Rep Power: 0

Guys,
I stop by my friends' work place at VW dealer and had them air tight my both nuts from tie-rod end to the nut in the middle of the three from the top mount. I also set the preload harder than normal and Mr. Wiggle still hanging around from both side.

Have any one tried to replace the OEM top mount?

 
Rep Power: 0

by using a small impact gun to tighten the nut on the tie-rod end where the cotter pin is located.

when I went to SPW, Byron used an impact gun to tighten the middle nut on the strut top but it didnt eliminate the wiggle. SPW was just shaking their head because they cant seem to find the reason. Then they said the Hayame has bearing on the strut top unlike the solid rubber on OEM. But if that was the reason why this is normal and it should wiggle, how come when the nut by the tie-rod end solved the problem? temporarily.

The wiggle came back after driving to and from San Diego. I felt the steering is a bit loose whenever I hit uneven roads. I decided to check it again out of curiosity...freeway driving is fine.


In my case, it wasnt the top strut since it was solved by just tightening the tie-rod nuts. But like I said, the wiggle came back after 300+miles.

 
Rep Power: 0

Take a look at the middle nut on the strut top when you move your wheel. It was moving together when I wiggle my wheel .

Not only the wiggle anoying but the thud noise too. It feels like something lossing from the strut .

 
Rep Power: 0

Trust me, I was a SPW Industries warehouse and they did everything they could but didnt have any solution to the problem. Until the alignment shop tightened the tie-rod nut.

 
Rep Power: 417

If it was the tie rod nut, shouldnt you be able to see that there's play there when you move it? i really dont think thats it

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, the OEM suspension has about 10-15 degree angle bent from the top mount if you all can take a look at it again. Hayame don't have that angle from there suspension. Therefore, hayame suspension has to fight with all that weight from one angle of the bearing. It is just my theory.

My tie rod nut is way too tight right now because I used the big air gun to tight that tihs . The big nut between the three nuts on top mount is really tight and we broke the hex key when trying to tight the other side .

This damn wiggle giving me ahead

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah, I can see the play. And how are you going to explain when the shop was able to fix it when he tightened the tie-rod nut???

on the wiggle.

I need to get rid of this hayame before I make another trip. This time, from LA to San Francisco.

 
Rep Power: 0

how do you find a the wiggle? i have them and as far as i know i don't have any problems.......o i live in san fran.....and i ve been driving on those shitty roads i dont think i have any problems i had like some loose thud thud sounds and the guy tighten the middle not at the top for the strut. and i don't hear it anymore...

 
Rep Power: 0

Again, here's what you do to check if there's any wiggle. Have one of the side jacked up and position your hands as oulined below.

front Passenger side:
1 o'clock and 7 o'clock. You can also push against the sidewall of the tires on the 1 o'clock to see if its loose.

front driver side:
11 o'clock and 5 o'clock. You can also push against the sidewall of the tires the 11 o'clock to see if its loose.

 
Rep Power: 0

What would be the problem when you get the thud noise?

 
Rep Power: 369

Well, had the car up today and no wiggle. Yay.

 
Rep Power: 0

Well I just got my Hayames installed lastnight after recieving the new lower collars for my fronts. I got everything on, adjusted the height properly and took it to a local tuner shop to get it aligned, they wouldnt align it because there was so much play on my front left wheel. The front right has slight play, but very minimal compared to the left side. He said it's pointless to do the alignment because the minute they align it and i drive it off the lot it'll be all messed up. So he didn't do it. We took off the wheel and torqued everything down with an impact rench. We torqued the tie rod nut, the 2 large strut bolts. Than we opened up the hood and tightened down the 3 nuts that hold the strut into the hat and we torqued the middle nut on the top of the strut. Still has way to much play in the wheel. When we have it lifted off the ground, we grab the tire any which way and move it left to right and it moves a ton. We than noticed that the shaft inside the strut is loose. When we move the tire left and right, we can see the center of the strut bulge out towards us under that black boot inside the spring area. He said the parts must be defective. The company i took my ride to specializes in aligning lowered cars. It would be pointless to re-seat the strut in the hat, because we can physicall see the strut bulge out towards us under the boot. I wonder if thats the same issue the rest of you are having with the wiggle in the front. I have the car to the perfect height. It look sick and has very little bounce, i just wish they would work and i would be done. I have no wheel gap all around the car. I think i might send them back now, i waited a month and a half for the new bottom collars for the front struts to be sent to me, because i was told to drill out the tie rod hole and that removed the taper, well i have the new ones in, they resolved the issue with the strut bolt and drilled that out correctly to the correct size. IT was completely plug and play with my '04 civic, but it's super loose in the strut.

grrr

 
Rep Power: 0

IMO...

V2s are crap. This is a very serious issue.

I would definintely believe if they're made in China instead of Japan.

 
Rep Power: 0

mine are perfect, just wish the noise would go away in the left rear. dont know what it is.

 
Rep Power: 369

I have it from a reliable source that the parts are made in China. He speculated that they're assembled in Japan.

 
Rep Power: 419

That's the exact same issue I'm having. I think I have a solution for this problem, but it's involved. Find a ring of metal that can fit into the strut from the bottom and wedge it into place to "lock" the strut in place. I have to see if maybe it's possible to buy something off of McMaster.com that can wedge in place and maybe expand to lock in place. I can imagine how something like that would look like, so it is possible to create something like that.

So... You guys want to know what the problem is? It's too little threads drilled out of that strut body. The top of the assembly has a chance to wiggle within the lower assembly. One thing is true though, the lower you go, the smaller the problem should be. Wow, this sucks. Terrible oversight IMO. So... Another locking ring might help, but it's not the right solution.

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, that answers a lot.

If they were gonna be that shady about it, they might as well have said on the stickers, "Made In Asia".

Designed in the U.S. (supposedly SPW claims this)
Manufactured in China
Assembled in Japan (at Tokico's convenience perhaps)
Distributed in the U.S. (I wonder if these are sold in Japan?)

Although I understand a lot of this kind of business occurs within the aftermarket, it makes me realize you really have to choose your parts carefully and not jump on the "JDM" bandwagon. I'm sure that "Made In Japan" sticker, and giving it a Japanese name reels in a lot of people who believe in Japanese quality products. Come to think of it, SPW claimed that they were responsible for the design, but I just think they said that to cover up the truth so that the real history on how these things are made stays shadowed.

No wonder the deal is $650. It's made to sound almost too good to be true. If selling them for $650 would pay back the cost of constructing them, instead of selling them closer to their retail price ($999.99 for V1s, now $1,099.99 for V2s)... uh huh.

I'm not sure what prompted SPW/Hayame to alter the design and make these Version 2s, but their efforts put into designing them made them proved just how cheap these true coilovers truly are.

Hayame.