Megan coilovers?

[#1StunnaVic]

tried doing a search and i found a few positive things and a few negative things about megan coilovers. just wanted to know some more about them and if they are worth it. they are on ebay for $838 plus shipping. they also have the pillowball mounts. origonally i was gonna do tein SS but they dont come with the pillow ball mounts and they are 950. i appreciate any feedback.

[935motorsports]

Do you have a link to that eBay ad?

Nobody should be selling them for less then we are, or you could be possibly void of warranty.

As far as a comparison, there are 3 in that price range. Ksport, Megan, and TEIN SS.

Ksport works well, but are noticeably cheaper on quality. Megan has a larger diameter shaft, and metal bearings the top hat over poly in the ksports.

As you said, TEIN SS has no pillowballs at all. The ONLY thing that makes them worthwhile is the EDFC capability.

I can't think of anything better for the $$$, but since I sell them you should take that comment with a grain of salt.

There is a fairly long Megan thread in my vendor section as well.

[BlackMKIII]

Megan coilovers are FTW. Period. For the money you spend, best bang for the buck comes from Megans.

And buy them from Robert (935), cause he's FTW.

/:nutswinger

[Wiisass]

Well, as far as what I think, they're crap. If you just want to slam your car and have it be real stiff, but not handle well, then Megan's/D2/Ksport/Tein/etc/ are for you. I just hasn't been happy with anything that's been coming out of Asia in terms of coilovers for most cars. I have a lot more experience with crappy coilovers in the 240 market, but I'm seeing the same trends here. Too stiff compression damping making the ride quality suck. The rebound side could be close to right, but once you start adjusting it, it goes all over the place and usually will adjust both rebound and compression. I'm also assuming that the dampers don't match side to side and the adjusters aren't going to work the same side to side. I also have doubts about the springs that they use. I have never tested them to see how close they are to their advertised rates, but I would assume a fairly larger tolerance at least. But besides that, everything else should work alright. So you can lower the car.

Now this is just from a performance outlook, if you want your car to handle as well as it can, the dampers in the Asian coilovers just don't cut it. I'm talking about pretty much everything under $2k, but I'm not expecting too much for even the more expensive ones.

Now this may seem like I'm being overly harsh on what I think about those dampers, but I just have not had any good experiences with any of the normal stuff. My best review has been that they don't feel that bad.

But it all depends on what you want.

What I would suggest would be a Bilstein or Koni setup. I would go with the Bilsteins, but if you want some adjustability then go with the Koni Yellows. Combine them with spring sleeves and good springs, read Hypercoils, that match the valving and the car and what you want out of it and you will have an awesome setup. It may not go as low right out of the box, but it will ride better and handle better than anything else you can get for the same amount of money.

Tim

[AF1JZ]

I have them and I love them. But, like 935 said, if they sell for less then $950, a warranty issue comes to play. They might not have one.

[Wiisass]

Now let me ask, the people that said they love them. Have you ever driven or even rode in a properly setup car? I'm not trying to say that you're wrong, I'm just curious as to what is your baseline for comparison. Going from stock blown dampers to Megans would be a huge step up. But going from a properly dialed in damper to Megans would be a huge step down.

Tim

[AF1JZ]

You are right Wii....But, for what I'm looking for with the suspension is what I like. The ability to adjust the ride height and the stiffness.

[Wiisass]

I get what you're saying. But you're going to need to ride in my brother's car with my suspension, so if there's a big supra meet or something when I have the supra running, I'll bring it out and give you a ride in it. Everyone who rides or drives in the car loves the way it feels and handles.

Tim

[935motorsports]

Your setup might be great Tim, but I have not used your setup. Care to send me a free set? Until then I won't know :)

The setups I have used are:

Stock
Tokico blue / eibach
Tokico illumina / eibach
Bilstein / eibach
Bilstein / stock
Koni / eibach
Koni / gc (1000lb front / 650lb rear)
JIC non adjustable coilovers

As far as daily driving goes, the bilstein / stock or bilstein / intrax was a decent setup for daily driving.

Megans should be used for more serious duty then cruising around buying groceries.

So your custom setup may actually be better then Megan, but at a higher cost. If you have never used Megans personallly on MA70, then I would ask that you not put down something that you have not personally used.

[kjj512]

Megans should be used for more serious duty then cruising around buying groceries.

So your custom setup may actually be better then Megan, but at a higher cost. If you have never used Megans personallly on MA70, then I would ask that you not put down something that you have not personally used.

It is possible to tell how a coilover will feel based on the dyno plots and spring rates as long as you have a base line. I have seen the math and the simulation programs used to evaluate different coilover set ups and with the right measurements you can evaluate ride quality and handling without trying out every coilover or shock spring combination. Megans may be cheaper but you get what you pay for in quality.

[Wiisass]

I wish I had the money to be able to send free test sets out to some of the shop owners. Maybe some kind of test could be worked out if there was a track day or some kind of driving event coming up, but ither than that, I don't now what to day. You could give it a shot, I'm sure you'll be carrying the line after you drive on them.

