INSTALLED - Meister R Coilovers/ Impressions, Pics, Etc.

[Rhinopolis]

I'm 6ft and right at 210 lbs, and it's cool to think that with me in the car it's nearly the same weight as a lot of brand new FiST. I knew that the car felt light (I came out of a 2010 mx5 sport that was also lighter when I sold it than when I bought it), and I plan on getting a lighter weight battery as well as DHM crash bar which combined should reduce me by another 20-30lbs estimated. Nothing that I'll feel, but I'm a grams count kinda guy

PS: I keep a running log of what all I've done to my FiST under the "about me" section of my profile.

http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/members/2925-Rhinopolis

 

[RPM ST]

This is looking very promising

 

[D-resonant]

Checked corner weights today. Surprised it turned out exactly same as my previous factory numbers. Cross weights still 0.4% difference on first try. Lighter coilovers offset heavier 215/40R17 Dunlops.

Adjusted both front ride height adjusters 2-turns out/up and left-rear 1/4 turns out/up to get balanced 3/4" drop in front and 1/2" drop in rear. Have clickers at 10-out all around, for now.

 

[OEFvet11]

Finally used this weekend to finish up the car and get it running again. Love these coilovers on first impression. Rightfootdown.com videos will be up soon. Very easy install, def got more than one neg degree of chamber even though they are set at Neg one. I left all factory setting for now until I get some miles on the them. Track testing will be in a few weeks.

 

[Hijinx]

[MENTION=2925]Rhinopolis[/MENTION], have an idea of what the preset height is? I.e. 1" drop, 3/4" drop?


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[LilPartyBox]

I installed this kit a week ago..love it....but noticed in the install pics that your installer kept the top OEM spring isolators in the rear. I didn't. [MENTION=4680]MeisterR[/MENTION] does it matter that i didn't use the isolator in the rear. I've been on them for a week without any adverse effects or noises.

The gap is just because i hadn't finished the install yet but you can see here that i didn't keep the OEM rubber up top. Just a layer of high temp red lithium grease.

 

[MeisterR]

I installed this kit a week ago..love it....but noticed in the install pics that your installer kept the top OEM spring isolators in the rear. I didn't. [MENTION=4680]MeisterR[/MENTION] does it matter that i didn't use the isolator in the rear. I've been on them for a week without any adverse effects or noises.

The long as there is no noise and no movement, generally speaking it doesn't really matter
Some cars like BMW need the OEM rubber removed, but other car can keep it.
It does depend on what the rubber is shape like also, but you can run metal to metal and it shouldn't make any noise as the entire assembly should be kept tight by the spring and the weight of the car.

Jerrick

 

[Rhinopolis]

[MENTION=2925]Rhinopolis[/MENTION], have an idea of what the preset height is? I.e. 1" drop, 3/4" drop?


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[MENTION=4680]MeisterR[/MENTION]

Can you assist with the question above? I should know this but I admit that I don't

 

[LilPartyBox]

The long as there is no noise and no movement, generally speaking it doesn't really matter
Some cars like BMW need the OEM rubber removed, but other car can keep it.
It does depend on what the rubber is shape like also, but you can run metal to metal and it shouldn't make any noise as the entire assembly should be kept tight by the spring and the weight of the car.

Jerrick

I'll leave it as is then. As you mention, the shape is why i left it off. It's molded to accept a spring so l felt the mount may not have sat totally flush. Rhinos are fine so i guess it doesn't matter either way. Thx for the quick response!

 

[Hijinx]

Actually, let me start this by saying Jerricks customer service is awesome! I ordered these last week, Monday I believe. Anyway, shipping number came out and I was like sweet. But then, a couple days went by and the package hadn't been picked up from the warehouse. So I sent Jerrick a PM here asking if he could look into it. I'm still not sure if Jerrick saw it, or if he reached out on his own. But, that's neither here nor there. The point is that he got right on it by informing me. Next thing I know, Jerrick's telling me a set is gonna be shipped out from the UK warehouse on air. Not only did it go out air, but it went out Express! It only took 3 business days for my coilovers to arrive. To me, that's damn impressive and above and beyond.

Here are some measurements I took while installing. Pictures can be found in my thread.

Meister Measurements OOTB:
Method... Originally measured in 32nds of inches with a...uhh, a ruler, and patience.

Rear:
Start: 36mm
End: 45mm
Adj: 9mm

Front:
Start: 41mm
End: 45mm
Adj: 4mm

Driver Side Damper:
Start: -8
End: -10

Passenger Side Damper:
Start -9
End -10

Rear (both):
Start: -8
End: -12

Ride Height:
Method: Measured from highest point of wheel well at fender to center of center cap.

OEM Static Ride Height:
Front: ~ 337mm
Rear: ~ 343mm

OEM Droop:
Front: ~ 438mm
Rear: ~ 419mm

Meister Droop:
Front: ~ 378mm
Rear: ~ 368mm

Meister Static Ride Height:
Front: ~ 324mm
Rear: ~ 337mm

In inches:
Front: 13.25" -> 12.75" ( .50" )
Rear: 13.5" -> 13.25" ( .25" )

As long as it doesn't settle too much, it'll be right where I want it! Based on pictures, Meisters manual and knowing the drop amount I wanted, I gambled with the adjustments I made prior to installing.


