Tein Suspension...

who here has had experience with tein coil-overs? whether you own a car with tein or if you've been in a car with it. why do i hear such good things about this? what does tein have over hks?

all the tein coilovers i have seen on ebay are so damned expensive i'm too scared to give it a try even if i did have the money.

if there IS something better than tein for drifting, handles better or whatever, what do you think? there has to be a reason those crazy japanese like tein so much :D

got any pics of it setup in a 240? god.. they look lovely out of car...

alright !!! :icon16:

I've always like Koni, and Eibach isn't too bad either. Plus there's Penske to consider. I'm personally investing in Spax shocks to convert my B to fluid dampers.

Good suspension components for drifting in particular aren't really a concern beyond durability. It's more about how you set up the components then which components you chose.

Well, Tein is mainly just a suspension company and I would imagine if it focuses only on that and that professionals use it all the time I would think that they are great suspension kits, but if you want something cheaper go for somethin else.

other drift suspension options:

JIC
HKS
GP Sports
Tanabe
Zeal
Kei Office

there's others i've forgotten too.


these are all Japanese companies that SPECIALIZE in making drift suspension set-ups. most normal sets will work well enough, but guaranteed if you buy a set that's DESIGNED specifically for drifting, then they should outperform a normal set and should definitley withstand the hardships. as well, all of these sets are uber-adjustable, so any set-up you can think of, you can do on your car to get it exactly how you want it. of course, most of the products from these companies will be more or less around the same price range as a good set of Teins...but, you get what you pay for, dude.

AHH yes adjustability.. what all can i adjust easily? ride height/stiffness or whatever?

i dunno yet, i still have a month or so before i get the car so that's 1 month+ to decide what suspension. one thing's for sure though, the bastard will need to be dropped. i may just go for something cheap at first and if it breaks, oh well, and if it stays smooth a long time then the better.

shit i have so many questions about suspension. i'll probably just pick up some junk from autozone at first :D haha i know how much you guys hate that. until i get a feel for the car i will definitely be experimenting. i have lots of things i want to do to the car but with no money CURRENTLY (applying for several jobs right now, should change my income) i am kind of stuck. first upgrades will be coilovers, sway bar, and new tires. then it's on to ebay to find a silvia front and start with the body work..........

but thanks for the feedback guys! it looks like i'll be hunting between tein/hks/tanabe.. depends what i can get for cheaper i guess.

Generally speaking, a set of coilovers allows you to adjust stiffness and damping rate (the rate at which the spring is allowed to "bounce"). After this, you want to invest in camber blocks (or plates) to get adjustable camber.

Of course, toe is adjustable straight from the factory so you have tinkering room there.

from what i understand - stiffer rear end, softer front. and i won't mess with toe or camber til i get more into it. don't even have the car yet.. just planning ahead. just wondering what all i have to do to adjust the coilovers.. what needs to be removed or whatever. you know? cause i sure don't :D lol k anyways off to do other things.

Well, I can sell you the shocks/struts out of my flogged '86 Accord "S"...I can paint Tein on them too, if you want. They're pretty smokin, they don't really bounce 'cause they bottom out all the time, especially on the rocky mountain roads I rally my P.O.S. on...that makes them tougher, BTW. I'm asking $4000 for all 4...cheaper than real Tein's.

Seriously tho, if you're worried about getting the best of the best, you're going to have to drop a hell of a lot of money for them. While the suspension is possibly the most crucial part of any drift car, any of the brands that have been mentioned here are good, just make sure its going to be a good fit to your car...find something with a good tack record.

Thats "track", not "tack"....sorry, i can't edit for some reason...

bahahahah no i'm not worried about the best of the best. i was basicly asking why are they so good? i know they're lots of money but wondering if anything else compares. i dunno, those accord shocks sound like a good deal... bahhh
nah tein isn't 4g though, i've seen em for sooo much cheaper.

Dam, thought I could make a quick buck...I checked out Road & Track today, apparently the Lotus Elise is coming to America with a tuned Toyota Celica GTS engine...that would make a nice drift car if it weren't so expensive and pretty...

Wait, thats not what i wanted to say...these guys are using TEIN, the second link is a combo, with TEIN coilovers and Cuso bits and pieces. Check them out.

http://www.importfanatix.com/html/stanley_s_240.html

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/277830

my S13 has TEIN coil-overs znd i can say this.... THEY ARE HARD!!!!

but when you get the car sideways it is just soooo nice, just soaks up the bumps, like your in a limo... only sideways. hehehe....

trust me is ya wanna drift get TEIN.

why would drifting be more abuse on your suspension then regular grip driving?

-the thread jacker muhaha

hahaha i just remembered you USA guys got ripped in the engine department on the S13!!! you guys got the KA24DET didn't yous!!! haha, you missed out on the mother of engines the SR20DET!!!

what kind of power do they make and what mods you got done? just asking.

i got 214.3 kW at rear wheels
GT28turbo, FMIC, 17pound boost, fuel cut defender, new EMS. plus more but thats the main stuff.

Drifting is abusive upon suspensions because of the unnatural movement inherent to the sport.

This is more true of rear suspensions than fronts, though.

