CSG Spec Tein Flex A Owners Thread

[biggie]

Can these be installed using oem top mounts? (I could not find if this was asked before)

[churchx]

I somewhat doubt it. And even if one can, wonder where to get tein-spring specific upper perches to be used with OEM top mounts.
They have their own camberplates in set though, and you should have all needed for mounting included.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by biggie

Can these be installed using oem top mounts? (I could not find if this was asked before)

Negative, although you could, in theory, adapt them to work with some custom parts.

Camber plates are included!

[biggie]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Negative, although you could, in theory, adapt them to work with some custom parts.

Camber plates are included!

I already have Powerflex camber adjustable bushes and camber bolts so I was hoping to avoid adding NVH that comes with camber plates.

[churchx]

Well, not with all shocks/camberplates combos there are noticeable NVH issues to care much about. While NVH was not to my liking with stock shocks+camberplates, imho these teins properly installed should do fine.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by biggie

I already have Powerflex camber adjustable bushes and camber bolts so I was hoping to avoid adding NVH that comes with camber plates.

Installed properly, I would expect to see zero increase effective NVH.

[Lav]

did anyone else have a really tough time adjusting the ride height (bottommost collar) on the rears when they were brand new?

Mine wont budge. I put a wrench on it, and then used the other wrench on the topmost collar (with it locked against the middle collar). my friend and i stepped on both and it wouldnt move

i put them on the car just so i could drive again. When i try to adjust it on the car, the collar moves the threads and the top two collars also move, basically spinning the whole strut in place. In other words, I cant get the bottom most collar to move up the threads and away from the green cup. Am I missing something?

Youre supposed to loosing the bottom most collar (to the right, up the thread body), then twist the bottom green cup to eat up more of the threads to lower the car right? Or if its already mounted, used the top collar to twist the threaded body into the bottom green cup which you hold stationary? That seems impossible for me its as if the bottom collar is bonded to the threads

am i missing something?

edit: friend of mine said hit it with a hammer and flathead

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by Lav

You're supposed to loosing the bottom most collar (to the right, up the thread body), then twist the bottom green cup to eat up more of the threads to lower the car right?

That's a common misconception. In most cases you should use the top collar (a.k.a. preload) to adjust the ride height, and only use the bottom adjustments to fine-tune the compression/droop travel. This is especially true for the front suspension on FT86 cars, where the compression travel is known to be limited by the fender liner. Here's a video that explained this to me very well: https://www.racecrafthq.com/introduc...ment/recording, jump to around 25:00 in the video.
This video also explains why some higher-end coilovers don't have the body length adjustments altogether:

A good starting point for all dimensions for these TEINs is provided in the manual that came with them.

[Lav]

Originally Posted by timurrrr

That's a common misconception. In most cases you should use the top collar (a.k.a. preload) to adjust the ride height, and only use the bottom adjustments to fine-tune the compression/droop travel. This is especially true for the front suspension on FT86 cars, where the compression travel is known to be limited by the fender liner. Here's a video that explained this to me very well: https://www.racecrafthq.com/introduc...ment/recording, jump to around 25:00 in the video.
This video also explains why some higher-end coilovers don't have the body length adjustments altogether:

A good starting point for all dimensions for these TEINs is provided in the manual that came with them.

I thought the point of having these is to be able to move the preload and ride height separately?

If i lower the preload collar (to shorten the distance between the ride height collar and the locking collar) wont I just be lengthening the spring? Making no difference on ride height?

Im still stuck trying to move the ride height collar. Tried PB, flathead + hammer, spanner + hammer, spanner + ratchet for leverage.

If anyone has any insight please help

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by Lav

I thought the point of having these is to be able to move the preload and ride height separately?

If i lower the preload collar (to shorten the distance between the ride height collar and the locking collar) wont I just be lengthening the spring? Making no difference on ride height?

That's also explained in the video from Flyin Miata, and hence the word "myth" in the title.

[in my own words]
The term "preload" only makes sense in the context of a fully extended coilover, it defines how much external force you need to apply to start compressing the spring as part of the suspension. Any reasonable amount of preload is much less than the forces applied when the weight of the car is applied to the suspension. Once the weight is applied, the position of the top collar 100% affects the ride height, effectively acting as an offset.

Originally Posted by Lav

Im still stuck trying to move the ride height collar. Tried PB, flathead + hammer, spanner + hammer, spanner + ratchet for leverage.

If anyone has any insight please help

Maybe there's something stuck on the threads? If you can turn the damper body out of the lower bracket but the collar is stuck to the damper body, maybe try turning the collar the other way?
Anyhow, I would suggest you avoid applying too much force until you hear back from CSG / TEIN.

[Lav]

>Any reasonable amount of preload is much less than the forces applied when the weight of the car is applied to the suspension. Once the weight is applied, the position of the top collar 100% affects the ride height, effectively acting as an offset.

bro that makes so much sense

Sent from my ASUS_I01WDX using Tapatalk

[Lav]

for posterity (though it appears no one else struggled like i did)

stuck ride height adjustment collar won't move brand new

pb blaster + flathead screwdriver + flathead for the rears worked for me. Breaker bar made me nervous how much the whole housing would flex and turn so i went for sudden impacts. I had to swing pretty damn hard. Once it broke loose it spun freely

wd 40 (just kuz that can was closer to the front), spanner wrench + breaker bat for the fronts

it was a lot harder than i expected, and a lot harder than any videos made it out to be even though mine were right out of the box.

Sent from my ASUS_I01WDX using Tapatalk

[CounterSpace Garage]

Originally Posted by Lav

for posterity (though it appears no one else struggled like i did)

stuck ride height adjustment collar won't move brand new

pb blaster + flathead screwdriver + flathead for the rears worked for me. Breaker bar made me nervous how much the whole housing would flex and turn so i went for sudden impacts. I had to swing pretty damn hard. Once it broke loose it spun freely

wd 40 (just kuz that can was closer to the front), spanner wrench + breaker bat for the fronts

it was a lot harder than i expected, and a lot harder than any videos made it out to be even though mine were right out of the box.

Sent from my ASUS_I01WDX using Tapatalk

It probably just need a nice impulse smack. A few that we have adjusted were like that regardless of the type of system. We've seen other manufacturers have collars that started slipping so the car started getting lower over time. Common? Not necessarily. You may have gotten a really really buff technician who tightened a tad too perfectly.

[Var]

I recently installed a wisefab rear on my BRZ. With the drop spindle, my Flex A doesn't adjust high enough to get to my desired ride height. I want to order a taller rear spring to correct it.

I don't know what dimension of a spring to order. What is the height and inner diameter of the included factory spring? I was thinking of getting a 2 inch taller spring than stock as currently it has an absolute ass load of preload and adjusted as high as possible while still leaving enough threads engaged, just to get to neutral rake. Will a 2 inch spring translate to a 2 inch higher ride height in the rear?

I've also been floating the idea of bumping up the rear spring rate by 1kg/mm. Would this have a major impact on balance? I feel like the car could use some help rotating at lower speeds. If it will be a very minor difference in balance and won't negativity impact the effectiveness of the dampers then I would be willing to give it a shot.

The other option I have is getting a stiffer rear sway bar, but I'm not sure about how much stiffer it would get than stock. Do they sell rear sway bars that can adjust in the range of less than 1kg/mm to more than?