Sourcing shocks and lowering springs

[gruk]

Mine would need a full rebuild, they are about 10 years old and honestly provide the worst possible ride. Thanks for the suggestion though:)

[rocco26]

Iam riding on bc golds and their softest settings is close to stock bilsteins on my 92 Gt.

[gruk]

I've been looking through options. Looks like I'll probably de-cert and go to shocks. Next step is finding some!
Bilsteins are essentially out of stock everywhere (Germany included) - they aren't in production anywhere but apparently one day will be again.

Couldn't find any Koni yellows. OEM aren't in stock at toyota nor are they in production.
It's looking like I'll be going for KYB's
Looking for some Cobra lows to go with.
Toyota have some top hats for me so that's good.

It's not an easy job finding what you want for these old girls!

[GDII]

Sounds like it's almost easier and a similar cost to stay with coilovers if you are after a decent setup.
Bilstein Blacks are close to $1400 a set plus springs at $600ish if you are getting new. So that's already $2000 which you can get a set of decent coilovers like Fortune Auto or upgraded BC racing for $200 more.
Bilstein HD are about $1600 a set landed and with springs they are at that coilover cost.
Koni Yellows are about that cost too so again coilover pricing.

BC racing BR or Gold as we call them are a bit cheaper so options are there for a budget.

Yeah, you need something better for the road than your old worn APEXi coilovers but if you want something good for the future KYB standard replacements with a lowering spring isn't the best. My car is on TRD springs that have a soft feel and rate and aren't too low but still the brand new Bilstein Blacks can't support them well enough to be a decent setup.

[tw2]

I like my koni's a lot. Comfortable for daily use and rebuildable. They are paired with stock springs. I don't regret ruling out coilovers at all. I had KW coilovers on a previous car and there was very little good about them despite being a good brand.

[gruk]

Sounds like it's almost easier and a similar cost to stay with coilovers if you are after a decent setup.

The trouble is that my cert specifies wheel sizes that I don’t have nor want, and sadly this was cited on my WOF check.

So easiest path to the ride I want is to de-cert and forget about coilovers. This gives me freedom to use whatever wheels I like.

The next bit of the puzzle is the availability of the shocks I actually want. If someone can point me at a supplier of Konis or equivalent with stock I would be very grateful

[tw2]

Just my opinion/rant: Import koni's from mr2heaven, prime or another well regarded US shop.

I got mine from NZ. No one actually has them in stock here 98% of the time. They are just a middleman. The actual official importer/distributor is georgestock in Auckland (they also do industrial machinery). It took them almost 10 months to get them, I actually thought the shop had taken my money and run at several points. You can buy them directly from georgestock (if they have them in stock) but the price is a LOT more than they will retail for otherwise. The direct to customer retail mark up is huge vs wholesale.

You can PM me for the NZ shop I used but DO NOT pay them unless they have them in stock or can confirm in writing they are actually available in NZ. At the very most I would pay a small deposit only. The US suppliers have them in stock, on a courier the next day, you will get stung for customs but save 10 months of your life.

As pointed out the only other good option is OEM bilstein but toyota are finished with line pricing on them and only had one pair of rears in existence when I inquired 1-2 years ago. Bilstein yellow are another good option but generally very hard to source and at least as expensive, usually more so than koni and don't perform any better. I think UK mr2ben might have them.

[GDII]

Sounds like it's almost easier and a similar cost to stay with coilovers if you are after a decent setup.

The trouble is that my cert specifies wheel sizes that I don’t have nor want, and sadly this was cited on my WOF check.

So easiest path to the ride I want is to de-cert and forget about coilovers. This gives me freedom to use whatever wheels I like.

The next bit of the puzzle is the availability of the shocks I actually want. If someone can point me at a supplier of Konis or equivalent with stock I would be very grateful

Yes, I agree with that in your situation.

[GDII]

Just my opinion/rant: Import koni's from mr2heaven, prime or another well regarded US shop.

I got mine from NZ. No one actually has them in stock here 98% of the time. They are just a middleman. The actual official importer/distributor is georgestock in Auckland (they also do industrial machinery). It took them almost 10 months to get them, I actually thought the shop had taken my money and run at several points. You can buy them directly from georgestock (if they have them in stock) but the price is a LOT more than they will retail for otherwise. The direct to customer retail mark up is huge vs wholesale.

