Tein Basic Coilovers VS. Tein S-Techs + MazdaSpeed Shocks set up

[MAZDA Kitten]

Currently riding on Tein S-Techs with stock shocks. Come spring I really want to either

a) Upgrade the shocks with the Mazda Speed ones (Would cost $420 USD plus shipping)

or

b) Slap on Tein Basic Coilovers (Would cost ~$950 SHIPPED)

[FLIPDADY]

Go the coil-over route b/c you have the option of going back to stock height if you feel like it.

[///M]

I\'ve had both setups. The coilovers handle significantly better, but the increased performance comes at the cost of ride comfort. Having the ability to adjust the ride height is nice, but it\'s something I can live without, since I don\'t have any need to further adjust the ride height after the intial trial and error period.

The S-techs/Mazdaspeed setup is softer and rides more comfortably, while still providing good handling. I\'d get the coilovers if handling was a top priority, but if ride quality matters, the S-techs and Mazdaspeeds are a good compromise.

[Kevin@nextmod]

I think I would go for coilovers as well, the fact that you can adjust and have better handling, but as clem said you\'ll have to really think about the comfort of daily driving. And as for the price. Sell your S-techs for lets say $140 then your coilovers are a total of $810. And if you get the shocks you\'re saying 420US=480 plus the s-techs you bought for about $230 thats a total of $710. And thats only a difference of $100 from the coilovers, so not bad of a price. In summary of what i just BS-ed about I\'d go for coilovers. :)

[billyfo]

I have the same decision before, now I may stick on coilover setup cause I can adjust the ride height during winter time, this is my only concern.

MK where did you get quote? CVR? and when you plan to order? I might order the set in March, so we can order it together and hopefully save some shipping cost.

[mEtH]

If you are worried about ride quality then dont get the coilovers. Basically what Clem said, +1.

\"If someone wants to keep the stock smoothness then coilovers are not the way to go. The front springs are a lot narrower so their losing alot of their comfort ride. That may matter to some and wont to others. As for adjusting it I can jack one side at a time and wrap my hands around the wheel to do so. I never really adjusted the rears though so I am not positive on what whodilly is saying. I\'ll try and take another look but If I recall correctly the perch is on the top.

My main reasoning for going coilovers is so that I can adjust the lowering height to be perfect over each wheel. I dont have to be too high in one point or to low in the other. and well of course, it rides on rails.\"


If you haven\'t already, take a look at these threads...I know theres some newer ones as well
http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=3193
http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=2073

[PlatMS6]

i would go with the coilovers mk, but only if they are well protected against canada\'s elements...remember what happened with a couple of ppl that had kw coilovers on their mk4\'s...seized to hell after a year, so maybe autoexe can take a couple of snapshots of his after this winter and you will see if its something worthwhile. Otherwise get the FoMoCo Blues on there :p

[MAZDA Kitten]

Originally posted by billyfo


I have the same decision before, now I may stick on coilover setup cause I can adjust the ride height during winter time, this is my only concern.

MK where did you get quote? CVR? and when you plan to order? I might order the set in March, so we can order it together and hopefully save some shipping cost.

For the coilovers? From an ebay seller; forget the name but something \"JAPANESE\" :D If you type in TEIN COILOVERS I think he is the only person selling them. But either way if we can save on shipping I would 100% be in for that.
Ride comfort I am not too concerned about. I have adjusted my driving habits TEN FOLD since lowering the car and have been a lot of more cautious of a lot of things.
I\'ve heard about coilovers seizing and actually my bf\'s FK coilovers have seized on his GTI (but he has a life time warrant AFAIK). And in addition to this; a lot of people I know with coilovers hardly IF EVER actually adjust the ride height even for winter driving.
If it means the car will handle better then that to me is the biggest selling feature as to why go with coilovers. (hopefully to do some auto-x with the 3).

Thanks for all the input. Much appreciated. http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emthup.gifhttp://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/embeer.gif

[SW20 MR2]

IMO, if you are worried more about performance foremost, the Tein Basic setup is not what you want. The shocks are non-adjustable. Also, as already mentioned, unless you maintain them well (ie. spraying them down each week), the coilover collars may seize.

A properly matched shock and spring setup will be just as good as a full coilover setup.

[Kevin@nextmod]

Originally posted by SW20 MR2


IMO, if you are worried more about performance foremost, the Tein Basic setup is not what you want. The shocks are non-adjustable. Also, as already mentioned, unless you maintain them well (ie. spraying them down each week), the coilover collars may seize.

A properly matched shock and spring setup will be just as good as a full coilover setup.
True but the thing is there are not a lot of choices of shocks for our cars. Unlike the civic there are 20 brands that manufacture shocks for them. So it will be quite hard to match the perfect or close to perfect setup like the coilovers.

[whodilly]

Hey Meth, my setup is D2 and the rears are different from the Teins where my perch is on the bottom. Stupid design IMHO because it\'s difficult to adjust. Even with dampning adjustability, the ride is still pretty harsh because i\'ve got it set pretty stiff otherwise i\'ll bottom out... and plus I can\'t go back on the handling!

Seriously considering going back to stock just because of the shitty toronto road conditions. It\'s nice on the track but hell on the street! You feel EVERYTHING!

