Tein Flex Z opinion
 

I had the opportunity to test the Tein Flez Z suspension in the past few weeks.

Most of you already know of my skepticism when it comes to cheap dampers. The general rule of thumb is, you get what you pay for, and a lot of reviews on this forum consist of owners who have only experienced their own suspension, and suffer from confirmation bias, regardless of price point or performance.

http://www.tein.co.jp/products/flex_z.html < Japanese
http://www.tein.co.jp/e/products/flex_z.html < English

First off, these coilovers are cheap. CHEAP. Like, suspect cheap. Made in China cheap. Except they're made in Yokohama, Japan.

So, why are they so cheap? They're not rebuildable. The damper portion is designed to be tossed when they wear out, and you just purchase a replacement. This makes sense. Tein dampers generally cause $175/damper for rebuilding + parts. Replacements actually cost LESS than the cost of labor for a rebuild. Because the damper is sealed during assembly, instead of being designed to be rebuildable, less components are used, less time is consumed during assembly, and less raw material is used, resulting in a less expensive damper. Oh, and in the last 6 months, the Japanese Yen dropped nearly 1/3 in value compared to the US Dollar, allowing Tein to offer their newer products at much lower price points.

Then what about comfort and performance? Admittedly, the dampers are paired with fairly soft springs. These aren't made for hardcore track duty. However, they do have a useable, functional adjustment knob that primarily affects rebound damping, and to a much lesser degree, compression.

My findings were that of the 28 settings available, sitting in the "more damping" range offered both better performance and comfort.

0 clicks from maximum damping: slightly harsh, overdamped, will probably be useable on a worn damper
3 clicks from maximum damping: critically damped, highly responsive
5 clicks from maximum damping: good balance for street driving; you feel the road, just enough to know the imperfections are there, but highway dots will barely be felt in the chassis
7-8 clicks from maximum damping: pure comfort setting. Don't expect too much performance here.
10+ clicks from damping: Lexus/Boat mode. I personally would never use these settings.

Performance was on par with what I would normally expect from ~1400-1600 dollar offerings, and on par with the previous Type Flex and Street Flex. The dampers are paired with lower rates, and there is minimal room to go with higher spring rates, but plenty of room for lower spring rates for those that want more comfort. I would not recommend these for those that are looking to track their cars, but they certainly will convey confidence to the driver for spirited street driving.

Most importantly, these dampers offer both (far) more comfort and performance than the stock suspension (both frs and brz stock, as well as the RS1.0).

Height is independently adjusted from spring preload/adjustment, so you could, theoretically, slam your car on these, and still maintain good damper stroke.

A camber plate is included with these dampers as well. WTF.

I do not know the spring rates of the suspension, as Tein does not know I was testing the dampers. However, the car had a mild bias toward understeer, which makes the car easy to drive hard. The understeer is mild enough that a slide/drift/oversteer can easily be initiated by just driver input in a highly controlled manner, similar to the SRC.

TL;DR: Flex-Z is shockingly good for the price point, made in Japan, and is being offered by an established brand name.

Pictures to come.

The Flex-Z is not yet available, but should be on the market early Q2 2015.

All testing was performed on a 2015 Scion FRS RS1.0

What is the ballpark price of these? I know these are supposed to replace the Street Flex that came out. Also, how much of a difference is there?

I'm guessing a MSRP in the 800-1000 range? I have no idea what it will end up being. I drove with a production unit, but the product itself is not yet released.

That's not bad at all!

I saw what you did there.

When you say 5 clicks from damping, do you mean 5 clicks from full soft or full stiff?

Max. If you read his description you would understand.

@CSG Mike did you get a chance to test the Flex-A?

In due time... I was more curious about the Flex Z's abnormally low price point, rather than the A's hydraulic bump stop.

subbd..

X2

With this price point I think the biggest comparison is what would you reccomend between this and a Swift/RCE spring paired with Koni/Bilstein struts? Both for DD or occasional autox/track time?

Thanks for this. Was looking for at Bilstein B14 for street driving but this may be a good alternative.

Thanks for the review. It looks like these have my name on them!

sold...

Just got my tax return so I'm in the market for coilovers...haven't done too much research yet.

Wondering if these would be a suitable option for a few Track days a year with some Auto X

@CSG_Mike - I ordered the Tein Street Flex and just received it a few days ago. Unfortunately the box was pretty damaged and I'm waiting on a response as to how to handle the situation. I may return the item and I wanted to ask your opinion on if you feel that this setup was equal to or better than the original street flex? Also, on the system you tested, did it have the upper pillow ball front mounts? Tein's website states that it depends on the application.

This

I'd take coilovers over springs any day...