So the Bilstein dampers had the best ride quality out of what you've driven on. The thing about ride quality is that it's directly related to grip. People tend to think that poor ride quality comes with a better damper, this isn't the case. The biggest part of ride quality is influenced by the high speed compression characteristics of the damper.

On better dampers, a digressive compression curve is available. This will provide the needed amount of force in the low speed range and then fall off in the high speed range allowing for the bumps and road inputs to be absorbed by the suspension rather than transmitted to the chassis. This is an available feature on Bilsteins, higher end Konis, Penske, Ohlins, etc.

On other dampers, the compression curve is linear, so in order to get the low speed control needed, the high speed compression damping is too high and transmits everything from the road into the chassis. Sometimes less low speed compression is used to try and get the high speed forces down, but this hurts the performance of the damper as much as too much high speed does.

The main function of a damper is to help keep the tire on the road. Think about everything you feel in the driver's seat when driving on subpar dampers. That force is also seen at the contact patch, so if it's disrupting you in the driver's seat, think about what it's doing down there. That kind of input is very unsettling for the car. But if the spring and damper are doing their job and absorbing the impact and dissipating the energy from it and allowing the tire to not get beat up, it will be much better for grip.

So that's why a lot of the JDM and other Asian country's dampers aren't as great as people think. There's a big difference between stiff and harsh, stiff can work, harsh is never good.

So yes, my setup is better than Megan, but that's not really the discussion here. I will also say, that I would be pretty sure that a normal Bilstein damper paired with a good spring setup would also be better. It's not just Megan, it's most of the common coilovers. And the biggest problem is that compression curve being too much for the car. And I'm basing this on a lot of empirical data, not just my opinion. Although I haven't seen dyno plots for every setup and every car, 99% of the time, the asian damper curves aren't that good.

So if you want me to give Megan's a better review, then how about sending me a set for free and see if it changes my mind. I'll even send them back after I test them.

Tim

[935motorsports]

I am not suggesting that Megan is better then sliced bread. There are certainly better things, but for $900 shipped, you can't get better performance, as far as what I can find.

My customer had koni w/ GC, which he thought was a great setup. It took me a long time to get him to try a set of Megans. So, he put them on and after a few trips through the mountains came back with a big grin on his face.

Ksport at under $800 might be a better bang for the buck but after inspecting them they just seem cheap and lower quality then the megan.

I wish that you could try the megans, or at least do some shock testing on them so that you can give some good feedback. With your comments about these 'types' of coilovers, you seem to be lumping all of the companies as one unit.

Even if the review was negative, I'd like to see the Megans tested and reviewed as an individual unit and not as 'an asian coilover'.

[kjj512]

I wish that you could try the megans, or at least do some shock testing on them so that you can give some good feedback. With your comments about these 'types' of coilovers, you seem to be lumping all of the companies as one unit.

Even if the review was negative, I'd like to see the Megans tested and reviewed as an individual unit and not as 'an asian coilover'.

The reference to "asian coilover" is the best way to do it because its naive to believe that all of these companies actually make their own stuff. Most of the coilovers you buy are the same things just rebadged and marked up depending on the brand. I'm not saying all of them do that but their are quite a few that have been researched and it turned out they all came from the same factory. Thats why the term "asian coilover" is so fitting.

[935motorsports]

I can probably get you some fronts in the beginning of the year if there are any tests you want to run on them.

[turbogate]

I remember someone on here (I think figgie) had a Megan set tested by a racing suspention company, and the preliminary results were pretty impresive, but he lost all the data when his computer crashed. I'm pretty happy so far with my Megan, and hopefully in 2008, I will really test them on road racing tracks/autocross etc. What eventually sold me on them was a review I read on an Evolution forum by some hard core senior autocross guys, they were pretty happy/impressed with them.

Edit: It was figgie, not jdub, sorry

[Red7m]

I think that Wiisass needs to sent a set of his TIP Engineering coilovers out to 935Motorsports for him to install and ride on them. And 935Motorsports should send a set of Megans out to Wiisass for him to run them through is test and install and compare to a set of his TIP coilovers. I would like to see this happen so I think you to should trade and test.

[Wiisass]

If you can get me a set to dyno, I will gladly dyno them and analyze it and post on here for everyone. I would only need one front and one rear damper, but it would be nice to dyno a whole set to see how close the left/right dampers are because that's a big sign of quality control.

If it was Jdub, maybe he will chime in and maybe post what he found if he did have them tested. It would be nice to see something, at least until I get a chance to do it myself.

Red7m, I'm not totally against sending out my setup for some people to test. If there's a race or event or something out there, then it could be a possibility. As for testing the Megan's, I would at least like to get them on the shock dyno, I could also track test them, but right now the car isn't ready for any more driving than pulling into the shop.

Tim

[935motorsports]

Our stock isn't very high, so to send a full set out I would quickly need it right back.

However, I do have often have a set of fronts available because i sell the rears to the cressida guys.

