Im looking into suspension options for my Da's 1MZFE V6 MR2. Its needing a suspension refresh as I swapped out his suspension onto my my REV5 turbo (that I sold recently) when I thought the Teins were leaking and slapped on a used set of suspension onto my Dads mr2 to get by. These are now fooked and I need to replace these ASAP.
Im not sure what to do, buy a set of used black suspension or yellow bilsteins, buy a set of Meister R's, and to complicate matters, it turned out the Teins weren't leaking but had oil and grime splattered on the strut (probably from the industrial estate that YVS are located on lol). On looking at the Teins, and rubbing off the oil splatter, the shocks are fine, no leaks at all So now having just fitted these to my Dads V6 mr2, he's finding the ride bone shockingly hard, he's 71 after all. Ive still havent connected the EDFC so that I can set them on their 'softest' setting, so its defaulted to hard lol
My Dads car apart from the V6 lump, its polybushed all round, and has my 17" Desmond Wise Sports alloys on 17" x 8" et35, 2 x 17" x 9" et38. Currently on the Teins its lowered, and Ill need to have the rear arches rolled as theyre scrubbing slightly. But The problem is my Dad finds the Teins too hard.
So using the search function, "race-idiot" seems to precis the options well.
My question is are these options still the case??
Race Idiot wrote:
Toyota UK spec oem - cheapest option, definitely not designed to work with lowering springs. however with the standard springs the ride is great it just looks like a 4x4
Black Billsteins - These are the standard shocks for tubbies rev2 on, slightly stiffer than the UK spec stuff but not too bad. Also I did run these with lowering springs, but not with a huge drop. However they probably arent going to last if you run a spring that dumps the car to the ground.
Yellow Billsteins - Also known as B6 Sport, these are stiffer than the black ones and designed to be used with lowering springs. However if you match if with a very stiff spring like a Tein, the ride quality will not be good. Currently I use these, combined with TRD springs and it rides well apart from over big potholes.
Koni Sport - Another shock designed to run with lowering springs, is also adjustable! However you need to find some empty strut housings for them as they only come as a damper. If you can get past the faffing i'd say they are the best shock to use with a lowering spring on uk roads. I had mine set on medium, the ride and compliance was fantastic.
KYB Excel g - I've seen these for sale but I havent used them or knowingly been in a car with them. So I dunno! KYB do make the oem uk spec shocks tho, but they are another option.
Another factor that hasnt been mentioned is your antiroll bars, thicker arbs make a world of difference in how the car feels in a corner. Every time I fling a mr2 with std arbs into a corner im suprised at the amount of roll they have!
I currently run TRD antiroll bars and the car corners much flatter than stock. However i've been told that whiteline bars are a bit more street friendly and they are adjustable. Suspension techniques and some other jdm companies make arbs but most people have trds or whitelines.
Coilovers are another option, but personaly if I was going to buy a set i'd want to know whos making what. Most of these low end 600/700 quid ones seem to be made in taiwan/china and dont tend to show any signs of R&D. But people on forums say their fantastic so what do I know? My current car had a set of BC's on it when I bought it and I hated how the car drove, but to be fair the previous owner had literaly slammed the thing to the ground.
Personaly if I felt like I needed fancy adjustable suspension (which I dont because my car is primarily street driven) i'd be going with a company that actualy does R&D like KW or H&R.
This is all opinion btw
So before I put up a wanted ad, what suspension best suits a 71 year old needing to lower the car (to sit nicely with the Desmonds), still be comfortable for daily driving and for the odd spirited run as its a V6 1MZFE mr2 afterall!!
Im thinking of Yellow billies with eibach springs or mesiter R's and sell on the Teins Flex with EDFC (that Ive owned since new lol)
Any thoughts suggestions to steer me onto the right course, as its nearly MOT time ha ha
If anyone has a decent set of suspension, drop me a PM
Thanks Julian