i just order a set of tein RAs.did i make a mistake?

Why do you think you made a mistake?

John's suspension setups are on 7 of the 11 "tuner" cars at the shoot out. IMHO that tells me where to go to get the suspension you need. Been dealing with RRE/John for over a year on this suspension stuff been through 3 types of coilovers and have equaled but not surpased the JIC times. (cars has ridden better on the street though).

well every one here bad mouth the tein c/o i was just wondering

The tein RA's are pretty bad ****... Definately a good coilover.

The Tein RAs are the best that tein has to offer IMO. I have them on my supra and wouldn't trade them for the world!

I'm happy with my Tein RAs. They are well made and there seem to be fewer people complaining about quality defects with the RAs than the JIC FLA2s. To me, the reputation of the manufacturer was an important factor and JIC has at best a mixed record. Unlike some other Japanese coilovers, Tein also has a presence in the USA and there are facilities here that can service them.

Hi everyone, this is my first post in the forums here. Just want to get up to speed. To my knowledge, there is 3 or 4 sets of DMS floating around in CA for the EVO setups, can this be confirmed ???
1x with Robbie Fuller (I helped set it up)
1x with John Mueller (which sounds like a bump stop came loose)
1x with San Rafael Mitsubishi
I do not know if there are any others ? What is the feedback ?? Can we see about getting included in the poll as well for future reference ?

All coilover setups consist of a spring and a dampener as their basic components. So in theory, no matter what brand you are using, if you had the same spring rate and dampening rate, wouldn't they all perform the same in any given application?

The basis of this question is - if you knew the exact spring rate and damping rate you needed, wouldn't it be easiest to buy the cheapest setup you can get and then adjust the spring/valving to your needs?

Thanks for any input you can give.

EVOlutionary

While coilovers from different manufacturers can have the same spring/damping rates, the internals such as valving and charge gas/oil may be quite different, resulting in different performance characteristics, especially under extreme conditions. Additionally, some springs have a more linear response at their limits, such as the Zeal Swift springs vs. their Basic spring. The Swift spring uses fewer coils so there is less bind when compressed and the springs are lighter than the Basic. The specific alloy from which the spring is made can affect its durability. Another thing to keep in mind is that cheaper coilovers do not use inverted dampers, like the stock setup, which means more unsprung mass and again this affects handling response. Whether on not these differences are noticeable on the street, I am not sure.

The ideal (as in simple, text-book example, not "best") spring and damper have a linear response over their full operating range. The spring generates a force proportional to, and in the opposite direction of, the displacement from its equilibrium position. Similarly for the damper, but in proportion to the velocity.

But real springs and dampers are not linear, and you probably don't want them to be. They also have internal damping, resilience, frictional losses, and mass to complicate things. And all these parameters change over time.

Then there's the selection of spring and damping rates available. Those change for each track, heck, for each race. Cheap stuff probably won't cover it. And quality of construction -- for a strut suspension the thrust axis is not exactly along the strut axis so there are heavy bending loads. Take a look at the lower spring seat on any stock strut.

Complicated stuff is complicated and good stuff costs! On the other hand, I know I'm not a good enough driver (yet...) that a $10k suspension will make me faster than a $2k suspension, but I do like to keep things in one piece with the shiny side up.

Dave

wow.. Ok lets see.. there are tons of ways to vary different coils. from the size of their piston to the type of adjuster to how much it adjusts per setting.. also not only that there is materials use. some use steel other uses alumim. you can get a rigid rear upper mount or a solid pillor mount rear. you can have inverted or non inverted... I look at zeal's lineup and i see that they have sooo many different options. I couldn't believe that "kent" from endless usa was able to help me so much. Endless/zeal is able to be rebuild in us. Also i believe that zeal coilovers. are getting well known as they are in japan. in the states we are usually price oriented so we buy some spring shock combo that may not perform well on street. I knew one guy named tim who drive a sti.. And he had some double adjustable 5k coilovers. and he was 2-3 seconds slower. and now w/ zeal super function r he is about 5 - 6 seconds quicker. w/ no other mods. I don't know about you but for me. that much improvement is what i want. not something that looks nice.. something that rides nice as well as performs nice.. Now i just gotta save up a lil more.

Is he driving those super function R's on the street? or at least to and from the events? They have aluminum body which is great for weight, but not sure how it would handle public roads imperfections.

Here is another question to throw everything off again -

Does anyone use a higher spring load in the rear than in the front. Stock is like this for a reason, but all the aftermarket spring kits/coilovers seem to have it reversed. I know of a couple nationally competitive AX drivers who use a stiffer spring in the rear. What's up with that?

EVOlutionary

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