Tiens?

[No_Skillz]

My new 2g has 17" on it. I'm looking to get Tien Basics for it, but I'm unsure about the drop, if I'm have to pay attention to camber, ect. The car is slammed now, really REALLy low (I suspect 3-4 in but I havent measured), but I suspect the idiot kid before me simply cut the stock springs since the back tires rub against the wheel well when I hit any sort of bump or if I pull too hard.

To be honest, I kind of like the slammed look, and I was wondering how far I could go with the Tien's before I had to bother with camber kits, ect. If tien's aren't the best parts for this job, I'm open to suggestions.

If I'm being too much of a ricer with the "slamming," feel free to flame.

PS - Is there any way to tellif my shocks/struts are shot, eg: is it noticeable while driving? If they aren't messed up maybe I don't have to get a full coil over kit...

 

[Spoolin98]

I have the Tein Flex's and i they are a great improvement from stock. I even think they improved driving comfort and def. improved handling. Completely satisfied with them. I personally think that the slammed look is cool looking, but its not for performance. I have my car pretty low in the front, a little higher in the rear, but i think thats due to the weight of the engine. Im not sure how low you can go with the Teins but i can garantee you that if you slam the car you will need a camber kit. Thats your decision. You can tell if your shocks are blown by bouncing the car, if it stops moving right away they are fine, if the car keeps councing for a bit then you want to replace them. Usually if a strut mount goes bad you will hear some sort of rattling noise coming from the top of the strut. I wouldnt suggest lowering your car on the stock shocks, its going to put alot of stress on them and there gonna give out on you eventually. IMO, if your gonna get a suspension, do it right and go with coilovers.

 

[No_Skillz]

Oh yeah, one other thing. I also want to make sure that Tiens are stiff enough so that if I do drop the car a lot, the tires wont rub against the wheel well when I hit a bump or accelerate hard like it does now.

Also, everybody and everything everywhere says that Tiens are height adjustable... I was just wondering how adjustable they were. Do I have to take the thing apart and rehaul it, or is it a simple turn of the wrench?

If anyone has or has ever had any experience with Tiens, please lemme know since this is my first itme looking into them.

 

[Omega]

I have the SS on my car. The springs are plenty stiff... trust me. If you are lowering a any car to the point that wheels are rubbing, then you have gone to far (raise it up a little). If you are looking for the "wheels in fender" look... I won't help you.

The Basic SS and Flex are all ride HEIGHT adjustable. The SS adds 16 way adjustable shocks and the Flex use a different spring and another adjustment that I can't think of at the moment. They all are adjusted by moving the lower spring stop on the shock body up and down. All you have to do is jack the car up and use the supplied spanners. The shock adjustment is done at the top of the unit in the engine bay (or under the covers in the back)

You WILL need some sort of camber adjustment. Whether it be an Ingalls kit (front) or some longer bolts and a few washers (rear). Depending how low you want to go depends on which kit you need. Generally a 1.5 deg front kit will get the camber back to spec if one were to drop the car any sane amount.

 

[Spoolin98]

Teins are def. stiff enough, esp. if you get the SS or Flex, they have adjustable dampening. You can make it stiff/not stiff at the turn of a pin. When mine are fully stiffened, you could jump on the car and it wont budge. The SS and Flex are height adjustable like omega said, the tools necessary for the height adjustment are included with the coilovers. The Flex's are the only set that are EDFC compatible, which takes you from 16 levels of dampening to 32 levels, and you can control it electronically from inside the car. Cool as hell, but a pain in the ass to install. Also, the Flexs come with pillow ball upper strut mounts already attached to the coilover, which goes for any easy install. Take the old out and put the new in. It took me and my bro 2 hours to install my coilovers, very easy.

 

[No_Skillz]

Thanks for the help guys. One more question about Tiens. Their website says the ball mounts are optional for some installations and I was wondering what that was all about.

Also, are there any other suspension companies I should look into, since I think Tiens are a bit on the expensive end of the spectrum? Preferrably, I'd like something along the same lines with regards to quality, but lower price. I've seen some companies, like ZEX, RS-R, ect but I've never heard of them and I get mixed reviews when searching online. I'm open to any suggestions if you guys want to mention any other companies.

 

[leet]

For a street car, the Tein FLEX system is very nice. Mine are set to a ride height of 90mm.

As stated above, if set up correctly they will give good gains in handling. The only time my wheels contact the fender is this one spot on 101 North, where the asphalt suddenly (and I mean suddenly) drops 6 inches down.

