MeisterR owners - come forth and discuss!

[Funkysi]

By the end of spring, I plan on replacing my KYB AGX and Tein S Tech for a set of MeisterR Zeta-S coilovers. I've come to the conclusion that the stock strut top bushings are crap and start to creak, even when replaced with new.

 

I also want to lower my Z a little more and have a little more adjustability in the dampening. I believe you can set the pre-load to a lot lower than you can with KYB AGX shocks.

 

Generally, the MeisterRs are held in high regard, they're comfortable and well made - but I'm wondering who here has them AND, just as importantly, what was on the car before you fitted them.

 

I've driven JoelyP's Z and that does feel nice, rides well, isn't crashy and doesn't bounce around on the road.

[Mondo]

Tired standard suspension previously. The Meisters make a big difference, both aesthetically and dynamically :)

[JaiKai]

Had them on mine and prior to that I was stock.

 

Plan to move them to the new zed if they aren't damaged on the purple one.

[Slick Pete.]

I also want to lower my Z a little more and have a little more adjustability in the dampening. I believe you can set the pre-load to a lot lower than you can with KYB AGX shocks.

The Meister R will allow you to do all that independently.

The dampening adjustment is pretty wide so you and anyone else can find a setting to suit your car/style of driving etc.

They are independently height adjustable so once again ride height can be trimmed to your exact needs..

The spring perch is not used for height agjustment . Its only function is spring preload. You can have this at zero or any setting higher that you want.

So whats not to like!

 

My experience...........as follows

I have them fitted to my trackday/drag car and I find them to be good at both disiplines and on the road.

I keep ride height and pre load constant but alt er dampening to suit the event.

The car was built from scratch using them so no previous experience on this car.

The previous cars I had were less extreme and had similar Eibach/KYB combos. Good enough for the road but limited in their usefullness for the sporting stuff.

 

This could be quite an interesting/informative thread if it can be kept on topic.

[Terry]

I had new stock suspension and went to meister r and think it drives horrible but looks much better, on stock shocks and springs it was very good even on the bad roads we have round here and handled really well,

now its quite stiff over bumps, and on bumpy roads its quite dangerous, when you jack the car the wheels dont droop they just stay the same in the arches and i think this causes my car rear wheels to leave the road over bumps when pushing hard,

it feels like the wheels come off the ground a bit the wheel starts spinning faster and then cause back to kick around,

on the limits on uk roads stock srings and new shocks drive so much better but look quite high...

but on a perfect flat road i guess coilovers are better, for looks and on a track id say coilovers but for fast road use id say stock are better...

 

I have driven a 300zx with the kyb shocks and lowering springs and to be honest that was quite stiff and crashy too, its likely just me but everyone who got in my zed said how quiet and smooth it was now it feels like a ratterly old dog lol...

[GIBSTER-TT]

I've had various coilover's over the years as well as stock suspension.

 

No coilover will give you the stock suspension feel or ride but overall I've found the MeisterR the best by far for the money.

 

Due to the wide range of adjustment available it takes a while to get the setting right. I'm still in the trial and error stage but at the moment it's set on about 3 clicks rear and 5 on the front while also adjusting the spring rate but feel the rear is to soft on the settings I have at this time.

[ianl]

I had very hard very low tein before, fitted meisters because i wanted a more comfortable ride and a slight prayer of limping over speed humps and i kept kicking the front bumper when working on the engine. They were also a lot cheaper that going back to stock.

 

Whilst i'm much happier i still havnt found a happy medium between comfortable enough on ribbed / potholey roads and too bouncy on undulating roads

But its great when on good roads or track to just wind up the damping a lot

[RichardS]

Tired standard suspension previously. The Meisters make a big difference, both aesthetically and dynamically :)

 

Same here - and agree entirely!!

 

The Meister Rs give the car the handling edge it needs; but without compromising on ride quality, thus retaining that GT car feel.....:cool:

[(adl) phoenix]

Huh, guess I'm the only person who doesn't like meisterR maybe mine aren't zeta -s, don't get me wrong big improvement over standard suspension,

 

I'll be removing mine next year, and swapping them for bc racing ones.

[Slick Pete.]

