damn, I got bad luck. After installing the comptech springs at a local shop, there was a pinging noise every once and a while, nothing serious. I was told by numerous people that it may ben the lack of isolaters between the front spring coils(rubber sleaves). Today I looked at my driveway and saw oil spots! under further investigation I found that the rear left shock had ruptured and leaked out all the oil all over the suspension components and on the floor. Obviously the dealer didn't cover it since the work was done at another shop and I'm affraid to take it back to that original shop and allow further damage even though he is liable. It cost $220 at the dealer to change one shock, double what it cost to change 4 springs at the local shop. has anybody had to change their shocks after comptech springs this early( only one week)? Springs suck monkey balls...

 

Whoa.... that sucks.... I was thinking 'bout getting the Comptech's.... were you using stock shocks?.... do you think it was the springs that made your shock rupture or the shop that put them in....

daym.... sorry to hear that......

 

Take it back to the place that put them on........BE PROFESSIONAL ABOUT IT.........and BITCH. Most shops warranty thier work.

 

I had a Acura dealership install my Comptech Springs six months ago. I have had zero problems with them!!! I think the install shop that installed your spring made an error in the installation of that spring. You should call them and talk to them about it. They should be willing to refund part of the installation cost!!

That is just my thoughts!!

 

There are members here with 30,000 plus miles on Comptech’s w/stock shocks.
I did LOTS of research on this before I had my car done.

Shawn S

 

That's a terrible choice of words. There is no "THE PROBLEM". There is no mysterious surprise waiting for you that we are all hiding. There is nothing wrong with Comptech springs. Obviously whoever installed yours did a crappy job and/or you had a faulty strut. (I still bet it was something the installer did that ruined it.)

 

is stock shocks bad with coilovers? how is the ride with comptech?

 

There were a lot of 1st gens running Eibach pro-kits with the stock struts that ran into the same problem. They blew out almost immediately. I didn't have this problem. I got lucky, I guess. It's just the lowered spring with the stock strut. Besides extra handling, that's why so many people upgrade struts w/ springs. It would be hard for a shop to screw up a strut. One good bump could have blew that baby out.

Time for some Koni Yellows

 

you know the smartest thing you could have done was change out both the spring and the shock at the same time. I lowered my car myself. Its not that hard to change out the shocks yourself.

 

when I said problem, i meant the problem "I" was having with the comptech springs in my previous thread about the noises, unfortunately the subject box is too small to explain everything, that is why I clarified with the message I wrote. All the mechanics I spoke to said that shocks will need to be replaced with the springs when lowering. I told them that comptech claims that you don't have to, then they said a bad pothole or bump can increase your chances of poping a strut. I save enough money to pay for the strut replacement and not feel bad, but I learned a valuble lesson: "You get what you payed for"

 

I've had mine for 20,000 miles and still on the same shocks... still rides SOFT!

 

True coilovers come as a unit. The shock (strut) is an integral part of the unit and is made specifically for the spring rate and application. You might be thinking of a coil over sleeves which are adjustable sleeves that fit over a normal type struts. They typically comes with a much shorter (and therefore much stiffer spring). The problem is that even the sleeve type (as I had on my Honda which had 340 lb spring rate vs. 190 stock) are much stiffer than stock springs and therefore the chance of rupturing a stock strut is very good. If it didn't rupture, your ride would suffer as a really stiff spring is not meant to work with a normal strut that can't manage the extra forces put upon it. For sleeve-types, it's usually recommended to go with a Koni, KYB, Bilstein Sport or some other brand of "short" strut that will work in a lowered car.

End of "Coil-over 101" for today, class.

 

I have had my comptechs for 20k miles and they are fine. The car is a bit bouncy but I also have 19s so I feel everything. I doub't the springs had anything to do with it.

 

The installer could have damaged the strut (as other's have pointed out). However, there is no good reason for doing this (other than accident, misshap, or stupidity).

I'd have to look at the Acura warranty again regarding the policy on "shocks", but I would hope that they clarified and at least showed you "why" they decided to charge you for the replacement shock.

The easy course is to "just charge you".

Did they give you an explanation and rationale for charging you for the replacement?

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AS a note, its just an opinion and some thoughts I've been having, but I wonder if someone at "Energy Suspension" could make a revised bump stop to "compensate" for any end-of-stroke issues with the stock (and or other shocks) used with the Comptech springs. There is a good chance that a different energy absorbing design (with a big longer stop) could help keep any wheel rubbing issues to a minimum and also prevent any inside the wheel rub issues from occurring from with larger rims/tires and the Comptech springs.

link: http://www.energysuspension.com/prod3.html

"Bump stops help cushion a collapsing or bottoming-out suspension, preventing expensive damage"

 

Ah okay, gotcha.

Btw I just remembered something - I had a front ball-joint replaced a few thousand miles after my comptech springs/sways were installed. I wonder if it couldn't handle whatever stress from camber was created by the lowering springs....

Interesting.

Anyway those will be replaced with camber kits (adjustable balljoints in the front) as soon as I get these kits installed.