I'm sure this has been brought up before and I don't know why companies like Raceland haven't caught on yet that you can't get cheap coilovers for the MK1 MR2 but can anyone tell me if there are coilovers available for under £500?
I'm looking to give my car a bit of a face lift and the first thing I want to do is get it LOW.. It's currently on springs and at first I was happy with the height but now it's starting to bother me.
Can anyone point me in the direction of cheap coilovers or alternatives??..
Thanks!
Gianni
AW11 Coilovers..
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
There is very very little available for road use. One recurring theme seems to be coilover collers to convert the standard strut to 2.5in springs with adjustable height. These weld onto the strut case and are available from rallydesign, west Wales rally spares and tweeks. About £60 a pair but obviously you then have an infinite choice of springs and shocks to add in.
If a harsh ride and dubious far eastern origins don't bother you I've got a set of nice shiny K-sport coilovers which are unused. The BM boys seem to like K-sport but I've never heard anything good about them on jap stuff. Yours for £250 if you fancy a try, unused, never fitted, still in wrappers.
If a harsh ride and dubious far eastern origins don't bother you I've got a set of nice shiny K-sport coilovers which are unused. The BM boys seem to like K-sport but I've never heard anything good about them on jap stuff. Yours for £250 if you fancy a try, unused, never fitted, still in wrappers.
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
if all you want is to lower it loads then it doesnt much matter what you run on. low most definitely doesnt offer the best handling or performance, so if you want to do it cheaply you might just as well remove the bump rubbers and cut your springs. it will drive horribly but it will sit on the deck.
if you want any semblance of performance then low isnt the way to go. there aren't any decent coilovers available off the shelf for the AW11 really as its such an old car, and nobody wants to spend the money anyway. thats why the only available product now is Taiwanese, because they dont do any product development, and simply making a standard specification shock absorber fit a car is pretty cheap and easy.
your only "proper" options (e.g. not just cutting springs) would be to get custom made lowering springs that go lower than the existing offerings. the next step up from that would be coilover sleeves (although you will always be limited by damper travel, and will bottom out all the time if you run low on standard fitment strut cases). then the next step would be adjustable coilovers such as BC Racing, but then you're talking about a bit more than £500.
all of the above will handle worse than just buying some Koni inserts (or Tokico or KYB if your budget is tight) and some Eibach lowering springs (the springs included in Koni kits arent too bad, they tend to be a bit soft though). you will sit about 30mm lower than standard, probably not as low as you want to go, but the car will handle very well.
if you want any semblance of performance then low isnt the way to go. there aren't any decent coilovers available off the shelf for the AW11 really as its such an old car, and nobody wants to spend the money anyway. thats why the only available product now is Taiwanese, because they dont do any product development, and simply making a standard specification shock absorber fit a car is pretty cheap and easy.
your only "proper" options (e.g. not just cutting springs) would be to get custom made lowering springs that go lower than the existing offerings. the next step up from that would be coilover sleeves (although you will always be limited by damper travel, and will bottom out all the time if you run low on standard fitment strut cases). then the next step would be adjustable coilovers such as BC Racing, but then you're talking about a bit more than £500.
all of the above will handle worse than just buying some Koni inserts (or Tokico or KYB if your budget is tight) and some Eibach lowering springs (the springs included in Koni kits arent too bad, they tend to be a bit soft though). you will sit about 30mm lower than standard, probably not as low as you want to go, but the car will handle very well.
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
If your after a set of budget coilovers for the mk1, I have a set I'd part with.
They are the D2 brand, fully adjustable height etc... Seen little use, car has done less than 2k since fitting.
PM me if you want more details.
They are the D2 brand, fully adjustable height etc... Seen little use, car has done less than 2k since fitting.
PM me if you want more details.
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Worth asking the Driftworks team... I've asked before and there is a possibility they can get some made up
If you can't see the angle, you're in trouble.
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Cheers guys!
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
This thread suggests coilovers are a good idea.
http://www.club4ag.com/faq_and_tech_pag ... _guide.htm
I have been thinking about putting on the Koni Sport kit for a while, at least you get shiny new yellow struts as well as opposed to just inserts and springs.
But I read another web page yesterday somewhere that suggested coilovers don't rotate at the top mount with the steering like the factory struts. But someone did a modification for them, I think they were using cheap K2/F2 coils.