Weights:
Method: Weighed myself in clothing, then held front to get measurement, then held rear to get measurement.

Hijinx: 234.4 lbs
Hijinx w/ OEM Front: 245.6 lbs
Hijinx w/ Meister: 248.6 lbs
Difference: -3 lbs

Hijinx w/ OEM Rear: 241.2
Hijinx w/ Meister Rear: 242.4
Difference: +1.2 lbs

OEM Front: 11.2 lbs
OEM Rear: 6.8 lbs

Meister Front: 8.6 lbs
Meister Rear: 8 lbs

So, both fortunately and unfortunately only a 1.8 lbs loss. But, that wasn't the goal.

Edit - I went with -1.5 camber.

Edit - Changed terminology for clarification.





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[OEFvet11]

Nice, I didn't measure anything before installing. I did max out the chamber as much as I could. Still letting mine settle before I really start working on the setup. Have you adjusted the rebound a lot?

 

[Hijinx]

Nice, I didn't measure anything before installing. I did max out the chamber as much as I could. Still letting mine settle before I really start working on the setup. Have you adjusted the rebound a lot?

I didn't adjust rebound at all. I did measure each damper to make sure they were all the same, just to be safe.


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[Siestarider]

Hijinks, thanks for the details. I need to upgrade from OEM suspension per tire wear patterns, Meister coils have good rep.

Something about the math is puzzling me. OEM front unloaded is 60 mm higher than with Meister unloaded? I understand when I am loaded, but what means car is loaded vs unloaded?

Maybe something with weights too, Meister heavier on scale with you but lighter by itself? One strut or both?

I thought I was sober, but I could be wrong.

 

[Hijinx]

Hijinks, thanks for the details. I need to upgrade from OEM suspension per tire wear patterns, Meister coils have good rep.

Something about the math is puzzling me. OEM front unloaded is 60 mm higher than with Meister unloaded? I understand when I am loaded, but what means car is loaded vs unloaded?

Maybe something with weights too, Meister heavier on scale with you but lighter by itself? One strut or both?

I thought I was sober, but I could be wrong.

I may have applied the wrong terminology... When I say loaded and unloaded, I mean car on the ground (loaded) vs car in the air (unloaded). The distance measured being from the wheel well at highest point on fender, to the center of the center cap.

For the weights, I weighed myself first. Then, I weighed myself with one OEM strut, I put it down and set it aside. Afterwards, I weighed myself with one Meister strut.


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[Hijinx]

I should have gotten more pics, but we know I'm not much good at pictures. It def would have been less confusing.


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[Hijinx]

I set my car up with an intentional forward rake. I don't plan on autox or road race (I do want to try out road racing, though). When I race, it's predominately 1/4 mile and the occasional 1/2 mile. The rake is to put more weight over the front tires for grip. On race day, I'll stiffen up the rear dampers further to keep the weight from shifting back.

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[OEFvet11]

Well the rake is always going to be forward on a FWD. This helps with traction. Too much weight forward though and it understeer a, too much weight back it understeers. All FWD cars need a little weight forward since the drive wheels need a little more weight to help compensate for the weight shift when under full Throttle. Also it was why lifting off the throttle to induce some oversteer is one way to be fast on track in a fwd car. Turn in, slight lift, car starts to rotate, hammer down, and drive through the corner. My old ITR track car was balanced 60/40 and it was not nearly as rotatable as the FiST is. I haven't measured mine but there is a slight forward rack. I should be tracking testing the out of the box setup and tweaking from there on the 21st... If the scca doesn't cancel the event for the 2nd time.

 

[Ryephile]

I may have applied the wrong terminology... When I say loaded and unloaded, I mean car on the ground (loaded) vs car in the air (unloaded). The distance measured being from the wheel well at highest point on fender, to the center of the center cap.
...

Just FYI, it's fairly common to use suspension position terminology of [full] droop, ride height, bumpstop contact, and [full] compression. I often use the term "free compression travel" as the distance between ride height and bumpstop contact, though it's not to be confused with "full compression travel", which is the distance between ride height and the dampers fully compressed including bumpstop compression.

 

[Hijinx]

Just FYI, it's fairly common to use suspension position terminology of [full] droop, ride height, bumpstop contact, and [full] compression. I often use the term "free compression travel" as the distance between ride height and bumpstop contact, though it's not to be confused with "full compression travel", which is the distance between ride height and the dampers fully compressed including bumpstop compression.

I'm not sure I completely understand... It just grazed the top of my head. Can you break it down a little more? When I go to edit my post should I replace "loaded/on the ground" with "free compression travel" and "unloaded/in the air" with "full droop?"


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[Siestarider]

The sequence I recall is full droop, partially loaded, fully loaded, hangover, full droop. Repeat Saturday night. Lol.

How about wheels hanging free, wheels on ground. Get too technical and someone is sure to start on about different suspensions having different terminology.