I'm thinking of upgrading suspension next year from neuspeed race/koni yellows to a coilover system. This is what i've been looking at but don't really understand the difference between them. Also what is the advantage of pillow ball mounts? Thanks...

 

According to Tein ,the SS model is designed for street use, while they say the FLEX version is a design compromise for both street and track performance. Basically, the FLEX has 25% higher spring rates, and the shock valving is probably slightly tuned to accomodate the stiffer springs. The FLEX is compatible with Tein's EDFC system to remotely adjust the damper valving settings from within the car (simply a very expensive gimmick, IMHO). The SS version is not compatible with the EDFC add-on.
http://www.tein.com/honda.html

Pillowball mounts replace the entire topmount of your shock. It replaces the metal mount with the rubber bushing with a metal mount and solid metal seat. It's introducing a metal-on-metal pivot point into the suspension. And as a result, it transmits more road distubances and noises into the chassis. It also can squeek and grind a lot. The default spring rates on both of the Tein kits is high rates in the front and very low in the rear - unfortunately, the perfect set up for terminal understeer.

You've already got the Koni Yellows, which IMHO are the best off-the-shelf sport shocks for the street. Instead of spending $900+ to replace your whole suspension, why not look into just replacing your springs with Ground Controls? For about $315, you can choose any spring rates you want and you can re-use the great Koni shocks you already have. I have 425lbs/in front and 425lbs/in rear over off-the-shelf Konis. I autoX my car a lot, and the combo really works great. I'm on stock swaybars all around - yet with the spring rates on the GCs I chose, it really made the car extremely neutral in turns. 425 is not too bad on the street, although the Konis need to have the rebound setting up pretty high to dampen the spring rates. If this will more for the street for you, I would probably recommend a slightly lower spring rate - maybe 400 f/r or 375 f/r... Anyway, the Konis + GCs really are a better option for your situation from both a performance and comfort perspective IMO. Plus, you can save yourself about $600 going the GC route.

Andrew

 

I totally agree with u, thats what I'm gonna do. Ground Control or Skunk 2 are the ones I had in mind. I really just want some increased handling capability and a lower ride anyways, thanks for the good advice.