There were a couple of threads on mr2.com and ToyotaNation.com but only a couple of posts, nothing really useful.
There was this DIY site I found.
http://www.technicalgarage.com/articles/aw11/coilover/
There is another guy doing a coilover conversion at http://midrear.net/www but he's not got any details yet.
Been through all my phone browser history from last night and still can't find that page about coilovers not rotating.
It's a bit of a minefield. I'm very interested as I'm thinking of relegating my 2 to a track car and the suspension needs sorting for that. Don't think I could justify spending a grand on BC coilovers and if Koni/Eibach is the way to go on a budget then perhaps that is what I'll consider, but I'd prefer to have new struts too rather than use my rusty old things.
I had Eibach lowering springs on my S plate Passat, they were great, it was the 18 inch RS rims on 40 profile rubber that was the hardest ride.
I'll stick with 15's on the 2.
http://www.club4ag.com/faq_and_tech_pag ... _guide.htm
I have been thinking about putting on the Koni Sport kit for a while, at least you get shiny new yellow struts as well as opposed to just inserts and springs.
But I read another web page yesterday somewhere that suggested coilovers don't rotate at the top mount with the steering like the factory struts. But someone did a modification for them, I think they were using cheap K2/F2 coils.
There were a couple of threads on mr2.com and ToyotaNation.com but only a couple of posts, nothing really useful.
There was this DIY site I found.
http://www.technicalgarage.com/articles/aw11/coilover/
There is another guy doing a coilover conversion at http://midrear.net/www but he's not got any details yet.
Been through all my phone browser history from last night and still can't find that page about coilovers not rotating.
It's a bit of a minefield. I'm very interested as I'm thinking of relegating my 2 to a track car and the suspension needs sorting for that. Don't think I could justify spending a grand on BC coilovers and if Koni/Eibach is the way to go on a budget then perhaps that is what I'll consider, but I'd prefer to have new struts too rather than use my rusty old things.
I had Eibach lowering springs on my S plate Passat, they were great, it was the 18 inch RS rims on 40 profile rubber that was the hardest ride.
I'll stick with 15's on the 2.
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Hey Clarky,
Thanks for the info. I actually managed to get a set from a member! They arrived today and I finished putting the backs on about an hour ago.
Need new drop links for the fronts so I need to wait on them arriving .
Thanks again!
Thanks for the info. I actually managed to get a set from a member! They arrived today and I finished putting the backs on about an hour ago.
Need new drop links for the fronts so I need to wait on them arriving .
Thanks again!
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Which ones did you get in the end, k sport or d2?
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Ksport dude!
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
What type of top mounts do they have at the front? Are they the camber adjustable ones? Also, what drop links and arb are those?
cheers
Jason
cheers
Jason
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
They are the camber adjuster ones yeah.. The drop links come with the back struts and the ARB is just the OEM one but painted blue!
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Retro_Boy_G wrote:They are the camber adjuster ones yeah.. The drop links come with the back struts and the ARB is just the OEM one but painted blue!
Groovy. Do you know what poundage the springs on the k-sports are? The BC ones are about 375/400 front/rear.
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
No idea at all sorry.. .
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
It's written on them somewhere, I'll have a look at my pics. Quick worker though retro, they sat in my lounge for over a year, even had decorations on them one Christmas! The mrs loved them, honest.
11 or 205 on rear (11kg/mm??)
9.3 or 180 on front (9.3kg/mm??)
I always planned on softer fronts.
11 or 205 on rear (11kg/mm??)
9.3 or 180 on front (9.3kg/mm??)
I always planned on softer fronts.
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Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Cheers man, I was just dying to get them on.. I've ordered some new wheels but the sellers communication is terrible.. I bought them on Tuesday hoping to have them for today but I've sent him messages and he has yet to reply and they are yet to be marked as dispatch.. This means they will arrive next week when no one is home.
Dang.
Dang.
Re: AW11 Coilovers..
Retro_Boy_G wrote:Cheers man, I was just dying to get them on.. I've ordered some new wheels but the sellers communication is terrible.. I bought them on Tuesday hoping to have them for today but I've sent him messages and he has yet to reply and they are yet to be marked as dispatch.. This means they will arrive next week when no one is home.
Dang.
A typical example of sods law Eh Retro
Peter