If i could afford it I would get the Tein SS with EDFC!

[SW20 MR2]

Bingo. While I\'m still not a huge Tein fan and since parts availability is limited for the MZ3, Tein SS is better than Tein Basic if you want better performance.


Originally posted by whodilly
If i could afford it I would get the Tein SS with EDFC!

[mEtH]

TEIN SS would be the best option but it depends if she wants to go to that length for performance. I really dont think that the SS will be any different then the Basics in terms of ride quality though. Yes they do have dampening but the main reason that we feel more of the road is because of the straight coil on the springs. Which is also why they handle better then the aftermarket springs available. Overall from what she said in her last post, coilovers are the way to go for her, unless some better aftermarket parts would become available.

Whodilly, next time we meet up we should take a spin in each car and see the difference. I am curious to the ride that other people are talking about.

[///M]

Originally posted by methodyst
Whodilly, next time we meet up we should take a spin in each car and see the difference. I am curious to the ride that other people are talking about.

I\'ve ridden in Whodilly\'s car and it doesn\'t feel any worse than my Tein setup. This was on a relatively smooth track though, so I\'m not sure about going over bumps.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Couple of more questions:

1. Are Teins fine thread or coarse thread
2. Is there a big difference between Basic and SS Tein Coilovers? (Worth the extra ~$500?)

[midnightfxgt]

Do you guys think the ride quality is VERY harsh with the Basics??

I only ask because, I was happy after mine we installed... It rode much better than I had expected. A buddy of mine has a SpecV lowered on H-Techs and my car rides a lot smoother than his. Not exactley apples to apples between the SpecV and MZ3, but you get the idea :)

-John

[whodilly]

You should try driving around Dufferein/bloor! holy crap i have never seen such bad roads...

I\'m sure the ride isn\'t that bad in my car but I think it\'s just being accentuated by the poor road conditions this winter. Also i\'ve got a few rattles in my car as well... they kinda get annoying after awhile:(

[mEtH]

I don\'t find it to be that bad, but its no where as smooth as stock thats for sure. Its the fronts mostly.

OFFICIAL COILOVER MEET!!!!!! :p

[bubba1983]

coiloverwannabee\'s welcome?!?!? bahaha

[whodilly]

Originally posted by methodyst


OFFICIAL COILOVER MEET!!!!!! :p

when it gets warmer:p

but I would seriously like to see the difference.

[Junior]

unless you\'re a fairly spirited driver(or autox), I would suggest to stay away form the coilover setup. toronto weather conditions wouldn\'t be kind on the collars for adjusting.. with all the salt and road crap that will build up under there.

There are pro\'s and con\'s as everyone has mentioned. but in all honestly, once you\'ve got the initial setup and your happy with the height, i doubt you\'d be changing it eveytime you hit the road, unless they seize before-hand and you CAN\'T change the setting.

The downfall with springs, is that once it\'s dropped, it\'s dropped, that\'s it.. if you\'re not happy with the drop, then you\'ll need to get a different brand and so on. For winter/summer driving, I would say def. go springs with some good shocks and you\'re ballin\'

Coils are for the \"summer-only\" cars, and even then, you have to worry about spraying them down to keep them from seizing, if you\'re thinking about adjusting them every now and then.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Joe.. can you order MazdaSpeed shocks?

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by MAZDA Kitten


Joe.. can you order MazdaSpeed shocks?
Yes, the whole set-up will cost you $864.27 taxes in.

[MAZDA Kitten]

That sounds better than taking the UPS \"BEND OVER\" route :D
Thanks!

[mEtH]

could you just \"BEND OVER\" for us anyways? :p


...that might sound more perverted then I wanted it too, ah well...

[bubba1983]

Originally posted by methodyst


could you just \"BEND OVER\" for us anyways? :p


...that might sound more perverted then I wanted it too, ah well...

BEST POST EVAR!

[Mty Mous]

Bringing a thread back from the dead ... but a quick question for all those Tein Coilover owners out there .... how's it holding up over the years? Mainly concerned about the rusting and seizing issues.

Did you guys do anything special (adding ton's of grease to the threads before Winter and removing it in the Spring time) to keep em from getting siezed up?

Was there any fitment issues or design flaws to the Tein Coilovers for the Mazda3?
I'm thinking about going the SS route with EDFC.

My summer car has the HA Coilovers with the EDFC for the last 7yrs now and I had ZERO problems with it, and I've adjusted the ride height every 2yrs or so to try different stuff on the car and its never seized up ... yet. Never had to spray them down either, I just wipe it down whenever I get a chance (about once a year).

[Vario]

I've had the TEIN Basics for about 4 months, blew the rear shock due to Toronto roads, and the front spring has set too much according to my garage and is not sitting properly. I just posted in another older thread that someone else had their shock blown as well. I'm debating whether I want to buy a new set from H&R or just go with Eibach springs and mazdaspeed3 dampers.

My opinion, WHEN they were ok, the ride bounced too much even on smoother surfaces. I'm used to BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, and although the stock ride was very firm and harsh. the car doesn't bounce. It seems like the TEIN Basics dampers are not in tune with the spring rate.