I recently purchased a set of Tein Flex coilovers off of a member on here with only 1500 miles on them. I'm considering installing them myself but i'd rather have it done professionally since I know that adjusting them can be a quite difficult without a lift.

It took me awhile to sell myself on coilovers since the NW suburbs are now pothole heaven. I currently live in Palatine so i'm not far from AMS at all. I'm not looking for the "slammed" look but rather a nice drop in terms of looks but most importantly functional with handling and ride quality.

I do not need the car corner balanced since it will maybe only see the track once a summer but it is a DD street car. My question is in regards to the alignment. Do you guys (AMS) do alignments in house or do you send the car out?

Also how much would something like this run with installation and alignment? Once again i'm not looking for a race setup by any means but I also don't want to lose functionality which can happen if I do it in my garage.

Thanks in advance,

Justin

 

Last time I was there I didnt see an alignment rack/machine. So I would say they dont do them

 

Justin, I really mean this in the best possible way ... please do yourself and your car a great favor and do not install Tein Flex coilovers on your Evo. They are not going to improve your handling over stock.

If you want a (relatively) inexpensive setup that will not only give you a conservative drop, but will also improve the handling of the car, look at getting a set of Bilstein HD shocks with Swift Sport, Swift Spec-R, or Espelier GT springs. Also look at adding a Whiteline bump steer and roll center correction kit. Lastly get a good alignment (0 toe all around, and something close to -2 camber front, -1.2 camber rear).

If you don't believe my advice, feel free to call AMS and get their opinion and do some looking in the motorsport forum here on Evom.

l8r)

 

If you do decide to install the CO, don't forget to corner balance as well.

 

Install on your coil overs is not a problem. We will set ride height to your specifications (tire to fender gap is most common).

We DO do corner weighting and race alignments in house but this is more for road racers where we have installed coil overs, roll center adjusters, bump steer correction kit, adjustable end links etc are adjusting everything (not just the typical camber and tow).

For the typical alignment (after springs or coil overs) we have a shop just down the street that does computer alignments for us.

 

So what are your opinions on the Tein Flex's? I wanted a decent set of coilovers without breaking the bank and I didn't want to have to put Megan's on my car. I've never heard bad things about Tein, I know their is better stuff out there but then again I didn't anywhere near full price and they are basically new.

Also for just DD street use are all the other things necessay like...roll center adjusters, bump steer correction kit, and adjustable end links.

I do want my car lower but I do want to keep it functional. i really don't know how low you can go and still keep it funcational. I'm not looking for amazing handling just alittle better than stock.

 

i have them on ,, love it ,, not too stiff at all ,, rides really nice !!

 

Good to hear Jie-EVO. I have heard many good things about them but just like any brand I have also heard bad thing just in regards to price.

 

Suspensions are a fickle thing to debate. Most people to be honest don't really know what a good suspension is. I was in that category as well up to about a year ago. To me if the car got stiffer and felt more responsive then it was a good suspension. The truth of the matter is that isnt it at all. Thanks to Guys like Martin, Justin, Mark Daddio and Paul Gerrard they have really taught us what really goes into a good suspension.

There isnt anything wrong with not knowing... hell I was in the same boat. Most Evo owners don't really push their cars enough to really experience the difference.

If you are looking to stiffen the car up a bit more and lower it the flex is fine. If you are interested in improving handling you should probably look at one of their higher end suspensions or different companies.

Some really good entry level suspensions that will actually improve handling are:

Endura-Tech
Ohlins
KW
JRZ
etc

Etc. feel free to visit the site or hop into the motorsports forum and get some real world input from guys that track their cars.

Use a product that is being used by guys in the thick of things. That way you know it works

Shopping for a suspension based on price should be one of the last qualifiers being used in your search. Remember you are upgrading the suspension on an EVO not a cobalt...that is not the easiest thing to do. These cars handle well from the factory and some real effort needs to be put in to improve on a good platform

Eric

 

Eric,

Thanks for the input and insight! So my question is will putting the Flex's on decrease the handling performance of the car or keep it the same with less body roll? The last thing I want to do is decrease performance for mere looks. Granted I want a nice looking drop but not at the sacrifice of the handling performance. That's like cutting the legs off an Evo.

I will be receiving the coilovers on Saturday so I don't want to schedule an appointment as of yet. (If I do even decide to install them) Would you guys be able to give me a ballpark of how much it would cost to install plus alignment afterwards. You could PM this info too.

Thanks