Tein HE, or JIC FLT A2??
Tein HE, or JIC FLT A2??
alright...i have a big dilemma. i want to get my suspension done soon. (tired of blown rear shocks already) i'm looking into more handling and the occasional drifting times. i visited signal auto this weekend and talked to them before the drift competition. i had intentions to buy jic flt a2s from night7racing, for $1440-1480 area shipped. 3-4 signal guys said they had nothing but bad experience w/them (poor quality, etc), and they'd go tein he. I know a lot of people with teins, and not to excited about them, and say they also have poor quality, but they told me its due to that the cheaper line model coilovers are made in america, not japan. HE's are made in japan, and can be rebuilt at Signal auto anytime, takes one week. anyways I dont know the going price for the HE's but they quoted me at $1440 for shipping to las vegas. i need some of your guys' feed back. i really want teins now, but whats up? any help much appreciated
-
dreamsOfSkylines
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 11:29 am
i would go tein RA, but i dont prefer the ride, never rode in a car with the HE's. i rode in a FC rx-7 w/RA's and its real nice on corners, but its really uncomfortable for the passengers, either that or we were on a crappy road. the HE's are what they use on the drifter X car. and people say they love it on the streets cuz its so smoothe when you want it to be. (singals dark teal rps13). i havent rode in it, but god damn it looks awesome and everyone says its better set up for the 240 unless yoou get the Type RE, which they use on their s15. but those are in the 2,600 price range. on the other hand no one i know has jic's, thats why i'd like to try them out, but if i dont like it, its like 1400 down the hole. any one out there with bad experiences personally? if not i think i might just get the HE's. and yes HE's come w/PBM
Jics used to have a bad reputation for quality but have recently gained some respect back (and popularity...Jic is eveywhere now!). People used to also dislike Jics b/c they weren't rebuildable in America...they are now though (as are the Teins).
People that had problems with Teins were probably using HA's. They have had rust issues for a while now and it's not an America version thing. The new model of Tein called the SS is supposed to take care of any quality issues found in the HA's. You need not worry about rusting in the HE's or RA's.
FYI, there is a group buy for Jics right now in the buy/sell section of this site...it would cost roughly 1300 for a brand new set of FLTA2's.
25% off any Jic product.
People that had problems with Teins were probably using HA's. They have had rust issues for a while now and it's not an America version thing. The new model of Tein called the SS is supposed to take care of any quality issues found in the HA's. You need not worry about rusting in the HE's or RA's.
FYI, there is a group buy for Jics right now in the buy/sell section of this site...it would cost roughly 1300 for a brand new set of FLTA2's.
25% off any Jic product.-
VRT Elektrique
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2003 1:28 am
- Car: drift
- Contact:
You have to decide the direction or goal your taking your car.Are you actually going to race it? Cruise?Just want coilovers cause "its the next thing to do"?Teins are great, affordable and have good options and decent spring rates, but personally I have never been impressed with Tein sus and I have driven a few cars with HE's, HA's, RA's, etc. JIC's on the other hand I like a little better.The FLTA2's were very nice, especially for the price and I trust the quality a little better as well. They also have a good reputation for race sus in the motherland, more-so then Tein.But if your looking for really good quality, the best performance, durability, adjustments, etc, then the more expensive models/brands are of course better. thats the reason they cost more. Unless of course its HKS, then its more name then anything else. $1600 suspension is good, but $2200 suspension is better, but is it better for your wallet and your goals? If you don't need the $$$ stuff, then don't buy it. Personally, I like doing things right the first time, or atleast thats what i call it. I no longer like "settling" for something cheaper when I can save some more for the better. I have had 0 complaints ever since I splurged on my N1 Pro Types and have seen friends go through multiple brands looking for something better and they end up in the end buying something more expensive then what was originally in their range.
-
dreamsOfSkylines
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 11:29 am
Tiens have a beefier shock then the Tiens and some people find this better... its better for holding a little more weight and is supposedly a litle more ridgid... however because its just starting to come over to NA be wary that product help or information may not be completely available...
The HE's can be sprung to a very stiff setting... stiff enough to crack your windshield on bumps.... i've always liked Teins... but i've been looking at JICs recently and i would say go with whatever is cheaper...
