Tein Flex Z review

[Shady195]

After going back and forth on a million options and speaking with @CSG Mike , I decided rather than wait I would order the Tein Flex Z from overseas.

I was looking at the Flex Z/A, PBM Pros, BC Racing, Apexi, Fortune Auto 500's

My car is mostly daily driven, however I do a some drift events and plan on a few track days a year.

I would have loved to have spent a few thousand on some really nice coil overs however it was not in the budget right now, and I could feel the stock dampers on 10 series fading with their garbage vaughtland springs that came with it. Mind you the car has 10k on it and after 2 drift events and daily driving with the 3k i put on it, the ride became bouncy and unbearable to me. Even my wife noticed it and asked "Is the car more bouncy all of the sudden?" before I ever said anything to her. When your wife notices, you know something is wrong

I ordered these from www.knightracer.com based in the UK. I contacted quite a few overseas vendors in JDM land and was unable to find any in stock, they all were saying POSSIBLY at the end of july but could not say for certain. I called KnightRacer to double check that they had these in stock and they did, they were extremely helpful and seemed quite excited to have a guy from overseas buying from them and asking questions.

Fast forward to day 4 buisness days/6 days total later and I have them at my doorstep. All said and done it was ~1150 shipped, mind you this was my own fault, i assumed euros and not british pounds.... That conversion rate though If you order these from any of the JDM vendors it comes to between $850-950 depending on their shipping/processing fees and I imagine this will be about the price we will see here in the US

Install took me about an hour and a half in my driveway on jackstands with a small little vape break here and there. I adjusted the coilovers the best I could with the directions. The pre-load had me a bit puzzled so I simply got the springs "snug" in the seat and then did 1 more full turn on each corner. Ride height is probably about ~1 to 1.5 inches lower than stock with the "recommended" height adjustment in the manual which actually sits quite nicely IMO.

Onto my Impressions:

Me being me, I set the dampers to full stiff and went for a drive. I went around some turns and roads I frequent on a daily basis and that i paid special close attention to today as far as tire noise/speed and body roll as well as harshness of bumps on the roads I frequent before I got home to install the coils.

At full stiff the ride is not bad, you feel every little bump and imperfection in the road. Small bumps can be felt throughout the entire car, not in a "jarring" way that makes you go WTF, but in a fashion that lets you know your car is actually making contact with the road if that makes any sense at all. At low speed its actually still quite comfortable and I would say has a "stock" feel in terms of "harshness" but keep in mind how harsh/bump your ride is does not determine the effectiveness of the damper. As i've been told countless times a stiff setup and a properly valved damper should not necessarily make the car feel like its going to 3 wheel or come off the ground over bumps like "cheap" coil overs generally do. My wife immediately mentioned over some bumps that often causes the "ugh" noise that while it was certainly felt, it did not feel like the car was being jarred/bounced.

Around turns the body roll is very minimal, the car turns in much sharper, the car stays planted and when at speed and modulating the throttle to get the car to turn in as it under steers it seems to point in the direction you want it to go much quicker and feels much more responsive without getting off balance like I experienced with both the stock suspension in my Whiteout and the Shitty Vaughtland springs I had in this car. However should you hit some decent bumps/ruts in the road around a turn it will throw the car off a bit.

At full stiff you will reach the limit of the stock Primacy tires. They were making quite a bit of noise around turns at this setting at speed.

I decided to try @CSG Mikes settings from his review thread referenced below, he suggested 5 clicks back from full stiff for a compliant street ride that was not to soft.

I took the same route as before, immediately the car felt way more comfortable. Small imperfections in the road now seemed almost non existent. Bigger bumps were still felt but not harsh, you could feel the suspension soak most of it up without feeling it through the entire car around you. There are 2 spots in particular me and my wife drive every day with big bumps/dips that make the car unsettled and make you feel like you just jumped a bridge in the dukes of hazard, my wife always go "UGH FUCK" over these bumps, on in particular she was resting with her head back on our way back home and she goes "wow i barely felt that" the car still dipped but did not have the harshness to it it once had. I did not feel like my spine was going to exit my rectum.

Going around the same turns there was some added body roll, i would say it was not anymore than stock, maybe slightly less. The stock primacy tires were not squealing for dear life as they were before, turn in was still sharp, letting off the throttle to turn the car in more during under steer as weight transferred to the front seemed to roll the body a bit more than before and was not as responsive, however it soaked up the bumps much better. While the car did not become totally unsettled it did cause the rear to dip/bob rather than "skip" over the bumps.

The street setting (5 clicks from full stiff) was very compliant. It made for a much more comfortable ride than stock while still feeling more responsive than the stock dampers. At no point did I feel like my spine was going to exit my rectum and my wife was extremely pleased which lets me know that I wasn't just imagining it.

