Tein SS fitting advice needed: awful knocking at rear

[Van]

Hi folks,

I spent all of yesterday fitting the Tein SS coilovers (without upper mounts) and didn\'t finish till 11pm. It took much longer than I had thought. :2Rolleyes

The last corner was the front n/s, working in poor light, I broke the ABS cable.:spank  Presumbly, I just need to break away parts of the plastic housing on the hub and solder the two wires back on. Is there a better way?

There\'s terrible knocking noises from the rear to both sides. I might need to tighten the top nut but assuming if it is not this, I wonder if it could be the removal of the upper mount rubber boots. On the upper mount there is a rubber protector which I cut away. This then exposes a thick rubber thing which I assumed was part of the "rubber boot to be removed" as noted on the fitting instructions. I now wonder whether I should have left the thick rubber bit inside the rubber cover.:xconfused

Thanks in advance

Van

[Van]

Well, the clunking/knocking issue has been solved. It seems that, whilst I was tightening the top nut, the threaded damper rod rotated and caused the lower nut to loosen resulting in a gap which "slaps" on bumps.

From the boot I unscrewed the mounting nuts and removed the bracing member, top nuts and bushings. This then exposes the loose lower nut which I tightened and and put all back together again but this time, I held the bushes when tightening the top nuts so that the damper rod does not rotated.

Now to test the new coilovers...and buy petrol.

[gonzoninja]

Hi, I have the same coilovers. I bought the ones without the top-mounts thinking I could simply upgrade them by buying the top mounts

APPARENTLY NOT!!! :mad:

After speaking with Whifbitz and then TEIN UK themselves the two versions of Super-streets are not the same!!!

Basically if you want to upgrade them you have to buy a new set of springs AND the top-mounts costing another £420 + VAT on top of the price you paid for the original dampers!!!

No where on TEIN\'S website does it point this out!

Just wanted everyone to know that if you want Super-Streets get the ones with Top-mounts!!!

[Van]

Thanks Gonzo, I didn\'t know that! Just as well that I have not desire to upgrade to the Tein top mounts.

[gonzoninja]

Aaaah well neither was I, but the standard top mounts on mine are pretty worn (its a late 1993 car), so was going to replace and figured I might as well get the uprated versions (plus Mazda probably charge the earth for new top mounts).

It\'s just annoying that TEIN don\'t mention this anywhere. From the fitting instructions on the back they look EXACTLY the same.

[RemarkLima]

Hey guys, what\'s this suspension like? Does it ride well on the softer settings or is it still pretty hard? I don\'t mind it being hard, it\'d just be nice if it rides the bumps of every UK road well.

Trying to weigh up my suspension options really... Something good on the road but still able to cope with a few trackdays ideally.

Cheers, Mark

[gonzoninja]

I have mine set about 3 clicks in from the softest setting and it rides the same as my standard suspension I reckon.

On the hardest settings I think it would be good for a track day. Obviously if you plan on doing a lot of racing then you might wanna get something else

[RemarkLima]

That sounds good! It\'ll just be the odd trackday here and there to be honest, for racing I\'ll still be doing the odd MR2 Challenge day next year, so it\'s more for fun rather than all out speed / racing etc...

Something that\'s a nice ride on the road and isn\'t too crashy IYSWIM... Sounds like these could well be the ticket!

The pillowball top mounts... Worth it or not? I guess mine are getting quite old now so as you were thinking replacing them would be a good idea, but as it\'s not a direct upgrade then if it\'s worth doing then I\'ll do it now I guess Starting out on the FD\'s so you\'ll have to bear with me!

[Van]

Hi Mark

I\'ve got mine set to 7 clicks from hardest at the front and 8 clicks from hardest at the rear as I like the car to set quite low. You can\'t have the suspension really soft with a low ride height as the vertical height is limited under the wheel arch.

At my setting it is quite hard but as long as you avoid the potholes etc you\'ll be fine.

Not sure how it compares to the standard setup as mine was lowered when I got it and the dampers were shot- as I discovered.

[gonzoninja]

If I knew what I did now I would get the super streets with top mounts. The diffrence between the two kits I think is about £200-£250 whereas if you get them later it will be £420.

[RemarkLima]

Cheers guys, that\'s probably what I\'ll go for, sounds like the best all round to me.

Much appreciated! Need it soon or I\'m going to neeed seasickness tablets when I drive the RX!