[Wiisass]

Well I won't have any time to dyno them until January anyway probably. But when I get everything setup, I can have them tested and back to you pretty quickly.

Tim

[Brewster]

I had em on my car and my only complaint would be that they're on the stiff side for a DD. The car handled really well though.

[Johnysupra]

I know I haven't been a forum member long and I'm not tring to cause trouble or criticize anyone, but i have a question for you Wiisass. Have you ever done any track testing with data acquisition on your setup ? I ask because I have some racing experiance (not a ton Im not an F1 tecH) and i have done some Shock dyno graphs and spring rates and matched setups and done everything by the book till it seems perfect and also know many others who have as well. Actuall track performance has alot more to do with a drivers style/preferances then just math. I've taken tests for racing scholarships and such, and several have a question similar to "What is the largest contributing factor to vehicle dynamics?" and the answer is usually "Driver Inputs". Now I'm not saying your wrong, not at all, and im not against your product. Its just you voice some very strong opinions and all I was wondering is if you have any telemetry data showing the performance differance between your setup and others. Such as skid pad or a predetermined obstacle of your choice.

Just curious because if you could show me your setup pulling .07 Gs more then another I'd probably buy from you, as would others. I know Gs aren't everything and alot of what your talking about is planting the tire over uneven surfaces and controlling transfer.

[Wiisass]

Johny, good questions. I wish I could say that I do have good data for my setup in the respect that you're asking, but I do not. As you should know, that kind of equipment is expensive and running a test of my setup versus others would be very hard to organize and fund. I would gladly set up some kind of donation thing and people could send me money to get all of this tested and I will run each set of dampers on the same car, on the same track, with all the same sensors and compare after all the tests are done. But I would need at least $100 from every member and the track time donated and the test setups donated. And that could get a little bit of data.

And the thing is, what I have developed isn't by the book, I mean, I haven't found instructions on how to determine valving and everything through some book. My understanding of suspension and dampers has been taken from a lot of source, yes a lot of reading, but a lot more physical testing than anything. So I have found out what works and what doesn't through real testing. I wish I could supplement that with a lot of data acq and if the good setups weren't so expensive and the cheaper setups were enough to get by on, I would definitely have it. But even with a cheaper setup, you're still spending more than anyone on here has ever spent on suspension just on a couple sensors.

All this testing and working with different drivers and different driving styles has allowed me to factor this into my setups. They are not just math. I wish, that would've made things a lot easier for me. The math will only get you so far, and then you would just have natural frequencies and critical damping coefficients, but there's a lot more than that they you would need. You need actual damping coefficients which would be chosen based on several different factors and then they would be different for high and low speed ideally. So after I get the math part done, it's time for the modeling. I'm usually just using a model that I put together, it's a 4 2dof quarter car models tied together. It's simulink/matlab based, I read in my data from the dyno and plug in the constants and then run the car through different scenarios to look at how everything responds.

I talked about all of this in one my article for Drift and RWD Sport Magazine, so feel free to take a look at it if you want.
http://www.theoryinpracticeengineering.com/drift_mag/Damper_tuning.pdf

That article also talks a little about my use of the driver. And while the driver is very important, I don't like tuning the car around the driver. I feel that it can hinder the performance of the car. The driver should be much more adaptive than any car will be and if the car is perfect, then why should it be changed because a driver doesn't want to work with it. Sometimes it is necessary to make changes for the driver, but in my opinion I think the driver should work harder to get more out of the car rather than adjust the car and get less out of it.

So I would say the answer to the question of the largest contributing factor to vehicle dynamics is not the driver, but the tires. But it's kind of a trick question because the tires wouldn't be asked to do anything without driver inputs, so it depends on how you're looking at the question.

This all reminds me of an editorial I read in Racecar Engineering, it was about the American versus European way of tuning a suspension. The American way is to adjust the suspension to keep the driver happy, while the Euro way is to setup the car and make the driver adjust to it. The Euro way is faster in the end. The car should be the limiting factor in how fast it can go, not the driver. So by making changes based on what the driver wants, the driver is actually limiting the cars performance and it's either time to get him to learn to drive better or replace him with someone that can.

Of course, this isn't for all driver's, some driver's do deserve changes in the suspension. But in most cases, changes to make the driver happy will not keep the tires as happy as they should be. And happy tires win races.

I have used driver's as tuning tools, so you could say that I made changes for the drivers. But my driver selection was very careful and the change wasn't made because the driver wanted it, the driver told me what the car was doing and I made the change based on his report. I also had driver's with different styles driving the same car with the same setup and they were both able to get the most out of the car.

Anyway, with all that said, I don't have much to compare to when looking at my setup versus a Megan setup. All I have to really compare are spring rates and they will tell you a lot, but they won't tell you much, if you know what I mean. I have posted dyno charts for my setup and listed the spring rates, so the reason I can't do a full comparison on Megans is because I don't have enough data. All of my opinions that you have read on Megans and other asian dampers is based on my experience with many different asian setups and the generalizations hold true for pretty much everything except for the real expensive stuff.

