I just wanted some opinions on these. I recently intalled the Tein Basic Coilovers (self install as per directions posted on this site). They drop the ride perfectly. However in my opinion the ride is fairly harsh... especially when hitting small bumps and such. It's not unbearable, but definitely significanly stiffer than stock. The upside is that turning is unbelievable compared to stock - almost no body roll.

My questions are does anyone know if the JIC Magic Coilovers or the Tein Flex Coilovers will allow me to adjust to a "softer" ride than the Tein Basics? According to the spring rate data the spring rates are as high or higher for the Flex or the JIC than the current Basics I have, but I am not sure if spring rate is all I am looking at. I know the JIC and the Tein Flex both have "pillow ball mounts" for the fronts - will this improve my ride?

Also, which are better between the Tein Flex or the JIC Magic FLT-2? I like the drop the Tein Basics gave me but I would love to have just a slightly softer ride.

Thanks.

I can't speak for RX-8's specifically, but typically one will be told the JICs are stiffer riding than an equivalently sprung set of Tein Flexes, due to the JICs being monotube and the Teins being twintube.

Pillowball upper mounts will usually degrade the ride a bit, not help it.

However, as for Flex vs. Basic, it's possible the flex will ride better. Shock valving plays a huge role in ride quality, as do other factors internal to the damper, and it's possible the damping in the Flex is more compliant. Certainly, the Flex will have more travel than the basics if you have lowered the car much. Quite often, ride problems in lowered cars have more to do with bump stop clearences than anything else, and the Flex (and the JICs) have a nifty way of lowering the car without compromising suspension travel.

My advice on the Basic vs Flex question is to call Eddie at Adrenaline Racing:

http://www.adrenalineracing.com/catalog/default.php

He's a wealth of information on how the various Tein suspension systems compare to one another.