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On certain types of bumps, the front end seems to not be able to handle the rebound dampening of the struts. This is purely speculative on my part because I am in no way an expert. But it is the only thing I don't like about my 2006.5 EX v-6 Optima. My first Optima (2006.5 EX 4cyl) made the same exact noise. My friend has a 2006.5 LX v-6 that also does the same thing. Has anybody else noticed this?
Mate, I have a 2.4EXL and I have lowered mine 2.5". I have noticed the same thing on certain bumps. I can hit a series of small bumps and the car has no problem travelling several inches but when you hit a big bump, the suspension seems to struggle. I don't mind, I'm looking for a replacement shock.
If anyone knows of a shortened shock for a 2006 Magentis, I'd appreciate a reply.
i am thinking of lowering mine 1.5", how do you think the ride will be? i am worried about it bottoming out on hard bumps. do you guys think that lowering it with H&R sport springs 1.2"-1.5" and using stock shocks will be ok? the guy that is going to install the springs and do my alignment strongly suggested i didn't do it. please let me know if the car will ride ok. of course he suggested coil overs, but i really don't want to spend 1,800$ on lowering my car, unless i was going to be in some sort of racing circuit. thanks mike foist
Last edited by mikefoist : 04-02-2008 at 11:11 AM.
If there was any guarantee that replacing the struts would eliminate this noise, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I'd hate to do that and find the noise originates from some other part such as a control arm bushing or locating arm or whatever is down there that moves as part of the suspension.
I probably won't be dropping the car so it sits nice. This is my daily driver and when we get snow the bottom of the car already scrapes. But if driving through snowdrifts isn't an issue for you, I think it adds to the wow factor and I would go ahead and get a set .
PISTA, The car is completely standard as we buy it here in Australia. The only mods to the car are the suspension and tints. The weather does vary in in Australia but we enjoy it. From memory, that day was around 32C.
Answering mikefoist with the suspension issue, my wife drives a 2006 KIA Cerato hatch which I also had lowered by 1.5". This runs standard shock absorbers and drives nicely. The springs I bought are from a company called Pedders and I don't regret it at all. The springs are approximately 20% stiffer than factory and the car still has factory bump stops etc. Another manufacturer we use in Australia is King Springs and they use the same stiffness ratio of approx 20%. Late last year, they released a set of springs for the Magentis and that is also 1.5". They do not mention the shocks need to be replaced. Hope that helps.
I have noticed the annoying "clunk" coming from my front suspension as well. I plan to take it to the dealer and at least log a complaint about it and see what they have to say...
I took my 06.5 EX 4 cyl back to the dealer because of this noise. They tightened everything to factory specs, but the noise was still there.
I traded that car in for a 6 cyl EX. Same exact noise. My friend has a 6 cyl LX. Again, same exact noise. Everyone that rides in the car hears it. I talked to a KIA regional customer service guy and he said he has never had a complaint about this noise. I find that hard to believe.
I really like the car in every other way, but the noise almost drove me to sell it. My friend also. The only reason we kept our cars was because the trade-in value was a joke. So now I turn the Infinity sound system up and just keep motoring along...
my friend and I both wanted to sell our cars because of this annoying noise. The dealer went through and rechecked all the fasteners to make sure they were correctly torqued. That did no good, it makes the exact same clunking noise as before.
I think it is something with the suspension design because it is not an isolated incident. Both of my cars, a 4 cyl EX, 6 cyl EX, and my friends 6 cyl LX make the exact same noise.
I talked to a KIA customer service rep and he said this was new to him. He claims to never have had a complaint concerning any front end clunking noise on the new Optima. FWIW, I find that hard to believe.
In every other way I really like this car. Unfortunately for KIA, I've talked some people out of buying one of these Optimas. Had I known about this noise, I never would have bought mine. My friend says the exact same thing.
And if the resale value wasn't about $7500 less than what I paid a year ago, it wouldn't be sitting in my garage right now.
G3 annoying front suspension noise
and I would go ahead and get a set .
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