At the above ride height you will need camber correction kits. I used the +1.25/-.75 degrees on the front, and homemade on the rears.

If you slam the car, you will more than likely have tire contact issues, so keep it at a safe height.

 

[Tsurara]

Well, for street Tein is an "ok" setup, for the track there are many other brands that are much better than even the Tein FLEX coilovers. With that said, I wouldn't buy anything "lower" on the ladder than Teins, most cheap coilovers are pure junk. The basics are pretty bottom barrel, maybe look for a pair of used Super Streets? As far as drop and camber, anything below an inch or an inch and a half or so needs some camber, I know that "slammin your ride" is the new hip trend, but it ruins your suspension and is very dangerous. Don't go below a 2" or so drop, you would honestly be best with a 1.3-2" in my opinion. But if this is a show car that will be sitting in a garage, the floors the limit. Dont forget that after putting in some camber you will need a new alignment. You will also want pillow ball mounts, they will allow you to make slight adjustments of camber angles. Worth the price.

Also PLEASE PLEASE do not invest money in the EDFC, its a 350$ gimmick. You could be using that 350$ for a much better coilover setup or some beers.

 

[No_Skillz]

Haha everyone performace oriented hates "slamming." I'd like to consider myself a performace guy, but its just the ride height that I can't let go... I know its dumb but I just love how the car sits so low it looks like its bubbling out of the asphalt. God, I'm ashamed.

 

[Spoolin98]

I disagree with the comment on EDFC as a gimmick. Its cool to be able to adjust your damper from inside your car, when you go from street driving to highway driving you can adjust without getting out of the car. Yes, you can buy other things more worth while with the $350 dollars, but i still think its worth the money if you have nothing else better to buy.

 

[No_Skillz]

Thanks a lot for the input guys. I've decided to go with the Tein Type SS w/o the pillowball upper mounts. I figure I'll get them later if I really need them since I'm really strapped for cash right now (I spent it all on the car). So maybe in the summer, when I start working again, I can do all the good stuff. In the meantime, I just need to be able to drive it w/o any problems. Plus, I also gotta do brake work... yummy. Any suggestions for that before I make another newbish post in the brakes section?

 

[Spoolin98]

Suggestions for brakes? You need to be more clear on what you want suggestions for. Rotors? Pads? Big Brake Kits?

 

[No_Skillz]

Haha my bad, just rotors and pads. I've been looking at some stuff on performance parts catalogues and I really can't tell a difference between the $200 rotors they sell and the ones for $50 at Pep boys or something. Even the pads go for over $100, whereas I can grab some nice ceramic ones at Napa auto parts for under $50. Any thoughts?

 

[Omega]

Spend money on some nice pads. A cheap upgrade is the big brake version.

Don't waste your money on cross/vented/Type-Z/JDM/Stage 12 rotors.

 

[DaveT]

I disagree with the comment on EDFC as a gimmick. Its cool to be able to adjust your damper from inside your car, when you go from street driving to highway driving you can adjust without getting out of the car. Yes, you can buy other things more worth while with the $350 dollars, but i still think its worth the money if you have nothing else better to buy.

I completely agree. If you have the money to spend, why not get it. I have it in my other car and use it everytime I drive the car, depending on the road conditions.

DaveT
92GSX

 

[Spoolin98]

Thanks DaveT
I dont see a point in buying a set of high end coilovers that have adjustable damper if you never adjust the damper. After awhile you get sick of getting out of your car and popping the hood and hatch and adjusting the damper one click at a time, its time consuming and tedious. If your car is a daily driver the EDFC is perfect, if your car is strickly for track, than its pointless. Your just gonna set your damper to where you want it for drag racing and never touch it again. I think the EDFC is worth the money. Once again, its cool to be able to adjust electronically from inside your car.

 

[No_Skillz]

EDFC sounds interesting. I'll definitely look into it after I install my coil overs.

 

[Spoolin98]

If you plan on getting the TEIN SS, the EDFC is not compatible with those coilovers. You have to get the FLEX.

 

[Jeff_Jeske]

Anyone have a "best place to purchase" the TIEN FLEX kit please email me: [email protected]

I have been doing a ton of research and overall for a street/strip car the TIEN FLEX sounds like the best all around package without getting raped on price.

Please let me know where you fellas are getting your goods at.

Thanks in advance,
Jeff Jeske