pulse Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Hi all, Can anybody tell me anything about this suspension.. I'm getting a major service done to the car today, and I was just told that it has: (spelling is probably incorrect, I was told this over the phone..) Thame front suspension (tame? I have no idea.. can't find anything at all about this) & Bilstein rear suspension Just trying to spell it as the mechanic said it.. does anybody know what the first make would be (think of something that rhymes maybe..?) Is this suspension any good? I take it that it's aftermarket and not standard, and apparently my car has been lowered. I think there may be a small problem with the front suspension so I'm wondering roughly what this will cost to replace.. Any thoughts or information appreciated Cheers -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 For the fronts, he might have said TEIN, although I would have thought your front and rear suspension should match:conf: As the B man says, someone who knows should be along soon anyhow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 It would be TEIN suspension. Some people like it, I have had endless trouble with cars fitted with it failing MOTs with leaks, and customers complaining about knocking. They seem neither durable nor do pairs seem to have remotely similar damping characteristics. Bilstein are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulse Posted July 25, 2003 Author Share Posted July 25, 2003 Originally posted by Chris Wilson It would be TEIN suspension. Some people like it, I have had endless trouble with cars fitted with it failing MOTs with leaks, and customers complaining about knocking. They seem neither durable nor do pairs seem to have remotely similar damping characteristics. Bilstein are excellent. It's funny you should say that, as I've just been chatting to my mechanic and the TEIN (you're right, that's the brand) suspension on the front is...... leaking and knocking. The rear suspension is TRD-badged Bilstein. So, I'm not sure what to do about this. He thinks that a lot of money was spent on it at some point in its life (the car), and is recommending I try and keep it if possible (the TEIN), and having only bought the car recently I don't really have the finances to be replacing the suspension at the moment. He seemed to think maybe servicing the shock absorbers could fix it, any ideas? I wonder if this would be covered under my JIC warranty.. or is it wear and tear? Thanks -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam W Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 New shocks aren't a megabucks item. No idea on Bilstein prices but I would cast a wild guess at around £100 a corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 As Koni no longer seem to be able to supply the base units I used for my suspension kits i have had to go across to Bilstein, which are dearer to revalve. However, it does mean I now keep Bilstein, both standard, for use with stock springs, or revalved, to use with my progressive springs, on the shelf, so you could have Bilstein all round. AFAIK no one in the UK can rebuild Tein units, and if they could i doubt it would be cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Hi, We are main agents for Tein and whilst I agree with CW that repairing them isn't a cost-effective solution I disagree that the product is poor in any way. I personally feel that any problems with them are down to circumstance rather than a fault. In a similar way that a very high propotion of our imports have had a smack in some way. Once things start wearing out or breaking the Japs just flog them to us. They do not appear to be interested in repairing cars, presumably because of their strict MOT laws. Do a search and you will find both mine and CW's recent opinions on Tein on another thread. Please PM if you wish to discuss pricing, but a new set of Teins, even the lowest spec, will be considerably more expensive than stock items, which are bl**dy cheap IMO considering the potential of the car as a whole. Best regards, Nathan TDI PLC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Cargill Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 I think the stock Bilstiens (yellow) retail at about 140 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulse Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 While I wait for my replacement shocks and various other bits to arrive, am I going to damage anything by continuing to drive the car? As stated earlier, the suspension is knocking (and apparently leaking) fairly badly.. you can hear it softly, and definitely tell the steering doesn't like it.. but am I going to break anything, or will the car just be harder/less comfortable to drive? Currently I'm driving to/from work and doing an occasional ~20 mile trip to friend's places, things like that.. it shouldn't be too long (hoping this week) until the suspension is sorted, but I don't want to screw something else up too. Incidentally, I NEED to go to Heathrow on Saturday, which is about 60 or so miles each way from Aylesbury. If my suspension isn't sorted by this weekend then I have no choice but to drive.. hence another reason I want to know if I'm damaging anything Cheers -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piran Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 one thing I found when my suspension died was that I ended up with massive tyre wear... