Meister R Group buy

[ooch]

Hello,

I've seen a lot of posts make reference to the Meister R coilover group buy but can't actually find the group buy itself on the forum. Is this still running or has it ended?

[Call the midlife!]

Last one was a couple of years ago, a couple of members approached them about another last year but were unsuccessful.
By all means approach Meister again, you might have more luck when we're out of lockdown if they need to generate some sales.

[Gaz mr-s]

It was me that did the last one, approx 10 people did it. The price of the shocks went up quite a bit after that.
You could try contacting them yourself & see if they'd be interested, how many they could supply (it is a low-selling item for them) what discount they'd offer & then see how many people were interested.
It took patience dealing with Meisterr.

It was also me that that directed you to the Koni thread to see what else is considered. Unless you're building a sole-use track car I think the Koni conversion is the good choice.

Or o/e KYB & Teins which are also mentioned in that thread.

[Call the midlife!]

The current version of Meisters are £850 a set, or £1900 for extra fancy.
I don't think we got more than 10% discount last time so even if you could arrange a group buy I think there are cheaper brands available at full price.

[ooch]

It was me that did the last one, approx 10 people did it. The price of the shocks went up quite a bit after that.
You could try contacting them yourself & see if they'd be interested, how many they could supply (it is a low-selling item for them) what discount they'd offer & then see how many people were interested.
It took patience dealing with Meisterr.

It was also me that that directed you to the Koni thread to see what else is considered. Unless you're building a sole-use track car I think the Koni conversion is the good choice.

Or o/e KYB & Teins which are also mentioned in that thread.

I looked at the koni inserts but my casings are all rusted. They got picked up as an advisory on a previous MOT so I'm now looking at either coilovers or new shocks. When I started pricing up top mounts, bump stops and covers I thought it might be less hassle and not too much more expense to go with Meister R's

[ooch]

The current version of Meisters are £850 a set, or £1900 for extra fancy.
I don't think we got more than 10% discount last time so even if you could arrange a group buy I think there are cheaper brands available at full price.

I'd read that Meister R were the closest to OEM in terms of comfort. Think I may be able to get 5% discount for the CRD which would bring them down to £800.

[Call the midlife!]

If you dial them right back then they're quite compliant but can also be a bit "floaty", I can't remember what s standard set up feels like as I've had the Meisters on more or less from the start. 
They soon start to feel harsh on the road as you tighten them up, depending on your reasons for wanting them, given what I know now I'd not fit them to another car.
I'm always one more jarred spine away from fitting KYBs and Teins.

[Gaz mr-s]

I'd read that Meister R were the closest to OEM in terms of comfort.

I don't agree with that. Mine were horrendous for several hundred miles. They have softened now, but I'd already bought the Koni, but no loss as the Meister are going on my partner's car. As recommended by Beachbum I'm going to fit tender springs in addition to the Meister 5 & 7kg.

They can't give as 'comfortable' a ride as stock with springs that are so much stiffer. Stock are reputedly 1.4 & 1.9kg

Turning the damping to minimum on the Meister makes it bounce, badly. They have to be turned up a few clicks.   How well they would work with softer springs at a low-damping..?  I wanted 4 & 6kg when I ordered, but Meister don't offer an option like BC do.

If you want closest to o/e comfort new KYB is the best option.   

[Gaz mr-s]

I looked at the koni inserts but my casings are all rusted. They got picked up as an advisory on a previous MOT so I'm now looking at either coilovers or new shocks. When I started pricing up top mounts, bump stops and covers I thought it might be less hassle and not too much more expense to go with Meister R's

Sorry, I missed that post. Mine were rusty too. I had intended getting them powdercoated, but after getting them blasted & seeing how pitted they were I have painted them with Por15. There's a lot of metal to them, - they'd have to be really bad to be structurally poor.
Alternatively see if you can pick up a set of struts from a Breaker & convert them. That way you can keep the car running until ready to do the swap.


Autodoc's prices for strut mounts are £29 & £17 right now. The Akisha front mount is fitted with a sealed bearing which I think is a better arrangement than o/e.

Or TCB?

[james_ly]

I bought them in that group buy. Back on my OEM dampers now, and much prefer it... once you get over the 'ooh shiny' factor, and try OEM again... I don't miss them. Note I am on normal tyres, maybe on track tyres the OEM is too sloppy.

[ooch]

Thanks for the advice everyone, it's moved me back towards OEM set-up now. I have no plans to ever track the car and just want something that is comfortable but still handles well on our fantastic UK roads

[Call the midlife!]

Don't let us put you off, the Meisters are great at what they do, just don't do it very comfortably with your foot in around a nice set of B roads and can give some hair raising moments on bumpy corners/junctions.
But if you drive them right they're lovely, it could also be the combination of the coilovers and the added chassis/suspension bracing so you've got to look at your own set up really.
There's a lot to be said for standard KYBs and 30mm lowering Teins, I'd do that tomorrow if I was changing them again.
And probably get around £500 for the Meisters...

[ooch]

Don't let us put you off, the Meisters are great at what they do, just don't do it very comfortably with your foot in around a nice set of B roads and can give some hair raising moments on bumpy corners/junctions.
But if you drive them right they're lovely, it could also be the combination of the coilovers and the added chassis/suspension bracing so you've got to look at your own set up really.
There's a lot to be said for standard KYBs and 30mm lowering Teins, I'd do that tomorrow if I was changing them again.
And probably get around £500 for the Meisters...

Cheers for that. My car currently has Apex lowering springs that were on when I bought it. I like the ride height and I think they still have life left in them (from looking at previous MOT's they are 5 years old and have covered maybe 20k miles) but my set-up at the minute doesn't feel right. It's got original potenzas on which have a very stiff side wall but I think the bump stops on the shock are also wrecked so the ride is quite unforgiving when you hit a bumpy section of road. I've tried to insert a pic of one of the bumpstops:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/abTo8q1iMegQCwyx8

[Alex Knight]

My car had Meister-R coilovers on it when I bought it back.

I can only echo what has been said above. With the dampers wound right back, the springs fell out of sync with the dampers, and the ride was horrendously bouncy. It always felt to me like they weren't engineered all the way through.

I'm now in Tein SuperStreet coilovers, and you can almost literally feel the difference in engineering quality.