Dipstick Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 I need to replace the rear shockers on my TR6. New ones are about three times the price of reconditioned. Are the new ones worth paying the extra for or will a reconditioned set be as good as new? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 Neither. Throw them away and treat yourself to a TR-Bitz rear telescopic damper conversion. not much more than replacement lever arms, but considerably better and adjustable to boot. neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Crawley Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 Dipstick (seems a bit rude to call you that!), I strongly echo Neil’s response, ditch them & go for a gas telescopic conversion, preferable one you can adjust on the car which, unfortunately, seems to rule out Konis. It’s one of the best improvements you can make to a 4,5,6 IRS. But go for the brackets that bolt onto the original lever mountings, or if you’ve got lots of money, the coil over damper mod but that’s rather expensive. Don’t even think about the **** that bolts through the wheel arch, the people that sell those should be shot! The only other tip I would give you is look at all the suppliers prices; although I have used TR-Bitz in the past, some of their prices don’t seem very competitive these days! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jemgee Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 I bought the CTM 3 bolt brackets and Koni's at Malvern last year. I had a bit of help from my local garage to fit them as the mounting holes were marginally out. We fitted the Koni's 'out of the box' and whilst I accept that they have to be removed to adjust I have been delighted with the handling as is. I was at the Redrose trackday and had no nasty moments Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvmul Posted May 29, 2004 Report Share Posted May 29, 2004 Everyone who fitted a conversion kit will agree that this is best solution. Even new shocks don't perform nearly as well and they don't last long. If you want to retain the lever arm shocks for a paricular reason (originality...), I would advice to buy reconditioned ones from a specialist that supplies the lever arm shocks for race cars, they are much better than new ones. I bought a pair of them from Racetorations in 2002 for my TR3 for 370 pounds : the cylinders of the shocks are rebored and new sleeves are fitted. The spindles have bearing bushes bushes, new ones have the spindles turning in the body, without bearings. The valves are much uprated, the damping rate is a lot higher than the standard rate. After 2 years they perform still as good as the first day Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ron Posted May 29, 2004 Report Share Posted May 29, 2004 Dipstick Could I just add my tuppence worth, I did a telescopic conversion to Spax last winter and would agree with the previous posters, ditch the lever arms and go for a conversion. Richard Regarding prices, another one to watch for is postage, I got stung for £8.95 + VAT for a set of Greenstuff pads a couple of months ago form a well known supplier with 4 capital letters as their name, I've used them a lot in the past but I'll be wary in the future. Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Crawley Posted May 29, 2004 Report Share Posted May 29, 2004 Ron, a set of pads is quite heavy so hence the hefty postage; I got stitched up by “4 capitals” on a metering unit simply because I did not refer to an advert in TRaction & that was after spending around £3k+ in six months (it does say you have to quote the advert to get that price!). It cost me the 17.5% VAT but I was only 7.5% worse off by the time they had taken off my discount. I gave them an earful next time I was up there, I got tea & sympathy but no refund (too late they said) but I did get a couple of cheapies thrown into my next order. I have dealt with all the major & some minor suppliers over the years but I still believe the 4 capitals are one of the most helpful &, overall, very fair + an extremely friendly bunch of guys. Never forget they are all in business to make money & will all try & get you anyway they can, you just have to keep one step ahead! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ron Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 Richard A set of pads weighs just over a Kilo, which is £4.45 by RM standard parcels which is how it was sent, it was poorly packaged in a SH box so they can't really say it was the packaging either, however once bitten twice shy, I'll ask what the postage is the next time. Like you I have dealt with most of them and up to now they were one of the best, pity greed got the better of them. Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dipstick Posted May 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2004 Thank you all for your input. I like the car for what it is so I propose to stick to the lever arm shockers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Neil Russell Posted May 31, 2004 Report Share Posted May 31, 2004 Its your car, but I wouldn't use lever arms today. if you could replace the lever arms for a significant cost saving over a vertical set up then I would agree, but changing to a rear Vertical set up needent cost the earth. The TR Bitz conversion picks up on the lever arm mounting points and uses a vertical shock absorber. this cures alot of the TR6 weaknesses in the rear end without any disadvantages. a lever arm is an antiquated design with limited scope even when in good nick. some of the re-con ones out there are dubious to say the least. the vertical kit is about £180 from memory, but will transform your car. this is really one of the cheapest but most effective modifications to the car you can make. its stops the extreme squat and bottoming out the cars were reknowned for. I gave my lever arms away when I built my chassis. You may like the car for what it is, but for not a lot extra you will positively love the car?? Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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