I don't think the CS are softer than stock at all, just better dampening. Like the others said, the CS have slower more controlled rebound and compression dampening, so they don't bounce around.

Obviously if you're trying to make your GS a race car, CS are not the best choice. For a daily driver with a sportier, more solid feel than stock, the CS are the ticket.

 

They are alot better in my opinion. For me I missed the sportier / harder feel of my car.

 

hmmmm- didn't know you were in an SC300. if that's the case, i'd def go with the tein CS. the sc is so much lighter than the GS and Neo and I are talking from a GS standpoint when we say it's cushy.

I've ridden in an SC300 with the tein cs setup on 19"s and it is SMOOOOOOOOOTH... i would definitely get it since you're driving an sc and handling is on your agenda. the handling is excellent for the SC.

 

i got the cs less then a month ago and i am enjoying it. i haven't been able to install the edfc but the first day i had the CS on my GS, the confort was very nice. so i decided to turn the stiffness up by hand and ended up pretty much turning it up to about 20+ turns. and drove it for about a day... oh that was stiff(very nice). but i turned it back down for a smooth ride. what stiffness is every using inthe front and rear? and is there a limit on how low before it can be danaging to the coilovers? (sorry to go off topic..)

 

No other coilovers that I've riden in can compare to the TEIN CS as far as comfort. To the average car nut, you're not going to tell a huge difference. If I would have done it over again, I'd get the TEIN FLEX. Don't expext to 'slam' the car with TEIN CS.

 

Just a note. Without EDFC, there are only 16 clicks. If you go beyond that, you risk damaging the coilovers. All this is in the manual. You can physically go beyond 16, it is just not recommended.

As for how low, the limit is when the threads end.

 

A cool part about the Tein Flex, you can change the preload of the spring. In addition to the height adjustment (spring compression) you can physically raise or lower the whole shock absorber unit(preload). I'm not sure if you can do that with the CS?

 

yes you can.

 

the CS only has two adjustments- spring tension and the dampening adjuster.

 

You cannot do that with the CS. I had the Flex and this feature was definitely nice. The noise and stiffness, however, was good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

 

What noise was it, Neo? Just curious. Is it constant, or only when you hit a bump, or only in cold weather?

And how can stiffness be "bad" if you can adjust it to soft using the EDFC whenever you want?

I have the CS, and it's nice...but I DO wish the stiffest setting would be stiffer, with less body roll. But I dont want to give up any quietness or compliance in the suspension. With the sway bars, it rides harsh enough with my 19s...and it will still boogie around a turn...just with some body lean.

 

One of the differences is the pillow ball upper mounts (P/U) on the Flex vs the rubber on the CS. The metal to metal contact of the P/U gives better feedback and tighter handling. Unfortunately, it is also harsher and noisier. There is also something about the design of the shock body in the Flex that produce a bit more noise. If you like that sensation, you do feel more connected to the road, both in sound and feel. In addition, there also seems to be a clunk noise when you go over sharp bumps. This clunk went away when the CS was installed. My setup was not the only one so the incident was not isolated.

All of this was considered when I talked to my tech about switching to the CS. You do lose something when going to the CS. I did not like the change that much at first when I switched BUT the longer I have the CS, the more I feel that is how a luxury sport (not the other way around) car should feel and sound.

The Flex and CS does not overlap in terms of ride quality. The softest setting on the Flex is still stiffer than the harshest setting on the CS.

Handling-wise, the Flex wins hands down over the CS. For my Lexus, though, the CS wins out as the overall product.