My rewiew of Tein's SRC from CSG
 

There on.
Now where to start, packaging. So well packed I think they could survive falling of a cliff.
If I didn't want/ need them on the car, I'd frame them and mount them on the wall. NOT
Mounting, couldn't be simpler. Follow the install diagram (in Japanese) and it all falls into place. Torquing is a joy as compared to KW V3. No wrapping a strap wrench around the shaft. On these you have a slot on top to use a wrench on (front) and the rear just torque to spec.
Now the BUT.
I DONT READ JAPANESE.
The instruction manual has everything you need to adjust, torque, setup, camber settings.
Did I say I don't read Japanese.
Now here is a completely shameless plug for CSG.
I do things in my time. Like quite a few here on the forums. My sin was doing this over the holidays. Bad bad bad old man. But, when I ran into the Japanese thing, CSGDavid ANSWERED me. ON NEW YEARS DAY. Shame on me. But man, he did and now he has a customer for life. Truly can't say enough good about these guys.
Back to the review.
Setting up these coil overs is just plain simple.
For the recommended Tein settings, SRC, Front A=74mm,B=16mm, rear A=131mm, B=24mm. This will give you 335 from center of wheel to edge of the fender. 1.4 inch drop.
My issue was when I initially tried to set them up, I used the wrong chart!! It is the the last chart you use.
Anyways, I got it all sorted out with the help of CSGDavid.
As far as pics are concerned, use the pic from the CSG SRC review, their identical. But I will take pictures of the current set up.

Driving impressions. My first impression with a well handling car was with a 1981 BMW 320 IS. I can best describe the handling as a flat, very firm but also very supple. The TIEN SRC's achieve this even better. My old setup was the Koni yellow inserts with RCE yellow Springs at 250 pounds on all four corners. I found that set up as firm and occasionally harsh over some of the bumps. Road ripples could be annoying. With SRC's, that is all gone. At low speeds about 20 miles an hour you could tell that they were stiffer than my previous set up. But go at a higher speed and they became more smoother more well balanced. Road ripples were nonexistent, The harshness was all gone. Don't get me wrong, you know that they are a high-performance set of coil overs. And 10k/12k springs.
Near work they constructed some small traffic circles. So I took a test drive with the SRC's and I took the traffic circle at 40 miles an hour. The Koni's max 30 mph. These SRC's are so confidence inspiring that I could easily out drive the Dunlop ZII star specs. And my alignment isn't done yet. Still waiting on the LCA's.
The one bad bit of news is the wife says there way too stiff. But then the Koni's were too stiff also. Stock was too stiff for the wife. So ........ I'll live with it. Too many restrictions trying to keep it civil for the wife. I can be a tad competitive. I'm like Scooby South, I am eliminating the car so the only thing left is the driver.
These are set at CSGDavids softer settings, 8/9 front & 9/10 rear. I'll try 12 all around later.
The other thing with set up is I got caught up with the other two measurements. Not really needed. The two I mentioned are the important ones.
Buy them, they are just flat out awesome.
Some of the stiffer ride the wife feels are from the Dunlops. I bought the 235/40/17 because I wanted to utilize the stiffer side wall for AX. Now you really know the tire is stiff and very noisy.

edit: I've been on the SRC's now for 2wks or so. I am still very happy and extremely pleased. I have since moved the settings to 14/15 all around.
Compression/Rebound. With this setting I find the car approx. like the Koni's/yellow spings. You can tell, at low speed, that they are stiffer. After all they are 10k/12k springs.
Haven't done any racing, YET. My first AX is actually an EVO school here in Savannah. Both phase I&II. I am still running my superpro sways at 20/18.
I love the extremely flat cornering. CSGDavid has recommended I put the originals back on and I may still do that. Trying to study up on suspension setup at the moment.
I found that the car felt very neutral with that setup. But the droop travel is pretty stiff coming into driveways and such. I know that it will affect my turns in bumpy conditions. I'm still learning.
I still have to install the LCA's and some steering rack bushings. Only reason the alignment is not done yet. Not a lot of mileage on the new Dunlops.
I did have a rattleling on the first drive, thought it was something with my install. The install was good, turned out to be the ever constant sway bar link not torqued. The sway bar still seems to hit in certain conditions, so that I have to still look at.
And just remember, I changed a major component, so I still have to adjust the overall cars balance and feel. If work ever lets me.

So in conclusion it has been the single best thing I have ever bought for my car. The coilovers are so confidence inspiring that you have to be carefull not to overdrive your skill level when "playing". But they put you in touch with the road so well, I can feel when the tires want to break loose. I just have an overall feeling of how the attitude of the car is, my level of driving skill. What the car is doing. It all comes into play.
I bought them on what CSGDavid said once, "That my skill level will never exceed the level of the coilover".
I wanted to do this once & only once.
So I did.

So you've been driving around with no alignment...? How do you know your toe isn't completely jacked up?

Don't. For the amount of miles I'm putting on, on new tires, it is a non issue. If traveling to Canada and back, then yes an alignment would come very quickly. But when your working 12 hr days, 0530-1800, I'm not in the mood for an alignment.
It takes a LOT of miles to screw things up. That is from experience.


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That's not true, excessive toe out can chord a set of tires at the shoulder in less than 1000 miles. I've done it, forgot to set my toe back after an autox and drove for a month with 1/4" toe out in the front on some z2, they were nearly at the chord. Just keep an eye on it and get an alignment sooner rather than later!

I think you'll love them after you get the camber and toe set to where they should be!

I love that attitude! :)


Congratulations on the purchase of some quality coils.

I'm getting one done on Wednesday. After the LCA's and rack bushings go in.


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So the million dollar question is drums is it worth 5K? Makes the Ohlins R/T cheep ��

You are asking for a value judgement? lol.
Judging by FastWhite's first post it certainly reads like they are worth it.

These were a Black Friday purchase. So immensely cheaper price than regular.
Please keep in mind that everything is subjective. Too me, for the price and the great product, I am beyond satisfied. With the support thrown in, I can't say enough.
Now when I go AXing, it ain't the car. It's the driver. And I am willing to pay for that.
It doesn't mean that I can go beat everyone on an entry level setup. Like I said it's subjective.
Each to his own as they say.


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As long as you are happy and you like them that's all it matters. I am sure that they are amazing what else did you consider?

Thanks for the review. After this thread, I'm not sure if now I should get the street flex or SRC???

Online, RS*R Clubsports. MCS


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Are these the off the shelf SRC's, or the CSG spec SRC's?

Your choice. If you can afford them, then SRC's. But there I am biased.
Talk to CSG, they give very good advice.


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