TTE Springs?

[stargazer30]

Guys,

Yes I did a search first but couldn't find out...

1. How many hours garage labour to fit them? assume about 2 to 3?
2. Has anyone had issues with negative camber/uneven tyre wear after fitting?
3. Will standard shocks survive with them (pretty young mine, 2005 20K miles)

Also would like to hear comment from those with them fitted, how much harsher is the ride vs stock.  In Sunderland we have lots of speed humps and some of the roads are pretty broken.  I find the stock springs okay even on pot holes and bumps.

Thanks

David

[markiii]

garage will likely charge you 2 to 3 hours labour

trouble is if you have any issues like seized rear arb links

personally I allow 4 hours

if you feel like DIYing its not difficult and spring compressors will only set you back £20

[evileye_wrx]

They should be fine with standard shocks as they are designed to work with them. I had mine on from the factory so don't know if the comfort is worse than stock. It never felt uncomfortable is probably all I could say. The other thing with the TTE springs of course is that lowering the car makes it look 45 times better than before  s;-) ;-) s;-)

Phil

[nathanMR2]

One of my best mods. Car felt loads more stable at speed in the corners.

I had my fitted for £60 which is a good price (remember to replace the centre bolts as mine came loose after a few miles and everything started knocking) Should be around about a 2-3 hour job. I had a full comprehensive geometry check after having mine done and the rear wheels were out. A proper geo check is a must after having this done really. Standard shocks will be fine.

I haven't found the ride much different in hardness to be honest. I have caught the underside of the car on a few speed humps since fitting but this has usually only been when ive taken the speed hump at a little fast. You will be fine as long as you slow down and take them slow. For the bigger humps I just take them at an angle

[custardavenger]

I've had them in almost since I bought the car. I really like them, the car looks better, sits better on the road and handles better too. I've not had much issue with grounding out but others running the car at the same height have. I do scrape my bumper on the kerb ouside the house.

There is a but though.
I don't find the car as much fun on country/rough roads, hard to describe but i have less confidence then. That said I have old shock on mine so it may be different for others.

One thing I would recomend, Check to see the state of the rubber covers on the shocks before getting it done and if needed buy replacements. I was annoyed when the garage that did mine (a mate) didn't even mention they were knackered.

[bones`]

Mine have only been on 2 days so any difference in ride quality is fresh in my mind and its all positives so far. No noticeable change in ride quality, the car feels more planted in the corners and looks far far better. I have had a full geom check today and only the front toe needed adjusting. No issues with grounding yet but I guess the springs still need to settle a little.
I was quoted 4 hours labour off my local garage so £160 but its really not that bad a diy job as long as you have the right tools and a vice and ideally two pairs of hands. One thing I did do after reading up on these forums is reuse the centre bolts but after reading Nathans post I will keep an eye on them. Probably not possible to torque these once they are on the car??

[nathanMR2]

You can torque them while they are on the car they just arent something that have got a high torque on them anyway. Once you get to the required torque they start twisting alittle so its not something you can really go over the top and try to tighten them more. This is really why you need to get new ones. Once the nut seal is broken it gives them chance to undo themselves. That said alot of people have reused and not had a problem

[bones`]

Think i'll put a blob of paint on each one tomorrow!

[nathanMR2]

Mine were actually loose when i rechecked mine, as in finger tight. I torqued them back up and the same thing happened in a few miles. It was only the fronts that came loose and the front offside was the worse affected. Id just check them and see how there doing   s:) s:)

[muffdan]

I did about 20k on stock springs, then did 30k on TTE's, and now done about 5k on Tein Super Streets.

In my opinion:

TTE's do give a better drive
The ride is noticeably harder than both stock spring and Tein SS.
Standard shocks will be fine. My standard shocks had done just over 100k in total, the last 30k on TTE's. They were still functioning fine when I took them off for the Tein's.
The lowered height does increase inside edge tyre wear at the rear. Can't say I noticed a difference at the front.
Were they worth it? Definitely Yes!

[Anonymous]

i had tte's on for about 40k km on stock shocks.they did increase wear on the rears a bit,but the ride was nice. at 85k km the car developed a shimmy under acceleration.this was fixed by fitting new kyb gr2 shocks and oem struts.the car ride quality is about the same,handles a lot worse with the oem springs and looks like an suv!i am changing back to the tte's soon,and hopefully the shimmy will still be gone. the tte manual states 2,5 h of labour i think,we did it in less than 2. it's a nice.way to spend the unichip money   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  .