The HE's can be sprung to a very stiff setting... stiff enough to crack your windshield on bumps.... i've always liked Teins... but i've been looking at JICs recently and i would say go with whatever is cheaper...
im thinking about getting the jics, and i know everyone says pillow ball mounts are good and everything but my brother, hes got gsr, its not rice or anything hes into autocrossing and road racing hes got tanabes, its really nice and clean , well it was.. it just got stolen , 
he said pillow ball mounts are too stiff for street theyll be really ruff on the rest of the car, possibly break other things. i do want it really stiff though, ill be autocrossing this april and drift days at E-town starting this month, but it will still be my daily driver also. i know it will be really ruff but im guessing its worth it right?
dennis
he said pillow ball mounts are too stiff for street theyll be really ruff on the rest of the car, possibly break other things. i do want it really stiff though, ill be autocrossing this april and drift days at E-town starting this month, but it will still be my daily driver also. i know it will be really ruff but im guessing its worth it right? dennis
PBM's will make the ride harsher, but not too much harsher. What really sucks is the road noise from them...they are very loud. Some people will tell you that the PBM's clunk. Well, if they do, it's due to incorrect installation. I know when I installed my RA's on my Impreza, I let my girlfriend tighten down one pbm in the rear and forgot to double check it. There is a little gutter in front of my driveway, and the first time I hit it, I heard 'clunk' coming from the rear. I realized what had happened, tightened it down, and never heard a sound again.
Also, someone was mentioning the beefyness of Jics and Teins. Well, both top of the line models (RA's and FLTA2's) have 45mm diameter pistons. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but they are nearly identical in specs down to the spring rates. One thing worth noting is that Jic re-valves their struts for the American market. They make them less firm then they are in Japan. Jic says it's b/c of harsher roads in America. The Teins, afaik, are exactly the same here as they are in Japan. That would explain the harsh ride some people complain of with the Teins. I had Tein RA's on my WRX so I can vouch for that one.
Also, someone was mentioning the beefyness of Jics and Teins. Well, both top of the line models (RA's and FLTA2's) have 45mm diameter pistons. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but they are nearly identical in specs down to the spring rates. One thing worth noting is that Jic re-valves their struts for the American market. They make them less firm then they are in Japan. Jic says it's b/c of harsher roads in America. The Teins, afaik, are exactly the same here as they are in Japan. That would explain the harsh ride some people complain of with the Teins. I had Tein RA's on my WRX so I can vouch for that one.
First of all, it depends on both spring rate and dampers... they work in combination and therefore add their own piece to how stiff a suspension component is...
There really isn't any point in getting either the JIC or the Tien RA's if your just going to put them on the softest setting.. they are pure bred racing coilover systems not comfort suspensions...
Either way they are very similar and there probably isn't any difference in their spring rates or damper settings..
There really isn't any point in getting either the JIC or the Tien RA's if your just going to put them on the softest setting.. they are pure bred racing coilover systems not comfort suspensions...
Either way they are very similar and there probably isn't any difference in their spring rates or damper settings..
Spring Rates are:
450/337 on FLTA2's
559/448 on the RA's.
The Teins will be much stiffer.
Also, something worth noting...adjusting the dampening on my Tein RA's didn't do much for ride feel. What I mean is, if I had it set on 1 or 16, the stiffness of the ride didn't really change. It was always very rough. I could feel the adjustments more on hard driving.
450/337 on FLTA2's
559/448 on the RA's.
The Teins will be much stiffer.
Also, something worth noting...adjusting the dampening on my Tein RA's didn't do much for ride feel. What I mean is, if I had it set on 1 or 16, the stiffness of the ride didn't really change. It was always very rough. I could feel the adjustments more on hard driving.
YOU DONT BUY RA'S FOR DAILY DRIVING... thats what HA's are for... RA's are more for track... strictly track more or less... dont waste your money if you cant handle the rough ride... HA's will suit your needs... they can be soft, and the can be stiff enough to crack a windshield..
Dori i had no idea the spring rates were that different... i've ridden in both and they felt the same...
Dori i had no idea the spring rates were that different... i've ridden in both and they felt the same...