Dumb Question Thread - No Flaming Allowed

[Flow]

If it's an oiled filled strut it's normal.
The strut is just there to damp the spring.

[Slideways]

Yeah, thats unfortunate as they are new, but shit happens, hopefully they have some working units in stock.

I really thought they were bad after test fitting a camber plate and just the weight of that almost fully compressed the struts.

Edit: After an email with TCK they say this is normal as the front struts are not filled with gas and therefore will not rebound, as long as there is resistance when pulling the strut back up, all is well.

I believe them, but a strut that doesnt rebound..? Whats the point, its all spring then.

Factory damper with 120k, new KW, and new Ohlins all went back to their full length after compressing them. Rear factory dampers with 120k did not and were put in the bin.

Tested a set of used TCK SAs that a friend was looking to buy and the rears would not rebound. Fronts had springs installed and could not be tested.

Edit: Non-gas filled struts can do this apparently, so I guess TCKs don't have a gas charge.

[maupineda]

Factory damper with 120k, new KW, and new Ohlins all went back to their full length after compressing them. Rear factory dampers with 120k did not and were put in the bin.

Tested a set of used TCK SAs that a friend was looking to buy and the rears would not rebound. Fronts had springs installed and could not be tested.

Edit: Non-gas filled struts can do this apparently, so I guess TCKs don't have a gas charge.

That is not encouraging either, how are the preventing foaming under high speed damping? That is the main reason of gas filling.

[Slideways]

That is not encouraging either, how are the preventing foaming under high speed damping? That is the main reason of gas filling.

Yes, that was my question as well. I recently watched a few videos showing the difference between monotube and twin tube dampers:

In the video above, it appears that the piston/shaft in the twin tube is rebounding back to its initial position.

[IamFODI]

That is not encouraging either, how are the preventing foaming under high speed damping? That is the main reason of gas filling.

Seems like valve design can reduce foaming, and I know oil formulation can. But yeah, nothing prevents it like gas pressure.

I've seen the odd brand new damper without enough gas pressure to cause the piston to return. E.g., rear Konis for... I think a MkIV Jetta back in the day? AFAIK it's not that they prevent foaming some other way; it's that someone thought foaming wasn't worth worrying about in that application.

[Tbonem3]

Rebound is the resistance you feel when pulling the collapsed strut shaft out of its body. Rebound is not the apparent power the damper has to push the shaft out.

[davidinnyc]

Is this too much exhaust leak coming from the exhaust head outlets? I pulled gaskets off (they had about 6 months of use) and this was the result from banks 1, 2 and 4. Did I not tighten the nuts down enough? Maybe - was hard to torque everything down.





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[Tbonem3]

I've never seen such marks in all the dozen+ header jobs I've done, only much more minor if anything. Maybe the flanges weren't very straight either, not just loose nuts.

[Slideways]

Is this too much exhaust leak coming from the exhaust head outlets? I pulled gaskets off (they had about 6 months of use) and this was the result from banks 1, 2 and 4. Did I not tighten the nuts down enough? Maybe - was hard to torque everything down.





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Hand tight can create an exhaust leak. To fully crush the gasket and create a good seal, it needs to be torqued down.

1/4" Torque wrench and a small extension can get all the bolts from the top.

[Nate047]

What’s the shelf life of coolant:

A: in an unopened container stored in the garage
B: diluted 50/50 with distilled water and stored in a big jug in the garage

[davidinnyc]

What is the exhaust manifold stud torque spec? Was contemplating the extended N54 bolts, but couldn’t find the torque setting in that giant torque spec PDF.

[jayjaya29]

The torque on the stud isnt probably very high, it will be the torque on the nut that applies the clamping force to the head. Even if the stud was threaded in hand tight, it would still provide adequate clamping force.

[Cubieman]

On a side note, if you are using SSV1's I would skip the n54 studs, they are much longer and make lining up the header flanges a pain as they get crammed between the now longer studs/frame rail area.

I got my SSV1'S just after they had some bad batches with misaligned flanges, mine seemed to be straight but maybe not completely so maybe that was my hangup. I actually had to ever so slightly enlarge a few of the flange holes to get them to install

Euro headers etc. should be no problem.

Also, I feel bad that I put N54 parts on my S54, yuck.

[Keith_MN]

Nearing winter storage time and getting a plan together. I don't have much experience on the coding/tuning side of things so wanted to put this out there for the group.

On the '25-26 winter list:
Rod Bearings
SMG>Manual swap
Euro headers & section 1

Sometime slightly later:
Karbonius airbox

Does it make any difference the order of upgrades or amount of changes as it relates to the DME? For now, I think I'm planning on doing the three things listed, then getting the DME reflashed for the manual swap and a canned tune. Then at some later point, do the airbox and finish with a dyno tune. Part of me wants to just do all of it this winter but I generally don't like doing so many changes at once. I have everything on hand minus the airbox, might order that next week.

[Cubieman]

Nearing winter storage time and getting a plan together. I don't have much experience on the coding/tuning side of things so wanted to put this out there for the group.

On the '25-26 winter list:
Rod Bearings
SMG>Manual swap
Euro headers & section 1

Sometime slightly later:
Karbonius airbox

Does it make any difference the order of upgrades or amount of changes as it relates to the DME? For now, I think I'm planning on doing the three things listed, then getting the DME reflashed for the manual swap and a canned tune. Then at some later point, do the airbox and finish with a dyno tune. Part of me wants to just do all of it this winter but I generally don't like doing so many changes at once. I have everything on hand minus the airbox, might order that next week.

If you are the paranoid type (like me) maybe at least do just the RB's and drive it when you can, that way you don't introduce new sounds etc. and think it's something it's not.