hey guys, so I took off my tein SS coilovers last night because as it gets colder I usually take off my coilovers and put my spring/strut setup back on till spring-ish (but I dont think I can wait till spring to put my tein SS back on).

This is my first time using stock struts (only 40k miles on them) with the maxspeeds that I bought new last week for real cheap on ebay. Reason I used stock struts is because I figured Maxpeeds offer a pretty mild drop. People claim Maxspeed springs are a cheaper version of H&Rs with the same drop. Anyway...the ride really cannot compare to the Tein SS coilovers. Over small-medium size potholes and bumps the Maxspeeds are pretty comfortable but anything more and you will feel. Its my mistake for using stock struts I guess.

As far as handling, the car doesnt feel as planted to the ground like how it did with the tein SS. I blame that to the struts.

I really dont know if I can make it to spring with this setup. The Tein SS literally made my car. It was such a pleasure driving it. Bumps/potholes didnt exist and the handling was out of this world. Even the really big bumps and potholes coudlnt be felt when I had the Teins on. My dad, a ~60 year old man says the tein SS wins HANDS DOWN and this is coming from a person who only looks for comfort in a ride. Believe me, for a coilover, the Tein SS offer a stock-like ride and it offers a better ride than any spring/strut setup I've experiened. I had a few spring strut setups last year...H&Rs, Htechs on illuminas, blues, etc.

As far as the Maxspeeds, maybe they not meant to be paired with stock struts but I took the risk anyway and while it's definitely not the clear winner in ANY category for the price you really cant go wrong with Maxspeed springs...$140 shipped new.

So for all you people looking to pair up Maxspeeds with stock struts, here's your review

 

when my struts about to die, I'm gonna get coilovers

 

Can you adjust the ride height with the Tein SS coilovers?? I'm looking for everything you just discribed (smooth over bumps, crisp handling) but I don't want to slam my car.

 

Just rock the Teins all winter long! that's what I did and they're fine.

 

I got max speeds on stock set up, it's not the most comfortable over huge pot holes, but nc roads are NOTHING like ny.. Than again this is a case where you get what ya pay for. ss coilovers are like $1,000.00. Compared to 80 on ebay lol. I don't think it's fair to compare the 2. However 2 different set ups of coilovers sure, or similar springs.. But tein ss coilovers to maxspeeds...cmon now.. lol.

 

Do you have pics of drop with the maxspeeds (both of you)?

I may have to do that for a while until I find some coilovers. I can deal with the handling being ****ty, but I can't take the grand canyon between the tire and fender.

 

you can adjust ride height with any coilover setup

yea Jeff, may end up doing just that

well the reason I did compare the two was b/c people compare the comfort of H&Rs to coilovers all the time...this isnt that different especially since using stock struts should have retained some comfort (which it did) . I had illuminas on H&Rs btw and the ride cannot compare to tein SS also.

Btw...finding tein SS for $1000 is a steal. I found a set for under $1100 new from a vendor but it was very hard. The average price one can expect to pay is $1200-$1300

sorry, dont have pics BUT I can tell you that I looked up pics of 5.5 6mt's with maxspeeds on illuminas and my car is lower. Maybe b/c Im on stock struts? There is a 2 finger gap all around...pretty even actually.

 

Thanks. I wonder if there's some springs that go lower (but still cheap) Couldn't care less if the struts go boom lol.

 

hmm right now im on maxspeed springs, with front oem, and rear iiluminas.

but im wanting to go the coilover route,

so you are saying with tein ss coilovers your ride feels MORE comfortable?

does your coilovers have pillowball mounts?

this is confusing me cuz i always though a coil over setup would be a more harsh ride no matter what brand you had.

 

Nah, Coilovers to springs are going to win every single time. That's a given lol. And see sig, I got pics all over members rides. Check there

 

coilovers to springs are going to win every single time? in what? more control yes i can see that.

coilovers vs spring/strusts, ride comfort i thought coilovers was more harsh of a ride.....



maybe this is just a tein ss thing? are they the best coils for ride comfort??

 

i wouldnt expect any less... spring/shock setup will probebly never be as responsive as coilovers

 

now i see, Tein SS use OEM top mounts.

 

Why not leave them on during the winter months? Scared the road salt is gonna tear them up? What state are you in buddy?

 

That is correct, the "regular" Tein SS set up uses the OEM top mounts, and not pillowballs. If you want pillowballs, IIRC, you can also special order the Tein SS with them.

Oh, and I agree that Tein SS ride better than most spring and strut combos.

 

so if the pillowball mount was used, i bet the ride would totally change? correct?


it seems the oem mounts is what makes these ride soft

 

I hear coilovers are more prone to blowing in the colder months. I live in NYC btw. Not sure if I want to risk it. But Im very close to scraping that idea and just putting my tein SS back on...like..tomorrow

Dont get me wrong...the ride isnt "bad" with maxspeeds. What pisses me off most is that over some harsher bumps/potholes I hear this loud banging noise coming from the strut area.

Tein SS ftw

 

Yup, I believe so, but I've never actually tried it. I'm sure it'll handle even better with pillowballs though, but coilovers on OEM mounts handle well enough for the driving that I do.