You can PM me for the NZ shop I used but DO NOT pay them unless they have them in stock or can confirm in writing they are actually available in NZ. At the very most I would pay a small deposit only. The US suppliers have them in stock, on a courier the next day, you will get stung for customs but save 10 months of your life.

As pointed out the only other good option is OEM bilstein but toyota are finished with line pricing on them and only had one pair of rears in existence when I inquired 1-2 years ago. Bilstein yellow are another good option but generally very hard to source and at least as expensive, usually more so than koni and don't perform any better. I think UK mr2ben might have them.

Based on this and research I have done myself similar to you, buying from the USA or UK is the best option. Getting anyone to import stuff to NZ through a company is way way slower or impossible. Why can we get something from the UK which is almost as far away as possible from NZ than we can from Auckland? 6 days from the USA on a decent carrier like DHL. Ok, shocks seem to be a sea freight only thing now but still.

[gruk]

Just my opinion/rant: Import koni's from mr2heaven, prime or another well regarded US shop.

Thanks heaps for taking the time to write that up, looks like primedriven and mr2heaven will both be good options.

Now that I’ve managed to get a fresh rego (sans warrant) I’m feeling a lot less pressure to get this sorted so I might slow things down and wait for a ship to come in.

What is the feeling on springs? Prime seem to have a bundle deal with H&R’s, does anyone have experience with these? Or should I go for Cobras like I was planning?

[tw2]

Your welcome. If it is a daily driven and/or road car only then eibach, TRD or stock only would be my opinion. All the others are either way too low for our crap roads or too high or low spring rates. Trying to compare the progressive rates for aftermarket springs to the linear stock springs if that information is even available is very difficult.

[GlanzaAtHeart]

Just my opinion/rant: Import koni's from mr2heaven, prime or another well regarded US shop.

Thanks heaps for taking the time to write that up, looks like primedriven and mr2heaven will both be good options.

Now that I’ve managed to get a fresh rego (sans warrant) I’m feeling a lot less pressure to get this sorted so I might slow things down and wait for a ship to come in.

What is the feeling on springs? Prime seem to have a bundle deal with H&R’s, does anyone have experience with these? Or should I go for Cobras like I was planning?

https://www.mr2oc.com/threads/spring-ra ... ngs.14670/

Here is a good thread discussing spring rates, i.e. how hard they ride.

I've only heard good things about Eibach Pro springs, and TRD. No experience though. Cobras in NZ seem to be ~ $500 mark. Prime may be cheaper for better springs. Maybe check the drop too.

To disagree with tw2's point of stock or TRD springs, I think a lot of springs offer good amounts of drop that are suitable for our roads. I presume your coilovers have some sort of low as well - Perhaps if you're after the same ride height it'd be good to measure them up and match a spring combo.

[gruk]

Update on this. I’ve pulled the trigger and spent the money, koni yellows and Eibach pros will be on the way from MR2heaven. Spent about 1600 nzd on them before shipping and customs, not looking forward to those bills.
Also purchased some top hats and spring seats from Toyota, about 390nzd altogether. Now we wait!

So altogether it’s cost me quite a bit more than just throwing in BC golds but I have a feeling that it will all be worth it.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I’ll let you know how it goes

[pbaron]

Are the koni's inserts, do you have a set of standard shocks to fit them to that you can strip and get cleaned up while waiting?

Update on this. I’ve pulled the trigger and spent the money, koni yellows and Eibach pros will be on the way from MR2heaven. Spent about 1600 nzd on them before shipping and customs, not looking forward to those bills.
Also purchased some top hats and spring seats from Toyota, about 390nzd altogether. Now we wait!

So altogether it’s cost me quite a bit more than just throwing in BC golds but I have a feeling that it will all be worth it.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I’ll let you know how it goes

[gruk]

Are the koni's inserts, do you have a set of standard shocks to fit them to that you can strip and get cleaned up while waiting?

Gah. Quite right, inserts only. I’ll see what I can find in NZ for some used strut housings. Cheers!