Post your suspension setup here

Paul Boz · 02-25-2005, 03:14 PM

Threads like these are pretty useful for helping people decide where to go with their suspension setups. Post your model mr2, what mods you have, and a pic of your drop if you have one.

car: 1991 MkII
mods: KYB AGX struts, Tein S Tech springs, urethane filled motor mounts
Review: Even on the softest settings (1 all around) the suspension is pretty stiff. I typically run mine on the hardest in the back (4) and 2nd to hardest in the front (3). It's pretty tough and hard to get used to, but I get amazing response from the car and I feel more connected to it. I'm sure my back hates it, but overall I wouldn't have it any other way. To be honest, I get sick when I ride in cars with soft suspension now. The tein springs drop the car about two inches and are progressive rate, but with the KYB's set to as hard as they are, there's not very much suspension travel at all. Simply upgrading the springs and struts made the car handle much better, and took away a lot of the uncertainty and randomness of how the 91-92 handles. I feel like i can push my car much harder. I have a set of prothane bushings and OEM ball joints waiting to be installed, and I’m going to upgrade to 93 sway bar and x member very soon.

rhouck · 02-25-2005, 06:31 PM

Car: 1991 MKII
Mods: Tein HA coilovers, Tein pillowball mounts, Suspension Techniques sway bars (front and rear)
Review: LOVE IT!!! Driven a huge variety of strut/spring combos and anyone who says you don't notice a handling difference except on the track needs to lay down the crack pipe. Car is perfectly flat making rapid lane changes, extremely predictable, easy to catch, and in general a ******* blast to drive

Ride stiffness is adjustable through 16 way dampers and, while I prefer to leave it high since my driving routes inevitably find twisty roads

, I have had no complaints on long drives and on the softer settings I actually find them more comfortable than most strut/spring combos.

As a final selling point, I have personally had 4 iirc local MR2 owners upgrade to full coilover suspension systems after driving/riding in my car and at least twice that number are actively looking for setups now. You get what you pay for imo and it's worth the cost

A pic is pointless because you can adjust it as low as you want!

Note: Tein HAs are discontinued and all but unavailable now. I would recommend the Tein Flex system to anyone who is looking for a nice coilover system (includes the pillowball mounts which imo are a great upgade).

Paul Boz · 02-25-2005, 07:10 PM

What do you think of the ST swaybars? I've always been afraid to even look at them after seeing all of the horror stories what with them ripping the mounts right off of the frame. Have you had any problems?

rhouck · 02-25-2005, 07:26 PM

I have had zero mechanical problems with them. Another local guy has them too and he hasn't had any issues either.

Only "problem" with them is they are marginally too stiff for the street, depending on where you live. If you live in an area with semi-decent roads you won't have any problems, but I know that I have to go slowly when turning over railroad tracks or the backend likes to "skip".

GReddySetGO · 02-26-2005, 02:35 AM

Car: 91 MKII turbo
Mods: Tein FLEX, w/ pillow mounts and EDFC.
Review: The coilovers are awesome, they improved road feel a lot. They are a little stiff for daily driving for the average person. But I don't mind at all. The EDFC makes changing the damping force according to road conditions very convenient. Also by having 3 presets, I don't have to fool around with it to get to the setting I want.

I haven't tracked it so I can't give that kind of review, yet

I plan on adding some ST sway bars soon also.

EL PAALO · 02-26-2005, 02:44 AM

From what I've seen (a decent amount), driven (barely enough), and read (decent amount) - it's looking like stiffer springs vs stiffer sway bars is a better way to go so you don't get that skip and don't pick up the front wheel on really tight turns. When you go really stiff with the sways you're taking away the independence of the suspension. On high speed smooth surfaces like highways stiff sways are good, but at the autox or similar I think it's easy to go too stiff (when springs would've been more beneficial).

I am one that's ripped out frame mounts, and it isn't pretty. I certainly wouldn't say that you shouldn't get stiff sways like st's because of this, but I would say that strengthening those mounting points and the tabs on the struts where the endlinks mount is very wise.

Triad.: · 02-27-2005, 03:17 AM

Car: 91 MKII Gen3 turbo
Mods: Apex'i N1, w/ pillow mounts, Urethane 90A filled mounts, TRD front and rear strut tower bars
Review: These coilovers are really stiff out the box, I think the spring rates for them are right around 9K (with the rears a little stiffer). The ride is pretty rough so I hate driving in the city with them because I am afraid I'm going to snap something.

