Trainingdragon

Ok lets open it up. I have an 06 Civic EX Coupe. Aftermarket wheels but same heights as stock. Car is basically stock. I have about 85k miles on the car. Hearing a clunk in front passenger side over bumps so just thinking about replacing struts, maybe springs, bump stop etc.

I drive the car every day and don't race. I would to keep a nice smooth ride, don't want to lower the car but wouldn't mind a little stiffer around corners.

For the front, maybe a kit the has the strut and spring already built ready to install??

Not looking to break the bank.

So far, one suggestion was to keep replace with stock. Looking for more thoughts.

Ok let er rip.

Suggestions.........................

Gunner

For what you are looking for i would just get the HFP(honda factory performance) suspension kit...it will drop the car less than an inch(barly noticable) and will give you the performance you are looking for. cost as little as 250 on ebay or around 400 from honda. Includes the shocks struts and springs..should be plug and play for an EX

ezone

Plus the 4 wheel alignment.

Gunner

Ahh yes that is very important..thanks E..sometimes I take for granted what is and is not obvious.

ezone

Me too.

Trainingdragon

Sounds like pretty good advice. Thanks guys. Even though aftermarket can be fun and "can" make improvements, there's nothing like parts that were designed by the factory for the car. I wasn't sure if HFP was worth the money or if it was just hipe and possibly a cheap knockoff for a performance upgrade.

OH btw. I stopped off at Honda today to inquire about the TSBs that relate to the clunking noise on the car. I gave the TSB #s to the guy and asked if he could give me info about them and let me know if my VIN was a part of it. He was soooo reluctant to help and lectured me about how the car needs to be inspected by a tech and that the TSBs really mean nothing until that takes place and how Honda is also a customer to him. I told him that I really just wanted to know what they said and that I wasn't looking for a claim. He and I argued until I reminded him that I am a customer and I can certainly take my car and all future business elsewhere. With attitude, he reviewed the bulletins with me. What the heck. He suggested I stay off the forums. He feels that the forums just pass around bad info. I think he needs a new job. These forum are for enthusiasts and people who take care of each other by passing around valuable info.

ezone

HFP (Honda Factory Performance) IS factory parts. A little lower and a little stiffer than stock. Very streetable.
Relatively easy to do, it's all bolt on stuff....except the alignment. Average Joe can't do a good alignment in his garage at home.


My humble thoughts on the TSB and your dealer visit:

Yes, even if a TSB addresses a problem, it SHOULD be diagnosed and verified before just slapping parts on just because the bulletin sez so (there are cases where this might be appropriate though, but this probably isn't one of them). Unless you are a professional tech, you may not be able to tell subtle differences between problems or causes. (Even "pros" don't always get it right every time too.)
Example, and this is just made up: Like just because a TSB might be issued for a misfire code that says replace a sparkplug, that doesn't mean that all misfires must be caused by said sparkplug... Get it? Needs checked out to verify that is the cause. There are probably 20 other possible causes of a misfire besides a sparkplug. (Also related: AutoZone diagnosis: Sell sparkplugs for all misfire codes!)
Your suspension noise could easily be caused by 20 other things besides the bumpstopper. See? A TSB is not a diagnosis.

There is a huge difference between asking for a copy or a look at a TSB, and second-guessing a tech that made a true diagnosis on your actual car, and your guess is based only on your non-professional second-hand hearsay from some damned forum geeks on the intarwebz. (Also see other paragraph below...)
Some of us egotistical, closed minded, primadonna techs have a problem with that.
We can never admit fault nor be wrong (like the pointy haired boss in the Dilbert cartoons).

That said, I normally have absolutely no problem showing someone what the diagnosis or broken or bad part is, or how I arrived at such a conclusion, as long as they are reasonably technically minded and can follow along. It is very difficult for me to take something that is "high tech" and just "dumb it down" for the non-technical minded. (That's the service advisers' job.) (Kinda like someone explaining cooking to me, I just don't get it a lot of times. Isn't EVERYTHING microwaveable?)
I don't have all day to explain how a clock works in order to tell you what time it is. I have very little patience during the work day.

I can see the advisers' point too, the bulletins are for techs, not the consumer. But IMHO, it's good customer relations to let you look. If your car fits the TSB, you are going to buy the parts from them, right? It's still a cash sale, even if the money doesn't go to the service department.
Try at the parts department window next time? I guess it depends on the employees attitudes, no matter what.

I seriously hate it when customers (or advisers/managers) that have absolutely no mechanical or electronic or even general car knowledge tries to second-guess me or override my decisions without discussion and behind my back....
HOWEVER....Many of the people in many of the forums have great info about stuff that we techs don't necessarily get to see or experience on a daily basis: real world stuff, regional issues, racing, swaps, mods, part interchanges or upgrades, etc. Factory info doesn't always address all possibilities at all times. We can't possibly know or experience everything in the shop.
More than once there have been customers that received better info or different ideas or knew about stuff we normally don't, and I DO appreciate it (as long as it is better than my ideas, LOL).

Kinda like the wiper switch upgrade another thread asked about the other day https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...r-control.html . I had no idea the ex wiper switch would work on an LX/DX if one just ran an extra wire from here to there, there is no good info that I found on the Honda site about compatibility or changing features like that. Good info. I learned something. Thanks to CraigW for that!

