MeisterR
Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 321
A common question many owner ask: How does MeisterR coilovers compare to other brands?
As coilovers are only part of a car's suspensions, and there are many other variable involved; it is often a difficult questions to answer.
So I want to bring up a very interesting "test" that we will be doing.
Here in Houston USA, I meet a driver at a local SCCA Auto Solo event name Lucio D'lsep.
Lucio was an Italian racing driver back in the early 2000's, and have decided to get back into competitive motorsport after being absent for over 12 years.
Here is a picture of him in the former glory days racing with Osella in Rechberg (Austria) back in 2002.
Lucio's current car is a Honda S2000 daily driver that runs in the SCCA Auto Solo STR (Street Touring Roadster) Class.
The good thing about the STR class is that the rules limit modification you can do as well as tyres you can use, thus creating a class that daily street driven cars can compete with each other.
Suspension Issue
Speaking to Lucio, he have been having issue with his car.
He is using an off the shelf Bilstein PSS9 adjustable coilovers, and he just couldn't get the suspension to work with the car.
The tyres just couldn't find grip and the body motion does not feel controlled no matter how he adjust the coilovers, so he is struggling to keep speed through the corners as well as keeping the car on the racing line.
The result is lost traction as well as hitting cones, and this put a time penalty on his result.
MeisterR Suspensions Change
I thought this will make a great opportunity to test the MeisterR coilovers against Bilstein, and will keep things fair as we can get a qualitative (how the suspensions feel on the road) and a quantitative (Lap time) feedback on the same road car driven by the same driver in the same competitive event.
So we got a set of off the shelf MeisterR Zeta-R coilovers, and swap the Bilstein PSS9 coilovers out.
Initial Feedback on MeisterR coilovers
The initial feedback by Lucio is positive after a few days of street use.
Here is what Lucio have to say:
Both the Bilstein and the MeisterR look like serious tools and not toys.
The MeisterR out of the box are ready for the installation, the light weight aluminium top mount included with the MeisterR is the main difference when compared to the Bilstein that need to reuse the top mount from the original Honda suspension.
After 12 years out of racing it’s the first time that I see a suspension with springs coil adjustments independent from ride height adjustments.
This is a great improvement and it mean no more compromise when adjusting the ride height.
Compare to the Bilstein, the MeisterR damping response and compliancy on the irregularity of the street gives you confidence.
You are able to feel the grip and trust the car/tyres, and know that when the grip finish there will be space for correction.
The accuracy of the steering is what impressed me the most with the MeisterR coilovers.
The front of the car is on track followed by the rear even with the non-linear power curve of the S2000 engine trying to mess up your approach to the apex.
It is also more comfortable on softer damping setting.
If your potential girlfriend has already experienced sport cars, she will not complain about comfort as softer damping setting is not so far from the original equipment.
SCCA Result with Bilstein
The last round of the SCCA Auto Solo, Lucio finished in 7th place with 13 competitors total.
While the lap time of 51.297 isn't slow, the additional penalties from hitting cones brought his result down to 7th place.
The next round of the SCCA Auto Solo will be this Saturday 2nd of August, 2015.
We will get the S2000 to the track and hope we finish on the podium, because when you race you race to win.
We will report back in a few days time.
As coilovers are only part of a car's suspensions, and there are many other variable involved; it is often a difficult questions to answer.
So I want to bring up a very interesting "test" that we will be doing.
Here in Houston USA, I meet a driver at a local SCCA Auto Solo event name Lucio D'lsep.
Lucio was an Italian racing driver back in the early 2000's, and have decided to get back into competitive motorsport after being absent for over 12 years.
Here is a picture of him in the former glory days racing with Osella in Rechberg (Austria) back in 2002.
Lucio's current car is a Honda S2000 daily driver that runs in the SCCA Auto Solo STR (Street Touring Roadster) Class.
The good thing about the STR class is that the rules limit modification you can do as well as tyres you can use, thus creating a class that daily street driven cars can compete with each other.
Suspension Issue
Speaking to Lucio, he have been having issue with his car.
He is using an off the shelf Bilstein PSS9 adjustable coilovers, and he just couldn't get the suspension to work with the car.
The tyres just couldn't find grip and the body motion does not feel controlled no matter how he adjust the coilovers, so he is struggling to keep speed through the corners as well as keeping the car on the racing line.
The result is lost traction as well as hitting cones, and this put a time penalty on his result.
MeisterR Suspensions Change
I thought this will make a great opportunity to test the MeisterR coilovers against Bilstein, and will keep things fair as we can get a qualitative (how the suspensions feel on the road) and a quantitative (Lap time) feedback on the same road car driven by the same driver in the same competitive event.
So we got a set of off the shelf MeisterR Zeta-R coilovers, and swap the Bilstein PSS9 coilovers out.
Initial Feedback on MeisterR coilovers
The initial feedback by Lucio is positive after a few days of street use.
Here is what Lucio have to say:
Both the Bilstein and the MeisterR look like serious tools and not toys.
The MeisterR out of the box are ready for the installation, the light weight aluminium top mount included with the MeisterR is the main difference when compared to the Bilstein that need to reuse the top mount from the original Honda suspension.
After 12 years out of racing it’s the first time that I see a suspension with springs coil adjustments independent from ride height adjustments.
This is a great improvement and it mean no more compromise when adjusting the ride height.
Compare to the Bilstein, the MeisterR damping response and compliancy on the irregularity of the street gives you confidence.
You are able to feel the grip and trust the car/tyres, and know that when the grip finish there will be space for correction.
The accuracy of the steering is what impressed me the most with the MeisterR coilovers.
The front of the car is on track followed by the rear even with the non-linear power curve of the S2000 engine trying to mess up your approach to the apex.
It is also more comfortable on softer damping setting.
If your potential girlfriend has already experienced sport cars, she will not complain about comfort as softer damping setting is not so far from the original equipment.
SCCA Result with Bilstein
The last round of the SCCA Auto Solo, Lucio finished in 7th place with 13 competitors total.
While the lap time of 51.297 isn't slow, the additional penalties from hitting cones brought his result down to 7th place.
The next round of the SCCA Auto Solo will be this Saturday 2nd of August, 2015.
We will get the S2000 to the track and hope we finish on the podium, because when you race you race to win.
We will report back in a few days time.