Indeed!!Originally Posted by Greasemonkey2000
I ran the car stock for the best part of a year after I bought it. At the time of purchase the car was bone stock with 60,000~ miles on the clock, drove beautifully. Started looking at aftermarket suspension options after I got underneath the car to find 3 knackered shocks with the other one on its way out. FM had the V-Maxx setup, and their Koni/Tokico setup. I'd never dealt with FM before so shipping from the States was a big thing for me, the Koni's were tempting but I didn't like not being able to adjust the 12.5"/13" ride height so I looked at UK options. The FOX setup wasn't a thing at the time.
I went with MeisterR coilovers after reading a lot of positive things on UK based forums, stating how well they performed on the bad UK roads and doubled as solid performers on the track. At the time they had their Zeta-S (6kg/5kg Front/Rear) and Zeta-R (10kg/6kg Front/Rear) models. I opted for the Zeta-S for the lower spring rate.
My main issues were:
- The car dealt with big bumps well but hated rough surfaces; the vibrations on rougher surfaces was a bit nasty, also got upset at higher speeds.
- I liked the ability to fine-tune the ride height, but both of my adjustment collars/tools started bending after a few uses and slowly started slipping when trying to loosen; which, trust me gets quite frustrating when your car is in the air with wheels and suspension components off
- Speed bumps were jarring and horrible to go over. To the point I actively drove around them.
- Suspension travel. My main gripe with them.. I spent most of the time on the bump stops. Changing the ride height (which was 12.75"/13.25" at the time) didn't really seem to solve anything. Understandable as the bottom half of the assembly just twisted out and extended. They began sticking and seizing after just a few months of being on the car. Probably only 1500 miles into being on the car.
When the FOX setup became an option, I spent awhile thinking about whether to risk making the switch, given the expense. After MANY emails and conversations with Keith Tanner () I finally bit the bullet and went with the FOXs. The difference was night and day, ride height was kept the same out of curiosity. Best decision I made.
The shocks are built with lots of suspension travel in mind. Very similar to the old AFCO setup FM used to sell. The MeisterR's were built with a "be-good-at-everything" mindset, which gives them the ability to be slammed, which translates into not needing to have much suspension travel. I know it's something I bang on about, but the roads around where I live aren't the best. Some are beautifully flat, others feel like they're part of a rally stage which hopefully explains my need for more suspension travel.
The car is a 1990 NA6. The MeisterR's went on the car at the exact same time as new wheels and tyres (RPF1's 14x7 +28 w/Toyo T1R's 195/55/14 - I dropped over 4-5lbs of unsprung per corner compared to stock). Alignment numbers have always been set to FM's recommendation, which may contribute to why the FOX setup behaved so well. I got a re-alignment at both installs however, the comparison was quite fair looking back, same wheels/tyres/alignment numbers - the only thing that changed was the MesiterR's came out and the FOX's went in. The chassis has Jass Performance reinforced frame rails w/FM's butterfly brace (I drilled extra holes to line them up), Boss Frog fender braces, FM's cannon brace and FM's shock tower brace. All which were on when I had the MeisterR's.
Considering the Zeta-S springs were roughly 335/280 and the FOX's are 550/375; yet the FOX's are somehow more comfortable and a lot better behaved for daily driving and spirited driving hitting the mountain roads. I have to put effort into upsetting the FOX's whereas the MeisterR's got upset at me just driving to work on them. The new MeisterR CRD's could very well be a lot better though
It could well be I simply chose the wrong the coilover for the application I wanted.
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