Ride Height ... Low, but maybe not this low

[househead]

Just bought Eibach Pro springs for my MR2 as I've had them on several of my previous vehicles.

Bought off Autodoc.co.uk, don't know price of TTE or prices for Eibach you have seen but normally these are cheaper by comparison as priced in Germany.

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/eibach/1930204

Currently £135 + delivery

That is actually a very very good price from what I've seen. Which puts me in two minds ... these at 30mm and a great price but potential for still scraping, or H&R -20mm which will almost certainly avoid any future problems. Hmm

[Joesson]

Testing

[househead]

Testing

ItWorks!

[Joesson]

Well, thatseemed to work so will try and post a link to
buycarparts.co.uk
Who are offering Eibach springs at £45.88 for a pair of front springs and £45.88 for a pair of rear springs

https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/toyota/mr-2-iii-zzw3/14535/10213/coil-springs

CANCEL that.
Basket price £183 + for four springs my mistake or poor presentation.

[househead]

Well, thatseemed to work so will try and post a link to
buycart.co.uk
Who are offering Eibach springs at £45.88 for a pair of front springs and £45.88 for a pair of rear springs

That doesn't seem to be a valid domain. I think you meant https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/ ? Only it does seem to be £45.88 for a single spring on this site.

The prices on these springs do seem to vary quite wildly tho

[Joesson]

The pondering goes on

[Beachbum957]

Where are you seeing H&R in 20mm drop?  The only ones I see with that specification is for the older MR2.  The only H&R I see for the MRS is the 30MM drop (29399). 

All of the major companies selling lowering springs (Eibach, Tein, H&R) list essentially the same lowering amount (about 30mm).  I measured 40mm drop in the front with the Tein.

[househead]

Where are you seeing H&R in 20mm drop?  The only ones I see with that specification is for the older MR2.  The only H&R I see for the MRS is the 30MM drop (29399). 

All of the major companies selling lowering springs (Eibach, Tein, H&R) list essentially the same lowering amount (about 30mm).  I measured 40mm drop in the front with the Tein.

Yea, it's possible I was looking at MR2 mk1/mk2, these were on ebay and in some cases were not specific about which MR2 model, so some more digging would have been needed to verify they were the right ones. Which I now think they were not.

I've found similar to you at least on sales agent sites, that most lowering springs say 30mm, but manufacturer specs seem to be more exact.

For the teins, I went to Tein.com and they provide specs of 1.4/1.2" (~35.5mm/~30.5mm)

https://www.tein.com/srch/us_search.php?maker=TOYOTA&carmodel=MR2SPYDER&modelyear=default&item=S.TECH&genuine=0

I just looked at the H&R (US based) website and I think you're right, they only have one set available for the mk3/zzw30. They list the lowering as 1.3"/1.2" (~33mm/~30.5mm)...

http://www.hrsprings.com/application/search/results/37/623/2004/

I was unable to find manufacturer-provided specs for the Eibach Pro/TTE springs, but MWR list them as 1.2" (~30.5mm) front and back...

https://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/product/eibach-pro-kit-spring-set-toyota-00-05-mr2-spyder/

So, there's not much in it at all! Bear in mind that all but Tein (perhaps incorrectly in their case), specify the numbers as approx

I think the Eibach Pro at 1.2" and £135 + £9 delivery are winning the race right now. Could add Koni inserts further down the line.

[shnazzle]

You can. But it costs.

I disagree. On the same car a reduction of wheel travel ALWAYS comes with extra stiffness.
A better set of shocks/springs will still need to disperse the same energy over a shorter distance.

Having lightened my car a lot, the suspension could do with some attention.
I did a NoNo; shortened the OEM springs. As Carolyne pointed out to me, that also makes them stiffer.
I only cut so much off at restore OEM ride hight so rge extra siffness is marginal but does help it sagging just that bit less on compression.

I meant he can have looks, handling and relative comfort and compliance with a good/expensive set of coilovers or the Konis. Going stiffer is inevitable but overall ride quality doesn't per se have to go down the toilet.


A similar review of someone going from BC to Bilstein said the same; he described it as being able to take his grandma out in his car now and the handling on the track was night/day.
But it did cost him over 2k all in

[Tomo70]

So I think probably a good first step would be to swap the Teins for something that lowers the car less but is still sufficiently under stock height so it continues to look somewhat sporty. I can then consider the Konis further down the line.

I did a little research last night into the prices and lowering amounts of each of the springs available. Ignoring the exact pricing for now as it varies quite a lot...

Tein S tech = -1.4" (~35.5mm) front, -1.2" (~30.5mm) rear - 2nd priciest
Eibach Pro/TTE = -30mm Front, -30mm Rear - most expensive
H&R = 2 options -20mm Front+Rear or -30mm Front+Rear - cheapest of these 3 options

Of these 3 options, which would be the stiffest springs? Also @Tomo70 did you fit the 30mm or 20mm option?

I went with the -30. But they don't feel as low as the Tein and feel more comfortable when bumbling then plenty of control when giving it beans.

Tom

[shnazzle]

So I think probably a good first step would be to swap the Teins for something that lowers the car less but is still sufficiently under stock height so it continues to look somewhat sporty. I can then consider the Konis further down the line.

I did a little research last night into the prices and lowering amounts of each of the springs available. Ignoring the exact pricing for now as it varies quite a lot...

Tein S tech = -1.4" (~35.5mm) front, -1.2" (~30.5mm) rear - 2nd priciest
Eibach Pro/TTE = -30mm Front, -30mm Rear - most expensive
H&R = 2 options -20mm Front+Rear or -30mm Front+Rear - cheapest of these 3 options

Of these 3 options, which would be the stiffest springs? Also @Tomo70 did you fit the 30mm or 20mm option?

