The dilemma.... Suspension replacements

[Kenny_G]

Time to pick some brains...

I haven't had my mr2 long, and I have been fixing little bits and pieces for the moment. I've looked, and found that the front suspension doesn't look too clever.. so I thought I would look into some replacement parts...

So far I've found the OE shocks are really pricey for replacement - £100 - £120 for a shock.... £150 for springs... and the other parts such as the dust covers etc.
for this price I may as well look at aftermarket - and I assume that coilovers would give the best "fast road" experience...

I'd be looking to replace the droplinks, track rod ends etc etc while I'm there so I know its done.

The dilemma is ... I only really paid £1300 for the car - 2002 plate just under 80k - good overall condition....  and the suspension renewal cost would be pretty pricey based on those prices.

Am I missing a supplier of decent OEM shocks and springs at a good price?  

What components to I need for a complete overall ...

Shocks
Springs
Dustcovers
droplinks
rear droplinks
track rod ends...
??

I like the car - and I think I want to keep it and fix it up - but just the price is making me think sell and buy a newer roadster with the proceeds and the money that the suspension would cost!

[JoeCool]

I've opted to go down the coilover route (for the first time ever, I've refreshed suspension on all the proper cars I've owned).

I found a us site supplying kyb struts at $65 a corner. I bookmarked it so I'll ink it later. I also found eBay lower front arms at £80 shipped to UK, I'm hoping they arrive with me soon, the first set got returned due to a shipping error UK side. That gets you new bushes and ball joints for the front.

It's really down to what you want from the car. I'm a bit apprehensive about fitting coilovers, but the meister r's I've experienced are good enough to go with IMO. I may still live to regret it, but my use of this car has tipped firmly into 'track/sprint/autocross' territory so I need the adjustability.

As you've found, the price problem is that once you've bought shocks, springs, new top mounts, bushes and bolts for the car, you've spent more than the car is worth and you've also spent more than coilovers cost.

I'd suggest you ride in some cars with the various options on them before you commit. It's entirely possible to ruin the daily driveability of a car with badly chosen coilovers. But many people love them.

[shnazzle]

If it's not desperate wait for some 2nd hand coilovers.

[mikek]

The dilemma is ... I only really paid £1300 for the car -

Welcome to the club! My £2500 is currently at £6500 and I'm not finished......never modified anything before but these little cars really get under your skin.

[shnazzle]

It's pretty much never financially sound to modify these cars.
So, might as well ignore that and just spend however much you want/need to.

If it cost you 1200 and it needs new suspension, then you could argue that suspension is half the price of the whole car, so why bother. Get the car crushed.
OR...spend 650 or so on a fresh set of suspension and you've got one of the best handling sportscars for less than 2k.... can't beat that.
Just different ways to see things.

I spent 4300 on mine, but by this time next year I'll have spent that again on maintenance and modifications. But I love it and it handles well enough to shame a Boxter on a twisty road. For fraction of the price.

[mikek]

It's pretty much never financially sound to modify these cars.
So, might as well ignore that and just spend however much you want/need to.

If it cost you 1200 and it needs new suspension, then you could argue that suspension is half the price of the whole car, so why bother. Get the car crushed.
OR...spend 650 or so on a fresh set of suspension and you've got one of the best handling sportscars for less than 2k.... can't beat that.
Just different ways to see things.

I spent 4300 on mine, but by this time next year I'll have spent that again on maintenance and modifications. But I love it and it handles well enough to shame a Boxter on a twisty road. For fraction of the price.

+1 absolutely love this little car

[Tomo70]

 s:D s:D   +1 its all down to what you want from the car really, as is said above. I was happy with standard handling and i use the car for touring, some b roads in europe and uk can suffer from poor surfaces. I tried lowering springs and poly bushes but in the end went back to standard. I still love the way the the car turns in to the apex of corners effortlessly. My advice would be decide what your using it for then ask if you can try other peoples cars at ding day to get a feel for what you want.

90% of the time my wife is in the car with me especially  on epic journeys so its also important for me to consider the passenger. If it were wholly mine it would be coilovers.

Tom

[Ardent]

Kenny

It is a tough call. (many posts on here pondering the same choices)
Spannering. Are you doing  it? if not, all adds to the cost.

£ for £ I believe the coilys are a more economical option.
Stock shocks and springs are cheaper, but IF you need top mounts as well. Brings costs to same as coilys.

