Tein coilovers...?

Hi all,

Wondered if anyone has any experience of tein coilovers on the DC5?

I'm not trying to build a dedicated track car just a fast road set up/very occasional track use.

Currently have eibach springs/camber arms/bolts and Frsu from TGM but just don't get the feedback/turn in I would like, so wondered how the teins get rated. Car isn't a daily just a toy.

Feedback from personal experience of these would be appreciated....

I had some on a car that was imported and one of the shocks went pretty quickly while it was in my ownership, literally a matter of months. I'd avoid them tbh, they're rock solid. Get some Bilstein B14 or Ohlins if you can afford them. Failing that Yellowspeeds or Meister R if you're on a budget.

Thabks defo don't want a rock solid ride...I personally wasn't a fan of yellowspeeds I had them on my
Dc2, great on track but I wouldn't chose again. Would love
Some bilsteins maybe I'll have to save up

here‘s my experience from the 10+ years I‘ve been messing about.

My first DC5 and they had a set of Tein super street coilovers on and found them great. We‘re about 16 way adjustable dampers, compression and rebound. I used them on the track and road and had no problems at all. Like a fool I pulled them off and brought a set of ohlins which were brutal so stay away from those (I was chasing a track car at this point). Had sold the teins on so brought a set of buddyclub race spec dampers and they were great and were better out of the box compared to the teins but not by much and ran these for a few years.

During this time I had an Ep3 and albeit they aren‘t the same car their characteristics and setup are similar. Picked up a set of tein basic coilovers for it so pulled the oem off and through them on, they genuinely are exactly that basic. Harsh as fooook, kept them on for about 45k miles before they were getting a bit old and weathered. I wanted to refresh the suspension throughout so got the oem suspension back out and through some ABP eibach springs on and they were amazing and handled Superb.

Finally moved on from both cars and had a break lol. Imported another Dc5 which had low miles and stock suspension which were surprisingly quite harsh, had never had oem struts on a Dc5 before. Whatever I dismantled the whole underneath and started applying what I‘d last learned on the ep3 using the oem suspension so I through some spoon springs on. Great springs but being honest I wish I‘d of tried the eibach springs as friends rated them well. Plus no clunking

Anyway I wrote that Dc5 off in to a tree ffs. No bother pick yourself back up and imported another Dc5, this one had a set of mint tein super streets on so well delighted plus the EDFC unit which I‘ve found really useful and not quite the pointless toy I thought it would be. Any way back up in the end and dismantled the whole underneath for total refresh, the teins were in great nick so kept them. Had them setup for over a year now and they‘re fine bar the rear bushes went as some jap spoon twisted them causing wear on the rubber. No bother popped them out and put some new ones in and they‘re sweet.

Have since brought another Dc5 which has meister rs on and they‘re a great budget suspension and I well recommend them, loads of adjustment and pretty well built. We also have an s2000 with bilsteins on and they‘re very impressive, if I was pulling my teins off I‘d deffo give the B14‘s or B16‘s a go.

Like always it always comes down to what you use the car for. For the money your current setup is a cracking start so you could look at a bit more tweaking and maybe think about your tires as it‘s crucial on these cars and the 1 thing you haven‘t mentioned. If you really want that bit more I genuinely think the Bilsteins have a lot to offer and albeit I love the teins I do it‘s what I‘d be choosing next and I have a lot of setups and watched hundreds make these choices for their dc5‘s

You already have an amazing car, look forward to see the direction you go

Hello Bud,

I have also heard that TEINs can be a bit weak, and that the shocks tend to blow etc, but I guess it just depends on how you use them.

To start off, I had TEIN Basic Coil overs on my old Yaris T-Sport. They were amazing, but having bought them second hand, and had them on the lowest setting for 2-3 years, one of the rear shocks blew, and one of the Springs snapped. I didn't really look after them to be honest. Prior to them, I had TEIN Lowering Springs on the Yaris also - they were very good. No Faults with them.

Back on to the Teg, I did a lot of research before I decided what I wanted. For the money, I decided to go with the TEIN Street Advance Coil Overs. (I don't work for TEIN or anything! )

I couldn't really afford anything more, plus I use my DC5 as a Daily, and probably wont get to take it on track any more than once a year anyway, so couldn't justify spending/and getting a better/harsher set.

In my honest opinion, so far it has been great. I do like a firm ride, but the missus doesn't. (no pun intended) The 16 stage adjustment is quite good in terms of Mid-Firm setting. I haven't actually set it on the softest setting yet, but it was on quite soft when it was first fitted. I thought it was too soft. (car was a bit bouncy)

I currently have it set up on approx. 8 clicks from hardest setting. So pretty much mid point and I think its perfect for normal road use. The last time I took it for a proper drive on my own, I had it set on 3-4 from hardest, and it was solid, but not back-breaking hard. Firm enough for good harsh cornering.

I think it just comes down to how you use them - if its just a Toy and you get to use it on the roads mainly, then In my opinion it's not a bad option.

Hope that helps - sorry if I rambled on too much!

So the Tein suspension that's sold in Japan is different to the stuff you get in the UK. The UK market kits we supply are spec'd with UK road conditions in mind, so you'll often find that the stuff that is sold in Japan is solid, whereas the FlexZ kit's that are available here tend to be a little more compliant. That being said, coilovers are ALWAYS going to be firmer than stock suspension. They are after-all performance suspension, intended predominantly for track use rather than horribly bumpy roads. If comfort is a concern, then I'd suggest sticking with OEM shocks and a decent set of lowering springs.

Thanks so much for the replies guys really appreciate your personal experiences on these and detailed replies really helpful!

ive got Ohlins DVF Coilovers on mine. they are really good. comfortable enough but tight.

Personally for a more road focussed (occasional track car) I would go for the Mugen Showa Dampers and Spoon spring combo, highly rates, very compliant on the UK roads and great feel from it with enough feedback on track. I did over a years track driving on this setup (without camber arms or bolts) and loved every second of it, I only removed it as I already had a Bilstein PSS9 B16 setup sitting in a box I had purchased.

If the car's mainly road used then this setup would be ideal imo

If however you are looking to get coilovers for any other reasons then get the best you can for your money, loads of discussions on here about the brands etc and personally there are loads I would avoid for many reasons but you'll always get what you pay for like with most things so do some research as many Japanese brands are made too hard for our roads and many cheaper brands have issues and wont last as long as higher end brands (Bilstein B14's being the lowest end of such).