 

Comparing apples to oranges here, but the K-sports I had with pillowballs versus Tein SS's with stock mounts...the Teins murdered the K-sports. I know the pillowballs have alot to do with that, but so does the terrible quality of the K-sports.

 

Living in NY, I'd probably ride out the maxspeed's till after winter man...that is the worst state for roads. My garmin last year took me through the city to the hamptons coming from 95. City was an aw at first site and all but I couldnt even enjoy riding around without dodging a 2 ft pothole!! I almost wish garmin would come out with a routing system with "newest/updated roads" option. Oh well-~->

It's nice to see some recent reviews though with new setups even though there is other searches for similiar set up's. It keeps the people thinking about going the coilover route and a little bit more informed. So thanks for keeping us updated. I always read great things about Tein SS. If I were to go coilover route, I think it would probably be these with all the research and reviews I've done.

Good stuff and hold off on putting those things back on man!! Dont go blowing anything.

 

yea man...even though my tein SS are fine and ride great right now, while they are off, do you think its worth it just to send them in to get "refreshed" with new gas and seals? Its $75/shock. Not sure if its worth it since they are fine right now...I just figured they would ride "better" lol. Eh I guess its just a wastage of money.

 

How many miles are you Tein SS able to acquire before a rebuild is neccessary? The price isn't that bad how many adjustments are available for damping? I'm rolling with Illuminas/Progress and my ride is IMO is a awesome ride, whether set to 2F/4R or 4F/4R for the street. I use 5F/5R for the drag strip and setting them is rather quick even on the rears better than getting dirty, like with AGX rears! I've always been interested in a stock strut mount coilover (like the Cattman/Progress design) over that pillow block bearing setup due to a worn bearing bringing plenty noise!

 

I've asked TEIN about the colder months and their tech. emailed me back saying that the colder months wouldn't affect them; it may just be a little stiff at first when they're cold but they will warm up and ride just fine.

My TEIN SS's are amazing and I'm not taking them off until right before I get rid of the car; I can't handle going back to a stock/lesser ride height & quality.

They are definitely stiffer than stock and you do feel more in the road but I'm also at 153,000 miles on the car and about 30,000 on the coilovers. I should have installed new top mounts when I did the coilovers, I'm sure that would greatly improve ride quality.

 

hey man with 30k on your teins, do they ride the same now as they did when you first got them? These were BY FAR the best mod I ever did on this car even better than headers

 

I think they do. It's been nearly 2 years so it's hard to completely compare. As with the high miles on the car and upper mounts, I'm sure it has faded slightly, along with some additional interior rattles lol.
I should have installed the sub-frame connectors that I HAD.

I wouldn't spend the money to have them rebuilt if nothing obvious is wrong.
In short, my TEIN SS are still wonderful!

 

why is it that some people take their coilovers off in the winter, are coilovers affected that much by cold weather, or just people's preference?.

 

one reason i was gonna pull my coilovers off for winter was the ground clearance, they dont always plow by my old place and working early sometimes meant that my lip was the first thing that touched fresh snow, not fun

i only drove my max with coilovers for one winter, i didnt blow them but i decided not to push my luck and just got a winter car, maybe im lazy but changing my suspension and then my brakes to clear a smaller rim with winter tires just seemed a big pain, and i hate rust

i had maxspeeds on stock struts before i went with my jic's and i dont remember the maxspeeds being that bad, a little soft but the rsb helped alot in the twisties

 

I'm looking for coilovers to replace my stocks and they will be left on through all the seasons (includes our cold Canadian winters and salty roads). Taking them off for winter driving is not an option nor do I have the time to do so. I've narrowed my choices to either Tein SS or JIC FLT-TAR.

Opinions anyone?

 

i want to tein SS coilovers so bad. Im starting sell crap i dont need to save money.













anybody need a kidney?

B

 

Guys, what is the adjustability with the Tein SS Coilovers? Can you adjust them all of the way up to stock ride height?

I'm about to pick up a set and am also wondering what other suspension parts I should also pick up for the installation (i.e. shock mounts, etc.)? Right now my 2002 Max has 100k miles, floats all over the road and sounds like crap when I hit a bump.

 

Yes, you can adjust them up to pretty much stock height. The rubber OEM strut mounts and maybe the grey bearings (can't remember what the OEM term is) should be all you have to replace, the top hats should be fine to reuse. IIRC, the Teins come with their own dustboots too, so you shouldn't have to worry about those. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I got maxspeed springs on mine...I think it looks pretty good

And by the way if you look on Ebay there's tons of vendors that carry brand new Maxspeed springs for only like $75...that's how much I paid for mine

 

I believe Maxspeeds are the only linear spring-rate drop for us 5th gens. I may consider.

And Puppetmaster, the grey thing is called "strut bearing," if that's what you're referring to.

 

to make it clear, the problem I had with this setup was with the big dips in the road where the rear would just slam down. The noise sounded like a gunshot. Stance wasnt that great also.

Happy to be back on my Tein SS's

 

Yeah...the only reason I bought Maxspeed's instead of my old combo is because I didn't have money to be blowing on parts so I figured for $75 it was worth it ....

They don't slam the car but it does look better than the stock 4X4 look