There's nothing magic about coilovers...springs + shocks are just non-height adjustable coilovers anyway. There are plenty of crap coilovers and crap springs out there.

Good valving, functional spring rates to match to the rest of the system, and adequate travel are what make a "good" set-up. The rest is details.

- Andy

Well... some cars are not "coil over dampers"... but you know what I mean :bonk:

With the plethora of horribly damped coilovers on the market, that is terribly advice.

You've said many times that good damping is the key to any good setup. Why do you constantly try to convince people of this and then turn around and say "I'd take coilovers over springs any day"? The factory dampers have been shown by many educated and experienced people to be decent, and better than a large portion of the coilover market. Koni and Bilstein both offer dampers that are better than the factory ones. What difference does it make if someone decided to match spring rates to these dampers to get an effective setup instead of getting a decent coilover setup? Other than the fact that coilovers cost more to buy if you're going to get something decent, they cost more to setup, and they cost more to maintain.

And please don't tell me that you're trying to sell these because most of the BRZ/FRS owners track their cars. Most don't, and these are clearly aimed at a crowd that would be better off with a good fixed perch setup. Well, that or the stance guys, and they're going to do whatever they want anyway.

I used to like you, Mike. But recently you've been coming off as either hypocritical or just an ass.

Let me rephrase. I'd take these coilovers for this platform over just springs on OEM dampers any day.

Yes, the coilovers in the OP are not aimed at a performance segment, but the ride quality improvement over stock is so substantial that I actually prefer it. I still don't recommend anything else in the Tein lineup outside of the SRC. Under hard performance driving, I think the life of these dampers would be significantly reduced, and I wouldn't recommend these to anyone looking to mod for hard driving.

I don't think these are made in Japan... not knocking the product but I don't see how they can make a quality product like this and have it at this price.

http://teinusa-blog.com/tein-brings-...ring-overseas/

Tein clearly state the Flex Z are manufactured in Japan. The Flex A on the other hand, does not state this.
I think it's safe to assume that the Flex A is manufactured outside of Japan but the Flex Z is still at least assembled in Japan. Where the parts come from could be open to interpretation since they say "Made in Yokohama".

I personally don't care as long as the quality is still there.

I have gone out and acquired this particular set of coilovers for my FR-S and while I'm still trying out different settings, I'm in agreement with Mike here. I don't think there is anything else near the price point of these coilovers that compare. The ride is very controlled and composed. I have ridden on several other of the cheaper Tein setups on different cars and was very skeptical considering those experiences were downright painful. These coilovers have me quite impressed. The car is being aligned and corner weighted at West End next week and I can't wait to see how the car feels after it's all dialed in there.

fyi - Each damper clearly states made in Japan on the damper body itself.

Sincerely,

Zach
Delicious Tuning

1 are they for sale yet?
2 is MSRP finalized?
3 did I just mess up by going with Bilsteins & Swift Spec Rs instead of these?

1) Nope, but they're coming soon. ETA is June 2015, but this is highly dependent on the situation at the port. We are taking preorders if you want a set.
2) Nope, still TBD.
3) We haven't track tested these, and we don't plan on it. While I'd speculate that they would be okay at the track, they're not designed with track performance as a design goal.

I dont want to take this off topic but what brand/coils would you recommend then in the +/-1500 range for DD/mountain roads/4 track days a year?

Most things I have read have been by people who only have used the coils they own so its hard to tell if they are actually good or not. Was looking at the Flex A or the Street Flex but now idk ha

I'd recommend you save a bit more for a nicer setup... that's a pretty solid amount of seat time.

im interested in the preorder! details please. please PM me if thats better for you guys.

Hahahahaha boat mode made me spit some beer out. Thanks.

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Forgive my ignorance but I'm confused on one point. How is it possible for a suspension setup to both lower ride height and improve ride quality. If the car is lowered, it will have less suspension travel. To compensate and prevent bottoming out or rubbing wouldn't the spring rate have to be increased? And wouldn't that result in a harsher ride?

Please PMe for pre order details

I may be wrong but for many people, high, cushy suspension is poor ride quality. Allowing more transmission of road feel and better handling/response might technically be a "better" ride, depending on your metrics.

I assume driving any competition track-only car on a bumpy road would fracture your spine.

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I got a set of Flex-Z's coming in soon as well. I'll let everyone know my experience as well with them. As far as I can tell from initial reports, everything looks good!

And you should consider EDFC Pro, it's a great add-on !

theres are being sold over here already. 6k all around spring rate, both the z and the a.

Price?

Ride height is actually adjusted independent of spring preload via the bracket on the threaded shock body. Damper travel is not compromised by lowering on this setup.

Sincerely,

Zach
Delicious Tuning