The car is not properly aligned yet but will be soon, so I'd imagine it will be much better once its aligned. Whether or not my spring preload is proper is another thing as well, so with a proper "setup" i'd imagine there is still room for these dampers to be even better.

While im no suspension or racing expert I can tell you that from my own limited experience these feel great. Based on roads that I drive often and pay attention to the car/speed, I can push much harder than I could on the stock suspension let along the stock dampers with springs. I think for anyone budget minded who wants a solid damper with great quality can't go wrong with these. Will they do good on the track? I'm sure they would, however how long they will hold up over heavy abuse like that has yet to be seen. However for those looking for a mainly street setup, I think you would be extremely happy with these.

@CSG Mikes opinion on these: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81829

[Shady195]

Also, for those wondering how low these go...

The fronts are pretty much completely bottomed out in this photo. Only a few more turns to go before you would need to start using the spring pre-load to go any further.

So for those looking for "Super" low, probably not for you.


The rears actually have about another 1" or so of threads left.

Wheels are 18x9.5 with 225/40/18's.. No rubbing issues at all

[SilverFRS]

@CSG Mike

Is there going to be a group buy? Tein said they would release in mid July which is now! Pricing?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by SilverFRS

@CSG Mike

Is there going to be a group buy? Tein said they would release in mid July which is now! Pricing?

End of summer is the current ETA.

[churchx]

I'd be more insterested in not how low it can go, but rather how high, as in if i can retain at least stock ride height.

[kbye]

Originally Posted by churchx

I'd be more insterested in not how low it can go, but rather how high, as in if i can retain at least stock ride height.

You can get fairly close if you believe tein's official spec sheet. It says min height is -3mm F -2mm R from stock.

[Shady195]

Originally Posted by churchx

I'd be more insterested in not how low it can go, but rather how high, as in if i can retain at least stock ride height.

I can say for certain you can get just about stock ride height. I don't have measurements, but I can say from eyeballing it with my initial height which was nearly has high as they would go, it looked stock to me.

[ronboogieon]

It's looking like these will be on the list if I decide to change from stock.

[Shady195]

Originally Posted by ronboogieon

It's looking like these will be on the list if I decide to change from stock.

You would definitely be happy with them!

[breadcrumbz]

You stated that on the 5 clicks setting, the ride felt more comfortable than stock. I'm seriously considering these coilovers, but I fear that they might be too soft. My goal is to be able to feel the road more than my RSR Superdown springs. Do these coilovers allow you to feel the road more than your old springs? I sat in my friend's car with BC Racing coils and it felt more sporty, so that's what I'm trying to achieve. Nice setup btw !

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by breadcrumbz

You stated that on the 5 clicks setting, the ride felt more comfortable than stock. I'm seriously considering these coilovers, but I fear that they might be too soft. My goal is to be able to feel the road more than my RSR Superdown springs. Do these coilovers allow you to feel the road more than your old springs? I sat in my friend's car with BC Racing coils and it felt more sporty, so that's what I'm trying to achieve. Nice setup btw !

The correct assessment is that the ride is more firm than stock, but less harsh than stock.

You will feel the road more, but it will actually be less jarring/upsetting.

[Shady195]

Originally Posted by breadcrumbz

You stated that on the 5 clicks setting, the ride felt more comfortable than stock. I'm seriously considering these coilovers, but I fear that they might be too soft. My goal is to be able to feel the road more than my RSR Superdown springs. Do these coilovers allow you to feel the road more than your old springs? I sat in my friend's car with BC Racing coils and it felt more sporty, so that's what I'm trying to achieve. Nice setup btw !

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

The correct assessment is that the ride is more firm than stock, but less harsh than stock.

You will feel the road more, but it will actually be less jarring/upsetting.

What Mike said.

More comfortable does not necessarily equate to soft or bouncy" when hitting bumps the dampers just to a better job of absorbing the shock. You still feel it, however without as much upset and a less harsh/jarring feeling than the stock.

You can definately feel the road more, even going as high as 7 clicks, however I think at 7 and anything past you are asking for more of a cushy/bouncy/bobbing ride. Bumps don't feel as sharp but it does not feel as responsive and a little sluggish.

If you want to feel every little thing in the road, pretty much anything under 4 clicks will give you that. Not the most comfortable on the street, but definitely very responsive.

[churchx]

I sometimes wonder .. if tein managed to enhance suspension at this price level, why stock is not made better in first place? One thing is reasonably expect to pay more to get better, but if cheap still manages to best stock ..

[Shady195]

Originally Posted by churchx

I sometimes wonder .. if tein managed to enhance suspension at this price level, why stock is not made better in first place? One thing is reasonably expect to pay more to get better, but if cheap still manages to best stock ..

Often wonder the same thing about many pieces on vehicles.