Hi all,
Thinking of replacing the front 'Tems' shocks on my Masterace, have read most of the exstensive posts on the pro's & con's of Tems/non tems etc.
Has anyone converted their vehicle from Tems to a non Tems shock absorber? Do you reckon it was worth it etc. I would be very glad to hear from anyone on this, as most of you probably know, the Tems s/a are about £100 each.
Was thinking of changing s/a's because under hard braking at speed (70mph ish) having to wrestle the steering as it pulls this way & that. All front & rear suspension bushes has been replaced, as has front upper & lower ball joints etc. Brakes are spot on too, as are the tyres/pressures etc, which only leaves poor shocks.
Thanks to anyone that can help, Tony.
- (#10403) Tony Lloyd-Jones, 25 Apr 04 08:45
Tony. Have you checked the wheel alignment? As the suspension "dips" under braking, there are some peculiar things which will happen if the wheel alignment is not correct. From memory, the wheel alignment is +/- 1mm but, confirmation can be found in the archives. When I first had my Masterace, I replaced the TEMS shocks to try to improve the ride. It did not seem to have much effect on the bouncy ride but, after carefully correcting the wheel alignment and some alteration of the torsion bar anchorages to give a bit of lift to the front of the vehicle, steering, and control under braking, seemed to be much more precise.
- (#10403) John Davis (Leics), 25 Apr 04 14:19
I replaced my TEMS shocks with US performance shocks about 6 months ago. As I went through a period of unsuccessfully trying to replace the bushes, I finally decided to give up and replace the shocks. I wasn't prepared to pay £100 +vat each for the TEMS so looked for alternatives.
I would have to say that in comparison the TEMS gave a softer ride, the new shocks being more solid and exaggerating the bumps even more than before. I gradually got used to it and dropping the tyre pressures from 42 to 38psi helped a bit.
So the choice has to be up to you but to replace all four TEMS will cost about £450 as opposed to my £150. I think the ride (certainly in my Townace) is and always has been a bit rough over uneven ground regardless of shocker types. I personally don't feel that the slight improvement from TEMS is justified by paying 3 times the price though.
- (#10403) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 26 Apr 04 01:33
Thanks to John & Ian for your replies. John, are the wheel alignment marks somewhere on the main cross-member underneath, between the front wheels? Seem to remember seeing something like this when I was last underneath our Masterace.
Ian, do you possibly have a contact number, website address for the shocks that you fitted? If so, could you please post a reply, I'm inclined to go for the type you fitted, as £450 for a set of shocks is a bit much. Finally, was it a difficult job to fit they new type of shockers.
Again, thanks to you both,
Regards, Tony.
- (#10403) Tony Lloyd-Jones, 1 May 04 07:08
Tony, as far as I know, no, there are no marks or indications, on the cross member, as to wheel alignment values and, of course, it would be difficult to use if there were.
The wheel alignment figure, either "toe in" of "toe out" relates to the difference in distance between the inside edges of the tyres, at the back of the wheel, and the distance between the edges of the tyres at the front of the wheel, usually measured at wheel centre height. If there were no toe in or toe out, the wheels would be parallel to each other. A toe in figure would mean that the wheels point inwards, very slightly, at the front of the front wheels. On the Town/Masterace, I think the figure is plus or minus 1 mm so, in effect, the wheels are parallel when correrctly adjusted.
- (#10403) John Davis (Leics), 1 May 04 08:49
Thanks for the reply John, basically your talking about the 'traking', which I thought you were, but just needed to check. The wheel alignment is spot on, can tell by the tyre wear, which is spot on & wearing evenly across the full width of the tyre, so as i've replaced every bush & ball joint front & rear, & the brakes are spot on, this only leaves worn shockers to cause the bus to 'weave' under hard braking at speed, looks like I'll be doing the s/o very soon.
Thanks again John,
Regards, Tony.
- (#10403) Tony Lloyd-Jones, 2 May 04 10:35
Tony. Before you go fitting new shocks check your tyres. I used to have a TVR and under hard braking it was hard to keep it in a straight ahead position. I eventualy found the problem was miss matched tyres. I had a Uniroyal on the N/S and a Goodyear on the O/S. I put these on the rear wheels and put the rear wheels on the front (both Goodyear tyres) and the problem was solved. The tyre centre said that diferent tyre tread patterns can cause tyres to pull under braking. HTH.
- (#10403) Bill, 3 May 04 03:50
Thanks Bill, but all four tyres were replaced at the same time & all the same make, thanks anyway.
Tony.
- (#10403) Tony Lloyd-Jones, 3 May 04 11:21
Sorry for the late response Tony, been enjoying the sun too much over the weekend. I got the shocks from here http://www.explorerprocomp.co.uk/ as recommended by David Miller. Unfortunately the site is undergoing reconstruction so I'll hunt out the receipt with part numbers and phone number and mail you tomorrow.
Ian
- (#10403) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 4 May 04 03:19
Thanks Ian, have e-mailed you.
Tony.
- (#10403) Tony Lloyd-Jones, 9 May 04 11:49