I went with the -30. But they don't feel as low as the Tein and feel more comfortable when bumbling then plenty of control when giving it beans.

Tom

I can vouch for Tom's car certainly not being devoid of roadholding on his setup. It's my "next best" option after the Konis

[cptspaulding]

I've shared my experience of Eibach springs for the MR2 on another thread here. Cba typing it all out again but the long & the short was they're too stiff for the stock struts.

Race mechanic (Kenneth Brown, Glasgow, former single seater champion) said as much after fitting & setting up the geometry. I changed back to stock springs.

[cptspaulding]

Just to confuse matters further, nobody's mentioned Vogtland springs yet.

Mrs had them on her previous 2. I liked them.

[Petrus]

I thínk I have read that Carolyn cut half a coil off the OEM springs on hers. Maybe just front.

I went a full at the front and a third at the rear.

[Bossworld]

Dunno if it's worth looking at these as a comparison but as it's Amazon you could always order, measure if they're over/under 30mm and send back

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AutoStyle-85186-23064-Lowering-Springs/dp/B00DP2WUNU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=mr2+springs&qid=1575453760&quartzVehicle=111-1462&replacementKeywords=springs&sr=8-3

Taking that model number (85186) also brings up a similar result:

https://www.rtecshop.co.uk/pi-springs-for-toyota-mr2-w3-10-1999-06-2007/prod_249506.html

[Carolyn]

One thing I would add.

There's little point measuring springs off the car.  The compression rate varies.  Older springs will compress more than new ones of the same make.

As many have noted here, actual drop on the car often varies from claimed drop.

If you want to cut coils, measure what height a full coil represents on the car, with its weight on the axle.  If you have the wheel off, jack the axle to horizontal and then measure.

Now you'll KNOW what length you're really cutting to.

[househead]

Soooooo ... I've ordered the Eibach springs at 135 + delivery and I'm intending to pair them with the Koni dampers (eventually). Need to work out how to do the inserts into the stock struts. I did find a topic on here linking a video so I'm going to watch that shortly.

@cptspaulding I hear what you're saying about the spring rates on the Eibach springs, but a) they're (on paper) the lowering springs with the least drop (of the major tried and tested suppliers) and b) I found a thread on SpyderChat listing spring rates, and although they are indeed stiffer than stock, the Tein S tech are quite a bit stiffer still, so they should be an improvement on teins + kyb in that context.

Will install without the Koni dampers for now while I work out what is required and if I have sufficient tools.

[thetyrant]

I looked at all the off shelf spring options before i went for the Teins which while not perfect i think are probably best off shelf option for money, Eibach were my other choice but was a lot more cash so went with Teins.
The Teins i fitted initally with used stock dampers and while it was better it still wasnt great but once paired with Koni sport dampers it was improved in all areas, downsides to them is they are a touch too soft and too low but thats same for all the offshelf kits from what i found, ideally i would like 20mm drop from stock (so approx 10mm higher Tein) and around 15-20% stiffer but only way to get this is custom made, shortening stock springs is another option but i didnt go down that route this time and you need to be very careful doing this.

Looking to future my plan is to convert my stock damper casings (which have Koni inserts fitted) to take a standard coilover spring and adjuster, this way i can play with rates and hieghts without going for expensive/harsh on road coilover kit, the Koni damper works great on road and track just need a better spring option which this would give.


Here is my thread on Koni conversion if you need it - https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=66831.0

HTH

[househead]

Thanks @thetyrant it was partly your thread linked above that gave me the confidence to go with Koni inserts myself and I see there's a video linked there which shows you how to do it ... very helpful!

[Beachbum957]

We have run the Tein springs with the stock KYB struts and with Koni inserts.  The damping of the KYB didn't match the springs well, but was OK.  The Koni are much better and can be adjusted to give a much better ride.  On relatively smooth roads, My wife claims the ride is about the same as OEM springs and KYB.  The ride is harsher on big or really sharp bumps, but the front springs are almost 40% stiffer (but much less preload) and the travel is less, so that isn't unexpected. As mentioned in an earlier post, we raised the front about 10mm by replacing the front rubber top spring isolator with stacked polyurethane isolators which had no impact on ride, but did give a bit more gloundclearace

Based on known spring rates, probably the Eibach would be the softest, but Eibach no longer lists the springs as available, so any being sold are old stock (or counterfeit)

[Petrus]

the front springs are almost 40% stiffer  and the travel is less,

Sums is up really; the lower the stiffer.
Also stiffer springs dictate equally increased rebound damping.
Although the sales talk states that Teins are designed to work with OEM damping, that is impossible bs; the dampers need to dissipate more energy on the outbound in less time too.

Took the preload out of the equasion as this does not affect the spring rate unless you get into the range of progresive winding.

[shnazzle]

the front springs are almost 40% stiffer  and the travel is less,

Sums is up really; the lower the stiffer.
Also stiffer springs dictate equally increased rebound damping.
Although the sales talk states that Teins are designed to work with OEM damping, that is impossible bs; the dampers need to dissipate more energy on the outbound in less time too.

Took the preload out of the equasion as this does not affect the spring rate unless you get into the range of progresive winding.

The Teins are progressive to my knowledge. That was their big sell vs the TTE/Eibach. 

Never actually seen the Teins  though so can't confirm

[tricky1138]

I was told they were progressive. Managed to find the photo I had.

[Topdownman]

The eibachs will be progressive too. I would think it would only be the very cheapest lowering springs that would not be

[Beachbum957]

Tein, H&R, and Eibach are all progressive.  Of course, none publish the full rate curve, and preloads vary, so it is hard to compare one to another