TEIN RA (Opinion?)

[macoman69]

I have been offered a brand new set of TEIN RA Coilovers.

What are ppl's opinions on these coilovers would they be a good choice.
Ive heard many different biased opinions but would like to hear a neutral one.

My other choice is ZEAL Function Xs

[no_torq]

friend has the RA's in an EG. Hasnt been tracked yet. On the street on the softest setting they are very good until u hit uneven patchy roads. Its very frim but controlled. spring rate is 14F and 10R.

[euGeR]

I like the rates and Tein would be my next choice (I'm actually considering replacing my current Spoon N1's 14k/12k)

The main reason is that Tein is building local support here in Aus, so if anything happens, it "should" be an easy fix

What car? Depending on how low you are going to set your car, and if it is for the track, with this rate, I would also consider a camber kit (to give more camber).

[ImprovCTR]

The main reason is that Tein is building local support here in Aus, so if anything happens, it "should" be an easy fix

Just to clarify, only if you buy from an authorised channel can you claim warranty

unforunate for those who buy cheaper elsewhere having been sold that they can be fixed/replaced under the 2 year warranty if anything happens.

why would fulcrum do warranty jobs on an item that they (or their dealers) didn't sell? of course they will fix it, but at your expense.

[freakie]

Teins are close to garbage, thats my previous experience of them

[ImprovCTR]

i'm a great advocate of teins freakie. mind telling me what sets you used? and why your experience of them were garbage? cheers

[tinkerbell]

i use Cusco Zero2's and find them fine. 12k fr 8krr...

they are over 3 years old and show no signs of wear ...

do coilover in general last longer, if they are valved to suit the spring rates?

is that something to examine when purchasing - the "valving"?

[Perry]

If it was tein SS i can see why

[Jingers]

i use Cusco Zero2's and find them fine. 12k fr 8krr...

they are over 3 years old and show no signs of wear ...

do coilover in general last longer, if they are valved to suit the spring rates?

is that something to examine when purchasing - the "valving"?

too much external factors i would presume. Maybe the roads around your place is extra good. Maybe u drive very carefully and not crash into potholes.

Etc etc.

[freakie]

yup, I used the tein SS and the HA. I just realised this is the Ra version his asking about, but so far the teins i did use, not impressed.

It feels like the springs are trying to overcompensate for a poor shock travel/rebound of sorts. Thats the best way for me to describe what i feel with them on. Moving do a DMS or a Koni from my experience gives my car a much more neutral feel coming out of corners, my car doesnt pitch unnecessarily, and doesnt go through a phase of feeling like I have to "regain" control.

Just my experience, I know of a few others who also feel this way, but its not gospel

i'm a great advocate of teins freakie. mind telling me what sets you used? and why your experience of them were garbage? cheers

[Perry]

which state your from freakie?, due to teins are made from japan which might effects the spring rates which is made, have you tried changing springs ???

[BF]

I use Tien SS and I'm very happy with them - it is my understanding that HA is more track oriented and should perform better in that environment (though I have never used them).

I think its important to bear in mind that there probably isn't any gold standard and the suggestions people give you are going to based on largely subjective criteria.

[szymonsta]

i use Cusco Zero2's and find them fine. 12k fr 8krr...
...

tinks i thought cusco zero2's are 9kg/mm front and 6kg/mm rear? or have you changed springs from the standard? in which case did you get the dampers re-valved to suit?

i have no experience with tein so i cant comment about them, but i have been using zeal function xs coilovers for a while now and very happy with them, inc 2x trackdays.
they are on the firm side for daily driving, but i like that, and are a good compromise between street and circuit setup in my opinion.
i bought mine from centrax and they are the official endless/zeal distributors in australia so there is a similar advantage to buying teins from fulcrum.

p.s. i ordered my xs's with higher spring rate than standard (standard is 10/6, i opted for 12/8, and the dampers were valved to suit the new spring rates by zeal from the factory).

[tinkerbell]

syz, i dunno, what they are from the factory, but i run Apexi 12k/8k springs now...

i have run 8k/6k which was great for the street, but not for track...

i reckon alot of the *subjectivity* abt coil-overs comes from the impression of the springs more than the whole spring/shock combo...

i.e. people say coil-overs are hard too stiff or whatever, but this is due mostly to the choice of spring rate...

and as has been alluded to by Perry in that the standard spring rates "from Japan" may not suit australian conditions...

my choice would be 8k/6k street only, and 14k/8k track (but the 12k/8k is a reasonable comprimise...)

[euGeR]

yup, I used the tein SS and the HA. I just realised this is the Ra version his asking about, but so far the teins i did use, not impressed.

It feels like the springs are trying to overcompensate for a poor shock travel/rebound of sorts. Thats the best way for me to describe what i feel with them on. Moving do a DMS or a Koni from my experience gives my car a much more neutral feel coming out of corners, my car doesnt pitch unnecessarily, and doesnt go through a phase of feeling like I have to "regain" control.

I think What you describe here is typically caused by a mis-match in the damper and spring rates - spring rate to high for damper - causes the the car to pitch all over the place, like a chop,chop,chop (an unsettling bumpsteer).

A similar thing happens when you use the a soft setting in a coilover. Example, if your spring rate requires a minimum of 3 clicks, but you use 1 for comfort, then the car starts to feel unsettled in a corner.

DMS and Koni's are a good choice too. I forgot about the DMS option
Koni's dont actually make a coilover unless you're going for the 3011's and UP. When I enquired (a while back) - heasmans would customize a strut and thread it. It did not have a lower perch adjustment so you could adjust without affecting spring rate. This was for about the same cost as a Jap Coilover. 3011's are quite a bit more than the RA's.

DMS models start from a 40mm damper, so when you shop do compare. The diameter can affect the stroke (typically larger the diameter, this would allow for a shorter stroke - lower car with less movement and higher spring rates) and adjustment of the height.

For Tein, Local support also means that you can have them rebuilt here.

Adjustable dampers can accomodate for wear. You adjust it up one click