eblag coil overs

[masterbateson]

Anyone tried these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-MR2-W2 ... xyTMdTMtU2

No idea what this TUV malarky is all aboot!

And also If my car has Black Billies with unknown springs, that are not leaking is there any point in me swapping if
a: I dont want to lower the car
b: dont want to go drifting
c: dont want a stiffer ride

And if anyone is feeling like teaching me a lesson, what's the whole point/advantage of coilovers? other than there ability to be adjusted height wise?

And alsoooo whats a good price for a good 2nd hand set of bc coilovers?
ta
me.

[parker455]

Edge a guess but I bet they're bloody terrible!

[masterbateson]

I dare say there built to a price and are on a par with toyosport exhaust quality.

But saying that on the MGTF circle the toyo stainless manifold and down pipes were very popular and build quality/reliabilty was mostly very good.

There backboxes on the other hand were a bit cack / hit and miss

[raptor95GTS]

TUV is a German quality standard so in theory pretty well made though could be very harsh.. Low price so that usually means poor quality but with the TUV, no idea.. If you fancy being a trailblazer

[C35Rob]

I'd avoid, and I'd take the "tuv" approval with a huge bucket of salt.

last time I opened a box containing "made in germany, tuv approved" ebay coilovers the dampers were wrapped in old chinese newspaper

also, if you don't want to lower it or stiffen the ride then you don't want coilovers

[masterbateson]

So maybe i can just keep the black billies on and maybe sling a set of tein springs on? as my springs are looking very rusty.
Dont mind lowering my car a tad if the tein springs have a minimal lowering effect.

How do peeps reckon you know if your shocks are shot at?

I seem to remember donkeys years ago my dad used to reckon that if you pushed down on the corner of the car and it bounced about like zebbedy that they were goosed, but if you know a more reliable technique that would be great.
Also toying with new top mounts, and am i imagining this, but i thought i read an old post and it said Peter G of Sbitz fame does a full polybush kit for 100 sheets?

[fred130111]

Tein springs are incredibly hard, I actually think their coilovers are softer

[mr2magic]

The TÜV is the german technical testing body. With regards to automobiles they test all safety relevant parts and decide whether they are roadworthy or not - based on the result the award a certificate or not, as the case may be. No certificate means if you use whatever it may be on your car here in germany then the whole vehicle is automatically deemed not approved for road use and is not insured.

A good way to spot whether it is really certified is to take a look at the way TÜV is spelled. There has to be a U with two dots above it (equivalant to the way you pronounce 'oo' in english). Also there should be the symbol denoting which TÜV actually did the testing...

Take a look here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technisch ... ungsverein to see whät the symbols look like and how the wording should be.

[SonicSW20]

These are absolutely awful. Same as TA Technix. They do not have independent height adjustment, so the only way to adjust them is to excessively preload the spring. The more preload you add, the worse they'll be. Build quality will be xxxx as well.

Tein S Tech springs actually have a lower spring rate than their coilover counterparts. The problem with the S Tech's is they are too low for most dampers available for the MR2, and certainly too low for the stock ones. This makes them feel very stiff because there isn't much travel available, and your damper is always more compressed than with stock or a spring that doesn't lower it as much, like Spax.

If you are looking at coilovers, the cheapest set that are actually any good for a road car are the HSD DualTechs. I went for BC BR's on mine because I wanted softer springs. They are a bit more expensive than the HSD's though.

How old are your black bilsteins? If they are OE or of an unknown age, lowering springs will probably kill them.

[parker455]

These are absolutely awful. Same as TA Technix. They do not have independent height adjustment, so the only way to adjust them is to excessively preload the spring. The more preload you add, the worse they'll be. Build quality will be xxxx as well.

Tein S Tech springs actually have a lower spring rate than their coilover counterparts. The problem with the S Tech's is they are too low for most dampers available for the MR2, and certainly too low for the stock ones. This makes them feel very stiff because there isn't much travel available, and your damper is always more compressed than with stock or a spring that doesn't lower it as much, like Spax.

