Vendor Model 3 Öhlins DFV Coilovers - Engineered by Redwood Motorsports ™

[dsgerbc]

Hi folks and redwood
I got AWD GT coils

Recently I got sound from rear. Recorded sound see attached.

First look show its somewhere on top hat or rear suspension (redwood unit)

We decided to change it from right to left, and sound moved as well.

So obviously its top hat (oem) or your unit.
Any help?

We planned try to replace both rear absorber/damper back to oem, so to determine is that top hat or rear absorber/damper.

Did you send that clip to RW? Their service response time must've improved by now...

If that's happening (or the most audible) at low speed/rough-ish road, then in sounds like the rear spherical bushing/bearing binding, where the shock mounts to the suspension arm. A few of us early adopters had it. If you have the metal rear bushing version then spray some lubricant in there to see if it quiets it down for a day or two.


If you have the rubber bushing version, it's possible that the tophat is loose.

 

[ZeusF1]

Did you send that clip to RW? Their service response time must've improved by now...

If that's happening (or the most audible) at low speed/rough-ish road, then in sounds like the rear spherical bushing/bearing binding, where the shock mounts to the suspension arm. A few of us early adopters had it. If you have the metal rear bushing version then spray some lubricant in there to see if it quiets it down for a day or two.


If you have the rubber bushing version, it's possible that the tophat is loose.

Yeah clip sent to them.

Clip recorder on low under 20mph mostly, with child in trunk
Noise happens on any non ideal road, mostly all time, except totally newly made roads.
Sound present on any city legal speeds upto 100kph
Will disassemble and make a video.

 

[dsgerbc]

Yeah clip sent to them.

Clip recorder on low under 20mph mostly, with child in trunk
Noise happens on any non ideal road, mostly all time, except totally newly made roads.
Sound present on any city legal speeds upto 100kph
Will disassemble and make a video.

Try spraying some lubricant in there before spending time/money on disassembly. It's cheap diagnostics. My rear metal bushings were binding like crazy and making the same noise, but everything looked good in visual inspections.

You can safely throw OEM dampers back on for diagnostics. You'll be somewhat underdamped in the rear, so don't drive it like you stole it.

 

[ZeusF1]

Replaced right rear absorber to OEM (keep same tophat)
Knocking sound disappeared.
Here are photos and video mount on tophat

Now in trunk it looks like I got much less noise from right (OEM) absorber in general, then from left (Redwood).

Hope photos and video help it any way.

IMO way to much

Plan:
I will drive few days in this setup, than I guess will try to replace second read absorber to OEM
and after another few days
And then both back to Redwood to feel difference

Looks pretty "rusty" and its not even after 1year...and less 10k km

@dsgerbc
What exactly to lub? rubber limiter between absorber and tophat? or tophat plastics?

 

[dsgerbc]

What exactly to lub? rubber limiter between absorber and tophat? or tophat plastics?

See the quote below:

the rear spherical bushing/bearing binding, where the shock mounts to the suspension arm. A few of us early adopters had it. If you have the metal rear bushing version then spray some lubricant in there to see if it quiets it down for a day or two.

Judging by metal sleeves in your pics, you have a spherical bearing lower mount, and I'd bet you have the same problem as I mentioned above - spherical bearing binding.
You spray lubricant onto the spherical bearing - the bolt hole at the bottom of the shock where it mounts to the suspension arm.

That is diagnostics. After that you can either wait for 5k miles to see if the spherical bearing wears in and the noise eventually goes away, request a replacement pre-broken-in rear set from RW, or pay to upgrade to rubber rear mounts.

Personally, I wouldn't drive with mismatched left/right rear shocks for too long...

 

[RedwoodMotors]

Yeah clip sent to them.

Clip recorder on low under 20mph mostly, with child in trunk
Noise happens on any non ideal road, mostly all time, except totally newly made roads.
Sound present on any city legal speeds upto 100kph
Will disassemble and make a video.

Hey Zeuz,
I just sent over an email to you yesterday. Do you have the V1 or V2 lower damper mount (looks like spherical based on the spacers)? I'm surprised to see the rust you're exhibiting so soon... first we've seen with rust, but the v1 spherical spacers are Zinc plated. Our new V2 lower damper adjuster (that is the low NVH rubber-bushing version with the new adjuster mechanism) has a Nickel plated lower.

For anyone interested, the spherical are still available for track applications, but we have introduced the new V2 Rubber-Bushing version and new style adjuster. These can be upgraded from v1, but, we'd need you to send your rear shocks in to do the upgrade (or send to a local authorized Redwood service center). I can set you up with someone in Europe if you do not want to send them all the way back to the states. While a spherical performs best, as the bearings can get sticky over time (or when new and not broken in) a spherical can start to make noise over time - and while the performance is better the Tesla rear shock towers transfer a ton of noise to the cabin... so the sound is amplified - usually heard over broken pavement at slower speeds only - but can be annoying.

We can help v1 customers upgrade to the new v2 design - if you're a v1 customer looking to upgrade please email [email protected] . We're happy to send new V1 lower spacers for free, but if you do decide to move to the v2, the new spacers have a tougher plating (Nickle) instead of the standard Zinc - which will do better in your harsh climate.

Getting your noises and any issues that our customers have resolved is a top priority for us - for the life of our products! Please feel free to reach out via email or phone (calls or text message) 510-402-6222 Thank you for your patience, we'll get you sorted.