Huh, guess I'm the only person who doesn't like meisterR maybe mine aren't zeta -s, don't get me wrong big improvement over standard suspension,

 

So tell us a bit more. Reasons for not liking etc

 

What do you feel is better about BC coilovers?

[(adl) phoenix]

Not sure which version are fitted to my zed, all I know is they are meisterR, they are not bad handles much better then standard. But the ride is appalling far too stiff for a road set up, not convinced any of the adjusters work, build quality on the adjusters is not great very flimsy, reminds me of cheap Chinese made parts, don't get me wrong I want a track set up, but if I'm going to have an uncomfortable ride I want it to be right,

 

Tbh the bc may be no better, but I had them on an old 200sx, and couldn't fault them, yes they are rock solid but I could adjust it so it felt right, it's hard to explain, might just a placebo effect.

 

Maybe mine are of an old type or something, tbh they were on the car when I got it, they could just be broken,

 

I'm getting bc: tyre RA, but with the 10/8 spring rate, ( I know only they only list that rate for rs, but they make them on request)

 

I know I'm contradicting myself with such a high spring rate after complaining about the ride.

[Chrisbasildon]

Stock suspension, changed to the MeisterR, very very pleased with the results, I find the ride is perfectly acceptable even on rough roads, and the handling feels taut and balanced. I even got the rear adjuster extensions thrown in for free! They are very well engineered too.

[Slick Pete.]

But the ride is appalling far too stiff for a road set up, not convinced any of the adjusters work,

 

Well I dont want to sound dictatorial but before you go spending money on anything new you need to see whether your current set up is working properly or not and you need to measure the rate of your current springs.

That will give you a base to make changes from.

i also dont want to clog Simons thread about mainly roadgoing applications with chatter about a pair of track focussed slicktops.

What works for Si and similar cars/owners wont work for us.

Drop me you number on a PM and ill call you at a time to suit you.

I also want you to have a ride(and drive) of my car before you open your wallet.

[Joely P]

I had stock suspension on mine when I bought it but changed the to KYB/Eibach when I fitted some 18" wheels. I found the Eibach to ride a bit too high at the front and eventually changed the springs to AVO chassis dynamics. I was happy with those although they were a little harsh but when I fitted my 19" wheels, I felt the ride height required further tweaking.

 

After much deliberation (as I was sure a coilover system would destroy the ride quality even further) and many discussions with Jerrick about my options available, I took the plunge for a set of ZetaS with (what used to be the) 2+0 Spring rates, 6/4. I had no intention of this being a competitive track car, it's a full fat 2+2 family estate version with a high cholesterol diet!

 

I first setup the ride heights to the level of my AVO springs using the stamped preloads on each spring, I did find that the rears were too low on the maximum highest setting and so after some advice from Edwin and Jerrick, I had to decrease the preload measurement, to increase to preload on the spring, which in turn raises the ride height. They did explain the science behind it on the phone and the ratio of which the increased preload per mm should increase the ride height but I found trial and error was the way forward!

 

Then the pain staking job of adjusting the ride height to a level that you're happy with all round and getting it mm perfect is very time consuming! Nevertheless I did that and during the first drive out I was pretty shocked at the results. I have all 4 corners on 32 clicks max soft and it is without a doubt "softer" or less crashy than my AVO/KYB combo. The road handling was still very compliant but I did notice the body roll felt a bit too wallowy.

 

This is where my Stillen ARB kit came in handy, I adjusted these from the softest setting, up to the hardest setting to counteract and I now feel the handling is just how I want it. A word I would use to describe it is "streetable", the car is not skippy, it feels well planted round corners, it doesn't respond negatively to 99% of road surfaces I use and when planting the throttle, it has enough damping to lower the risk of a "skitty" back end, giving me more confidence in powering out of corners.

 

I really enjoy driving the car the way it is and would implore anyone take it for a spin to get a feel for the ride. My next job on the list for the suspension setup is to have it corner weighted to get those preloads more accurate. I would love to take the car for a "fun" day out at a track and fully intend to one day, some adjustment of the damping to a harder setting should see reasonable results for a road car but as I'm an inexperienced track driver, I'm not sure how much difference it would make until I've done a few more!