Regarding El Paalo's post about stiffness. I would say that is pretty accurate as far as not lifting the front, you really have to worry about understeer/oversteer (depending on your tune) though because the rear comes around faster (in my opinion) than with a stock suspension.

DrakesKakes · 02-27-2005, 03:39 AM

KYB AGX
H&R Springs.
FD wheels, 16x8 with 245/45/16 and 215/40/16
H%R 15 MM spacers up front... pics to follow tommorow.

mr2slow4you · 02-27-2005, 08:39 AM

1991 front blown suspension
1993 complete rear suspension w/stock struts and RSR springs

The handling is amazing until I get in the car and drive, then it sucks, the front just like feels like its floating and my car looks like its in a perpetual wheelie.

DrakesKakes · 02-27-2005, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr2slow4you

1991 front blown suspension
1993 complete rear suspension w/stock struts and RSR springs

The handling is amazing until I get in the car and drive, then it sucks, the front just like feels like its floating and my car looks like its in a perpetual wheelie.

HAHA nice line!

aznh2oman · 02-27-2005, 10:19 PM

91 turbo mr2

tein flex, trd strut and sway bars, tworus endlinks

car still handles worse than the NA with kyb and stechs... UGHH

mr2slow4you · 02-27-2005, 10:45 PM

would the kyb's and h&r's be a good match?

MR2Racer28 · 02-28-2005, 12:00 PM

1985 Toyota MR2

Suspension: High and Tight Bushing Kit, High and Tight Rear Sway Bar, Suspension Techniques Front Sway Bar, High and Tight Endlinks on all 4 corners, Unknown 4 way shocks in the rear with stock springs and stock front shocks.

Good feel so far. I need springs though.

monopolizedinc · 02-28-2005, 12:57 PM

Car: 93 n/a chassis
Mods: eibach sportline springs, kyb agx struts, st swaybars.

Review: i love the adjustability of the agx's and the ride i get from the spring/strut combo but when i have it set stiff the car bounces arround alot and that i dont like. As far as the swaybars i get the inide wheel off the ground arround turns all the time on uneven pavement. At first i thought it was pretty cool, pull up to get out of a parkinglot and one of the front wheels are off the ground but when its the rear thats off the ground i get wheel spin and normally jerks the car pretty bad when it finaly makes contact. i hope after the gen3 is in the lsd will help that

nigel · 03-01-2005, 03:33 AM

car: 86 n/a sunroof
suspension: h&t poly bushings, eibach springs, I think the shocks are either KYB or tokico non-adjustable, stock front sway bar, stock front strut brace, enkei 12.4lb 15x7s

review: this is a pretty solid setup. I had a heavier set of 16x7s on before, and with those the setup wasnt so good. The steering was really heavy at lower speeds, and it was to stiff, but with my current wheels, it is good. I have a stock rear sway bar that I just need endlinks for and then I can install it. that should help a lot. For my last mk1, I welded myself a super stiff rear strut brace but it went with the car. It war really really good. I definitely need to either make/buy another one. it really tightened up the car. I would have much rathered have adjustable shocks though, so for anyone who is considering an upgrade, lay down the extra money, you wont regret it.

TWBarrett · 03-01-2005, 12:41 PM

Car: 1991 HT NA
Suspension: Eibach Pro-kit springs, Bilstein Struts, 215/40/17f and 235/40/17r

Review: My MR2 is my daily; I don't take it to the track. That being said, this suspension setup is very behaved for daily driving. The progressive spring rates on the pro-kits give me a softer feel while I'm just driving around town, and a reasonably stiff feeling when I am cornering. I elected to go with the pro-kits instead of the sportlines because I didn't want to be scraping everywhere, and in that regard I have suceeded. With my wheel/tire setup, the pro-kits drop a '91 about .5" below stock. On the 17's, it looks quite a bit better, and I am yet to rub anywhere but the most retarded of driveways (I hate your driveway Ryan). Looking back, I wish I would have gone with the sportlines, because the pro-kits don't lower it too much below stock.

The body roll is lessened quite a bit from stock, but nowhere near the point that some other cars are. I used to roll around town with Ryan all the time and marvel at how flat his car was.

With the Bilsteins, you lose the adjustability of the KYBs and Tokicos, but you gain a lifetime warranty, and a far easier install. Also, since the Bilsteins are a complete unit, instead of just an instert, you get new endlinks for your sway bars, so you don't really have to worry about breaking them off if you upgrade your sways.

