when installing coilovers, front should be lower than rear?
 

Hi Guys!

I'm about to install my new coilovers, Tein Flex A for my 2018 BRZ PP

Tein official website suggests that recommended drop is -1.4 inch for front and -1.2 inch for rear.

So I guess front should be lower that rear?

Can you guys please give your opinion on this?

My opinion is to not lower below 1". Or if you absolutely must, buy&install also roll center adjustment kit for front & diff riser for rear.

Also on tein's site for 2017+ USA BRZ Flex A i see recommended height not one fixed setting, but ranges, -1.8 to -1 range recommended for front, -1.6 to -0.8 recommended for rear.

what is the reason not to lower below 1"?

Also, do you recommend to lower front and rear at the same height?

It should be what it needs to be for the application.

I have run it both even and with some rake. I prefer with a little bit of rake, feels like it turns in better.

thanks. I will probably do -1.2 inch front, -1 inch rear

If doing Coilovers I would get it corner balanced too. It would be ideal to have it balanced front/rear and side to side

Out of the box, the TEIN Flex A's on the 2018 BRZ should already be set to a 1.4-inch drop up front and a 1.2-inch drop in the rear.

Here is what they look like installed on my FRS:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...8&postcount=48

-Sam

What part do I need to replace to get it balanced?

wow that look so low, is there any issue with the -1.4 Front/-1.2 rear drop?

any intervention/crashing issue?

Reasons to not lower below 1" are two.
First - to not fsck up suspension geometry, or if you do, fix it back (hence mentioned roll center adjustment kit), second - to reduce CV joint extra wear due too big angle and quicker failures (hence diff riser)

Rake is just one of suspension setting, that works with all rest. In this case, when coilover manufacturer that designed them recommends such, i'd probably would go with that if know nothing better or have data/experience of other setting working better for me.

Still, rake doesn't mean that you also need to overlower (both front & rear). Just that front is a bit lower then rear in this case. If manufacturer reccomended ranges included -1" front & -0.8" rear, i'd probably would go with that, unless you plan also buying/installing other mentioned parts to correct mentioned issues of lowering more.

You don’t need anything. You can get it balanced if you choose while getting an alignment done if the shop is qualified to do it.

Thanks!

Since Tein recommends -1.4inch front , -1.2 rear range, I will go -1.2 front , 1.0 rear!

Well, in url i found, it was, as i already posted in my first port in this thread:
"Also on tein's site for 2017+ USA BRZ Flex A i see recommended height not one fixed setting, but ranges, -1.8 to -1 range recommended for front, -1.6 to -0.8 recommended for rear."
.. so i'd rather go -1" front and -0.8" rear then

yea i know, but that mimimum height setup seems little too high for looks..

I'd rather go with function then form. If people say that geometry gets worsened lowering past inch and if people say that cv joints fail sooner when owerlowering, i'd better be safe then sorry. I'd also prefer to not buy extra parts to fix that. Are that slightly more lowering THAT important to you?
(of course in my case i prefer not to lower any below stock (but i also don't have coilovers that were designed for some lowering with recommended lowered height). Twins are not that high and don't have that much shock travel to begin with. I already scrape bumper here and there at stock height, why make it even worse. Especially if it will make handling worse and or increase failure chance).

Haven't run into any issues so far! We've installed plenty of kits on the FRS/BRZ/86 and the Flex A's won't give you any rubbing issues when lowered 1.2/1.4 inches, even at full lock. Whether or not your tires rub also depend on your wheel and tire spec.

I installed Flex A's on my FRS last week and didn't make any adjustments to the height. Their website states that the out of the box drop for the FRS is 1.2 inches in the front and rear. I run a 255/40/17 tire and have 0 rubbing issues at full lock.

-Sam

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...c8&oe=5DC169D3
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...f5&oe=5DBBF270
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...b4&oe=5DB6A0BF

eastendraceshop: but what do you call as "not observed issues"? Do you track car a lot to tell impact on handling from geometry changes? Have you already went many 10K miles and CV joints still last ok? Former might matter less for those into looks only, as i've often see for sake looks people doing silly things, simply different priorities, and later .. not that immediate failure, simply increased load/wear reducing life out of parts. But i also wouldn't write it off as completely non-issue.

You guys are making me want to raise my coilovers now. I've been at -1.5" for a while but the rough ride and scraping has gotten me thinking about going back up some.

I have had my car as low as -2 over stock. Right now it is about -1.25.


I do notice some bump steer but it does not make the car undrivable or anything. And I am talking about taking curb at speed with inside tires off the ground.

(RIP TH West Turn 3)

I also have about 80K miles now on my car and a bunch of track days. I have yet to have a CV fail.

I am not saying it is ideal and everyone should do it, but the concerns about it seem a little overblown from my experience.

You're right, depending on how low you go you could run into issues down the line, though not immediate. I don't track yet, but I plan to start tracking soon! My car has been lowered for about 80k miles with 0 issues. I have 82,xxx on the Odometer right now. I never slammed the car and other than coilovers, my suspension has been stock the whole time.

I can update you if I ever have any issues with anything, but so far the car drives great and nothing has broken. The car was lowered 2 inches for the last 2.5 years on Meister Zeta CRD coilovers.

-Sam

If people who only daily drive their cars only need to lower about an inch, would it be better to just get lowering springs? Or would it be better to go with affordable coilovers (like Megan Racing EZ Street, Tein Flex Zs) to eliminate the wheel gap?

Will BRZ: Depends. Stock shocks imho are not ideal also from daily driving comfort standpoint, though i heard that improved since MY2015 twins (and of course on 2017 restyle).
Usually lowering springs are also stiffer to compensate reduced travel. If one adds also shocks to springs, eg. bilstein b6 or koni, price is not that far from coilovers.
I guess my choice for reasonably lowered but only dailydriven twin would be something like CSG Flex A, RCE SS1, (and who knows, maybe 949R Xidas with softer springs set, when it will be released). Don't know much about MR EZ Street, but heard that Flex Z is rather good at that entry level pricepoint. I wouldn't look at cheap chinese/taiwanese shocks at that budget, as imho quality will be compromised.

Just drive your damn cars and stop worrying about ride height lol. Adjust them accordingly to your driving style. The manufacturer just sets a standard height, it doesn't always necessarily means its the best optimal setup for YOU. Just go out there and drive and feel it out...

I guess since I replied to you in the other thread you already probably know my position, but to answer this specific question that under a certain budget a good quality lowering spring on the stock Showa dampers (or better yet on PP Sachs dampers) will be better ride quality for a given ride height than cheap coilovers. This will affect both daily drivability and performance. Damper quality is absolutely critical to suspension performance, both in daily driving and on a racetrack, and cheap coilovers have bad dampers. Meanwhile the factory dampers are actually pretty decent.


If you want an improvement over factory dampers you should get Bilsteins (preferred) or Konis (better than stock, but okayish) w/ lowering springs. You can get the Bilsteins as a kit valved specifically for Eibach lowering springs with the Pro-Kit springs included: Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit which is $1100 off Tire Rack and better than any coilover you could buy for $1100 or less.