 

In summary, I initially purchased my MeisterR coilovers begrudgingly assuming that it would be a form over function modification. However, it turns out I have the "stance" that I set out to achieve but got so much more from the driving experience with the hybrid spring setup.

 

Another note regards to quality, I thought they were very good, the material specs used seem decent, the coatings are of a good durable finish and the tolerances of the threaded portions feel nice a tight.

 

A question that remains from me though is that, if you took all of the big brand coilover systems, placed exactly the same spring rates, the same preloads, ride heights and matching settings for the rest of the suspension, would 99% of people be able to differentiate between any of them? I don't think so.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Joely P
Spelling

[Joely P]

Well I dont want to sound dictatorial but before you go spending money on anything new you need to see whether your current set up is working properly or not and you need to measure the rate of your current springs.

That will give you a base to make changes from.

i also dont want to clog Simons thread about mainly roadgoing applications with chatter about a pair of track focussed slicktops.

What works for Si and similar cars/owners wont work for us.

Drop me you number on a PM and ill call you at a time to suit you.

I also want you to have a ride(and drive) of my car before you open your wallet.

 

Simon will correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure he will be happy to hear advice and opinions on this thread from the track focused guys as it gives everyone a datum to work from. It's also educational to find out what's what when it comes to "tuning" the suspension.

[dougal200]

This may not be directly related to the topic but I really advise all those who are finding their ride too hard to check their spring pre load. It makes a big difference to the ride quality. I run mine with as little as possible

Edited December 21, 2015 by dougal200

[Slick Pete.]

This may not be directly related to the topic but I really advise all those who are finding their ride too hard to check their spring pre load. It makes a big difference to the ride quality. I run mine with as little as possible

Its 100% related.

Pre load is often ignored. Its why something like the Meister set up is so good as pre load can be set indepndently of ride height..

Older style JDM stuff doesnt have that facility.

[Funkysi]

Very interesting chaps - thanks for all the information!

[nickz32]

+1 to Joel's comments. I run the zeta-r on my car (SWB spec springs on a lwb car) as I wanted to go back to a more compliant set up after living with Jap spec Tein Coilovers.

 

For general road use I have the dampers on their softest setup and the spring pre load wound back to "zero" to get as compliant a ride as possible. I made up a spring compression marker so I can set the pre load I was happy with for track use and tweek the damping as I see fit.

 

As for quality, I'd probably give them a 8/10. The anodising of the damper body and top mount have held up to year round use well, but the powder coating on the spring began to flake off after about 3 years. While I understand the Meisters are not a premium suspension product in the grand scheme of things (they're no Ohlins) I would have hoped the Spring coating would have lasted a little longer

[Quavey]

Not sure which version are fitted to my zed, all I know is they are meisterR, they are not bad handles much better then standard. But the ride is appalling far too stiff for a road set up, not convinced any of the adjusters work, build quality on the adjusters is not great very flimsy, reminds me of cheap Chinese made parts, don't get me wrong I want a track set up, but if I'm going to have an uncomfortable ride I want it to be right,

 

Tbh the bc may be no better, but I had them on an old 200sx, and couldn't fault them, yes they are rock solid but I could adjust it so it felt right, it's hard to explain, might just a placebo effect.

 

Maybe mine are of an old type or something, tbh they were on the car when I got it, they could just be broken,

 

I'm getting bc: tyre RA, but with the 10/8 spring rate, ( I know only they only list that rate for rs, but they make them on request)

 

I know I'm contradicting myself with such a high spring rate after complaining about the ride.

 

You could contact Jerrick about them, the kit fitted to that car was from the original group buy back in 2010 and they were fitted with the lower spring rate to reflect the lighter weight of the SWB car. I found them a huge improvement over what was there to begin with both in poise, comfort and handling. It had some bad lowering springs on the front and tired shocks all round before fitting.

[bird]

I have them (Zeta S). They're set to soft but I don't have the other upgraded bits sadly. I also don't have a scoobysnacks about spring rates and all that or how to check or change them.

 

I think they're okay but I recon if I knew the stuff above, they'd be better. I remember putting brand new stock suspension on my first zed and it was glorious

[Slick Pete.]

