struggling to choose the right set of springs

[hjscmh]

As the title suggests, I am struggling to choose the right set of springs. I have 17" rims, 7j front, 8j rear, with 215/40 front and 235/40 rear. I am not sure how far i can drop the car without it scraping. Could anyone help with a guess-timate on that?

Also i have seen some Lesjöfors on ebay from mr2-ben but I have never heard of the brand. Has anyone had any experience with them?

apex vs Lesjöfors?

Thanks in advance!

[gnzyza]

Apex are soft and the lesjofers are softer still. I have spax 40mil drop on yellow Billie's and think it's the best combo on a fixed strut imo. Retains a really good compliant ride while being firm and flat through the bends. If your shocks are tired though it may just be cheaper to go couplers.

[hjscmh]

i forgot to mention i am also on yellow billies

I have since found a set of 40mm teins going cheap for £100 that have been used for about 200 miles but were replaced because they were apparently too hard.

So now i have even more choice... 40mm teins for £100 are now in the mix too. I have not managed to find anywhere that sells spax, but im looking for something that sticks to the bends more than anything.

[androo007]

TEIN are notoriously hard. In teh past I've found Eibach to be the best for me on other cars.

[gnzyza]

Teins have hard spring rates. Not suited to the shock imo. 40mm is also on the max side for the yellow Billie's but mine are ok on spax.

Eibach are hard to get hold of.

[pbmr2]

I'm going for the H&R springs. Had good reviews for road use, don't drop the car too far and they are a brand I've heard of. They may not be low enough for a lot of people though with only a claimed -20mm

[hjscmh]

well i am too impatient to wait for people to respond it seems. i now have a set of teins on their way to me.

praying they will fit as dropping 40mm on 17s may give me scraping. =[

we will see how it goes when they arrive on friday.

[gnzyza]

Think you'll be ok, what are your offsets

[androo007]

17s + hard springs..... crash bandicoot

[Al-sw20]

7's and 8's are hardly wide rims. I'd hazard a guess the offsets aren't going to be flush either. It won't rub with a set of springs. Maybe coilovers wound down.

[C35Rob]

17s + hard springs..... crash bandicoot

stock turbo springs are 2.3/3.75 kg/mm

Tein Stech springs are 2.5kg/mm front and 4.8kg/mm rear - I don't know how/why people think they're rock hard!

for example, the softest BC racing coilovers are 4/6kg, the stiffer option is 5/8kg HSD monos are 6/10kg and some of the japanese stuff (apexi N1 evo) are 12/16KG! (granted they're track stuff and probably pretty useless for UK roads, and all coliovers 'should' be valved appropriately for the spring)


if your car is bouncing about on mildly uprated road springs then it's your dampers that are the problem - either old and knackered or not valved appropriately for the springs

[Race Idiot]

Arent the Tein springs linear though? H&R, Eibach, TRD are all progressive springs so they get stiffer when loaded up iirc.

I've ridden in a car that was on yellow billies with teins and then driven my own car with yellow billies and TRD's back to back. The teins had a noticeably worse ride.

[hjscmh]

so just an update on the springs.

I did go with the tein springs as £100 for new ones was tough to pass up. However I have since diy-ed the install with a mate and now they are all on and working perfectly, but i am getting a knock on 3 of the 4 struts! We cant figure out what it is but it SOUNDS like a drop link knock, but how can 3 drop links fail at the same time?

Are drop links supposed to be changed when changing the ride height of a car? We went to get the tracking done after putting the springs on and the mechanic there said the drops were fine.

Anyone else had this issue?

[abovetherim]

If the mechanic has checked the drop links out then you can maybe rule them out.... but are the nuts for them tight enough. 49nm

Next how were the top mounts esp the fronts. Bearings on the front mounts can knock when worn. The rears could have been damaged.

Also either the front or the back mounts (or both but cant remember) have an oval shape for the top of the shaft to sit in to stop it spinning. Were these located properly?

Were the top nuts done up tight enough
Were the mount to body nuts done up tight enough
Were the spring seated properly.

Now did the rears have the little collar fitted before the top nut? see pic below


Did the fronts have the insulator ring above the spring? see pic below


The other possibility is that less saggy old springs are showing up already prsent problems like anti roll bar bushes (or the bush mounts on the front that are prone to rust).

Lastly lower ball joints can knock when bad. On mr2's the ball joints can seem alright untill you take em off and see how floppy they are. It could have been the final straw for them when the hub was flopped about on them when the shock was removed/refitted.

some stuff to look at

[hjscmh]

thanks for the replies,

as far as we can tell the nuts on the drops are tight enough, in that we cant tighten them anymore at all lol.

the top mounts seem fine and were seated correctly.

Some people have said that it takes time for the springs to settle down, and then an impact gun to the nut in the top mount should do it?

the rears did have the little collar.

Something we did find weird was that when the top mount went on, it didn't sit flat. it was wonky and at an angle. is that normal?

are ball joints expensive or a big job for a mechanic? never had to change them before, and theres no way im doing any more DIY work on this car. i regretted it as soon as the first wheel came off and we needed the hacksaw to get the brake line out!

[abovetherim]

Front ball joints are £15ish from Tcb parts or cheaper from eBay. Getting the old ones out of the hubs can be a pain sometimes. On mine 3 came out easy enough but one required a BFH and penetrant and time.
The front top mounts need to be facing a particular way. There should be a little triangle on the top Mount that needs to point inboard i think but it is in the bgb.

[SonicSW20]

17s + hard springs..... crash bandicoot

stock turbo springs are 2.3/3.75 kg/mm

Tein Stech springs are 2.5kg/mm front and 4.8kg/mm rear - I don't know how/why people think they're rock hard!

Probably because you end up hitting the bump stops over larger bumps.

[hjscmh]

i think i have managed to narrow it down.

We checked all the nuts and everything seems good. We really struggled to replicate the knock when the car was stood still. In my last ditch effort to replicate it, i opened the drivers door and stood on the sill cover thing and managed to make a single knock, then nothing. I then moved to the passenger side and did the same and got a single knock!

This makes me think that its something that directly connects both sides of the car such as the aftermarket lower strut bar or the anti roll bar. Because i was on monster truck stock springs the chassis was never put under stress therefore these two bars didnt have to work hard. Now its lowered they are working over time and i THINK need tightening?

Does my logic sound right?

[madbasshunter]

TEIN are notoriously hard. In teh past I've found Eibach to be the best for me on other cars.

The Teins are lower but the spax and eibach seem to be more like stock height to me and other people from the remarks I get

Spax springs yellow billies


Tein springs yellow billies


Eibach springs yellow billies


Now on 16's