob when it comes to this stuff

 

Is there any way to tighten the top strut bolt without removing the strut assembly from the car? My front passenger side has the same clunk.