Tein HE, or JIC FLT A2??
matt0941 wrote:Dori how much would you recommend the RA's for daily driving? Do you think it would be very annoying in general? I am riding Sportlines all around and tokico yellow shocks in the rear. Ride is kinda rough but not horrible.
I had Tein RA's in my WRX. The ride was very, very rough. But it's all preference. I took a risk b/c at the time, nobody in my area had coilovers, aside from Tein HA's, on their WRX's...but everyone on the forums said they were fine for daily driving. For the first month or so, it was bearable and exciting...but then they started to do construction on a local highway that I have to use to get home from work everyday. I would get a headache from the rough ride after about 10mins...that's how bad it was. Also, hitting large bumps would send people into the ceiling! Now, granted, coupled with the S03's I had, I could take any turn really, really fast. So you have to weigh out your options. Just an FYI, on my WRX, the spring rates were 448/336 (same as on the Jics for the S13).
Thats why you don't use them for daily driving, and not only is the ride harsh, there is a chance you could crack a windsheild from the constant shock being put through the car... however where you set it will affect the ride quality...obviously...
In general RA's are not daily drivers and never were meant to be...
In general RA's are not daily drivers and never were meant to be...
I think if they were capable of cracking a winshield, then my WRX's would have definately cracked. There was a big problem with WRX winshields breaking...that's why I say that.
It wasn't that rough...but as far as I'm concerned, I won't get anything so stiff again for the street ever agian. I feel sorry for all the youth on these forums that save up tons of cash to buy these kinds of kits and can't even take full advantage of their stock suspensions. Too many people feel that if you want your car to drift/grip/autox/track, you need a $1.5k+ coilover system.
It wasn't that rough...but as far as I'm concerned, I won't get anything so stiff again for the street ever agian. I feel sorry for all the youth on these forums that save up tons of cash to buy these kinds of kits and can't even take full advantage of their stock suspensions. Too many people feel that if you want your car to drift/grip/autox/track, you need a $1.5k+ coilover system.
another thing that you could keep in mind is that ground control does make custom spring rates. so you could get a coil-over sleeve with the same settings as any of the mentioned (tein ra,he, jic flt a2,etc) and get a decent shock like koni yellows for maybe around 800 dollars...for those on a budget. my friend had this setup on his gsr, and it was pretty impressive for sleeves. i wouldnt do this however because i'm tired of doing things over a 2nd time, therefore i figure to do it right the first time by just getting tien he's. i would get jic flt a2s on that group buy, but i ordered something from him before and it failed to show up. (so far its a month over due) so people joining group buy's watch out.
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sil80drifter
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Ok, Here's the real question. It's sort of a economic decision. How much more money are you willing to spend, regarding the suspension setup that you think you need? Assume that what you think you need is what you actually need, so if you are using the car for track only, u are not concerned with roughness on the street, and vice versa. And of course for those who says "I want BOTH", you will have to realize that there will be a compromise in either the street or track direction. Most of the spring/shock combinations such as AGX KYB/Sportlines (or ST or another spring) will be around 400 for all shocks, and 200 for springs(600 total). This is a setup that will lower the car, make the ride somewhat harsher, but still be streetable enough for your daily commute, and give you some track capabilities, and is good especially when you're not the kind of professional who would actually notice/make use of shock/spring vs. coilover suspension. For a lot mroe money, you could get Tein Flex, and enjoy inside-of-car adjustability of height and softness, but do you really want to pay the extra 600(if lucky)-900(if stupid) dollars for that adjustability thing, which will give similar performance on the track as the aforementioned shock/spring combo? Then for the money you think you can get Flex for, you can also get your choice of similarly priced HE's/HA's and RE's (those are a little more expensive) or the JIC's equivalents. So look where you stand: Approx. 600 bucks for low ride, and some weak to ok track capability, or 1200+ for same thing(Flex), or 1200+ for pure track (very rough on streets) Tein/JIC coilovers which will ONLY be useful to you if you KNOW HOW TO DRIVE WELL (i.e.: You have participated in numerous track events, and will know exactly which coilover will give you the best results). The Tein vs. JIC battle has had both negatives and positives in this forum, so it will be a personal preference call, but if you consider them about even, then this is the financial choice you'll have to commit to.