That said, I went for fresh stock shocks (KYB excel Gs) and tein S springs. And very happy with the results.
I'm just a B road man, no track adjustability requirements.
I like the comfort the stock shocks provide, which still gives more handing capacity than I have ability to use.

Whichever way you go. Get a good quality geo done after.
Makes all the difference.

[JoeCool]

Ok, I have absolutely no knowledge of this company, and there would be shipping/duty to pay, but the prices are good:

Partsgeek with KYB struts at $65 a corner

Ebay Front lower arms I received mine today, £82 the pair all in. They look great. better than what's on the car anyway!!

So there are lower cost options out there if you're willing to take a punt and do some leg work.

Rear arms appear to be a 'problem. There are no really low cost alternatives or pattern replacements.'They're easy enough to re-bush with poly bushes, but it's time consuming and a pain to be without the car whilst you paint them up etc.

However, even if it's just shocks/springs, you will feel a benefit. These light cars don't hammer their bushings in quite the same way as a BMW or merc.


I'm undertaking my suspension refurb in the next month or so, just a few parts (only the rear arms actually) to wait for. What I've opted for is:

• Meister-R CRD+ Coilovers.
• New pattern Front lower A-Arms (so new bushings and ball joints)
• Whiteline adjustable ARB + new drop links.
• GT-4play rebushed rear traction and track arms.
• Hard Race rear toe arms (only way to get proper toe adjustability at the rear).
• New rear drop links (£3 from china!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:    s:? :? s:?   )
• Refurbished Rear sub frame - may as well whilst I'm in there, it's off to the powder coaters next week.
• Refurbished TRD front and rear strut braces
• And for the final bit of WTF, All new bolts from Toyota himself!!! Put the order in yesterday, talked them down to £100 the lot. I'm mad. I just like working with new bolts, and it means that the odd rounded/angle grinded bolt needn''t stop play as I will have to truck through this refurb in limited time off work.

I'm hoping this will give me a nice long lasting and adjustable set up, and will be 'fun' to do as it's nice working with shiny new and refurbed bits rather than old rusty stuff.

[Ardent]

And for the final bit of WTF, All new bolts from Toyota himself!!! Put the order in yesterday, talked them down to £100 the lot.

Must be a lot of bolts. The big ones that bolt through the shocks are only about £3.50ea (90105-1417)

Love the juxstaposition. £100 worth of Mr T bolts and £3 drop links.   s:) s:)

[JoeCool]

Got to save money where you can. I can guarantee I'll end up angle grinding them off the car at some point whether they're £3 ones or £25 ones.

The ironmongery adds up quickly. It's 6 bolts and nuts for inside/outside the rear arms, 2 other special ones for the traction arm/hub knuckle bolts, 4 sub frame bolts, 4 front lower arm bolts and nuts, 8 strut bolts, plus I got some front light repair brackets. And then they add VAT! But I know it will make the job much nicer.

[nadeemxb]

It's pretty much never financially sound to modify these cars.
So, might as well ignore that and just spend however much you want/need to.

If it cost you 1200 and it needs new suspension, then you could argue that suspension is half the price of the whole car, so why bother. Get the car crushed.
OR...spend 650 or so on a fresh set of suspension and you've got one of the best handling sportscars for less than 2k.... can't beat that.
Just different ways to see things.

I spent 4300 on mine, but by this time next year I'll have spent that again on maintenance and modifications. But I love it and it handles well enough to shame a Boxter on a twisty road. For fraction of the price.

+1 absolutely love this little car

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nadeemxb]

Oops! Was just going to agree with the rest here. Spend the money and just enjoy how much better it makes the car. Mine was £4.5k and I've spent another £9k on it since then. That does include an engine conversion though.

Bought some coilovers tonight after coming to the same conclusion that a full standard refresh is more £.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ardent]

Joe
Yes, only £3.50 each but there are 8 of them. All of a sudden A oner is soon on the cards.
Still, as we know it is money invested rather than spent.
Warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing new stuff fitted and ultimately cheaper in time than messing about with the old.

[Ardent]

As a very broad sweeping generalisation.

On an economical basis. The coilys have won the "value for money" equation. This is a simple mathematical fact.