I would reccoment this setup to anyone who drives their MR2 like I do, but if you ever want to track your '2 semi-seriously, I would go with something else.

Nacho · 03-04-2005, 02:34 AM

car: 1993 turbo
mods: Eibach Sportlines and Koni Yellows (well, they would be if they weren't inserts).
car's great as far as stance goes. As a street car, it's not too stiff, but still sporty. I'd reccomend it to anyone with light sport asperations and still uses it on the street.

However, I spend alot of time w/ solo II, so i need to get rid of the progressive springs. I ordered Tein Flex's today.

Redlyne_mr2 · 03-07-2005, 12:52 AM

1991 MR2 turbo
Front: Tein HA with PBM, 2 variety of springs depending on driving conditions
Rear: Cusco Zero 2's with PBM
Bushings: H&t bushings
Sway bars: ST front and rear sway bars
Lower arm bar: JIC
Endlinks: Tien and Cusco
Strut bars: TRD rear and JIC carbon fiber front

Extras: I had re-enforcement plates welded to specific weak points on the frame

Kupop · 03-07-2005, 11:48 AM

Car: 1993 MR2 Turbo, T-tops
Suspension: Tein Flex, TRD front sway bar, Cusco front strut tower bar, H&T rear end links, and currently working on H&T bushings.

Review: I didn't get the chance to drive my car much after installing the items (other than the H&T bushings) because when I got the items it was nearly winter and beginning to snow. The few times I had it out it was a much better feel than the original pieces that were on the car. Not to mention the front left shock was leaking and the right rear was completely dead.

I did notice more oversteer though but I have less than 120 miles on this setup so I havn't even begun to adjust them.

Wheels & Tires: Stock 93 rims (no spacers), 205/50/15 S03 in the front; 225/50/15 ES100 in the rear. (Another factor to oversteer).

02-25-2005, 03:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Paul Boz Nice Probe dood! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 197 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Post your suspension setup here Threads like these are pretty useful for helping people decide where to go with their suspension setups. Post your model mr2, what mods you have, and a pic of your drop if you have one. car: 1991 MkII mods: KYB AGX struts, Tein S Tech springs, urethane filled motor mounts Review: Even on the softest settings (1 all around) the suspension is pretty stiff. I typically run mine on the hardest in the back (4) and 2nd to hardest in the front (3). It's pretty tough and hard to get used to, but I get amazing response from the car and I feel more connected to it. I'm sure my back hates it, but overall I wouldn't have it any other way. To be honest, I get sick when I ride in cars with soft suspension now. The tein springs drop the car about two inches and are progressive rate, but with the KYB's set to as hard as they are, there's not very much suspension travel at all. Simply upgrading the springs and struts made the car handle much better, and took away a lot of the uncertainty and randomness of how the 91-92 handles. I feel like i can push my car much harder. I have a set of prothane bushings and OEM ball joints waiting to be installed, and I’m going to upgrade to 93 sway bar and x member very soon.

02-26-2005, 02:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
EL PAALO Wheels make the car. Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 2,671 Thanks: 4 Thanked 86 Times in 82 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	From what I've seen (a decent amount), driven (barely enough), and read (decent amount) - it's looking like stiffer springs vs stiffer sway bars is a better way to go so you don't get that skip and don't pick up the front wheel on really tight turns. When you go really stiff with the sways you're taking away the independence of the suspension. On high speed smooth surfaces like highways stiff sways are good, but at the autox or similar I think it's easy to go too stiff (when springs would've been more beneficial). I am one that's ripped out frame mounts, and it isn't pretty. I certainly wouldn't say that you shouldn't get stiff sways like st's because of this, but I would say that strengthening those mounting points and the tabs on the struts where the endlinks mount is very wise. __________________ WHEELSPECS.COM - a ridiculous number of wheel pics & links

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02-25-2005, 06:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
rhouck enter witty title here Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sammamish, WA / Washington, DC Posts: 711 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Car: 1991 MKII Mods: Tein HA coilovers, Tein pillowball mounts, Suspension Techniques sway bars (front and rear) Review: LOVE IT!!! Driven a huge variety of strut/spring combos and anyone who says you don't notice a handling difference except on the track needs to lay down the crack pipe. Car is perfectly flat making rapid lane changes, extremely predictable, easy to catch, and in general a ******* blast to drive Ride stiffness is adjustable through 16 way dampers and, while I prefer to leave it high since my driving routes inevitably find twisty roads , I have had no complaints on long drives and on the softer settings I actually find them more comfortable than most strut/spring combos. As a final selling point, I have personally had 4 iirc local MR2 owners upgrade to full coilover suspension systems after driving/riding in my car and at least twice that number are actively looking for setups now. You get what you pay for imo and it's worth the cost A pic is pointless because you can adjust it as low as you want! Note: Tein HAs are discontinued and all but unavailable now. I would recommend the Tein Flex system to anyone who is looking for a nice coilover system (includes the pillowball mounts which imo are a great upgade).