Also, you should know that comparing the amount of G's a setup can produce is more a function of spring rate and tire selection than dampers. Dampers will determine transient behavior and measured G's are usually a steady state thing unless we're comparing accelerometer data.

But I would love to do some kind of mass suspension test if I could get enough interest. People want data and answers, but they don't want to spend any money or time trying to get them. And as much I would like to personally test and compare every competing product out there, there is just not the time or the money to allow me to do so.

But if someone can get my dyno plots, there is a lot of information that can be taken out of them when applied to a certain case. So I can analyze and compare them with other setups. But until I get some data to disprove my past experience with these types of setups, my opinions won't change.

Tim

[Johnysupra]

Well I like the way you think, and yes there are tons of theories on suspensions. Personally my view on them is, setup is worth more than any suspension money can buy, and I also think suspension is one of the most important and overlooked aspecs of any vehicle. With that in mind, I am going to be purchasing a lower end coilover, for now. because I feel that even the $2200 coilovers are not much higher quality (as you have stated), but this is mostly true to our vehicles. I say this because if we had MKIV supras then the "asian" companies make MUCH higher quality products, and i have first hand experiance with these. However as i stated because of the lack of demand MKIII supra owners are stuck with sub par suspension.

Any how as for myself, I am interested in your product and I would love to speak with you more indepth about this in the future, but simply put as finely tuned as you claim your dampers, for that very reason they wont work on my car. Heres why, I am attempting to build a time attack supra, and i have been criticized about it many time so anyone can take a shot at me if they want it wont hurt. So my car is going to have a different balance and weight distribution. I am working with a 2J and every electrical/movable object is going backward, even the engine. My goal for weight is under 3000lbs which I've also been told isnt possible with an MKIII, but we'll see. Basicly my goal is to prove that I, myself can build a car that was previously not in any league into something atleast compeditive as a selling point for my future business.

So basicly next year I will be attending many Time attack/auto-X events. I am planning on using some data acquisition system of some sort. Right now i am looking at the MSD system it seems to be the best bang for the buck bar none. I don't know to what extent you'd be interested or how far you'd be willing to travel but possibly next year i will be near you. It may be possible for us to calaborate on something. I like the fact that you take the initiative to try something even big name companies wont, we're kind of in the same ball park here.

Oh and one question about your bilsteins. Are you using Nitrogen with a seperator pistion or nitrogen sacks ? If your using pistons if we were to work somthing out would you be able to use sacks ? i know theres some contraversy over the two but i have always been a fan of the baggies I've seen to many seperator pistons leak.

Edit: Checked your previous threads and noticed the seperator pistons. Anyway same question as above, but also does bilstien offer remote reservoirs for that shock model ? I've never used biltiens with reservoirs before, could really be a killer combo.

[kjj512]

Any how as for myself, I am interested in your product and I would love to speak with you more indepth about this in the future, but simply put as finely tuned as you claim your dampers, for that very reason they wont work on my car. Heres why, I am attempting to build a time attack supra, and i have been criticized about it many time so anyone can take a shot at me if they want it wont hurt. So my car is going to have a different balance and weight distribution. I am working with a 2J and every electrical/movable object is going backward, even the engine. My goal for weight is under 3000lbs which I've also been told isnt possible with an MKIII, but we'll see. Basicly my goal is to prove that I, myself can build a car that was previously not in any league into something atleast compeditive as a selling point for my future business.

Actually the suspension Wiisass has on my car right now would be almost perfect for you. The dampers were designed for mostly road racing and drifting so basically the same forces your car will see apply. Also like stated in the group buy thread Wiisass can change the valving to meet any customers specifications. This allows you to specify the way you want your car to handle then have a set up valved specifically for that. And don't let anyone tell you a 3000lb supra isn't possible because thats what mine is. When we weighed it last without bumper or exhaust it was just over 3000lbs since then we have done further weight reduction. The goal is under 3000lbs with a full cage so we're going to have to get creative. I think the only difference will be that you will have a little better weight distribution after pushing the engine further back.

And to keep the thread on topic the "asian" coilovers for the MKIV are in the same price, quality range as the MKIII. The only difference is that there is much more demand like you said so more companies offer setups. Most of these are smaller companies that offer quality goods for people who demand them and can afford them. Set up on cars is important but a crappy damper will only allow you to handle so well. You get what you pay for and we all know MKIV guys usually have the money for more expensive set ups.

[Wiisass]

Well I like the way you think, and yes there are tons of theories on suspensions. Personally my view on them is, setup is worth more than any suspension money can buy, and I also think suspension is one of the most important and overlooked aspecs of any vehicle. With that in mind, I am going to be purchasing a lower end coilover, for now. because I feel that even the $2200 coilovers are not much higher quality (as you have stated), but this is mostly true to our vehicles. I say this because if we had MKIV supras then the "asian" companies make MUCH higher quality products, and i have first hand experiance with these. However as i stated because of the lack of demand MKIII supra owners are stuck with sub par suspension.