The much harder to calculate equation is the ride/comfort/performance equation. Which is specific to each individaul owner.
This is a very subjective issue.
The set up I have compared to JoeCool is, night and day.
But, both set ups are correct. However, our parameters are very different.
Mr Cool by his own admission is leaning more and more towards being a track junkie.
Me, I'm a B road man.

Regardless of the hardware, if the geo is not right.............

Kenny
Before you pull the trigger, try a ride in a coily car.
There are those that have fitted coilys, did not find the ride compatible and returned to stock.
How are  you intendin to use the car?
If B roading, do not under estimate how good an MR2 with fresh stock suspension and proper geo is.

[Essex2Visuvesi]

my MR-S cost me 695 and I've probably got £3.5k of parts to go on it

[shnazzle]

Ardent speaks truth. Try before you buy.
It fundamentally changes the way the car feels and its comfort levels.
It's not for all roads or people

[nadeemxb]

Definitely makes sense to try.

I haven't experienced coilovers in a 2 but have been a passenger in a Civic with MeisterR Zeta CRD+ fitted.  My friend had them on a soft setting and they were less harsh than I was expecting.  As long as they're not much harsher in my car I'll be happy - I'm hoping for close to how it feels now (TTE springs) but appreciate that it will be a somewhat firmer even on a soft setting.  With the V6 the back of the car sits far too low for my liking which I can at least correct with these - essentially I just want the car to sit how it did before the conversion.

It's be good to know what people think about going from lowering springs (rather than full height stock ones) to coilovers on a soft setting and how they compare.

[McMr2]

I was having similar thoughts. Car looked like it was on original suspension but coilovers aren't for me. Managed to get 4 kyb struts, tein springs, rear drop links and front strut boots/covers for less than £500. Probably could get it for less if you looked hard.

Top mounts cleaned and greased up well, and bushes don't seem to have noticeable play. Fitting is easy enough if you're happy to get stuck in.

Caveat this lot with the fact that I haven't driven the car yet as it's off the road for some other jobs, but given the state of the old suspension I'm expecting good things.

[shnazzle]

Definitely. Those who have put it on fresh KYBs have been very happy.
I remember how the car handled on stock and it wasn't exactly terrible! We did some pretty darn good runs.

Coilovers are definitely not for everyone.

Under 500 is really good. Granted, most of the cost is in topmounts.

Alternatively keep your top mounts+perished rubber and use coilover socks to protect the springs/strut (30 quid).

[Bossworld]

Financially, these cars are probably at a tipping point given the youngest ones are now 11 years old.

Add in the mileage and the £295 I just forked out for a new subframe makes no financial sense.

However, that's what you've got to expect when shopping for a car less than the £3k mark.  I probably should have gone back to be garage that sold me mine but to be honest, i expect they'd have just refunded me and scrapped it.

Best not to try and think about the financial side of it, as much as you can and just enjoy the car as others have said

[Kenny_G]

Thanks for all your replies

I think I would need to see how the car is with coilovers - I think they would be too harsh as I have no plans to track the car - its more of a daily driver for me with the occasional drive round the backroads - the roads up here are not the best either.

I'll keep looking at what is out there - I never thought of looking to the US for parts either - may have to widen my search, I think I'd like uprated shocks and lowering springs, renewal of the droplinks and a proper alignment though.

Hopefully there will be a meet sometime soon so I can see how others have theirs setup and what the ride comfort / handling balance is... I do like the car but also saving for a house deposit too so my car spends are not as much as I'd like  s:) s:)

[Ardent]

Have a look in the events section.
There is a meet next sunday if you're about

[MR TWO]

From a purely financial view point, these cars are practically worthless, and thats that! However you can easily convince yourself to spend money on it when you consider how much it would cost to buy any other mid engined convertible two seater with those miles, MOT in reasonable condition...

Coilovers are much less harsh than I expected and the handling is improved by adding them.  I have BC's and would not change to any other suspension. That said I have fantastic seats which probably improve the ride.  I have also spoken with a great many owners who rave about their KYBs and none who disliked/ regretted buying them.

You can typically sell a set of used coilovers here fairly quickly and recoup the money, so keep your current ones to put back on the car prior to a future sale of the car?

PS.
Despite their lack of monetary value, these cars in good condition are fantastic to drive and I wouldn't part with mine for the world. Unless the world included a Lancia Stratos!

[ayresyboy]

I recommend Meister R's