Tein Flex Z opinion

[churchx]

I just commented on brz604 saying
"- At full stiffness, the ride felt similar to stock maybe even less bumpy and rough."
If it's not, fine.

[Argento_86]

how do these compare to tein street flex?

[cjd]

Originally Posted by churchx

I just commented on brz604 saying
"- At full stiffness, the ride felt similar to stock maybe even less bumpy and rough."
If it's not, fine.

I'm not sure that plays out for the reasons you might expect. I find the SRC smoother than stock over just about everything (set on the softer side but still crazy spring rates) - a different shock profile that's well matched to the springs, etc. could really ride better and perform better.

Don't let common not so great coilover experiences fool you. It doesn't have to ride harsher to work better.

[swarb]

Originally Posted by RacerX

Any word on what these will cost when they get to the states? Will the price remain the same, low $700s?

It should be competitively priced. With the exchange rate in our favor, they should be well below 1k and right around 800, a small step above the basis.

Originally Posted by SilverFRS

Are these available in ca already or did you order from Japan? Price?

Japan. They should be in the states very soon. Maybe around july (from what my impression leads to think from reading this thread.)

Originally Posted by Argento_86

how do these compare to tein street flex?

Flex is discontinued I believe. The flex-z is the lower priced option, much closer to the basis but with adjustable dampers. I believe the flex-a is the replacement for the flex at that price point.

[brz604]

Originally Posted by SilverFRS

Are these available in ca already or did you order from Japan? Price?

I ordered them from nengun, after fees/taxes and shipping, it was about ~ $1100 - $1200 CAD, direct from Japan.

[brz604]

Originally Posted by churchx

I just commented on brz604 saying
"- At full stiffness, the ride felt similar to stock maybe even less bumpy and rough."
If it's not, fine.

That was based on initial ride feel on residential roads... after a couple days, I changed the damping to the recommended 7 in front and 8 in rear out of curiosity.

Again, I'm still pretty new to the whole modding scene, the main differences I've noticed are that the nose doesn't dive when I brake hard and car stays fairly stable/level when turning and accelerating. Not sure what else to feel for.

Since then, I've set it back to full stiff, it is noticeable rougher than stock now that I've driven around more, especially after driving on all kinds of road surfaces..but I like that sporty feel, I have yet to try full soft setting though.

[tracerit]

I'm heavily thinking about just getting these coilovers from nengun instead of waiting a few more months for US availability. Question though, is an alignment needed when just adjusting the dampening?

[churchx]

Alignment is more needed when adjusting shocks height/travel, if one drops car. I would do that after shocks initial installment for piece of heart anyway even at stock height though.

[tracerit]

for those who bought from nengun, did you have to pay any customs fees on top of the shipping and insurance through nengun?

[brz604]

Originally Posted by tracerit

for those who bought from nengun, did you have to pay any customs fees on top of the shipping and insurance through nengun?

had to pay customs and DHL logistics fee,

[shellslinger]

Originally Posted by brz604

had to pay customs and DHL logistics fee,

Same here but it was only $25 dollars for me at least

[Teseo]

I wonder how much they last before replacement.

[brz604]

Originally Posted by Teseo

I wonder how much they last before replacement.

Stock coilovers usually last about 50k miles in that range.. so I'm hoping at least that if not more or less, depending on how you drive I suppose.

[kbye]

Here's some pics from the install I did.

Front vs. stock vs. pug:


Rear vs. stock:


Partially installed:


You also have to cut holes in your rear trunk trim in order to fit the rear strut. This didn't bother me that much, but keep in mind you won't be able to fit any trunk mats back in.




Impressions:
I adjusted preload and height to the Tein recommended settings using a digital caliper and ended up with ~1 inch drop.
Initially dialled 7 clicks front, 8 clicks rear from stiff.
Honestly I was a little disappointed when I first took it for a drive. It felt almost like stock: very comfortable, which I'm sure some members can appreciate.
After adjusting the damping to 5 clicks from stiff all around, I felt it was a good balance of responsiveness and comfort. After waiting about a week for it to settle, I had an alignment done, -2 degrees camber F/R. No aftermarket camber bolts were used, and I was told by my shop that there was plenty of room for further adjustment with the front upper mount (up to -3 degrees).

I will be taking it to auto-x in the upcoming months and will report back on my experience, but I can already tell you the Flex Z is geared more towards street comfort than track performance. In my opinion, it's insanely good value for the features and quality you receive.