Hi all,
The shop I was buying my TRD Stage 1 kit from has left me down so I'm left with about £400 to spend. I already have the Euro Kit sat in my dining room, so I think I'll get that repaired and fitted (cracked the front on a bunny) instead.
I've had a quick look on eBay for some springs, and managed to find some Apex lowering spings. They're said to drop the car by 30mm, but does anyone know what the quality of them is like? Are any springs as good as the next, or are the Apex ones cheap and nasty and going to turn my car in to a ticking time bomb?!
I don't know that there's much difference if it's just the springs, cept for ride height. Most seem to go for TTE, which are made by Eibach, or Teins, if just going for springs. Coilovers on the other hand that's a totally different matter
Phil
Go onto the camskill website and email them to see what the best deal on some teins dress up master springs are. in a recent group buy they charged us 99.99 with 9.99 postage.. See if they can still do them for that price..
Alex
Mine has been on Apex springs since day one and I can't fault them. They are progressive, which means that ride quality over small bumps is actually better than stock, and yet you get less bodyroll and better control over bigger bumps. I'm very pleased with them, but to be honest, I doubt that there would be a huge difference between springs from any well-known manufacturer.
take a look at teh whiteline they aren'r expensive and are very good
That's great guys, I'll chase that up in the morning when I'm not so brain dead s:) :) s:)
Are you actually able to fit the springs on standard shockers??
Back in the old days when I was into "barrying" fiestas/corsas/novas s:oops: :oops: s:oops: (shameful I know), I was always told on the local "krooz" forums that fitting springs which quoted even 30/40mm drops onto standard shockers is bad news. Standard shocks aren't made for smaller/shorter springs, so when going over bumps, your more likely to bottom out your shocks or pound the sh1t outta your bump stops??
Is this true or complete "barry" tosh? s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
Great news if it is possible to just swap the standard springs for aftermarket lowered ones
you will reduce teh shock life, but one of teh reasons TTE are so popular is that they are designed for use with teh stock shocks
Quote from: "markiii"you will reduce the shock life, but one of the reasons TTE are so popular is that they are designed for use with the stock shocks
Ah! Thanks markiii!
Right-e-o, I've found these springs:
m http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 2419p11460 (http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m5b0s2419p11460) m
Are they worth the plunge? Getting quite twitchy as I've not purchased owt for my car for a while! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
what's the mileage wills? i changed mine to tein stech last month and have been fairly disappointed with the results - mostl likely cause is my shocks being a bit over the hill. if you've got 400 quid already it might be worth holding out and getting coilovers, cheaper to fit than springs too i believe. my fitting cost alone came to 300 f*cking quid...that's just a local rip off garage for ya though.
Quote from: "Kool PT"and have been fairly disappointed with the results
Haven't you said that about virtually every modification you've done?
Phil
haha, no. i sometimes expect more from my mods though. the springs make it look great and help stop roll a little bit but the ride quality has been compromised. people often say that coilovers are the best thing you can do for improving your car's handling, but the ride comfort suffers...i just feel like i'm getting a bit of a raw deal on both sides s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
for the record, i loved the PPE cai and trd quick shifter from the minute i installed them. the front bracing grew on me and took a spirited country drive to appreciate - i kind of had the impression that i'd feel the difference driving around town after people saying "i felt the difference of the breastplate the minute my car left the drive"...unless my car is radically different to everyone else's, i call BS. at slower speeds some of the bracing helped eliminate rattles, but most of the handling/ride quality improvements only manifested themselves at 60mph on a twisty road. back on topic though...my recommendation still stands.
Quote from: "Kool PT"what's the mileage wills?
Mileage is sat at 75k at the moment.
Quote from: "Kool PT"my fitting cost alone came to 300 f*cking quid...that's just a local rip off garage for you though.
I hope he offered you a reach around for that as well! Our local indy has fitted springs to my bro's Fiesta ST for £60 before, so I'd be surprised if he charged me much more. Besides, I'm sure he likes me more...
Quote from: "Kool PT"i changed mine to tein stech last month and have been fairly disappointed with the results
Any one else got an opinion on the Teins? These caught my eye as I'm sure I've seen quite a lot of people here using them.
I had them, they're great - but my shocks were pretty new when they went on and the handling result was great.
I don't know whether i outgrew them, or the shocks began to give out (the latter i suspect) but the suspension began to give me concern getting towards 50k miles. I suppose it depends how demanding you are / have been of the car.
It's pretty much a gamble at the mileage you're talking about, but your shocks will be a bit tired.
The alternaites are to replace your shocks at the same time or go with some better quality shocks and either the tein springs or something else.
TBH i was very happy with the result of fitting the Tein s-techs, they were a natural stage between standard and full coilove setup.
What sort of price can I look at for some new/uprated shocks then? Can anyone point me in the right direction? s:) :) s:)
ok that's maybe a fair comment then... i may just get my shocks changed out at the same time. at 75k i would maybe just get them replaced too. check out this link, it's by far the cheapest i've seen.
m http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 2418p11517 (http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m5b729s2418p11517) m
if you're planning on keeping the 2 for a long time it's worth getting them done anyway.
