Mazdspeed shocks + springs vs. Tein Basics ?

Your thoughts people?

They're roughly the same price I think, maybe slightly cheaper for MS combo.

 

You are doing all Mazdaspeed anyways...may as well?

 

What's the drop like between these two? I'm looking for a something that'll lower the car the least and from what I've read these two are it.

 

MS shocks/springs = 20mm F/R
Tein Basics are coilovers, so height is fully adjustable. I don't remember the range, but more than 20mm for sure F/R.

 

Do the coil-overs still retain all the factory rubber insulators? If not you will be in for one noisy clunky ride. Almost every set of coil overs we have refused to install, the customer has had them done somewhere else and then come back with in 6 months to get them uninstalled because of ride quality and noise on a street car. And the cost of changing back goes up quite a bit when you have to purchase all the rubber components again. Just my opinion for what its worth.

 

It's my daily driver, and I'm not a hardcore track guy because I can't afford it. Given that extra information, would you guys have a better idea of what's more suitable for me?

 

what about the tein flex coil over do they used the rubber insulators????

 

The basics retain the stock top mounts. Rubber and all.

It doesn't matter which you get. They'll feel the same.

Flex has pillowball mounts (not rubber)

 

oh thanks!

 

I would recommend the flex. I'm running those now with the EDFC and with the computer set to the softest setting, they are a softer ride than the stocks. However, they are a bit more expensive. But I think it's worth it for the adjustability of the height to get coilovers rather than the MS spring/shock combo. Especially you Footman, if you plan on winter driving the car, the ability to raise the ride height is a major bonus come winter time.

 

You can corner balance the Tein's. You can't the mazdaspeed setup. It's definitely better to corner balance than not. For the same price. Get the Teins.

 

I think the Tein Basics are only $150 - $200 more than the MS shocks/springs combo.

Tein Flex is out of the question. It's out of my budget. How are Tein Basics height adjusted? Does it require wheel removal and a lot of work? Yes this is my year round daily driver. I survived Toronto's brutal winter this just past with stock ride height and snow tires.

 

on 18" Stock Rims .... 18" winter tires yo!

 

Who corner balances your cars for you?

 

Ya Footman, it's a bit of work to adjust the height. Maybe technically you can do it with the wheel on but it's a pain. I got the Basics to be able to set the height I want and leave it. With springs/shocks you're stuck with whatever the standard drop is.

If the MS stuff is cheaper, maybe you should just get that. You'll be happy either way. You'll be able to drive just fine in the winter as long as there isn't an unreasonable amount of snow on the road. In which case you shouldn't be driving anyway.

 

I don't even know what corner balancing is.. so definitely that is way over the top of my knowledge and driving abilities to know about that!

 

How are they adjusted QTWRE? What's the steps involved and how long does it take? The ideal situation with the Tein Basic is to lower them in the summer, and raise it back up to stock height in winter. So 2 adjustments per year.

 

I have the tein basic. its all right, but i think it should be stiffer than MS combo due to the high spring rate. u WILL Feel more harsh when driving it but it depends on people. cuz i dont care about the stiffness and at least it is softer than other coilovers. and i dont think tein is that much more expensive than MS, at most 50 dollars difference.

 

I quite liked the MS combo (spring/shock). I ran them on my 8 which was a daily driver also. They were maintenance free, and didn't overlower the car. I ran them all year around for about 2 years with no worries. The car rode well, and had enough control with performance tires for good trakcing in the summer (I ran 245 width T1R's). Overall I was thrilled and wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

 

They're adjusted in standard coilover fashion. The spring sits on a collar that is on a threaded sleeve. The collar spins up and down which changes the height. There's a second collar below that which locks the first one in place.

Are your requirements varying? If you get coilovers you will adjust them twice a year, but if you get springs/shocks you're fine with being low in the winter?

As simply as I can say it, adjusting the coilovers is a pain. I'm just going to say that yes, you have to remove the wheel. So it takes the time of removing the wheels, adjusting the collars, and putting the wheels back on. It's simple but time consuming. I certainly don't change my height for winter.

As I said, either thing you buy will give you the same result. A lower and stiffer ride. The Teins allow you to fine tune that height.

 

In terms of adjusting the height for coilovers most brands work the same way.
With the coilover kit you get two wrenches and you'll have to remove the wheel to get to the height adjustment collar and locking collar. You use the wrenches to loosen the locking collar away from the height adjustment collar then you either tighten (higher ride) or loosen (lower ride) the height adjstment collar till you get your desired ride height. You then retighten the locking collar up against the height collar to keep it from moving.

This whole process, along with taking off the wheel and putting it back on should take about 10-15 minutes per wheel.

 

Advanced Power House does Corner Balancing

@Footman.

Adjusting the coilovers are a bitch....

and some say even you have to adjust the alignment after every change...

I think adjust the height 2 TIMES a year will mess up the suspension geometry with all the inconsistenty, well that is unless you corner balance them every year...

and forget adjusting them.....90% of the guys I have met have had trouble adjusting them if they drive in our winters..

they will seize up the sleeves, and you wont even be able to turn the plate.

the KW's fair a bit better, I have seen some people be able to adjust them after 2 winters...but then they just seized up again.

 

Corner balancing is race car technology. You corner balance for each different track you race at, and re-adjust it between every practice and race. At a track like Mosport you would actually put more weight on the right side of the car to offset the predominantly right hand turns. Corner balance will change with fuel load, driver weight, alignment etc. Just to give you an idea, before we corner balance our race car, we set it at 25% on all 4 corners, then align it, then re-balance it with me in the car and a 50% fuel load. You also have to ensure that your sway bars are unhooked when corner balancing and have no preload when attached. This is almost impossible unless your sway bars have adjustable rod ends for the end links.

 

That's a good point guys... since this is my daily driver, the lock collar and adjusting sleeve will both be exposed to salt/water/dirt and all sorts of other year round contaminants. Yes I do have to adjust the height for a minimum of twice a year (once in spring to lower, and once in fall to raise).

If this is not a reliable thing to do with Tein Basics over several years, I might as well just go the full MS way, and get their shocks/springs/sways?

 

I'm not sure you understand the advantage I'm trying to say the Teins have, but yes, going MS springs/shocks would probably be your best bet.