Tein Mono Sport vs others in price range

[Var]

I want to upgrade the suspension on my '17 BRZ. I go on very frequent late night mountain jaunts, some track days (not often), but handling is my primary concern. I already have around 22k miles on my car and about half of that it spirited driving. 3rd set of tires and 5th alignment at this point.

Current setup:
RCE Yellows on Performance Pack Sachs dampers
Upper and Lower camber bolts in the front
SPL Rear LCA
Whiteline Rear Subframe and Differential bushing inserts


Balance-wise, I found that the RCE springs did really well at track speeds but the car pushes more in lower speed corners. I aligned accordingly and work around it with more trail braking. But I really want a better balance of low and high speed handling.

Wish list other than Coilovers:
I want the widest 17" wheels and tires I can fit without rubbing (265s?)
SPL Front Control Arms. After doing the rear bushings, the slop in the front end is very apparent.

So I'm looking primarily at the Tein Mono Sport for these reasons:
1- Price is around what I can afford/justify
2- comes with camber plates
3- spring rate seems to be good for spirited street driving and adequate for occasional track days
4- mono tube
5- works with edfc, so I can adjust on the fly for goat trails vs smooth tarmac

Here are some questions I have:
1- If adjusted properly, how will these coilovers handle bumpy back roads?
2- What should I expect the balance of the car to be with an aggressive street alignment? Say -2.5/-.2 Front and -1.5/0 Rear.

And the obvious question is, in this price range, is there something that sounds better for me?

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by Var

but handling is my primary concern.

Originally Posted by Var

I want the widest 17" wheels and tires I can fit without rubbing

You have mutually exclusive goals.

[Var]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

You have mutually exclusive goals.

Fair enough. But let's talk about the suspension for now. I'll figure that stuff out later

[FirstWinter]

The CSG Tein Flex A fit within your budget and I would personally go with those over the Tein Monosports. It performs well for mixed street and track use and will save you some money as well.

To answer your questions:
1) That varies greatly on damper settings and the rest of your setup. There are simply too many factors and "adjusted properly" will be different for each person. Any correctly set up suspension should be able to handle those roads well. With adjustable coilovers you will be able to adjust settings to your preference. Someone who prefers one setting may have a more comfortable ride on that road, but another may have a different experience simply due to how they like their dampers to be set at in that moment.

2)Behavior is determined by much more than simply the alignment. In my experience the greater the difference between front and rear the more rotation you will see. ex:F-3.5/R-2.5 vs F-3.0/R-2.7. I would run at least -3.0 camber in front to avoid tire wear for track use.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by Var

I want to upgrade the suspension on my '17 BRZ. I go on very frequent late night mountain jaunts, some track days (not often), but handling is my primary concern. I already have around 22k miles on my car and about half of that it spirited driving. 3rd set of tires and 5th alignment at this point.

Current setup:
RCE Yellows on Performance Pack Sachs dampers
Upper and Lower camber bolts in the front
SPL Rear LCA
Whiteline Rear Subframe and Differential bushing inserts


Balance-wise, I found that the RCE springs did really well at track speeds but the car pushes more in lower speed corners. I aligned accordingly and work around it with more trail braking. But I really want a better balance of low and high speed handling.

Wish list other than Coilovers:
I want the widest 17" wheels and tires I can fit without rubbing (265s?)
SPL Front Control Arms. After doing the rear bushings, the slop in the front in is very apparent.

So I'm looking primarily at the Tein Mono Sport for these reasons:
1- Price is around what I can afford/justify
2- comes with camber plates
3- spring rate seems to be good for spirited street driving and adequate for occasional track days
4- mono tube
5- works with edfc, so I can adjust on the fly for goat trails vs smooth tarmac

Here are some questions I have:
1- If adjusted properly, how will these coilovers handle bumpy back roads?
2- What should I expect the balance of the car to be with an aggressive street alignment? Say -2.5/-.2 Front and -1.5/0 Rear.

And the obvious question is, in this price range, is there something that sounds better for me?

I can comment on the tire size...


Usually when going to a 265 width guys will also go up to 18" wheels because: 265/40/17 is a rare size. There are only 4 different tires on tirerack.com in this size.

In comparison, tirerack.com has 55 different options for 265/35/18 tires.

[Var]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

I can comment on the tire size...


Usually when going to a 265 width guys will also go up to 18" wheels because: 265/40/17 is a rare size. There are only 4 different tires on tirerack.com in this size.

In comparison, tirerack.com has 55 different options for 265/35/18 tires.

Maybe 255s would be better. I want to stick with 17s for sure. This is a future mod anyway. Thanks!

[Var]

Originally Posted by FirstWinter

The CSG Tein Flex A fit within your budget and I would personally go with those over the Tein Monosports. It performs well for mixed street and track use and will save you some money as well.

