The MR2 runs strut inserts. You do not replace the whole strut body, just remove the upper spring perch and spring, the you removed the gland nut that holds the strut insert inside of the strut body. The inserts look similar to a normal shock, but they do not have a bottom mount, and the top of the shaft is threaded to fit inside the upper spring perch/strut top. Since you are not replacing the strut body itself, everything will still bolt up.

Now, concerning the Tokico struts... in the recent past there have been some questionable quality control issues, as they seem to have a good warranty, but a lot of people in the past few years have reported the struts failing in a very short amount of time. I purchased a set of four Tokico Premium Performance (blues) in 2002 and installed them along with ST springs, and they were perfectly good up until my car was totalled a couple years later.

Personally, the only strut insert I would buy for the MR2 to run with performance lowering springs would be the Koni Yellows, but those are kinda spendy (though if you go to www.twosrus.com they are on sale for considerably cheaper right now) and may take some time to get dialed in correctly. Some people have reported to have good luck with the KYB GR-2 and AGX units, so you may want to check those out too.

 

I've ran Tokico blues as well.. They were good while they lasted but I did blow the rears in about 2 years. It was a daily driven 86 that took a fair amount of "bad roads" so that could have played a role.. Compared to koni's and Gr2's I don't believe they are as good in my opinion as far as holding up to abuse.

 

everyone seems to forget about the Illuminas which to me are the in between the lower end stuff like the blues and the konis. You don't hear a lot about them failing like you do the blues but I dont know how many people actually use them.

 

Please read up on how to disassemble the strut assembly. A coil spring can be quite dangerous if the assemble is not disassembled properly.

I installed Tokico blues in my '86 with ST springs in the spring of 2006. They just got to the point of needing replacing about 4-6 months ago. They probably have 80000 or miles on them.

 

The Tokiko blues are more of an OE replacement shock, and don't control the stiffer sport springs that well in the back of our cars. Seem to work OK in the front though with the fairly soft spring rates that even the sports springs have. My car has Eibach spirings and came with a new set of blues when I bought it. It bounced around quite a bit in the back before I switched to the Konis- I think the dampening rates of the blues are just too low when you run stiffer springs on the back of these cars. Day and night difference when I put the Konis on there. no more under dampened bouncing.

 

Personally, the only strut insert I would buy for the MR2 to run with performance lowering springs would be the Koni Yellows, but those are kinda spendy (though if you go to www.twosrus.com they are on sale for considerably cheaper right now) and may take some time to get dialed in correctly.

HNNGGGG, trying not to buy. Anyone know how long the sale will go?

/offtopic

From what I've read around here, and I'm basically re-hashing what everyone said, Konis are the defacto shock to get, but damn expensive. Illuminas seem to work well, are adjustable, but not as nice as Konis, but cheaper. Tokico blues, basically OEM replacements.

 

HNNGGGG, trying not to buy. Anyone know how long the sale will go?

/offtopic

From what I've read around here, and I'm basically re-hashing what everyone said, Konis are the defacto shock to get, but damn expensive. Illuminas seem to work well, are adjustable, but not as nice as Konis, but cheaper. Tokico blues, basically OEM replacements.

I had Koni's on the rear with 325 lbs/in springs and Illumina's on the front with 200 lbs/in springs (GC coilover setup). The Koni's in the rear are still going strong after 60K miles, while the Illuminas gave up about 45K miles (leaking a little on the seals for the last 10K miles of that, with full blow out of one at the 45K mark on a pothole). The front always felt a bit underdampened even with the Illuminas on full stiff compared to Koni's. I now have Koni's on the front also and it feels sooooo much better.

I don't think Illuminas are bad, but I now would never save a little by going with them compared to the Konis. I would either stay mild on the springs and goe with the Blue's, or step up to the Konis if you have stiffer springs or want adjustability.

 

I had no complaints about my ST springs/ Tokico blues; did pretty well at auto-x and street driving. I wanted to lower the car more so I went to Ground Control coilovers w/ Koni yellows.

 

tokico blues are WAY stiffer than stocks. Part of the problem with ST springs is that they are progressive in the rear. They seem soft at first, because they are, but once they take a set like in a long sweeper they seem ok. Still need a bigger bar in rear though.

 

Please read up on how to disassemble the strut assembly. A coil spring can be quite dangerous if the assemble is not disassembled properly.

I installed Tokico blues in my '86 with ST springs in the spring of 2006. They just got to the point of needing replacing about 4-6 months ago. They probably have 80000 or miles on them.

I too suggest finding out how to disassemble strut assemblies correctly.

or you could just do like i do and use the car as the spring compressor. before even putting the car up in the air, remove the nut at the top of the strut shaft (located in the center of the strut top), then jack the car up. putting the car up in the air slowly decompresses the spring, which is also released from the assembly. no having to rent/buy crappy C clamp style spring compressors that slip, no spending money taking the assemblies to a shop to use a fancy compressor.