/barely proofread.

ezone

This mornings case in point:
06 Odyssey van.
Work order says customer feels a judder accelerating from 35 mph.
"Judder" is a word pulled right out of the bulletin for the TCC shudder and shake issues that started with Odyssey vans. Either this customer has been reading about issues on the web, or the ticket writer just felt the need to describe the concern in HIS own unknowing words. I was handed the ticket and told it's a trans reflash type "judder" (there's that word again....). I can't know what the customer REALLY said, all I have is a work order that isn't quite accurate, and I'm guessing that since so many have an issue with one thing, that all of them must have the same issue. Aggravating.

I drive the van, it has a damned wheel bearing howling. Gets loud at 35 on up. Feel it in the floor and the steering wheel.
Who thinks the reflash can fix this?
TSB does not apply, no matter how much anyone wants it to.

/rant

Gunner

LOL..I agree mechanics dont always have it easy...Not sure how that became conisdered a judder...Hey whats it mean if my car has a...

squeak, howl,creek,pssstt,pop,knock,tap,rap,flapping,kinda this whoo whoo sound..hehe..

ezone

Put the keys down, step away from the crack pipe. Or find a dealer with better quality crack. You got ripped off.

{rant}
Seriously, and I cannot pound this into the heads of the ticket writers, there are seven simple words that can take care of most miscommunications: "CAN YOU SHOW ME WHAT YOU MEAN?" That saves amazing amounts of grief on my end, and would greatly increase customer satisfaction. (Nooooo, we can't have THAT, can we?)

The car could be FULL of rattles and noises, but which one is the driver concerned with? I sure can't tell which noise is the new one. Likewise for a new car, dead silence. I could go deaf waiting for some strange noise that nobody has heard but the driver. Waste of time in the majority of cases.

I actually had a farmer complain of a noise on bumps in a 4wd Ranger.........Test drive, nothing. Railroad tracks, quiet......after PRYING more info from him, it was revealed that it only made noise when he was going across his plowed field at 30+ mph.......****ing facepalm.

You got any idea how much valuable time is wasted like this?

{/rant}

Gunner

I can imagine..Lack of comunication is a huge issue in the military too..drives me nuts, i hate wasting time and usually it leads to rework..I HATE rework...

Gunner

OP..sorry if it seems we thread jacked you. LOL.. HFP is your best bet to do it right..

Trainingdragon

LOL. Well yes you guys definately went off track on this one. But it was fun to read about. I imagine that dealer techs do get their share of weird issues. I completely respect your position in that it's your job to diagnose a problem and fix it and having some weekend warrior so-called know it all come in and try to tell you your job and how to do it would definately irrate me if it was me. In fact I have that now but it's not related to the auto industry. Nevertheless same issue, a customer is challenging something that we do and how much we charge to do it. It's my job to explain in a way that keeps him happy and keeps my company whole. Can be a tough spot.

Back to my item, thanks for all the input. I'm leaning in the direction of the HFP kit for my car. I saw it on Ebay for $275 plus shipping. It's full front strut assemblies and rear shocks and springs. Should the kit include anything else?? How can I verify that it's a true factory kit. I have the part number. Can anyone verify it? Part no. 08W60-SVA-100

Thoughts?

I have 85k miles on the car. I imagine the struts/shocks might be a little tired??

ezone

The issue can't be only in this industry, it's gotta be everywhere.

I don't have diplomatic skills for dealing with it in a calm and rational manner most days.




I can't find it in the catalog, but the part # matches the install instructions # for 2 door EX and LX.

Should contain L&R frt struts, 2 rear shocks, 2 rear springs, pile of nuts and bolts, user info sheet.
No installation instructions.
That's a good price, close to 1/3 of retail new.

Trainingdragon

ezone, you kind of crack me up. Hey you're the mechanic right? It's the Service Writers job to massage the customer not yours. However, on the other hand just a thought. I'm in a different field the but the concept is similar. I was a design engineer for 20 years and now I supervise a team of 10 engineers that feel like you do. If the customer doesn't like it then screw em. Talk to my supervisor. Well uh, I am that supervisor now. So hey, patience is a really good skill to develop. Here's what I do; I put myself in their shoes and realize they are my customers. Without them, I wouldn't have a job. So massaging them becomes more important. Just an FYI.

Hey as for the part, it sounds like the right kit then. From what I can see, the front strut comes as an assembly so no need to pull parts off my old stuff and replace ( like bump stop etc. ). Sound about right to you? Oh, one more thing, do you know where I can get torque specs for the bolts?

Hey you've been a big help and rather entertaining. Thanks.

Gunner

here you go have fun..

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/2...ml#post4582775

ezone

Yeah, that's me. I've mellowed a little in the last few years, and since I quit drinking 3 years ago I developed a 3 second filter that makes me think briefly about something before I say it...but sometimes I still have offensive crap fall out of my mouth. I was never a real hothead, but I could run my mouth. And want to fling poo like a chimp. LOL.

I've discussed this phenomenon with my dad, he's an engineer too (retired). He gave me insight to this that totally made sense to me. It's easy to get like-minded people to agree, I just couldn't see the other half of that coin. IDK why I couldn't see that before.

If the seller is from a dealer, see if they will include a copy of the install instructions. Torque specs are in there, along with new alignment specs. Or just ask your dealer to print them for you.

Front struts are complete units. Just R&R, no teardown.

Trainingdragon

ezone - again many thanks. You're a crackup, quick witted and very helpful. Wish you worked at my dealer.