Suspension too hard - help

NZITR

Advanced Member
Messages
103
jonster said:
Since changing to the Spoon progressives I found the ride much smoother than before over rough roads and it's not suffered any loss of handling. I've not noticed it make the car bouncy either.
Hi Jon,

You still liking your spoon springs? I'm interested in ordering some and wanted to know if they reduce the sharpness or response of the car?

Has anyone tried and liked other lowering springs? I'm looking for a 25-30mm drop max.

Cheers,

David.
 

jonster

Advanced Member
Messages
866
Hi David / Caroline,

Caroline: No worries with the advice. I hope you manage to get a ride comfort you like.

David : Yeah, I'm still very happy with the Spoon progressives. They did seem a little bouncy when I first picked up the car after fitment but they have settled down now. I guess the spring work-hardens a little bit after use. The ride is still sharp and they car performed well on the track recently at Bedord Autodrome. I've notices on the motorway that the ride is a lot smoother over a concrete surface compared to before. Ruts that I fail to avoid on all other roads are less of a filling dislodging experience too. I highly recommend them, as I do I Barwell who fitted them.

Cheers,

Jon
 

NZITR

Advanced Member
Messages
103
Thanks Jon,

I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering some.. when I've found my car. I have my agent looking in Japan at the moment.

BTW I've found that Honda shocks seem a bit weak after the car has been on on a hoist. It's like they needed a workout to bleed them after being fully extended so perhaps that's why your car seemed bouncy after the spring install.

Cheers,

David.
 

Caroline

Active Member
Messages
62
I think I am going to go for the too. My dad is going to the states in two weeks so he will probable collect them and bring them home for me. $300 so they are really good value.
 

loanshark

Member
Messages
8
...APLHI

Type R Matt said it...Bilsteins (or similar top quality dampers). If you are attracted to the idea of lowering whilst insisting you are only trying to achieve better ride quality, you should really speak to a suspension specialist before you go any further.
 

Caroline

Active Member
Messages
62
oops!! too late now, have already ordered them. To be honest I dont even care if its lowered I just want a slightly more comfortable ride
 

loanshark

Member
Messages
8
Well, everyone seems happy with them. I'm just sayin' that reduced suspension travel and improved ride quality are generally competing interests. I'm guessing the std Integra suspension is a good compromise for a 'sporty' road car setup. The only way to truly have your cake and eat it is a fully adjustable coil-over setup, complete with adjustable shocks and several sets of springs of different stiffness....but that's lots of $$$ and you gotta wanna get down and dirty swapping settings and springs all the time. Like you said yourself, there's a small industry based on selling HD track stuff that a lot of people will never really use...being over 30, I am prone to cynicism. :wink:
 

izerosll

Member
Messages
15
ps2london said:
i use Tein Flex on my last EP3, even u set to the softest, still harder then the spoon springs.

but is feel a lot better with whole suspenion fitted.

my dc5 had Tein Springs fitted. compare with Tein Flex suspenion on Road use. I still think Flex is better the the spring itself even flex is harder, anyone know why???
Well when using the Tein Flex ( which I currently run on my RSX type S) you can adjust dampeing force. So you can either stiffen or soften the dampening force. When you have the Flex at full hard they handle like a dream and corner on a dime but you sacrifice ride quality. You can also soften the ride but the manuel warns not to go to soft ( anthing past 16 clicks) or you may damage the strut. As for springs they might help a bit with the softer ride, but it's hard to tell. Here are some specs on some of Tein's Products.

Tein Luxury master high tech springs

Ride Height
front: -1.1
Rear: -o.o8

Spring Rate lbs/inch
Front: 280
Rear: 442

Tein S. Tech Springs

Ride Height drop
Front: -1.7
Rear: -1.4

Spring Rate lbs/inch
Front: 307
Rear: 492

Tein type Flex

Ride Height Drop
Front: -1.6
Rear: -1.3

Spring Rate lbs/inch
Front: 447
Rear: 559

I hope this helped you guys out. This way you can compare springs vs. complete coilover. Good luck guys.
 

loanshark

Member
Messages
8
That's really interesting.

- Do you get the same Tein adjustable shockie regardless of which spring you choose?
- What's involved in adjusting either front or rear shockies...can it be done without removing them from the car?
- In theory, you could just buy some Tein shocks to go with your std Type R springs and adjust to your taste? They just drop in same as std shocks? What are they worth roughly?...
 

izerosll

Member
Messages
15
loanshark said:
That's really interesting.

- Do you get the same Tein adjustable shockie regardless of which spring you choose?
When you get the spring that is all you get, just the spring. As in the Tein S.Tech and Tein Master system you will have to use your stock struts and shocks. With this setup you can not adjust dampening force. The only system offered by Tein that allows you to adjust the dampening is the Tein SS, and the Tein Flex.

- What's involved in adjusting either front or rear shockies...can it be done without removing them from the car?
Well when you have the Tein SS or Tein Flex suspension you can adjust the dampening force very easily. On the top of each strut there is a small knob that can be adjusted left or right. Right= hard, left =soft.
So you can just adjust it your self. The knobs can be accessed from under the hood and in the hatch. Like I said you can adjust the knobs without having to uninstall the suspension. Another route you can go is buy the Tein EDFC which is a small device that connects to each knob of the strut and you can control the dampening from inside your car through a control device. Really easy to use and it looks nice.

- In theory, you could just buy some Tein shocks to go with your std Type R springs and adjust to your taste? They just drop in same as std shocks? What are they worth roughly?...
Well Tein does not offer just thier shock/strut. They only offer one system like that and that is called the Tein N1, but they recommend that you use the Tein Race springs with the N1 system. The N1 system is a pure race suspension so daily driving will be insane. You may chatter your teeth out. The N1 system is around 2000.oo us dollars.
 

loanshark

Member
Messages
8
Thanks. I didn't realise it's all coilover stuff. From the looks of the shocks on the website they are way bigger than std diameter and wouldn't come close to fitting in the std strut/insert housings. I guess this is the major reason for going the whole hog with coilovers.

I admit I'm impressed...tho it's still a bit of $ to shell out if you already spent your budget buying the car and are mostly interested in what it can do in 'road trim'. I dunno, std dimension shocks all look so wimpy now...my "better shocks/inserts with std hardware/springs" advice looks inadequate. :cry:
 

izerosll

Member
Messages
15
loanshark said:
Thanks. I didn't realise it's all coilover stuff. From the looks of the shocks on the website they are way bigger than std diameter and wouldn't come close to fitting in the std strut/insert housings. I guess this is the major reason for going the whole hog with coilovers.

I admit I'm impressed...tho it's still a bit of $ to shell out if you already spent your budget buying the car and are mostly interested in what it can do in 'road trim'. I dunno, std dimension shocks all look so wimpy now...my "better shocks/inserts with std hardware/springs" advice looks inadequate. :cry:

I have invested over $10,000 us dollars into my car so far, and I am still not done.
I currently run the Tein Flex on my RSX type S. I have the ingalls camber kit, spoon rear lower tie bar, mugen upper front strut bar. As my suspension, and it is handling very well and asking for more. Tein Flex is an excellent suspension, but it is geared more toward the track then the street. If you use the Tein Flex as a daily driver suspension just adjust the settings to a softer rate. If you read my signature you will see what I have in my car so far.
 
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