Tems shocks

[f00g00]

Hi, I just recently finished a lot of mods on my 87 including a 1JZ mod and installed the TEMS coilovers from an 88 donor car but havn't wired it up yet. My question is how do the TEMS shocks feel with the system off?
My car is real floaty and bouncy. When I go over a speed bump it bounces up and down a couple of times.
Can the shocks be manually driven to create stiffness or is it possible that all the shocks are blown? If they are blown then I won't bother wiring them up. I have the harness from the donor car, the tems computer and swapped the steering column with the sensor mounted on it.
Thanx

 

[supraguru05]

Its kinda tough to determined a blown shock over the internet. A good way of telling is to look at the top of the shock body (where the shock rod emerges) and look if there is oil leaking or if lots of dirt is collecting. Another indication would be wheel chatter after hitting slight bumps or pot holes in the rode, all of this is a bit subjective. As far as how the shocks should feel on soft, they shouldn't be that bad. I have never ridden in a car with TEMS, however I would doubt that the soft setting would be bouncy and uncomfortable. In your case depending on your budget I would recommend the Tein EDFC setup, if your shocks are leaking. or just dont worry about installing TEMS and just get some non TEMS shocks.

 

[bondie]

With the TEMS switched off or disconnected the ride feels like standard shocks, sounds like yours are blown as after going over a speed bump the car should just absorb the initial shock once and return to normal. If it bounces more than once then you can pretty much say they're blown.

 

[Nick M]

My question is how do the TEMS shocks feel with the system off?
My car is real floaty and bouncy. When I go over a speed bump it bounces up and down a couple of times.

They feel like the position the actuator is in.

 

[Drake69]

They feel like the position the actuator is in.

+ This. Also, be aware that just putting in a TEMS computer, TEMS shocks, and a TEMS controller doesn't completely allow access to all features of TEMS. You need 4 sensors to cause TEMS to engage under various driving conditions, or at least hardwire the system to select what you want.

 

[88mkIIIproject]

+ This. Also, be aware that just putting in a TEMS computer, TEMS shocks, and a TEMS controller doesn't completely allow access to all features of TEMS. You need 4 sensors to cause TEMS to engage under various driving conditions, or at least hardwire the system to select what you want.

I am interested in knowing exactly what inputs, and what 4 sensors, that the TEMS computer uses to determine which setting to be in...it has been my understanding that under hard braking, quick flip of the throttle, and maybe cornering, that the TEMS has jumped from "2" to "3", when in SPORT mode already. It would be great to learn more about that.


To the OP--

When in Normal, going down a straight line, if you swerve the car steadily left to right, it will feel very very "boaty", but still handle just fine and not be bouncy.

When in Sport, you can feel a dramatic difference while doing the same steady swerve test, but it is still nothing to write home about!! haha. Toyota had a great idea with the TEMS, I just wish it would have started off a little stiffer, and gotten even more siffer than the highest setting.

Bottom line is that it sounds like your shocks are blown. Supraguru05 has good advice above on how to figure out what's going on, but another is to simply walk around the car and "bounce" each of the four corners, and count the number of "bounces" that the car takes to return back to normal. During a big "bounce" with your hands, that corner should rebound and settle within 2-2.5 bounces or so. Anything more, in my opinion, tells you that that particular shock is blown. But comparing your results among all four corners will give you a much better idea of where your problem is occuring, unless all 4 shocks are blown!!

Good luck.

 

[Drake69]

Check the link in my sig on The HKS/TEMS Bible. It has links to the Cygnus TSRM for TEMS.

 

[88mkIIIproject]

Check the link in my sig on The HKS/TEMS Bible. It has links to the Cygnus TSRM for TEMS.

sweet!! thanks!

 

[A. Jay]

They feel like the position the actuator is in.

 

[metaphysico]

On low my tems feel like normal struts on med or high they are a lot stiffer. For instance in low I go over rail road tracks at 25 or so and its smooth, on high I can cross tracks at 60 and barely feel them. In neither condition should the car bounce more than once or twice at most or the struts are blown. My wife always got onto me when I would change to sport to go over tracks until one day I left it on low and went over them and the car bounced a good bit and felt unstable. When I was running on my blown tems they felt like normal struts on hard mode and very soft in low mode if that helps for comparison.

 

[Nick M]

http://www.cygnusx1.net/Media/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/FA/FA_019.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]

Soooo.... you think in the soft position they won't be soft?