HNNGGGG, trying not to buy. Anyone know how long the sale will go?

/offtopic

From what I've read around here, and I'm basically re-hashing what everyone said, Konis are the defacto shock to get, but damn expensive. Illuminas seem to work well, are adjustable, but not as nice as Konis, but cheaper. Tokico blues, basically OEM replacements.

Last year the sale ran through the end of May. I expect it will be about the same this year.

looks like you may have a couple months...

 

Oh snap, that's a nice deal on the yellows!

I just installed ST springs + Tokico blues on my 88 SC. I can also say that the ride is noticeably different than stock...in a good way. I'm used to driving sports cars with modified suspension and I don't think the ride is overly stiff at all. If I had adjustables I'd probably adjust them to the same feel as the blues provide - mostly soft, but firm. I do 99% street driving.

Time will tell how long they last, but I'm happy with the performance so far.

 

looks like you may have a couple months...

Awesome, but now I'm conflicted on where to spend my money, suspension or a slightly newer daily driver

 

I went with the green ST springs and Tokico blues. They were night and day better than OEM, and really good bang for the buck. I find the rear of the car feels great, but the front is a little bouncy for my liking. Eventually I'll upgrade to Koni's.

Make sure to put oil in your strut housing before installing the strut inserts. The oil serves to conduct heat from the strut insert to the strut housing. This will help cool the strut insert, which in turn will extend it's life. I wonder if some of the failed Tokico's people have talked about were installed in oil or not?

I also installed TRD strut mounts and a full Prothane polyurethane bushing set. This really firmed things up.

One of the biggest differences I made recently was installing a first generation ST sway bar set with the HT rear endlink set. This coupled with the above parts transformed the handling of the car yet again. The sway bars did way more than I ever expected.

 

One of the biggest differences I made recently was installing a first generation ST sway bar set with the HT rear endlink set. This coupled with the above parts transformed the handling of the car yet again. The sway bars did way more than I ever expected.

The HT rear end links don't really improve anything, correct? I thought they're just for use with an aftermarket sway bar, or if you didn't have them ala '86-'88. Or for adjust ability if you're running coil overs.

 

I had Koni's on the rear with 325 lbs/in springs and Illumina's on the front with 200 lbs/in springs (GC coilover setup). The Koni's in the rear are still going strong after 60K miles, while the Illuminas gave up about 45K miles (leaking a little on the seals for the last 10K miles of that, with full blow out of one at the 45K mark on a pothole). The front always felt a bit underdampened even with the Illuminas on full stiff compared to Koni's. I now have Koni's on the front also and it feels sooooo much better.

Curious how many turns your Koni's are dialed in on the front & rear?
I am running Konis with TRD springs.

 

The HT rear end links don't really improve anything, correct? I thought they're just for use with an aftermarket sway bar, or if you didn't have them ala '86-'88. Or for adjust ability if you're running coil overs.

You're right, I bought them for my '87 because it didn't have a rear sway bar from OEM. It did have the tabs on the struts though. I was using the HT rear end links with an '85 OEM rear sway bar before installing the ST sway bars. It's the ST sway bars that made the huge difference to the car. I think the advantage to the HT end links is you can adjust the length for different sway bar settings (adjustable sway bars).

 

Koni's hand down, definitely worth the extra $$. Tokico's just don't last and blew easily. I also prefer a custom GC setup over aftermarket AW11 springs.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOKICO-BLUE...ts_Accessories&fits=Year:1985|Model:MR2|Make:Toyota&hash=item41624a571e&vxp=mtr

They dont really look like inserts :/ but i have a spending limit of $200 as of the moment the only Tokico inserts I can find are for the front

 

the picture is very clearly struts for a different car.

 

the picture is very clearly struts for a different car.

lots of ebay stores do not take pictures of the actual product.

 

I am aware of this. Apparently he was not.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOKICO-BLUE...ts_Accessories&fits=Year:1985|Model:MR2|Make:Toyota&hash=item41624a571e&vxp=mtr

They dont really look like inserts :/ but i have a spending limit of $200 as of the moment the only Tokico inserts I can find are for the front

They are not MR2 struts in the pic. I, as well as many others here, have used or are currently using these Tokicos and they are just inserts for the MR2. I have said in an earlier response, learn how to disassemble the struts before starting. You need to get the proper spring compressor for this job. They can be rented from most auto part stores for a refundable deposit.

 

Has anyone here ran tokico blue with eibach 1" drop or koni yellows with eibach 1" drop? I ran konis on an svo mustang I used to race back in the day and absolutely loved them. Im also on a budget but know so very well the old saying, "You get what you pay for."