02-25-2005, 07:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
Paul Boz Nice Probe dood! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 197 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	What do you think of the ST swaybars? I've always been afraid to even look at them after seeing all of the horror stories what with them ripping the mounts right off of the frame. Have you had any problems?

02-25-2005, 07:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
rhouck enter witty title here Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sammamish, WA / Washington, DC Posts: 711 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I have had zero mechanical problems with them. Another local guy has them too and he hasn't had any issues either. Only "problem" with them is they are marginally too stiff for the street, depending on where you live. If you live in an area with semi-decent roads you won't have any problems, but I know that I have to go slowly when turning over railroad tracks or the backend likes to "skip".

02-26-2005, 02:35 AM	#5 (permalink)
GReddySetGO Forced Fed @ 20psi Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 456 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (6/100% )	Car: 91 MKII turbo Mods: Tein FLEX, w/ pillow mounts and EDFC. Review: The coilovers are awesome, they improved road feel a lot. They are a little stiff for daily driving for the average person. But I don't mind at all. The EDFC makes changing the damping force according to road conditions very convenient. Also by having 3 presets, I don't have to fool around with it to get to the setting I want. I haven't tracked it so I can't give that kind of review, yet I plan on adding some ST sway bars soon also.

02-27-2005, 03:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
Triad.: Mad Skills Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,090 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Car: 91 MKII Gen3 turbo Mods: Apex'i N1, w/ pillow mounts, Urethane 90A filled mounts, TRD front and rear strut tower bars Review: These coilovers are really stiff out the box, I think the spring rates for them are right around 9K (with the rears a little stiffer). The ride is pretty rough so I hate driving in the city with them because I am afraid I'm going to snap something. Regarding El Paalo's post about stiffness. I would say that is pretty accurate as far as not lifting the front, you really have to worry about understeer/oversteer (depending on your tune) though because the rear comes around faster (in my opinion) than with a stock suspension.

02-27-2005, 03:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
DrakesKakes Cream Filling! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Long Island Posts: 393 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	KYB AGX H&R Springs. FD wheels, 16x8 with 245/45/16 and 215/40/16 H%R 15 MM spacers up front... pics to follow tommorow.

02-27-2005, 08:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
mr2slow4you ME out of training :) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clemmons, NC Posts: 2,336 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	1991 front blown suspension 1993 complete rear suspension w/stock struts and RSR springs The handling is amazing until I get in the car and drive, then it sucks, the front just like feels like its floating and my car looks like its in a perpetual wheelie.

02-27-2005, 10:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
aznh2oman No Skills Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	91 turbo mr2 tein flex, trd strut and sway bars, tworus endlinks car still handles worse than the NA with kyb and stechs... UGHH

02-27-2005, 10:45 PM	#12 (permalink)
mr2slow4you ME out of training :) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clemmons, NC Posts: 2,336 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	would the kyb's and h&r's be a good match?

02-28-2005, 12:00 PM	#13 (permalink)
MR2Racer28 Fastest MKI In Socal Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Temple City, CA Posts: 66 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	1985 Toyota MR2 Suspension: High and Tight Bushing Kit, High and Tight Rear Sway Bar, Suspension Techniques Front Sway Bar, High and Tight Endlinks on all 4 corners, Unknown 4 way shocks in the rear with stock springs and stock front shocks. Good feel so far. I need springs though.

