I was thinking of getting a set of Tein SS coilovers for my 92 VX. Tony at Turbo Evolution is doing a groupbuy and I can get them for $875 shipped, which sounds pretty good. The car is my daily driver but will see light track use this spring. I just want some pros/cons and a little insight from anyone who has or had them. I know they have 16 way dampening but what is the amount of height adjustment for the front and rear? What are the spring rates for the front and rear?

 

I wouldn't recommend them. I'd spring the extra few hundred bucks for Buddy Club RS's or Zeal B6's (or S6's if you can swing it).

 

outta curiousity Cheezefrog, why are you against them?

 

don't get Tein at all. Tein are all that great as far as reliability and street driving. from the 7 sets - three sets started leaking in the front others, bent from hitting pot holes. others sized and rusted.

invest in some aluminium body type shock which are rebuiledable or carry warranty.

 

i have a set in my room waiting to go on my car


dont listen to those guys, they dont know what they are talking about. Tein builds top notch quality shocks and everyone (exept those guys) knows it. That is a great price since i got mine for $920 (retail price is $1000)

i would deffinatly get them if i where you


edit:

go here for the info you are looking for
http://www.tein.com/ssdamp.html


[Modified by FifthGearOnline, 2:25 PM 1/11/2003]

 

This forum moves as quick as the classifieds.... Bump

 

you haven't even used a set yet, and you're commenting on something you just heard. its different if you actually use them and you can compare them to something, ie. R shocks, Ohlins, Showa built Mugens or Spoon shocks, or even Bilstein.
in past 5 years on my Civic I had about 15 different sets of shocks. from mugens to teins to ohlins.
becuase they are JDM it doesn't make them hardcore.

 

Ok, maybe I should be more clear. I understand that there are other sets out there that are better, but I'm talking about in the 800-1000 price range. If there are any brands/models better than the Tein SS with the same features for this price then let me know.


[Modified by VTECVillain, 9:54 AM 1/12/2003]

 

listen....just because I dont have a set on MY car doesnt mean that i have not been in cars with various suspension setups. The first modded car that i was in was a 97 GSR with koni yellows and GC's and some swaybar upgrades. This car handled VERY nicely. It was very responsive and predictable.

the other modded car that i have been in (yes only 2) was a 95 Civic Hatch (dont remember the trim level) with Tein HA's. And let me tell you that compared the the GC set up on the GSR, the HA's where unbelievable!!!! He showed them to me on some of the softer settings, as well as full hardness. talk about very little body roll . When we took a few onramps (the clover leaf kind) we where doing about 50 and nice and flat. I was VERY VERY impressed. So after being in that i have a very good idea as to what my SS's will be like. I know they will not be the same as the HA's, but will be close.

not trying to be mean at all just explaining.

 

The guy posts about some sus he wants for $875 shipped and you tell him about B6s which are around $1900 MSRP unless you're getting a hooked up or you got them from IPS MONTHS ago? Ok, that's some good advice!

 

There are a few reasons why I'm not a big fan of the SS's. I used them for a few months and the spring rates are just way too soft for my taste. They're good coilovers, but just not suited toward my personal needs. I wanted something a little more aggressive. The SS's are good "aggressive street" dampeners, but the dynamic range in adjustment just isn't wide enough to be a street and track setup. In fact my Buddy Club RS's have a wider perceived range of adjustment between the softest setting and the 5th click (out of 16) than the SS's had in its entire range of adjustment. Plus the SS's height must be adjusted via the spring perch so you'll run into dampener travel & spring alignment problems if you lower or raise the car.

Here's the setup I run now:


Buddy Club Racing Spec coilovers. 12kg/mm front, 8kg rear. Very high dynamic range of adjustment with 16-click resolution. Comes with aluminum pillow mounts and you adjust the height via dampener body length, not by the spring perch. At the risk of sounding cliche, these dampeners are the ****. You can load up the chassis in a highspeed turn, hit some less-than-favorable tarmac, and the dampeners just soak it up. No unsettling of the chassis, no floating, nothing. Just rock solidness. The only downside is that they're a little rough on the street.

 

The B6's are about $300-400 more. Call R&D. Dampeners are a safety item, so it's definately worth it not to skimp in this area.

 

I have been doing alot of research on which coilovers I want to run next year. I drive the car everyday, drag it about 3-4 times a month, and maybe 3 track events a year. After looking at the Teins, JIC's, Apex, I have decided to go with Progress. I'm also ordered a set of there rear drag springs and they are going to custom build my rear shocks slightly stiffer than normal.

 

Oops, didn't know B6's street price was only 1200-1300. That's not too bad for what you get.

However, I really don't think there is anything unsafe w/ Tein SS, you're certainly not going to induce snap oversteer w/ the soft spring rates and shock dampening.

 

Keeping the car going in the intended direction is always a good thing

 

I loved my HAs when they were on my car.
If you can swing it, I'd get a set of those. You can find them used for a fairly decent price.

The thing is, I had them in Ca, I'm not sure how they'd fair in a climate that sees snow and salt a few times a year. They never rusted (well, the "dials" collected a little, but not to the point where I couldn't use them), and they served the purpose that they were meant to.

I rode them on the street and at the track. I thought that with my experience, they were the perfect set up. I don't know much about track driving, so a more expensive shock set up would probably not do me much better than my $800 HAs.

I guess that would be my only complaint about getting a more expensive shock such as a B6 or a Buddyclub. If you don't know **** about anything, you're just wasting your money on a name and a model number.

Here is my suggestion, for the money, try and find a used set of HAs or Zeal B2s. They have pretty aggresive spring rates, a little stiffer than the SSs. I'm not sure what you're planning on doing with the car, but I think that for how much you're spending on the SSs, you're wasting your money on a shock that's pretty much a Koni yellow.

 

damn i can't wait for my b6's...

Cheezefrogs setup is the ****.

 

Since when aren't Tein's rebuildable?

 

your boy could order the teins wit custom spring rates, it should be like an extra 50 bux or so, thats how much my boy quoted me, get the SS which is a great coilover, and then get some stiffer springs, one of my best friends been rrockin the SS for about 8 months, daily drivev and occasional auto x, and nothing wrong so far... i've heard about people talkin about them seizing, and what not, but i haven't SEEN it, so i can't argue with anyone. but for 800 bux...****...its nice deal

 

you sir, are a dumb ***

 

You sir, are being a poser. I would trust AJ anytime over you and your "technical advice". Why, might you ask? Because unlike you, AJ trys NUMEROUS products out on his car. He doesn't just go by word of mouth or by "my friends car" crap. Not only does he try out numerous products, but he comes back and gives full reports on them, and the pros and cons of the product. You on the other hand come in with, "My boy got some and they are mad tiiiite, dude." Also, I never see you hangin in the tech or hybrid forums, or ever really offering any good tech advice and knowhow. So please, back off until you have put these on your car and really tested them for months.

Thank you, drive through.

 

DAMN!

 

I haven`t had an unhappy SS or HA customer yet. I don`t believe in taking a loan out simply for suspension. Majority is overkill for 90% of this board.

 

ive got them, and am very happy with them, have flex on my another car

 

Im getting flex...