Thought I would share this story in case it helps anyone else. I've not seen this issue described anywhere.

This is an 06 vRS. I've had it 6 months, from 32K miles to 41K miles. Throughout this time I have had a horrible metalic clatter from the front when going over bumps. I've been throught the front suspension checking everything, but not made any difference to the noise. The problem was the ARB hitting the aluminium subframe, and this was caused by casting 'flash' on the subframe in the area behind the ARB rubber mounting, where it is very difficult to see. With the car on a lift, and the bottom cover removed, I could just see that there was no clearance (<0.5mm) between the ARB and the subframe, though it is difficult to see, even then. To see what was going on, I removed the ARB mounting clamp and rubber bush, and there was this rough ridge of aluminium casting flash running down the edge of the subframe spar. It was obvious that this material should not be there, as it was very jagged. There were clear signs that the ARB had been hitting it. I took a rough file and filed the area smooth. I did this both sides, and now all the noises have gone.

I expect that this problem would be worse on the vRS, as the larger diameter ARB gets nearer to the subframe. It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has seen this.

Hi, I have a horrible noise like yours from the front left I'll have to check this too see! It happens on bumps and when using.quite a bit of lock on the steering, I've replaced both arb and console bush Which didn't solve it