If you are looking at coilovers, the cheapest set that are actually any good for a road car are the HSD DualTechs. I went for BC BR's on mine because I wanted softer springs. They are a bit more expensive than the HSD's though.

How old are your black bilsteins? If they are OE or of an unknown age, lowering springs will probably kill them.

Spax are 40mm lowering too Gaz!

[SonicSW20]

I thought they were closer to 30mm?

[Draven]

Cardboard..

[masterbateson]

Dont know how old the black billsteins are unfortunately as they came on the car.
All i can tell is the springs look rusty and the dust covers on the shocks have disintergrated.
No leaks on any shocks tho and car seems quite stiff if you do the old DAD test and push down on each corner.

I'm not one for swapping things if they are ok, so if the shocks are ok I could put the saved money toward bushes and balljoints TRE's and the like.

Cardboard?

[masterbateson]

Forgot to mention re the Bc coilovers, I have the opportunity to buy a set which are almost new for around 300 quid from a guy across the road from me, who has had a change of build plans and is now on with a bimmer.

Not sure which BC ones they are, but knowing this guy, they will probably be good ones.

[SonicSW20]

There are 3 products from BC at the moment, two of which are different configurations of the same coilover.

There's the two variations of the BR's - Type RH and RA. These have different top mount options. Then there's the RM type MH, which is an inverted monotube damper, and costs ~£200 more.

Most people opt for the BR's as the benefits of the RM's are pretty slim on a road car.

EDIT: If your existing dampers are of an unknown age, don't be surprised if they die pretty quick with lowering springs. Sounds like they are pretty old.

[Draven]

Dont know how old the black billsteins are unfortunately as they came on the car.
All i can tell is the springs look rusty and the dust covers on the shocks have disintergrated.
No leaks on any shocks tho and car seems quite stiff if you do the old DAD test and push down on each corner.

I'm not one for swapping things if they are ok, so if the shocks are ok I could put the saved money toward bushes and balljoints TRE's and the like.

Cardboard?

The ones listed at the top are will last as long as having cardboard springs on your car.

[abovetherim]

I will pass on my experience with the black billies. I recently knew i needed new springs as the ones on my car had sagged so much it was like a 50-60mm drop. Additional to this i thought my ride was a bit crashy, mainly from the spring but i thought the black billies were too hard.

None of the shocks were leaking but after removal and stripping of mounts and springs i found 3 of them i could easily push down by hand and they returned back up in between 2 mins and never. The 4th was harder to push down and came back up in about 1 minute.

Basically all 4 looked ok and weren't leaking but shot none the less.

I got some used rear n/a shocks with new inserts and some new front shocks that if they go i can replace the inserts. I also bought a lightly used set of apex springs that give a 30mm (not much) drop. These have transformed the handling for £250.

If the inserts go i can replace them with ones from TCB @£25 a corner. Or if i decide to do a lot of track then i could splash out on adjustable inserts.

So i would recommend n/a shocks with apex springs for a comfortable yet assured ride that will cope well with b road blasts. There were a couple of guys on mr2oc that have just done the same recently and they love the combo also.

Just my opinion
Jan

Edit; of course if you have the kit you could wip of one corner and strip the strut down to see how your shock is. Takes about an hour to wip out strip, then rebuild and replace.

[parker455]

I thought they were closer to 30mm?

No they're 40mm, just progressive rather than rock solid. Checked on Demon Tweeks site earlier, got a set over the weekend!

[masterbateson]

good advice Jan

I've been looking at these shocks were you can replace the inserts before you mentioned it here, so its great to hear from someone who has done it and even better to hear others are doing it too.

replaceable inserts seem like such a good idea and at those prices become nearly a yearly service item.

Think once I have got the blo0dy callipers on this car sorted the next job will be getting the spring compressors out and have a look whats what.