Adjustables

[ratedGTR]

hi there...

I need a pair of TEIN Adjustables,

does anyone know where i can pick them up cheap??

has anyone experienced any trouble with TEIN adjustables?

i heard TEIN are one of the best on the market, what would you guys recommend me for my R33 GTST???

[doxximus]

im getting tein flex cost me about 2000+ give or take tax exchange rate etc

hopefully they will be on soon and i can tell you how they are

atm i have busted up tein HR old and finished they are pretty stiff but not proper, just....stuffed lol, but im expecting the adjustable to be hard also, but really dont think anything would go wrong unless your getting airborn and landing hard etc

[Sydneykid]

In general I find Japanese aftermarket spring rates to be too high. For example our R32 GTST arrived with 650 lb springs in the front and 350 lbs in the rear and it was a road car. For circuit racing (on "R" Type Tyres) we have reduced even these, too hard for bumpy Australian circuits. On the road it would be a joke.

There are lots of reasons why, but the main one is, the Japanese have never heard of upgrading the anti roll bars. They don't have our aftermarket history (no KMac or Selbys). So they use these ridiculously high spring rates to control the roll, which is the anti roll bar's job, not the spring's.

Shock absorber technology for supplementing soft spring rates is also something that totally eludes them, the Europeans have it, particularly the Dutch (Koni legacy) and the Germans (Bilstein). Although the Scando's (Ohlins) are arguably heading the pack. The Yanks, as usual, fall for the trap of attempting to over engineer it (Penske). Even the Ausies (Murray's Proflex for example) are way better than the Japs. For the money Jamie's DMS's are far better than the equivalent cost in Jap stuff.

Bottom line, I don't like the typical Japanese spring rates and the shocks are grossly overpriced for their underlying technology. But they are nicely made, very shinny.

Hope that added to the discussion.

[tridentt150v]

So SK are you advocating that we should use Kmac's/Selby's and replace the Teins with Ohlins, or will a spring change suffice.

I've got the Tein H and R adjustables on the car [as bought], the ride is too stiff/harsh for where I live and the roads I use, and the setting is too low. I [possibly naively] thought that I could kill the two birds with the one stone by resetting the height, this would take the 'excessive' preload off the spring and raise the height a couple of cm [i need this to get up my driveway without scraping the front bar].

Now you've got me thinking that a complete redesign is the way to go with stab. bar and Ohlins/Bilsteins/Koni etc. If this is the case then RatedGTR you could maybe buy mine????

[tridentt150v]

So after reading another thread here, if I change my rear springs to the front, and then use std front springs at the back [i've still got my std shocks], I'd get away with a cheap but worthwhile fix for the stiff suspension. Then I could add stab. bars front and back to finish.

Am I on the right track ?????

[Sydneykid]

So SK are you advocating that we should use Kmac's/Selby's and  replace the Teins with Ohlins, or will a spring change suffice.

I've got the Tein H and R adjustables on the car [as bought], the ride is too stiff/harsh for where I live and the roads I use, and the setting is too low.  I [possibly naively] thought that I could kill the two birds with the one stone by resetting the height, this would take the 'excessive' preload off the spring and raise the height a couple of cm [i need this to get up my driveway without scraping the front bar].

Now you've got me thinking that a complete redesign is the way to go with stab. bar and Ohlins/Bilsteins/Koni etc.  If this is the case then RatedGTR you could maybe buy mine????

I get asked this all the time tridentt150v, there are a lot of guys out there who are questioning the suitability of Japanese suspension for Australian roads.

The answers usually go like this;

1. Put the rear springs in the front and buy a set of 200 lbs per inch springs for the rear. Many people are happy with this, it's cheap and it allows them to keep their Jap band name suspension. Going softer in the springs has no bad effects on the dampers, if fact just the opposite, they last longer as they have to work less to control the softer springs.

2. Sometimes even the rear springs in the front aren't compliant enough. So we go to changing the front springs, around 400 lbs per inch is the usual choice.

3A. Sometimes the dampers are still too stiff, even after adjustment (if they are adjustable) of the rebound rate. Most don't have much adjustment of the bump rate (if any) and this is generally a bit harsh and unsophisticated. Many Jap dampers can be revalved to suite the drivers tastes.

3B. Sell the dampers and their original springs and buy a set of Konis, Billsteins, Ohlins, DMS, Proflex or whatever suites your budget. I have actually made money doing this a couple of times.

4. Having done the above, some people want to improve the handling without stuffing up the ride. So we look at suspension geometry correction, adj caster (front) and camber (front and rear).

5 . If you want even better handling, with only a very slight loss of ride comfort, then it's stabiliser bar time.

The good thing is, if you do it in stages, none of this is lost money. The springs in #1 and #2 above, can be used with any damper. So before you do #3A, you make a decision whether to skip that and go straight to #3B.

Hope that answers your question

[tridentt150v]

See PM, I don't [at this stage] want to blow everyone away with my total lack of knowledge.

I guess the first thing to do is get my springs rated etc.

[Pandaemonaeon]

I had Tein RA's in my integra, and have had Apexi N1, and now run Kei Ofiice in my R33 and I would have to say that for road use the teins were the best I have had. The Apexi's weren't too bad, but the Kei Office is a full on drift set up and makes it rather rough on our bumpy NZ roads.