Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 02:49 pm, by: Simon Roberts(Simonr)
Hi Guys. I’ll be buying some Tein SS at the end of the month and I’ve been looking into the business of upper strut mounts. I’ve read about the pillow balls that Tein supply and I don’t like the sound of them but I’m wondering if I should replace the stock upper mounts. I’m thinking that the rest of the rubber suspension parts on the car have needed replacing due to age/mileage so the rubber bits on top of the struts could be due for replacement and I may as well do them while the rest of the suspension is out.
Any thoughts? I’ve searched a lot on this and there’s lots of info about coilovers out there but not a lot about the mounts (if you don’t want the pillow ball ones).
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand I have LESS Soarers than Hayden :-(
Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 03:44 pm, by: Peter Nitschke(Pen)
Simon, as Don says, generally no-one bothers as they still work. However, I agree with you and tend to think that 15 year old rubber is not going to be as compliant as nice fresh stuff.
I had my front upper and all rear CA bushes replaced just before Easter, general opinion of mechanics and wheel alignment places was "why bother as they aren't stuffed?" but after having the job done, there IS a noticeable difference to the smoothness of the ride now.
I don't think I got a price on the strut mount rubbers, but it's still something I would consider doing.
Most people these days are probably working on their Soarers to either fix things that are broken, or to get more power, but there are still some of us out there that are happy with the car and also happy to do replenishment of items that enhance the ride and get back more of that new car feeling.
Like tyres, the recent review mentioned on SC gave the Toyo T1-R's a bad rap, but I have them and I can tell you the ride quality is awesome, something not covered in the review.
Last weekend in fact, I swapped wheels with a mate for a test, and the difference was astounding. The Toyo's made either car smooth and quiet, true luxury driving, the other tyres made the cars feel harsh and noisy to the point it felt and sounded like it needed new bearings - which is in fact why we did the swap over in the first place.
So, if you are after ride quality, and it's not an overly expensive job, or you don't mind doing it anyway, I would encourage you to change them and let us know if it is worthwhile. However, as you will be changing other components at the same time, it might be difficult to attribute any amount of improvement to the shock mounts alone.
Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 06:40 pm, by: Simon Roberts(Simonr)
Thanks Guys. I got a price from Mr T for upper mounts: £67.43 ea front and and £90.03 ea rear. That's approx $775AUS. Ouch.
I'm wondering though, I asked about a price for upper suspension mounts and I've since read that there is a rubber component as well a metal component. I can't get my EPC to work so would someone mind confirming from the pics attached which bits I need to order just to replace the rubbers? Thanks.
Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 07:00 pm, by: Simon Roberts(Simonr)
Yep, and the rear equivalents are described as "BUMPER, REAR SPRING, NO.1 RH" and "BUMPER, REAR SPRING, NO.1 LH". Somehow I knew that this would start to get complicated. My next question is going to be "can I use those bits with Tein coilovers". Maybe it's better to save myself a lot of hassle and just get the Tein pillow mounts?
Sunday, June 11, 2006 - 10:31 pm, by: Simon Roberts(Simonr)
OK, various American sites sell "SC300 Strut Mounts" as in the pic below. This has got to be part 48680 in the pic above (yes?). I see that there is no rubber component.
The other parts are recognisable as spring and boot so it seems clear that the rubber part that I want is 48331, as Pete suggests.
Monday, June 12, 2006 - 12:54 am, by: Peter Nitschke(Pen)
Simon, something to consider then, if they are only bump stops then they aren't going to affect the ride quality until the point your suspension has travelled so far that it hits the stops.
At which point whether it is old rubber or new rubber is not that relevant.
Monday, June 12, 2006 - 01:26 am, by: Simon Roberts(Simonr)
Pete, if you're right then that imples that the normal state of affairs is to have the top of the spring sitting directly in the recessed underside of the top mount. Does that sound right? I would have thought that would lead to all sorts of banging and crashing noises from the suspension.
Monday, June 12, 2006 - 01:37 am, by: Peter Nitschke(Pen)
Simon, I am not a suspension guru, but at a guess, the normal load from the spring tension alone will keep the springs firmly in contact with the mounts at all times.
Then if you look at your picture, 48157D is an insulator to stop the spring banging on the shocker shaft and 48331 is a rubber bush sitting around the shocker shaft to stop the shocker body hitting the mount under full travel.