Set up is very important, but even a good set up won't cover up a poor suspension. If you want to buy cheap dampers, then that's your choice, I would recommend against it, but that's just my opinion. And what stuff have you used for the Mk4? I've seen the same trend with those coilovers as well.



Any how as for myself, I am interested in your product and I would love to speak with you more indepth about this in the future, but simply put as finely tuned as you claim your dampers, for that very reason they wont work on my car. Heres why, I am attempting to build a time attack supra, and i have been criticized about it many time so anyone can take a shot at me if they want it wont hurt. So my car is going to have a different balance and weight distribution. I am working with a 2J and every electrical/movable object is going backward, even the engine. My goal for weight is under 3000lbs which I've also been told isnt possible with an MKIII, but we'll see. Basicly my goal is to prove that I, myself can build a car that was previously not in any league into something atleast compeditive as a selling point for my future business.


Like Kevin said, you must have missed the part where I said that my setups can be valved to the application. The prototype setup on Kevin's car is actually valved for a 3000lb car. The trick is in my models. The testing on the prototype setup allowed me to verify the models. With these models, I can setup the damper for anything.

Under 3k is totally possible on an Mk3 and you don't even need to spend much money. If you spend a little money, it could be even less. Kevin's car will be under 3k with the cage and without replacing too many things with lighter weight components, at least for now.



So basicly next year I will be attending many Time attack/auto-X events. I am planning on using some data acquisition system of some sort. Right now i am looking at the MSD system it seems to be the best bang for the buck bar none. I don't know to what extent you'd be interested or how far you'd be willing to travel but possibly next year i will be near you. It may be possible for us to calaborate on something. I like the fact that you take the initiative to try something even big name companies wont, we're kind of in the same ball park here.


MSD makes a data acq system? I'm a fan of the AIM stuff for lower budget applications, but they're still a little bit of money. There's also a couple other lower budget data acq setups, Racepak maybe, I don't remember. They're probably just as good, they just don't have as nice an interface or software in some cases. Let me know what you need and I might be able to help.



Oh and one question about your bilsteins. Are you using Nitrogen with a seperator pistion or nitrogen sacks ? If your using pistons if we were to work somthing out would you be able to use sacks ? i know theres some contraversy over the two but i have always been a fan of the baggies I've seen to many seperator pistons leak.

Edit: Checked your previous threads and noticed the seperator pistons. Anyway same question as above, but also does bilstien offer remote reservoirs for that shock model ? I've never used biltiens with reservoirs before, could really be a killer combo.

They use seperator pistons. There can be some leakage past them, but I don't think it's an issue. Especially on setups that can easily be rebuilt. If you're rebuilding and taking care of the dampers like you should, there will be no issues. Sacks could be a good idea, but I don't like the idea of sacks floating around inside the damper. But I haven't messed with them at all and I had only seen then in some twintube dampers.

Bilstein does have remote reservoirs and other remote reservoirs can be fit. They also have adjustable shafts and there are ways to fit other companies adjustable shafts as well. They're pretty modular in terms of what you can do with them after you open them up.

Tim

[Johnysupra]

I say this because if we had MKIV supras then the "asian" companies make MUCH higher quality products, and i have first hand experiance with these.

I didnt mean on MKIV i just ment the coilovers, Like the Tein super racing dampers on STI's.

I've also heard that JIC magic has some decent stuff for the 240's.

When I say under 3k pds, i use that term not to get to much flaming. My actual goal is somewhere around 2700 or less.

I know Wiisass says he can tune it all for different setups, but if i was going to go with a full setup I would like some one on one I like playin with shocks to :P. But I am talking in the future and if Wiisass is into my project at all, this is all just testing the waters. I need to build reliable contacts for things i cant supply myself.

As for cheap coil overs im not tring to make a statement or anything but, myself as a driver I am not going to benefit from a fully tuned coilover as of yet. Hell i've only even driven an MKIII once. I just need something so i can balance the car out for now, once I can drive it with em and I "Can" upgrade I will. I know everone else has a different opinion here. My horsepower goals are future oriented to. I could build a 700HP monster engine easily, but ill look like a retard driving it around the track at this point in time. My project is based off of my knowledge and estimates. I do have some pretty off the wall ideas that i've not seen implemented in MKIII's yet, but we'll have to see how those pan out.

Any how Im just throwin out ideas here, Im not going to be any kind of professional racer or anything, but if i can show up some guys with big money tied up in their cars ill be happy.

Once i get a more reliable schedule stuff like this will be easier to figure out. I just don't know how many events I am going to be able to attend right now.
I've still got hundreds of hours left before im even ready to get serious, but I have always been interested in a Coilover setup built specificly for me, and I'd really like to see that come to fruition in the future.

P.S. Thanks for the Educated replies guys, one thing I hate about forums is how what you say can be scrutinized 1000 different ways and come off wrong or have little kids say "DUMB ASS!". This is a good community

[Wiisass]

Tein and JIC don't make me think quality, but again that's another issue. And I haven't used any of their real expensive dampers, but their sub $2k stuff all seems the same.