The CSG Spec Tein Flex A was actually my first choice, but honestly I don't think the springs are stiff enough so I changed my mind. I asked in the owner's thread what the max recommended spring rate would be but nobody answered my question. I already have 4.5k springs front and rear and I don't think going to up 6k is a significant enough upgrade, especially for future tire upgrade. The car rolls more than I want even with stock size tires. Was thinking of maybe adding aero later and even stiffer rear springs or sway bar with the Tein Mono.

1) That varies greatly on damper settings and the rest of your setup. There are simply too many factors and "adjusted properly" will be different for each person. Any correctly set up suspension should be able to handle those roads well. With adjustable coilovers you will be able to adjust settings to your preference. Someone who prefers one setting may have a more comfortable ride on that road, but another may have a different experience simply due to how they like their dampers to be set at in that moment.

I'm talking about driving a spirited pace through corners with a lot of bumps and humps and jumps. I'm asking if these coilovers will be able to keep the tires on the ground and handle a bumpy road with the 8k/9k springs.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by Var

Maybe 255s would be better. I want to stick with 17s for sure. This is a future mod anyway. Thanks!

245/40/17 is stock diameter and fits nicely on a 17x9. Tire rack has 75 options.


17x9 is a common size. I'd suggest a +40 to +30 offset, depending on how want them to look.


IMO, I think that 255/40/17s fit on 17x9.5 wheels better. Though they will work on 9" wide wheels. Tirerack has 57 options.


But, 17x9.5 are not very common. 18x9.5 are very common.


Personally I feel that a 245/40 on a 17x9 is the "sweet spot" for width, weight, cost, and outside tire diameter.

[Var]

That's a real bummer about lack of 17x9.5. I found this out a couple of days ago when I was searching for widest fitment wheels.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Leaving out tire size, what type of tire (compound) will you be running?

- Andrew

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by Var

The CSG Spec Tein Flex A was actually my first choice, but honestly I don't think the springs are stiff enough so I changed my mind. I asked in the owner's thread what the max recommended spring rate would be but nobody answered my question. I already have 4.5k springs front and rear and I don't think going to up 6k is a significant enough upgrade, especially for future tire upgrade. The car rolls more than I want even with stock size tires. Was thinking of maybe adding aero later and even stiffer rear springs or sway bar with the Tein Mono.



I'm talking about driving a spirited pace through corners with a lot of bumps and humps and jumps. I'm asking if these coilovers will be able to keep the tires on the ground and handle a bumpy road with the 8k/9k springs.

It's a lot stiffer than what the springs dictate when driven hard and it's a lot softer than what it is on paper as well. With tires tested from standard high treadwear to slicks, it's probably tested well over and beyond almost all kits on the market.

[Var]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Leaving out tire size, what type of tire (compound) will you be running?

- Andrew

Something like an re71 or r888r.

[Var]

Originally Posted by CSG David

It's a lot stiffer than what the springs dictate when driven hard and it's a lot softer than what it is on paper as well. With tires tested from standard high treadwear to slicks, it's probably tested well over and beyond almost all kits on the market.

Can you tell me what you think about the Mono Sports vs the CSG Tein A in terms of:


Twintube vs Monotube
6k/6k vs 8k/9k
Custom valving vs OTS valving
Body roll reduction on both
Ability to absorb mid corner and straight line bumps on both
Complete package on both


What is the maximum recommended spring rate for the CSG Tein A, just in case I wanted to increase it?

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by Var

Can you tell me what you think about the Mono Sports vs the CSG Tein A in terms of:


Twintube vs Monotube
6k/6k vs 8k/9k
Custom valving vs OTS valving
Body roll reduction on both
Ability to absorb mid corner and straight line bumps on both
Complete package on both


What is the maximum recommended spring rate for the CSG Tein A, just in case I wanted to increase it?

For beginners to advanced users; for competition aero to no aero; for OEM tire to full slicks; and for full loaded weight to stripped - the CSG Spec TEIN Flex A was developed around these tested parameters.

On paper the Mono Sports seems more performance oriented, but it's far from that. CSG Spec TEIN Flex A is far more complete than the Mono Sports. The CSG FLA utilizes tires much more effectively than the Mono Sport and controls the body under spirited driving application. Due to the 6kg nature and a far more refined valving specification, street application is supremely improved over the Mono Sport and stock suspension.

CSG Spec TEIN Flex A found a happy medium at 6kg. You can run 8kg, but at the expense of comfort, which can only be dialed in so much for a 1-way application. You'll find that the 6kg will feel much "stiffer" and confidence inspiring under spirited driving application and much softer, yet more controlled than stock for tame use.