[stargazer30]

Okay sold - Mines getting them on at the same time as the turbo.  Should be a different beast altogether once I get it back   s:D s:D  

Thats the last I'm spending on this car for a while I swear!   s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:   s:flame: :flame: s:flame:

[muffdan]

are you getting the wheels package too? Helps tremendously with getting the extra torque/power down  s:) s:)

[stargazer30]

are you getting the wheels package too? Helps tremendously with getting the extra torque/power down  s:) s:)

Huh whats that then.... oh on second thought better not tell me!   s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:

[markiii]

not convinced you need that much rubber at 200bhp

[davidarden]

I've been running TTE springs for around 6 months now and can't recommend them enough. The ride is firmer as you would expect, but certainly not in a harsh way. Turn-in feels a lot sharper and obviously there's the reduced body roll. They make the car what it should have been from the factory!

[Chris_h]

There is a but though.
I don't find the car as much fun on country/rough roads, hard to describe but i have less confidence then. That said I have old shock on mine so it may be different for others.
.

Thats a really good point Rob. I only had standard spring on my 2's, but i did find with some very stiffly sprung cars (Clio 182 Cup, Racing Puma, Mini JCW etc) that they lost some of the fluidity and composure/agility on tricky, winding and undulating roads - maybe this is what you found with the TTE?

I am sure the feel on good roads more than makes up for it - and of course it looks a million times better.

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone,

Has anyone in the NW had a quote from Chatsworth for fitting them? I quite fancy getting a set, depending on how much it is.

[mattbrown82]

I had some springs and dampers installed at Charlesworth the other week, and it costs me £135, and this included the tracking.

Matt

[Anonymous]

That's sounds good to me i'll give them a ring in a few weeks!

What is the current thinking in relation to the lifespan of shocks? I was just planning on useing my existing standard shocks and adding the TTE springs.   My shocks have done 60K miles, how much life is left in them?

[mattbrown82]

My shocks had 60k on them when they were taken off at Charlesworth and they seemed pretty knackered. It really depends on the life they've had up to that point.

If it was me, I'd replace them. However that is an additional costs. You may also want to get new centre nuts (about £15 from CTP).

[AllanE]

...The ride is firmer as you would expect, but certainly not in a harsh way...

That's interesting, as the TTE springs that I have are identical to OE except they're shorter.
Same number and diameter of coils, therefore the spring rate is the same.

[kentsmudger]

I have had my car for nearly 3 years with TTE springs and standard shocks on since new. They have over 70k on them and I am wondering about their age and condition, so I have a few questions and comments to add -

One thing I would recomend, Check to see the state of the rubber covers on the shocks before getting it done and if needed buy replacements.

Just to clarify - Do you mean replacement rubber covers or replacement shocks?

The lowered height does increase inside edge tyre wear at the rear. Can't say I noticed a difference at the front.

I have always had even wear across the front and rear treads.

My shocks had 60k on them when they were taken off at Charlesworth and they seemed pretty knackered.

How exactly did they seem knackered? What are the signs to check for?

...The ride is firmer as you would expect, but certainly not in a harsh way...

That's interesting, as the TTE springs that I have are identical to OE except they're shorter.
Same number and diameter of coils, therefore the spring rate is the same.

Is that all there is to it? I would have thought there could be variations in the metal they are made of, anyone know?

[mattbrown82]

How exactly did they seem knackered? What are the signs to check for?

Never been able to find a definitive guide on how to test the health of a damper but they were quite heavily weathered by 7 years of british roads. The section that seats the spring had bent down quite a lot on some of them, I imagine this is the sort of damage caused by potholes.

Not sure if it is relevant when checking the health of a damper, but they were very easy to compress. Especially compared the the sportivo shocks that replaced them. Not quite a fair comparison though as sportivo are peformance shocks.

[OlberJ]

Most dampers will rebound and go back to full stretch on releasing them. If they contract and stay down then they are gubbed.

You need to take off the top nut and free the strut top to check this though.

Driving it should also be obvious if it's gubbed.