2700 lbs is going to cost some money, especially if you're putting a cage in the car. It can be done, but it's not going to be easy or cheap.

I would love to work on something with you, but send me a PM or email at jrud@tipengr.com and we can talk about it more, this thread is already getting too far off topic.

Well if you want to run cheap coilovers for now, swapping to a good damper later on will definitely show an improvement. I tend to look at it a different way. A properly valved coilover will let you be a better driver right off the bat. The car feels more stable and you don't have to compensate for any crappy valving which could end up teaching you bad habits. Maybe Kevin (KJJ512) will chime in again on this. I'm just getting him started in racing and my prototype setup is on his car.

Well let me know how things plan out with your car. Maybe make another thread in here or another section of the site and we can talk about it more. But like I said before, this is getting too far off topic already, but I would like to talk more about it.

Tim

[Jenya]

My supra is rolling on megan coilovers. Love everything about them, super suspension set up.

[Wiisass]

My supra is rolling on megan coilovers. Love everything about them, super suspension set up.

As awesome a review as that is, do you have anything more specific to say? What you do with the car, how they're setup, etc?

[#1StunnaVic]

hey guys sry i've been MIA for a minute but i was workin hard on tryin to get my supra back together before christmas. sad to say i didnt finish.
i do have the link however for the megan coilovers which were asked for.
this thread has turned out to be great with tons of info but im still lost in terms of what type of suspension set-up to get for my supra. i enjoy a car that handles well and has a stiff ride with little body roll but i also don't want a harsh gittery ride. i need something that i can set-up for a good daily driving street car and a few runs at the track here and there. im not the kinda person that likes to spend money twice on the same thing so i wanna buy a set of coilovers that i will be happy with and will last for a long time. i kno with the tein coilovers they are rebuildable. are these megan coilovers rebuildable as well? blisteins are great but i have trouble finding a set for supras. maybe im looking in the wrong places? i dunno. im not a hardcore racer and im not setting up my car for the track. i just want a car that will handle superb in the street and that can be adjusted to run down the track for a few passes every now and again.

Link to Megan Coilovers for 838:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Megan-Coilover-Damper-Toyota-Supra-86-92-TRACK-87-88-89_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118QQcategoryZ33631QQihZ011QQitemZ320168856590QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

thanks again for all the useful information guys i apprciate it!!!

[Wiisass]

I doubt that the Megan's are rebuildable, at least easily available. But someone might prove me wrong.

How can you not find Bilsteins, they're everywhere for the car. Ckanderson is selling the dampers themselves for a good price and if you wanted something with springs and all of that, I can get it all for you.

But other than that, I think I've covered everything else that you mentioned in this thread. I think a Bilstein setup woudl be what you're looking for. You could start with just the Bilsteins and a decent spring setup on there and then if you want to change or upgrade the setup, the Bilsteins can easily be revalved/rebuilt/added to.

Tim

[935motorsports]

Under warranty, Megans are not rebuilt. You are provided with an instant exchange up to 1 year, then partial cost exchange for up to 3 years.

So basically, you always get a new set. Someone might rebuild them somewhere, but it is not up to the customer to worry about it.

[#1StunnaVic]

are there any adjustable bilstein shocks for our cars? or are they all non-adjustable?

[Wiisass]

There isn't anything available off the shelf from Bilsteins that's adjustable for these cars. But with the Bilsteins, there are a lot of options.

And if you're using the fact that they aren't adjustable to compare them to these other asian setups. You need to look at the quality of the adjuster and how well they work. I've seen a lot of adjuster setups that don't work as advertised.

Tim

[Jenya]

As awesome a review as that is, do you have anything more specific to say? What you do with the car, how they're setup, etc?

I have them set basically on the stiffest setting, and slammed for daily use. When i go autocross my car i higher the car a little bit, performs way better in the turns. It is a stiff suspension for daily use however, but i don't mind it at all. When it's set up for daily driving (stiff/slammed) drifts really well too.

[#1StunnaVic]

There isn't anything available off the shelf from Bilsteins that's adjustable for these cars. But with the Bilsteins, there are a lot of options.

And if you're using the fact that they aren't adjustable to compare them to these other asian setups. You need to look at the quality of the adjuster and how well they work. I've seen a lot of adjuster setups that don't work as advertised.

Tim

can u specify in the many option there are with the bilsteins?

[CyFi6]

I have them set basically on the stiffest setting, and slammed for daily use. When i go autocross my car i higher the car a little bit, performs way better in the turns. It is a stiff suspension for daily use however, but i don't mind it at all. When it's set up for daily driving (stiff/slammed) drifts really well too.

I just installed my megan racing coilovers track series and the rears on their lowest possible height still doesnt seem to go all that low, it makes it look decent but doesnt make it look slammed, theres still a tire gap, whats with that?