02-28-2005, 12:57 PM	#14 (permalink)
monopolizedinc They call me LUCKY! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: lynchburg va Posts: 1,232 Thanks: 15 Thanked 20 Times in 16 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (8/100% )	Car: 93 n/a chassis Mods: eibach sportline springs, kyb agx struts, st swaybars. Review: i love the adjustability of the agx's and the ride i get from the spring/strut combo but when i have it set stiff the car bounces arround alot and that i dont like. As far as the swaybars i get the inide wheel off the ground arround turns all the time on uneven pavement. At first i thought it was pretty cool, pull up to get out of a parkinglot and one of the front wheels are off the ground but when its the rear thats off the ground i get wheel spin and normally jerks the car pretty bad when it finaly makes contact. i hope after the gen3 is in the lsd will help that

03-01-2005, 03:33 AM	#15 (permalink)
nigel slowly becoming chinese Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 47 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	car: 86 n/a sunroof suspension: h&t poly bushings, eibach springs, I think the shocks are either KYB or tokico non-adjustable, stock front sway bar, stock front strut brace, enkei 12.4lb 15x7s review: this is a pretty solid setup. I had a heavier set of 16x7s on before, and with those the setup wasnt so good. The steering was really heavy at lower speeds, and it was to stiff, but with my current wheels, it is good. I have a stock rear sway bar that I just need endlinks for and then I can install it. that should help a lot. For my last mk1, I welded myself a super stiff rear strut brace but it went with the car. It war really really good. I definitely need to either make/buy another one. it really tightened up the car. I would have much rathered have adjustable shocks though, so for anyone who is considering an upgrade, lay down the extra money, you wont regret it.

03-01-2005, 12:41 PM	#16 (permalink)
TWBarrett Hardtopper Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 100 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Car: 1991 HT NA Suspension: Eibach Pro-kit springs, Bilstein Struts, 215/40/17f and 235/40/17r Review: My MR2 is my daily; I don't take it to the track. That being said, this suspension setup is very behaved for daily driving. The progressive spring rates on the pro-kits give me a softer feel while I'm just driving around town, and a reasonably stiff feeling when I am cornering. I elected to go with the pro-kits instead of the sportlines because I didn't want to be scraping everywhere, and in that regard I have suceeded. With my wheel/tire setup, the pro-kits drop a '91 about .5" below stock. On the 17's, it looks quite a bit better, and I am yet to rub anywhere but the most retarded of driveways (I hate your driveway Ryan). Looking back, I wish I would have gone with the sportlines, because the pro-kits don't lower it too much below stock. The body roll is lessened quite a bit from stock, but nowhere near the point that some other cars are. I used to roll around town with Ryan all the time and marvel at how flat his car was. With the Bilsteins, you lose the adjustability of the KYBs and Tokicos, but you gain a lifetime warranty, and a far easier install. Also, since the Bilsteins are a complete unit, instead of just an instert, you get new endlinks for your sway bars, so you don't really have to worry about breaking them off if you upgrade your sways. I would reccoment this setup to anyone who drives their MR2 like I do, but if you ever want to track your '2 semi-seriously, I would go with something else.

03-04-2005, 02:34 AM	#17 (permalink)
Nacho OMGWTFBBQ!? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 162 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	car: 1993 turbo mods: Eibach Sportlines and Koni Yellows (well, they would be if they weren't inserts). car's great as far as stance goes. As a street car, it's not too stiff, but still sporty. I'd reccomend it to anyone with light sport asperations and still uses it on the street. However, I spend alot of time w/ solo II, so i need to get rid of the progressive springs. I ordered Tein Flex's today.

03-07-2005, 12:52 AM	#18 (permalink)
Redlyne_mr2 I Pump Cougars Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 239 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	1991 MR2 turbo Front: Tein HA with PBM, 2 variety of springs depending on driving conditions Rear: Cusco Zero 2's with PBM Bushings: H&t bushings Sway bars: ST front and rear sway bars Lower arm bar: JIC Endlinks: Tien and Cusco Strut bars: TRD rear and JIC carbon fiber front Extras: I had re-enforcement plates welded to specific weak points on the frame

03-07-2005, 11:48 AM	#19 (permalink)
Kupop Some Skills Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Weatherly, PA Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (6/100% )	Car: 1993 MR2 Turbo, T-tops Suspension: Tein Flex, TRD front sway bar, Cusco front strut tower bar, H&T rear end links, and currently working on H&T bushings. Review: I didn't get the chance to drive my car much after installing the items (other than the H&T bushings) because when I got the items it was nearly winter and beginning to snow. The few times I had it out it was a much better feel than the original pieces that were on the car. Not to mention the front left shock was leaking and the right rear was completely dead. I did notice more oversteer though but I have less than 120 miles on this setup so I havn't even begun to adjust them. Wheels & Tires: Stock 93 rims (no spacers), 205/50/15 S03 in the front; 225/50/15 ES100 in the rear. (Another factor to oversteer).