Tein Circuit Master- rebuild worth it?

[QB6SAGR]

Hey guys, 

Way back when (about 15yrs plus), I picked up a beautiful set of Tein 'Super Racing Spec Circuit Master RE' coilovers from Russman. I have legit never fitted them to my car, as it was garaged indefinitely while i bought a house Yada Yada. They look brand new!

Anyway its time to pick up where I left off, and have started doing some khanacross and am booked in for a hill climb next month. The car has some hard af Nismo shocks in ATM, which has me wanting to upgrade again, and now I am left wondering if it's worth having these teins rebuilt? I think they where an ok shock back then, but how do they compare to what's on the market now? 

Shockworks/mca are 2800+, and I am sure they are great. But if I can have these rebuilt and be better than, say, a set of bc's for around the cost of bc's, I would be happy with the performance v cost trade off. 

If they are considered outdated and rubbish these days, so be it, I'll put them on the shelf and be happy to look at the pretty green colour while I save for the SW/MCA option.

Grateful for your thoughts on the matter, and suggestions on who could do the rebuild if it's a worthwhile pursuit.  cheers, Rowdy. 

[QB6SAGR]

Alright, a little update on this... I called Fulcrum, who used to be the distributor in Australia. No Bueno, they don't service them anymore. 

Called shock works, who don't service them but offered to dyno the shocks for performance, and suggested DNA in Sydney might service them. 

Called DNA, who also do not service them and basically said they try to steer customers away from tein for this exact reason these days- there is just no support for them anymore apparently. 

Both SW and DNA said they are a not necessarily a bad product, but they just don't service the brand or know anyone who does service the brand anymore. 

So... I could keep calling around but at this point I think I'll probably just spring for the shockworks product, unless anyone here knows anything. 

Cheers 🍻 

[MBS206]

If they can dyno them, get them dyno'd, make sure they're not leaking, and if they look okay on the dyno and are performing relatively well, put them in the car.

 

If they're leaking oil etc, and you feel so inclined, open them up yourself and see what you can do to fix it. The main thing you're trying to do is replace the parts that perish, like seals. You're not attempting to change the valving.

You might even be able to find somewhere that has the Tein parts/rebuild kit if you dig hard.

[Duncan]

If you bought them from Russman you may well find they were the very nice Racepace custom valved ones, back in the day there were some very quick street/track cars getting around on them.

As you said, they look brand new.

I'd bolt them in and try in a couple of events; see if you have a pleasant surprise

[Murray_Calavera]

Another vote for installing them and see how you go. 

I mean, you already own them, why would you not fit them? 

[QB6SAGR]

Thanks guys, 

Yeah I should at least have them dynoed, at least then I know what I've got as a starting point. 

The springs on these are hard as rocks. I vaguely remember Russman saying he was going to sell the shocks to me with the rocks fitted, as he was keeping the softer springs for his new setup. 

I didn't click at the time but of course that was to let me know the shock/spring wouldn't be matched. 

I also remember pricing up new springs around 2014-15, but, house, money etc. it never happened.

So that was another reason to have them rebuilt. I have rebuilt the forks on many motorcycles so I think I could handle the seals on these easily enough, but getting the valving right would be a rabbit hole I cbf exploring. 

Duncan, interesting to hear RP was tuning these back then. I might give them a call. 

In the mean time I have been busy fitting sway bars. The Whiteline rear sway bar I purchased 15 years ago finally got fitted, along with the Whiteline front bar that showed up last week. Just waiting on new links for the front sway bar to finish that off. 

And my spare set of advan AVS VS5's should be back from the powder coaters in a Pearl White finish sometime this week, with a set of Hankook RS4's lined up for fitting. 

And then I just have all the suspension bushes to do. A comprehensive kit is on the way... Lots to do before the Ararat hill climb.

Cheers guys 🍻 

 

[niZmO_Man]

Sounds pretty awesome. I recommend creating a new build thread and posting all your goodness in there.

[Roy]

On 19/07/2025 at 6:59 PM, Duncan said:

If you bought them from Russman you may well find they were the very nice Racepace custom valved ones, back in the day there were some very quick street/track cars getting around on them.

As you said, they look brand new.

I'd bolt them in and try in a couple of events; see if you have a pleasant surprise

They're not rebuilt Racepace items. They were mint. From memory the were ex display stock that I bought off yahoo and he ran....from memory he barely used the REs when he replaced them with a set of Tein RS

If have been stored correctly and not leaked fluid then they will be mint

 

As an observation the Racebuilt rebuilt Tein RA/RE/RS were a better street/club/track package. Really nice on the street and did good numbers at the track.  I think the factory Teins wont match the Racepace valving on the street but would be in the same window of performance on the track... albeit firmer 

[QB6SAGR]

On 26/09/2025 at 6:49 AM, Roy said:

They're not rebuilt Racepace items. They were mint. From memory the were ex display stock that I bought off yahoo and he ran....from memory he barely used the REs when he replaced them with a set of Tein RS

If have been stored correctly and not leaked fluid then they will be mint

 

As an observation the Racebuilt rebuilt Tein RA/RE/RS were a better street/club/track package. Really nice on the street and did good numbers at the track.  I think the factory Teins wont match the Racepace valving on the street but would be in the same window of performance on the track... albeit firmer 

Hooley Dooley these things have some history! If i sell them they will need a certificate of providence to prove they have been in the hands of verified RB20 royalty!

They have been stored in a plastic tub, away from sunlight and moisture. They are in mint condition.

And they will stay that way, as i have sprung the money for a set of shockworks coilovers. I'm just working on getting them in at the moment, after rebushing the rear of the car, and while the subframe was out i welded in the GKtech reinforcement bracing as well. 

They will get a workout at Ararat King of The Hill in November. I ran 48s on the short course there a few months ago, and i am hoping with new bushes and shocks in the rear i can launch a bit harder. There was a fair bit of axle tramp when i tried too hard off the line. a few of the corners had dips mid way which also made the car feel a bit unsettled, hopefully this will help there too.