Jump to content
SAU Community

How Do U Know How Hard Suspension Is Going To Be Before You Buy It???


Recommended Posts

Hi All, Just After Some Info On Suspension,when Buying A Set Of Say "tein" Height Adjustable Coilovers (secondhand From Japan) How Do U Know How To Check The Hardness Of The Ride They Will Give In Your Car Before Buying Them?? Bcoz Ive Heard Of Ppl Buying Them And Saying There Too Hard For Road Use, I Owuld Like To Maintain The Comfortable Ride As Much As Possible. Anyone Had Thiis Problem Or Know What Is The Best Way To Tell. Thanx 85urk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i guess the only way to check the hardness is to whack it on the car if youve had no previous experience with coil overs. spring rates should give you an indication of how stiff the ride might be but u have to remember though different people have different definitions of "too hard" some think its too much others think its just right. a good starting point is to go for a ride with someone who has the same coilovers and springs that ur planing to buy. hope that helps

by the way, why does all ur words start with captial letters??LOL:D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have just installed tein HA coilovers and i have to say i am happy with them...

the ride is harder than standard but not too bad for the road, but you do feel the bumps a bit more..the upside is the steering response and the handling has improved beyond my expectations..

i say go for them, if you dont like them you can always sell them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Tein Adjustable coilovers. They are really ment for the track lol. Hard on the arse, and you feel every bump. Best handling though.

Note - stiff suspension does not a good handling car make...

common misconception amongst backyard 'tuners'. A combination of spring rates, damping, camber, castor, toe, and roll bars all together can make a car handle well.

:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tien HA's are pretty good. They are hard, but not as bad as some. I would suggest getting rubber boots installed to protect them from getting rooted by the aussie conditions. They really wern't designed for australia, and they will get fudged up with dust and stuff, especially if you decided to tackle a dirt road...

They aren't as hard as say HKS hyper-d coilovers, but it really depends on what you define "hard"!!

They are definantly ok for road use, ie they are not racing/track only suspenison

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Tein Adjustable coilovers. They are really ment for the track lol. Hard on the arse, and you feel every bump. Best handling though.

True that,

Teins + Whiteline handling kit + strut brace = track setup :)

Awesome on the freeway and for tight cornering and handling but it sucks on shit roads which is pretty much everywhere :(

My car feels like a go kart, you steer it goes..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dont waste your time with teins unless you are doing track racing etc, if you are getting them just for road use see if you can get a brand of suspension that can be set soft or is soft. My teins are height/damper adj. and they are too hard. After a while of the lovely melbourne roads I soon popped both the rear shockers. Yeah on the freeway its elite but any of the other roads u feel every little crack and crevice in the road. Besides ur g/f's tits will get sore! As for JIC Magic...forget those they are mega hard. My mate had some on his r33 and with the windows down - when you drive over train tracks the window jumps about 2 inches out of the friggin door!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well that sounds painfully, im just after a comfortable ride but i dont want it crazy bouncy when you hit bumps, my mate has an s14 200sx and his suspension seems to stiff for my liking, when oyur coming down the road u can see the headlights bouncing up n down. i dont want that. also after a while of having too stiff suspension all your door cards and windows start to rattle and parts start to creak. no thanks i just want to find a happy medium that gives a smoother ride but will give better handling and cornering. only for road use too not for the track. (P.S. i dont know why all my words were in capitals weird stuff! lol)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dont waste your time with teins unless you are doing track racing etc, if you are getting them just for road use see if you can get a brand of suspension that can be set soft or is soft. My teins are height/damper adj. and they are too hard. After a while of the lovely melbourne roads I soon popped both the rear shockers.  Yeah on the freeway its elite but any of the other roads u feel every little crack and crevice in the road. Besides ur g/f's tits will get sore! As for JIC Magic...forget those they are mega hard. My mate had some on his r33 and with the windows down - when you drive over train tracks the window jumps about 2 inches out of the friggin door!

hahaha :) My girlfriend used to complain of sore tits too! She use to say she'd need a sports bra just to ride in the car, I always though it was just cause she has lovely D-cup sized babylons! But maybe it was too hard... I installed some Tein HA's along with all Whiteline urethane bushes, and front and rear strut braces, and bigger rear sway bar and I thought the car was firm, but still bearable. I have to say though that I didn't do a lot of k's in the car (not a commuting car).

