View Poll Results: Which coilovers
Voters: 66. You may not vote on this poll
Megans vs. H&R vs. Tein CS
01-22-08, 12:16 AM
#19
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I have the Tein CST's and they are nice. A very streetable spring and shock setup.
My car will never see the track, maybe a little drag action but nothing else therefore it's unlikely that I will ever adjust the height or damping settings once they are in and running.
The rear's require removing the trunk lining to adjust and there isn't a massive difference between soft and hard. I am running mine at 2/3 of full hard.
I have my Tein's set nearly at the lowest in the front with about 10mm of adjustment left and in the rear's about 20mm left. The Tein's do not have an adjustable platform like some other coilovers including their more expensive models. You can only adjust the spring preload. With the spring fully unloaded you have about a 1.5 finger gap front and rear.
If you want to go mega low then shocks that you can adjust the platform height as well as the spring preload are needed.
To be honest I don't think the performance of the Tein CST's is any better than a good quality spring and shock combo like H&R and Bilstein which I have run in other euro cars. The Tein's are a bit adjustable and I plan to get my car properly levelled using the coilover adjustment, something which isn't always possible with a separate spring and shock setup.
If you are going to track the car then you will want a much higher spring rate and will probably want heaver duty dampers as well. The JIC/Tein/HKS and other highend coilover brands offer setups like these.
The Tein CST's are about 20% stiffer than stock. A circuit car will want something nearlly 100% stiffer which will obviously degrade the ride quality in day to day driving.
If I want to firm up the ride any more from here I will look to do swaybars and sway bushings.
I think it's pretty important to be realistic about how you are going to use the car so that you don't get sick of it's performance. I have driven in some nice cars that had shocking suspension for city roads. I love my car and want a comfy yet sporty ride. Others will want different things or be able to accept a different level of compromise.
For me they were a good quality respected brand moderately priced sport setup. Not a massive amount more than springs and shocks alone.
Matt.
My car will never see the track, maybe a little drag action but nothing else therefore it's unlikely that I will ever adjust the height or damping settings once they are in and running.
The rear's require removing the trunk lining to adjust and there isn't a massive difference between soft and hard. I am running mine at 2/3 of full hard.
I have my Tein's set nearly at the lowest in the front with about 10mm of adjustment left and in the rear's about 20mm left. The Tein's do not have an adjustable platform like some other coilovers including their more expensive models. You can only adjust the spring preload. With the spring fully unloaded you have about a 1.5 finger gap front and rear.
If you want to go mega low then shocks that you can adjust the platform height as well as the spring preload are needed.
To be honest I don't think the performance of the Tein CST's is any better than a good quality spring and shock combo like H&R and Bilstein which I have run in other euro cars. The Tein's are a bit adjustable and I plan to get my car properly levelled using the coilover adjustment, something which isn't always possible with a separate spring and shock setup.
If you are going to track the car then you will want a much higher spring rate and will probably want heaver duty dampers as well. The JIC/Tein/HKS and other highend coilover brands offer setups like these.
The Tein CST's are about 20% stiffer than stock. A circuit car will want something nearlly 100% stiffer which will obviously degrade the ride quality in day to day driving.
If I want to firm up the ride any more from here I will look to do swaybars and sway bushings.
I think it's pretty important to be realistic about how you are going to use the car so that you don't get sick of it's performance. I have driven in some nice cars that had shocking suspension for city roads. I love my car and want a comfy yet sporty ride. Others will want different things or be able to accept a different level of compromise.
For me they were a good quality respected brand moderately priced sport setup. Not a massive amount more than springs and shocks alone.
Matt.
01-22-08, 09:58 PM
#20
If your not looking to take the car to the track, looking for a low price, and are streetable. Look in to the tein basics for the supra. I got mine from mvp for $675 shipped. Because they matched optionimports price. Great guys to do business with. I was looking for the above and ride height adj. I also bought the basic because they were around the same price as a spring and shock combo. You cant adj the damping but they are stiffer then stock. Not nearly the best coilover but a good entry level. Might want to think about it.