You could contact Jerrick about them, the kit fitted to that car was from the original group buy back in 2010 and they were fitted with the lower spring rate to reflect the lighter weight of the SWB car. I found them a huge improvement over what was there to begin with both in poise, comfort and handling. It had some bad lowering springs on the front and tired shocks all round before fitting.

Thats when I got mine too IIRC .... after Andy Isherwood had done some testing for Jerrick.

The SWB rates were 6 and 4 as opposed to the LWB rates of 8 and 6.

The general positive reaction all round is at odds with what Ash is saying about the set up

Thats why I suggested he take his apart and check . There may well be one or more seized adjusters and they could be seized in a max stiffness mode.

The SWB set up on mine effectively feels tighter on spring rates than it will on a heavier 2+2. But its not overly stiff in normal road use so long as the dampers are on a lowish setting.

On track mine corners flat as those who have seen me out there may testify. Part of that is due to the Stillen Sway bars I have(like Joel).

They make a HUGE difference to the on track experience. IMO they are a "must fit" to any track orientated Z32. Once again their effect is greater on my very light car than on a full trim 2+2 like Joels.

So in summary Joel and me have the same set up. Meister + Stillen on two very different incarnations of the car. We also have different uses for the car.

What is interesting is how well the set up works for us both. The only real difference between us is my use of higher damper settings and Joels slightly lower ride height/stance. Im forced in to the ride height by my local road network and the need to get down the access road to York Raceway in under half an hour.

[MeisterR]

Wow, didn't even see this until just now, everyone having a good Christmas.

First, if you have a problem with MeisterR, that is why I am here… contact me. :)

 

Couple thing I see on this thread so I'll list out some info in no particular order:

 

1. If your wheel isn't drooping, check the pre-load.

It is possible to wind the pre-load up to the point where the car do not droop, then lower the ride height using the lower bracket.

Why would anyone do that? I have no idea, but one good reason why the wheel isn't drooping.

Check pre-load, make sure it has no more than 2mm because that is all you need on the Z32.

 

2. Stiff ride.

We had an issue like this before and it was pre-load on the bush.

When you lower the ride height, you "should" slack off all the bush then torque them down at the new static ride height.

We had a Z32 before where all the bush was (pre-tensioned), and therefore it was actually restricting the suspension movement.

This lead to a stiff ride especially over small suspension movement on uneven roads.

 

3. Not sure what you have?

Take a picture and E-mail us, we will help you identify what it is.

Some suspension could be past it's best, but if you have a problem contact us.

 

Again, we are here to help. Got a problem, E-mail us at info@meisterr.co.uk

 

Jerrick

[Funkysi]

Wow, didn't even see this until just now, everyone having a good Christmas.

First, if you have a problem with MeisterR, that is why I am here… contact me. :)

 

Couple thing I see on this thread so I'll list out some info in no particular order:

 

1. If your wheel isn't drooping, check the pre-load.

It is possible to wind the pre-load up to the point where the car do not droop, then lower the ride height using the lower bracket.

Why would anyone do that? I have no idea, but one good reason why the wheel isn't drooping.

Check pre-load, make sure it has no more than 2mm because that is all you need on the Z32.

 

2. Stiff ride.

We had an issue like this before and it was pre-load on the bush.

When you lower the ride height, you "should" slack off all the bush then torque them down at the new static ride height.

We had a Z32 before where all the bush was (pre-tensioned), and therefore it was actually restricting the suspension movement.

This lead to a stiff ride especially over small suspension movement on uneven roads.

 

3. Not sure what you have?

Take a picture and E-mail us, we will help you identify what it is.

Some suspension could be past it's best, but if you have a problem contact us.

 

Again, we are here to help. Got a problem, E-mail us at info@meisterr.co.uk

 

Jerrick

 

Thanks Jerrick, were the designs changed at all? I seem to recall earlier versions were slightly different - was that to do with spring rate?

[ianl]

The early ones were to short to achieve stock height, we got some extention bits if i remember correctly, later ones were longer i think

 

Also he used to offer two spring rates, as the people who first tested them on swb requested softer springs