That's great PT, I'll get some stuff ordered tonight then. Pushes me a bit over budget to get the Che manifold as well, but it'll be reet.
Will deffo be keeping hold of the '2 for a while yet as it has certain sentimental meanings as well, so won't be a bad thing to get them replaced!
think i'll just get my shocks replaced at 100k and do the bushings too. have you read up on the anti roll bar drop link situation?
I can't say I have - have you got a link? s:) :) s:)
l viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22114&hilit=bushings (http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22114&hilit=bushings) l
basically the stock ones are crap and are often seize up when trying to undo them, 2srus do better made replacements with new PU bushes, my set of 4 was about 120 quid inc delivery & customs
Right OK then do I need these 2srus bushes? Paying £120 for the springs and £240 for the shockers is soon mounting up as it is! An extra ~£100 for the 2srus is really pushing, but if it's necessary, then there's no point in not getting them!
[Edit]Baring in mind I won't be doing the work myself as I'm mechanically inept. It'll be going to the local garage![/Edit]
if they have to cut teh old ones off and replace the labour will be more than that
I may drop the car off and see if he can get the existing bushes off before hand then, although I'm not overly optimistic judging by all the doom and gloom surrounding this. Just seems a tad extreme paying over £400 to have the car dropped by 30mm - certainly the first case of this I've heard!
the front ones they won;t need to touch, but I'm betting teh rears have rusted teh allen key holes to nothing
Quote from: "WillsSayers"I may drop the car off and see if he can get the existing bushes off before hand then, although I'm not overly optimistic judging by all the doom and gloom surrounding this. Just seems a tad extreme paying over £400 to have the car dropped by 30mm - certainly the first case of this I've heard!
£529 for me...and I didn't even do the shocks! I wish I had done...or that i'd just saved up and got coilovers.
At this sort of cost, are Coilovers going to cost the same amount? Or will I still need to purchase the same bushes/shocks etc as well? Guess this is highlighting my lack of car knowledge s:D :D s:D
Quote from: "WillsSayers"At this sort of cost, are Coilovers going to cost the same amount? Or will I still need to purchase the same bushes/shocks etc as well? Guess this is highlighting my lack of car knowledge s:D :D s:D
Yes!
biggest costs is teh labour, and personally I think it's mad payng for that
the roadsteris teh easiest car to work on you will ever own, buy some spring compressors and get to it :-) :-) :-)
Quote from: "Wabbitkilla"Yes!
Yes to what?! lol.
Quote from: "markiii"the roadsteris the easiest car to work on you will ever own, buy some spring compressors and get to it :-) :-) :-)
If this was the case, why is labour so expensive? s:evil: :evil: s:evil:
because they will quote standard rates and have probablynever worked on one
I can fit a set of adjustable coilovers in anything from 15 to 30 mins per corner (issues with arb links not withstanding) maybe double it worse case for springs as you have to split teh spring and strut, more likely though another 10 mins a cormer
even then lets be generous and say 3 hours total
main dealer labout rates are what £70 per hour? theres £210 to fit straight away
personally I say do it yourself, spend a bucket load of cash, gains ome tools you'll use again and learn something in teh process
think how long you have to work to make £210 after tax and it's a no brainer
hell what your saving would allow you to buy a full set of adjustable coilovers
can i just say that if i had known the cost would ahve been so high I honestly would have attempted it myself. what i paid was insane, but they had already done it so i didn't really know what to say to them.
Yes a in you would still need the same bushes.
Ok, the cheapest you're going to do this is;
Springs, and new rear droplinks... you WILL have to cut the rear droplinks out, i have no doubt of that.
Next cheapest is;
Springs, new rear droplinks and eurethane bushes.
Next cheapest is;
Springs, new shocks, new rear droplinks, and eurthane bushes
Next cheapest is;
Springs, new shocks, new rear droplinks, Megan Racing lower, toe, and camber arms. Camber arms at the least.
Next cheapest is;
Coilovers (of some persuation) new rear droplinks, eurethane bushes.
Or a mixture of any of the above.
The trouble with labour is they can charge what they can get away with, because company car users don't care how much it costs. Changing the bushes takes a fair bit of time as you need to remove the suspension arms and press the old ones out, the new ones generally just slot in. It's pointless wasting time on trying to undo the rear droplinks, just cut through them and be done with the job (unless they're obviously brand new).
When i put my coilovers on, i reckon because i already had the 2's r us droplinks in, if i'd pushed on i could have done it all in about 2 hours. As it was i was thorough and learning and it took 4 hours - but all it takes is 16 nuts & bolts (some pretty big) a bit of elbow grease and copper slip. Obviously after taking the wheels off ... oh and a bit of time fine tuning the height.
The bushes took much longer as i had one siezed in and the others were blummin tight!
I'm at 92,500 now and I said at 100k i'd replace the shocks. What do people reckon? i've had the front and rear links replaced & springs fitted, but at a cost of 300 quid.
I'm sure if i went to a different garage that I could get this price down, but £240 shocks and £300 labour amounts to a set of BC Coilovers or similar, which by the sound of things I could probably fit myself in a day.