01-28-08, 12:05 PM
#21
Lexus Champion
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Location: Papillion, NE/Columbia,SC
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If your not looking to take the car to the track, looking for a low price, and are streetable. Look in to the tein basics for the supra. I got mine from mvp for $675 shipped. Because they matched optionimports price. Great guys to do business with. I was looking for the above and ride height adj. I also bought the basic because they were around the same price as a spring and shock combo. You cant adj the damping but they are stiffer then stock. Not nearly the best coilover but a good entry level. Might want to think about it.
so how's the ride quality? i'm buying a suspension soon, i'd love to stay under $1k my main concern is ride quality but i definetly want a adjustable suspension, i'm coming from 5 years of riding in slammed honda's, so i'm sure whatever i get will be leaps better then my honda's.. I'm so afraid of ruining the comfort of my SC!
01-28-08, 12:11 PM
#22
so how's the ride quality? i'm buying a suspension soon, i'd love to stay under $1k my main concern is ride quality but i definetly want a adjustable suspension, i'm coming from 5 years of riding in slammed honda's, so i'm sure whatever i get will be leaps better then my honda's.. I'm so afraid of ruining the comfort of my SC!
an LS400 should be nice and comfortable. an SC should be sportier. it shouldnt feel like you are riding on air.
personally i dont care how my car rides. i have a welded diff and a non-powered racing bucket. putting on stiffer coilovers will not compromise the ride that much at this point. if i could i would buy some zeal coilovers and call it a day. terrible for the street buy amazing at the track.
01-29-08, 10:45 AM
#24
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if you dont want to ruin the comfort of your couch(SCx00) then dont get upgraded suspension. you cant have the cake and eat it too. if you want better handling it will be stiffer coilovers. granted sway bars, tires, and bushings help but not as much as the actual dampers do. if you want factory comfort get some supra tein stech springs and tokico illumina shocks. its not gonna be low or very flexible as far as adjustment goes but it will be soft and comfy....just like a real couch should be
an LS400 should be nice and comfortable. an SC should be sportier. it shouldnt feel like you are riding on air.
personally i dont care how my car rides. i have a welded diff and a non-powered racing bucket. putting on stiffer coilovers will not compromise the ride that much at this point. if i could i would buy some zeal coilovers and call it a day. terrible for the street buy amazing at the track.
an LS400 should be nice and comfortable. an SC should be sportier. it shouldnt feel like you are riding on air.
personally i dont care how my car rides. i have a welded diff and a non-powered racing bucket. putting on stiffer coilovers will not compromise the ride that much at this point. if i could i would buy some zeal coilovers and call it a day. terrible for the street buy amazing at the track.
lol, well i'm sorry i'm not turning my SC into a track car, I would have bought a S2k, Miata, or something small and nimble if i was that concerned with handling. I bought my SC because i was tired of riding around in a slammed, uncomfortable honda and wanted something that rode a little better yet still fun, i'm sure any suspension i put on this car will be leaps more comfortable then my honda, i'm not expecting it to feel "oem" or i wouldn't change a thing, i was just questioning which would sacrafice the least ride comfort, just a nice street suspension that feels sporty but not like i'm driving a go kart..
01-29-08, 11:02 AM
#25
lol, well i'm sorry i'm not turning my SC into a track car, I would have bought a S2k, Miata, or something small and nimble if i was that concerned with handling. I bought my SC because i was tired of riding around in a slammed, uncomfortable honda and wanted something that rode a little better yet still fun, i'm sure any suspension i put on this car will be leaps more comfortable then my honda, i'm not expecting it to feel "oem" or i wouldn't change a thing, i was just questioning which would sacrafice the least ride comfort, just a nice street suspension that feels sporty but not like i'm driving a go kart..
anyways. if you want a comfortable ride get some supra shocks(aftermarket KYB, tokico, Bilstein) and some supra lowering springs. all the mk4 supra stuff bolts up to the sc but gives you a lower ride by about an inch when you compare stock to stock. this combo will be a little stiffer then stock but will definitely handle better. id say look into tokico illumina shocks. they are adjustable. as far as springs look into mk4 supra tein s-tech springs. i have tokico hp and use to have tokico blue(discontinued). both are nice but too soft for my taste. the only reason im rocking these is because i got them for 100 bucks for everything.
sorry about the initial reply. i though you wanted handling AND comfort. the two will never go hand in hand.
01-29-08, 07:42 PM
#26
I like my ride quality. At first I was worried that it was going to be real stiff. But its not at all. Its stiffer then stock and being lower helps that being in a boat feeling. Great for daily driving feels more like a sports car now.
02-03-08, 08:35 PM
#30
I've heard Tein, Apex, greddy and some other big names (except HKS) are now being made in the Taiwan. Megan has new Luxury car coilover series to compete with the Tein CST. Temped to get those.