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulse Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 Thanks Piran, Tyre wear I can deal with, I only live about 2.5 miles from work (I only drive because I'm perpetually running late) so that's not going to do too much damage to the tyres in the ~week it's been knackered for.. Mostly worried about the trip out to Heathrow (all motorway driving the whole way too).. I've had a look at the tyres and they don't look 'obviously' degraded compared to others on the car.. hrm. Anybody else? cheers -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need4Speed Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 TRD-badged Bilstein Are these the grey ones or the yellow ones? I think the grey ones are harder and more expensive than the yellow ones. My TRD Bilsteins failed and I replaced them with Konis from Fennsport. Perfectly good for the road. Also I think the TEIN ones have adustable spring platforms. If so you have endless possibilities to get a bad setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need4Speed Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 Pulse - if they're leaking and knocking you may well be in big trouble if you need to avaoid something in a hurry! I wouldn't drive a car in that condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 Originally posted by pulse Thanks Piran, Tyre wear I can deal with, I only live about 2.5 miles from work (I only drive because I'm perpetually running late) so that's not going to do too much damage to the tyres in the ~week it's been knackered for.. Mostly worried about the trip out to Heathrow (all motorway driving the whole way too).. I've had a look at the tyres and they don't look 'obviously' degraded compared to others on the car.. hrm. Anybody else? cheers -p It's most unlikely anything will break, so you SHOULD be OK driving it carefully until it's fixed. Take care though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulse Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 Originally posted by John Packham Are these the grey ones or the yellow ones? I think the grey ones are harder and more expensive than the yellow ones. My TRD Bilsteins failed and I replaced them with Konis from Fennsport. Perfectly good for the road. Also I think the TEIN ones have adustable spring platforms. If so you have endless possibilities to get a bad setup. Yeah, the front suspension is TEIN adjustable. I'm not sure on the rear, I think they're the yellow Bilsteins.. I'm told that the car has been lowered about 25mm (my mechanic isn't 100% sure how much, but he's sure it's been lowered, and probably not by more than 25mm). Not being able to read the jap history properly is a pain, and the guy at work who speaks Japanese is sick of translating car documents for me I've ordered 2 new shocks from CW, but springs are the next problem. Because we THINK the car has been lowered, we're unsure what's going to happen with them. We don't know what springs are on the car, if they're stock springs or modified too. To be on the safe side, I've ordered 2 x UK spec springs which should fit the shocks I've ordered, but it may end up that the front of the car is 25mm higher than the rear.. which will look stupid, and God only knows what it'll do to the handling. If this is the case, I don't know if it'll be easier/cheaper to lower the front or raise the back, and which would make more sense.. but I really need the car running this weekend for the airport trip, and following that for the 10 days my girlfriend will be in the country before she disappears again. It's the worst time for something to break on me.. (sigh) Cheers John & Chris. -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 If the car HAS been lowered your best bet is a set of my custom lowering springs which are progressively wound to give a supple ride, yet tighten up fast in roll and brake dive. They drop the car a modest amount, lowering the MKIV much results in the suspension angles going to pot, and I mean the actual operating geometry (kinematics), not something that you can adjust out without raising all the inner wishbone mounts and rack, anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qaisar Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 ok so is it a problem having different suspension on the front and back? two at the front of mine match (tein) and two on the rear match (stock i think) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need4Speed Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Qaisar - it all depends on how far off the standard rates the Tein springs and dampers are. I would expect them not to work well together, simply on the assumption that Tein wouldn't sell well if they were just like the standard ones only prettier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulse Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Welp, finally this is all sorted! Just picked up my baby then and she knocks no more. Having looked at the TEIN shocks that came out, it's covered in crap, it was clearly leaking properly. It's so nice to be able to drive down a road without the car sounding like a jack-hammer under the front wheel Qaisar: I had TEIN front, TRD Bilstein back, and it worked fine until the TEINs went. I now have TRD all 'round, and it feels just as solid as it did with the TEIN so.. you should be okay. CW: Cheers, the TRDs look good and work properly, thanks for the help and the parts Others: Thanks for your thoughts I'm so happy my baby isn't hurting anymore :) -p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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