Basically, it's the net result of a combination of sustained wheel-hop and inconsistant sideloadings. During a feint drift, for example, the car's suspension is suddenly vertically loaded and subjected to multiple G's of lateral force, then unloaded without any lateral force. This is repeated numerous times and tends to wear struts and/or shocks, as well as control arms, bearings, sway bar links, tie rod ends and (my personal favorites) bushings.

Drifting is very abusive on suspension components, third only to amateur rally and semi-professional oval track racing (ask any short track Street Stock driver and he'll tell you how his Monte Carlo or Malibu chews up shocks and ball joints).

And S13-Downunder, there is no KA24DET. That would imply that the engine came turbo-charged from the factory.

what are you saying that USA s13's weren't even turbo????? man you guys got ripped even more than i thought!!!

yah blah blah we got the ka24de woo. but it has more displacement than your petty sr20det. actually from what i've read (not positive) but a turbocharged ka24de would be more responsive than an sr20det.. not sure though! if i did get a 2.0 litre engine i'd go for the rb20.. just cause there are fewer and the torque values. S13-Downunder i hope you have a roobar

No they weren't turbo and quite personally speaking, we didn't get ripped off.

Speaking as someone who has had the chance to drive both a stock S13 (1989 240SX hatchback) and (recently) an SR20DET-transplant recipient S13 (1991 240SX hatchback, engine and chassis still stock save for wider lower-profile tires on BBS wheels) I can say that the KA24 was actually more enjoyable for me.

Let me explain.

While the added power of the turbo 2.0L four was welcome, any weight savings the smaller aluminum block may have given the car were negated by the turbo, larger radiator, wastegate, and other such forced-induction paraphenalia that had to be added to the car. Thus, the S13 chassis still carried its natural mild understeer and slightly nose-heavy attitude. This may be different on CA18 S13's, so I won't make assumptions on that end.

Also, the turbocharger had a very "light-switch" delivery to its added power that came on around 5600rpm which unsettled the car coming out of corners. Not in the extreme manner of, say, a Porsche 930, but there was definitely a mid-range jolt that made the car uncomfortable transitioning out of corners.

Then there was the low-end torque loss which I had to practically dump the clutch like an S2000 owner to get the thing away from stoplights.

Finally, even with the added rubber, there wasn't enough suspension to take the added power. There was plenty of acceleration, but braking and cornering had a lot more drama than I care for. The car tended to roll under during hard cornering and the brakes needed a heavy foot to get the car slowed down. While aftermarket parts can easily cure this (last I heard the car in question has received a 300ZX five-lug hub-and-spindle conversion with Brembo brakes and fresh Eibach springs with Koni struts at all corners) from the factory it makes for a car that failed to inspire any sort of confidence from me during a serious driving workout.

Now, the KA24 car I drove, even though it was less powerful, just plain felt sorted. While I would've loved to have had the extra 50 to 60 odd ponies the turbo adds, a pair of cams, a header, a new intake and throttle body probably could've given me that out of the KA and given it to me across the range.

And, quite frankly, if Bob Stretch can take the American Road Race Championship (an SCCA amateur race series) in the Improved Touring A category two years in a row with a KA24 powered 240SX coupe, then I'm satisfied with its capabilities.

i have no idea what car you were driving but it sounds nothing like mine. i have an aftermarket HKS2835 turbo which is MUCH bigger than standard and therefore more laggy but even still i am hitting 17pond of boost at 4300rpm. my car is not understeering and is most certainly not nose-heavy.

now whether or not that engine was stuffed i cant comment but the car you speak of sounds nothing like the SR20DET silvias we have over here, and there are plenty. Party due to our close import/export ties with Japan.

Australia being the second best place in the world for the importing and tuning of late model Japanese vehicles. this torque you speak of and having to dump the clutch, that is foreign to me too, i have never had a problem getting off the line equal to any NA car, and the extra urge when the turbo kicks in just allows me to walk away in a straight line.

getting out of a corner smoothly in a tubo charged vehicle just requires a little bit of skill. you need to be more aggressive than a NA car, you have to hold higher engine RPM's to keep the boost up. then just punch it coming out of the corner, and feel the seat dig into the small of your back.

if you have anydoubts over the SR20DET just come for a quick hop over the pacific and i'll show you the advantage of BOOST!!!

and why would i need a roo bar!!?? have you ever been to Aus?

I agree that turbo cars take skill to drive, after all, I was raised on GLH Omnis (the GLH Turbos have the world's scariest torque steer EVER). And there is the chance that the SR20DET in the car I drove was in poor tune. After all, stateside swappers do get Japanese junkyard refugees.

I respect the power pontential of the SR20DET, and I would like to drive an honest to god Silvia, 180SX, or Sil-Eighty. Don't worry about my left-hand shifting, either. My Uncle Dave once owned an MG-TC that was right-hand drive. But the KA24 is not a bad engine. It's willing, makes good NA power, and will run for-freakin'-ever.

As for the nose-heavy comment, you also have to realize that this is all off of a baseline of the car I have the most seat-time in; my baby Layla. A 1970 MGB GT. (49/51 weight distribution).