My advice is to always start at the cheaper end, when you don't know what may happen in the future. Learn how to drive with stiffer springs, see how the car reacts. It takes a while to figure out where your cars' limits lie, and you don't want to find it out by kissing the sidewall with your 1400+ dollars coilovers, should something go wrong. Start slow, start low. You can always sell the used shocks/springs and get coilovers.
sil80
My advice is to always start at the cheaper end, when you don't know what may happen in the future. Learn how to drive with stiffer springs, see how the car reacts. It takes a while to figure out where your cars' limits lie, and you don't want to find it out by kissing the sidewall with your 1400+ dollars coilovers, should something go wrong. Start slow, start low. You can always sell the used shocks/springs and get coilovers.
sil80
i dont know if that was to me or that matt guy, but i know specifically what i want, and purposes is for autoX and daily driven. i do not care about how rough it is or not. i live in las vegas and the roads are getting repaved like every week. as for buying spring/shock, i told you i'm not going to waste money on that and lose money in the end. tein type flex for 1200? where'd you get that. its more like 1600 + edfc. anyways the flex is more of a show car thing. (aka carpet queen coilover) haha. if not thanks for heads up, i'm no proffesional, but i've been through many different setups and i'm sick of cheap ****. thats it. HA, HE, and RA are not that similarly priced if you think of it w/pbm and threaded shock design. HA's and Flex are totally out of the question for me.
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matt0941
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Your time/opinion is appreciated Sil80. I have decided to go with KYB AGX shocks and stay with my Sportlines. I feel that it is a bit of a compromise in each category (Street, Track, and Auto-X). I am also comtorable with this because I will be making use of what I already have. As for the "doing things over twice", I don't really mind because it will be an upgrade (wow took longer to finish that sentence than I thought, HAH!).
And for Freak, but MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
And for Freak, but MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
Hey Matt, consider the ground controls with your upgrade. I feel it will be worth your time for a couple of reasons. One, you will get a stiffer spring rate. Two, you will have height adjustability so you can get your car corner balanced. A lot of people don't even realize that coilovers were made for this purpose.
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matt0941
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- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 6:33 pm
- Car: Counter-Strike, Cars, Girls (in that order)
Dori I am confused. Do you mean ground controls the company http://www.ground-control.com/ and saying that I should consider their coilovers?
Nothing, but the GC's are height adjustable (so you can corner balance your car).
What are the spring rates of the sportlines? I'm assuming less than the GC's, so you'll get a feel for an even rougher ride. You may decide not to go with a japanese coilover after that... Just trying to save you from possibly wasting a good chunk of cash in the future since you are very concerned with comfort.
What are the spring rates of the sportlines? I'm assuming less than the GC's, so you'll get a feel for an even rougher ride. You may decide not to go with a japanese coilover after that... Just trying to save you from possibly wasting a good chunk of cash in the future since you are very concerned with comfort.
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sil80drifter
- Posts: 1314
- Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2002 5:53 am
- Car: 1990 240SX Hatch
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sil80drifter
- Posts: 1314
- Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2002 5:53 am
- Car: 1990 240SX Hatch
^That's not true. I have them in an Integra right now with a set of Koni Yellows (g/f's car). They are VERY comfortable especially when compared to my old Tein RA's. I am telling him to get them b/c if he doesn't like the ride (which is stiffer then springs alone, but not like a coilover) with GC's, he'll hate the ride with full coilovers.
I like race setups, like the RA, RE and RS from TEIN, GP sports setup is insanely stiff, as is APEX-I's N-1. But I plan on actively road racing my car, which is to say, also autocross(not as much) and things of that nature and the adjustability of the systems will come in quite handy. But for most people, almost any of the 1300+coilovers are overkill for their vehicle and what they use it for.
I'm still researching what coilover I want on my vehicle...most likely it will be the GP sports...but my opinion changes pretty quick when I look at specs and track settings, etc.-chet
I'm still researching what coilover I want on my vehicle...most likely it will be the GP sports...but my opinion changes pretty quick when I look at specs and track settings, etc.-chet
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