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for those commenting on teins, especially used ones, you cant say "teins are hard" or "teins arent too bad" because there are a whole range of springs and valve rates available, and your never going to know what the original owner in japan built them for. I bought tein HA's and they were drift setup, ROCK hard. whereas ive ridden on other sets of HA's that were completely different. Theres no harm in trying them out and if you dont like them, sell them as mentioned above (as i did), because its funny that no matter how much is said about Jap coil-overs being no good for Aus roads, there is never a shortage of dudes willing to fork out the cash for a used set!!! You never know, you may like them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for those commenting on teins, especially used ones, you cant say "teins are hard" or "teins arent too bad" because there are a whole range of springs and valve rates available, and your never going to know what the original owner in japan built them for.  I bought tein HA's and they were drift setup, ROCK hard. whereas ive ridden on other sets of HA's that were completely different.  Theres no harm in trying them out and if you dont like them, sell them as mentioned above (as i did), because its funny that no matter how much is said about Jap coil-overs being no good for Aus roads, there is never a shortage of dudes willing to fork out the cash for a used set!!!  You never know, you may like them.

The easiaest way to make an assessment of their firmness is the spring rate. If there was any logic used in the chosen shock rebound valving it will be matched to the spring rates. So if you know the spring rates, then the shock rates are pretty obvious.:rofl:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've driven a Whiteline/bilstein setup R32.

I was very impressed with the way it handled. General balance and smoothness over bumps.

It felt almost like stock R32 suspension, I also didn't notice any body roll.

Very nice to drive.

I've driven a R33 with coil overs and wasn't impressed.

I used to own a VS V8 Commodore that had a Whiteline/Bilstein kit fitted.

It too also handled very nice but obviously not as nice as balanced as the line. :)

For street use I really don't think you can go past the whiteline setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My car is a 95% daily driver 5% trackday use. I'd say go Koni or bilstein from Whiteline setup, they're nice on the road firm without getting too harsh. May not be as calibre as the other stiff suspension aimed for the true track out there, but if you own only 1 car and use it the way I use mine, u'd be happy with Whiteline. I am.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • People still have Skylines? I thought they're non-existent now. 
    • Harness update time have had great fun and learnt so much already so far with this project. I started off making both the ignition and injector sub harnesses in the hope any mistakes i made here aren't as hard to undo and learn from as the main harness.  A cool comparison of the old harness using presumably TXL wire and the new which is using Tezel. Also opted to use DTM plugs to keep the whole setup as neat and tidy as possible and tucked the wiring under the coil bracket to try and keep it all from sticking out too much. Although the injector harness, I'm not overly happy with as I'm still using the rubber boots that are supplied with the type of plugs it just looks ugly and sticks out like a sore thumb with the white identifiers so a slight redesign may be done.   Then it was main harness time and most importantly trying to route it nice and away from the heat it will use the OEM heater hose routing which is no longer present to keep the harness up high and secure. it's amazing how much smaller this harness is able to be compared to the old one. plugged everything into the emtron and with the help of the tuner again attempted to start it up and instantly fired up and running smoothly on all 6 which was a big shock to myself. So still some routing and adjusting to be done for the final fit up and installing a knock sensor harness plug which is in the post all has gone surprisingly well.     The old harness for shits and giggles.
    • They do that at random every now and then, with almost no detectable cause. Mine has done it a couple of times (over 25 years!!). Never worked out why.
    • I don't post on here and have been lurking for some time now. Many of the topics have helped me out more times than i can count. I was racing yesterday (11/9) and blew a front right CV shaft. I have spares so I popped a new one in. A thread i read previously said to check the engine mounts if you blow a front CV. Upon inspection, the front right mount was completely separated from the upper plate. This discovery saved me time and money, because i would have blown another CV if i went back out. Just wanted to thank you guys and wish everyone luck with with their builds. (Now if we could only come up with a solution for my power steering belt flying off after hitting the rev limiter, lol)
    • Either way he still need those style of spacer to go into the manifold because the photo he currently has is not going to work 
×
×
  • Create New...