[Wiisass]

I have them set basically on the stiffest setting, and slammed for daily use. When i go autocross my car i higher the car a little bit, performs way better in the turns. It is a stiff suspension for daily use however, but i don't mind it at all. When it's set up for daily driving (stiff/slammed) drifts really well too.

Why do you need them on full stiff all the time? Just so the feel like you think they should? Your car would probably handle better with the damping turned down a little. It sounds like the car is too stiff. Why do you have the car lower for daily driving than you do for autox?


can u specify in the many option there are with the bilsteins?

There are adjustable shafts, different piston options, remote reservoirs, they're easily rebuildable and revalvable. You can pretty much make a Bilstein damper do anything that you would ever need it to. But this isn't the off the shelf stuff, but it can be modified to have all these options.


I just installed my megan racing coilovers track series and the rears on their lowest possible height still doesnt seem to go all that low, it makes it look decent but doesnt make it look slammed, theres still a tire gap, whats with that?

How much preload do you have on the spring? With zero preload, you should be able to go pretty low with these, at least that's what it looks like based on what other people have said. It also depends on tire size for how it's going to look. With a shorter tire, the car will be lower, but you will still have wheel gap. With a taller tire, the car will sit higher but the tire will fill the wheel well.

Tim

[CyFi6]

My preload is set to basically 0. The front hieght adjustment can go much much lower, but the rears are maxxed out and still not very low. The front suspension also seems to compress much more when going from the car being raised to on the ground compared to the rears. Can i buy some sort of dead coils to add to my current ones so i cant lower the rears more?

Also, the gaps for the front springs seem very small, like the spirng is being compressed a lot with just the weirght of the car on them, the one time i bottomed out my suspension im pretty sure i maxxed out the spring befre id be able to max out the damper. Also, is it unsafe to run the spring with "negative preoload". Dunno how to explain it better but having the spring floating in there when the car is off the ground. Is it possible for the spring to unseat while driving if i did that?

[Wiisass]

Well something sounds weird. The front spring/damper move less than the rear with the same amount of wheel travel. Are the right springs on the right end of the car?

What do you mean dead coils? You could use helper springs but you might have to get a shorter main spring or if there's room you can just lower the perch and add the helper and intermediate spring seat.

People have run cars with "negative preload" or non-captive springs. If you aren't lifting up wheels during driving then the spring should stay seated. And depending on perch and hat design, the spring could be forced back into the proper position if a wheel does lift, but sometimes it can cause some damage if the hat doesn't align itself properly when the spring tries to get back in its seat.

Tim

[Grimsta]

Well my Megans have suited my drifting needs for now. I really like them, I don't daily drive on them. I too am building a NASA Time Attack Supra with a 3000/sub 3000 target weight. The Megans really werent my target suspension, but I needed something better than Bilsteins and TRD Springs and they've worked great for me so far. We'll see how they handle the Time Trials. I too was looking to build my own setup like your Bilsteins. Not the GB ones, YOURS. It didnt look like anything was available for a Supra (but I guess you just fabbed the top mounts, lol. I shoulda thought of that) so I moved on. But i'll probably go back. Just gotta see how the Megans handle an actual race. They're good for drifting but we'll see how they are on the track.

And i WON"T be using delrin bushings ;)

[Wiisass]

In my opinion, a drifting and a road racing suspension should be pretty similar. But from experience, you can get away with a lot more while drifting versus road racing. Meaning a non-ideal damper can work alright for drifting especially at the non-pro level. I'm hoping to see some more FD drivers stepping up to real dampers and will hopefully have my hand in at least a couple of the setups.

And I am selling my setup as well. And the top mounts where the easy part of the setup. The parts designed for the upper and lower mounts were simple compared to doing the valving from scratch. The valving that I'm using is unlike anything that Bilstein offers as a standard valving.

Well see how the Megans are at first and then I can help you get a better setup on the car when you feel that the suspension is holding you back.

Tim

[CyFi6]

Well something sounds weird. The front spring/damper move less than the rear with the same amount of wheel travel. Are the right springs on the right end of the car?

What do you mean dead coils? You could use helper springs but you might have to get a shorter main spring or if there's room you can just lower the perch and add the helper and intermediate spring seat.

People have run cars with "negative preload" or non-captive springs. If you aren't lifting up wheels during driving then the spring should stay seated. And depending on perch and hat design, the spring could be forced back into the proper position if a wheel does lift, but sometimes it can cause some damage if the hat doesn't align itself properly when the spring tries to get back in its seat.

Tim

I assume the right ones are on the front because the coils are thicker for the extra weight. And what i mean by dead coilsis just a spring that doesnt have barely any tension on it, just to fill the empty space so the spring doesnt float, because i have about an inch of space to move the spring perch on the rears.

When i raise the car off the ground the fronts fender gaps are much larger than the rears which tells me the front springs are compressing more than the rears are with load on them, dont know why this is. If people could get pictures of their megans on the car with the wheel off it would be great so i could compare a little bit. BTW im on the stock tire and wheel setup.

[Grimsta]

In my opinion, a drifting and a road racing suspension should be pretty similar. But from experience, you can get away with a lot more while drifting versus road racing. Meaning a non-ideal damper can work alright for drifting especially at the non-pro level. I'm hoping to see some more FD drivers stepping up to real dampers and will hopefully have my hand in at least a couple of the setups.

And I am selling my setup as well. And the top mounts where the easy part of the setup. The parts designed for the upper and lower mounts were simple compared to doing the valving from scratch. The valving that I'm using is unlike anything that Bilstein offers as a standard valving.

Well see how the Megans are at first and then I can help you get a better setup on the car when you feel that the suspension is holding you back.

Tim

Definately, thats why people can drift on Ksport crap, UGH! I wasn't planning on using standard bilstein valving either. I dont use standard nuthin! ;)

[Wiisass]

For standard valving, I didn't mean the valving that comes in their off the shelf supra damper. I meant the standard shim stacks that they specify and sell for their motorsports dampers. I'm using an assortment of shims that I put together after many hours calculating what damping was needed and then more hours on the dyno.

Tim

[Grimsta]

Yeah, I knew what you meant

[CyFi6]

Im having some more issues with my Megans i was wondering if you guys had the same things. My front suspension seems way too soft in comparison to the rear. Even with the very large coil springs in the front the cars suspension is MUCH softer in front. If i go over a speed bump or any considerable dip strait on, the car wants to bottom out on front, whereas the rear will just kind of jump over and not compress very much. I have to literally inch over a speedbump if im going strait over it or it'll compress the front suspension so much that it bottoms out. Im not sure if the car is hitting the ground or if the springs are binding.

I took my car to an auto cross and it performed terribly. As expected with soft front and stiff rear, all it wanted to do was slide out. No matter how i drove it the rear wanted to slide on all the sweeper like turns. Anyone else have anything to say about all this?

[935motorsports]

Im having some more issues with my Megans


You might want to return them under warranty if you think there is a problem. Althought it is unlikely, there is a possibility that the shocks were somehow switched. Meaning that you have the front shocks w/ rear springs on the rear, etc. You could try to switch them around and see if that helps.

Just make sure you get them in for warranty before the warranty expires. If they were purchased through 935, we can arrange an up front exchange service so that you don't have any down time.

[CyFi6]

i bought them from an individual so no warranty. I just know nothing about them or how they are supposed to be so i need something to compare to.

[Wiisass]

Something still doesn't sound right about your suspension. You were having weird issues with it before as well. I think you need to pull everything apart, figure out which springs are which, check the dampers and then put everything back together. I would hope the dampers themselves were different front to rear. Rear needs more travel than the front due to geometry. But I think that is your best bet unless you can get Megan to let you send them back. Try calling them directly and finding out if you have any options. If not, then do what I said at first.

Tim

[Grimsta]

Yeah, my fronts are very hard indeed. I'm sure you put the fronts in the rear and vice versa, lol.

I ran THunderhill in February w/ the Megans and they worked great for me. I was able to pitch it hard in the turns w/ no body roll or picking up a tire. I could definately tell be the howl my tires were the limiting factor. Nitto 555s are good, but not Time Attack good, lol.

[gravesdu_99]

Your setup might be great Tim, but I have not used your setup. Care to send me a free set? Until then I won't know :)

The setups I have used are:

Stock
Tokico blue / eibach
Tokico illumina / eibach
Bilstein / eibach
Bilstein / stock
Koni / eibach
Koni / gc (1000lb front / 650lb rear)
JIC non adjustable coilovers

As far as daily driving goes, the bilstein / stock or bilstein / intrax was a decent setup for daily driving.



So for the best ride quality you would chose the bilstein/intrax, just wondering why when you don't have the intrax listed, just the eibach. I was planning on buying some tein SS, but this thread has really changed my opion. I have a 93 honda that is slammed on some stock 50 series wheels and it still rides like shit. I figured with the bigger side wall I would get some better ride quality, but it doesn't make up for it. I really don't want my supra to ride so ruff. I want to drop it a little and tighten it up just a little, but keep the ride nice for long trips.

[Poodles]

how did you lower the honda?

[Grimsta]

/\/\ Not on Ksports is it ;)

[gravesdu_99]

No it was cheaper than that. I had some Ractive sleeve coilovers 0-4. And then I bought some Kyb shocks. I only had about $600 in it total.

[Grimsta]

NAAAWWWW!! Lol, thats an alright combo on lighter cars not very suitable for Supras though. My G20 has GR-2s on Eibachs and that thing hugs corners like a mofo, even with crappy tires! :D

[935motorsports]

BTW the guy on ebay is selling for 900 shipped, which is the correct "minimum" price.

Wii, when you are ready I should be able to get you a set of fronts for testing over the summer. I would prefer if you used them personally before calling them crap.

[Grimsta]

Ran another drift on them & my drifting is getting much better. Not good enough to win, but definately alot better. I found with my setup the rears work good on 8, fronts on 1. When I road race or autoX both on 1.
If I drift with the rears on 1 theres too much traction and I cant hold a slide