Has any new info/recon on the Tein mono tube flex come out?

I'm poking around for new coilovers, and I need something for very serious track use—high speeds, 285 Hoosiers, nutty lap-time chasing driver, etc., but for a car that is still driven on weekends/and to and from the track pulling a trailerette. Here are my observations (add your 2 cents, if you know differently):

1. My sense of some of the higher-end race coilovers, such as Advance Design, JRZ, and Penske, is that despite how great they may be, they won't hold up to street use, will need frequent rebuilds to maintain that performance, or are just downright too expensive.

2. Given that I'm running Koni/GC 500/400's now, I think many of the entry-level coilovers such as JIC FLT-A2's, Tein Flex, or basic Zeals may not be serious enough, won't have enough spring rate, etc. I'm thinking spring rates of 600/500 are the lowest worth my bothering with. I need stability when braking down from 155+, and need to keep the tires from rubbing up front on hard corners.

3. I have a tough time deciphering all of the models/silly names and such w/ Japanese coilovers, particularly Zeal, so it's tough sometimes to really figure out what's what. Zeals are also alluminum which makes me question their street durability/wear resistance.

4. Thus, perhaps the mono tube Flex is the best compromise? The 14/12 published rates are about the upper limit for my use, but thankfully aren't the same F/R like some of their others, and at least suggest they are serious. However... I don't want to bother with Mickey Mouse poser shocks... in leu of that, I'd rather just send my Koni/GC's to Tri Point for a double-adjustable rebuild, and higher rate Eibach race springs.

Thoughts... Ideas?

 

I would personally rather have the Koni's rebuilt and then get some custom springs for the GC's if I were in your situation. I plan to go that route once I stop spending money on other parts of my car.

 

^^^

Mahjik, My hesitency in that route is, for as long as I've had the Koni's, I've never been a big fan. I got a chance to drive a car w/ GAB's and even that totally soured me on them... but I guess a custom-valved set might be better?

 

I have a feeling any shock which is valved for your particular spring rate is going to give you the feeling you want. That's basically all those coilover kits give you over a GC/Generic Shock setup. Are you also thinking of getting the Koni's built for independent double adjustments?

 

the great thing about the flex is you can get the edfc so you can adjust the damping inside the car, but how often do you adjust dampning? hardly never.. set and forget and adjsut your driving to suit.

But with teh coilovers you could get the car corner weighted and balanced.

KTS coilovers are decent too, http://splparts.com/Parts/FC3S/Suspension/default.asp
splparts runs them on thier Z32 time attack car with great results. EDIT NVM, you got a FD!

Cant go wrong with the Teins, they are in socal so if you have problems with them, they will help you, great customer service and you can always get them revalved or get custom spring rates etc..

Ive heard JIC customer service is not very good, but thats just what i hear, no personal experience..

On my Fc i just picked up, it has megan coilovers, not my personal tastes, but this car was built for daily/drift.

 

I'm not totally sure I need INDEPENDENT double adjustability... but I would like both bump and rebound adjusted when I change the setting. That's actually what sucks about Koni yellows IMHO, no bump change w/ adjustment, just rebound.

I'm not a big fiddler at the track... I typically only check tire pressures once a day in the AM when cold!... The adjustment requirement would really be so that I can find a happy sweet spot for the track, and then back it off for the street.

 

He already has coilovers on the car. The shocks are just not valved exactly what what he's using.

I'm sure you'd be fine getting some higher spring rates and the Koni's rebuilt by Tri-point. From what I've seen around the net, the Koni seem to have more predictable behavior than most shocks with coilover kits under $2k. Obviously when you start looking at the more expensive kits, the quality goes up.

 

Personally the more I read about them the more I want the Cusco Zero-2e. But for your use maybe the Zero-2r would be a better choice.

The 2e's have a stainless body if you are worried about durability.

 

AFAIK the Zeal super functions are the only aluminum bodied shocks that they make. The X and XS are steel. They appear to be pretty durable, as mine have taken some serious impacts and DD use on the street and still matched perfectly on the dyno. You can order whatever rates you want and they will valve the shocks for them, but my experience is that they are valved way too soft out of the box. They may be improving that now, but mine were nowhere near what I expected for what they call a "track-oriented" setup. If you like very stiff dampers like the GABs, I doubt you'll like the Zeals with their current standard valving.

I'm not sure about Teins and other Japanese coilovers, but since they don't generally setup the valving for your requested rates, you will probably have less choices and similar problems.

You're right about the Penskes, Ohlins, etc needing regular service and being inappropriate for street use. And if you don't tinker with settings, they're very much overkill since their broad range of adjustability is their biggest advantage.

 

I actually found that the Zero2R's are fairly soft with the out of the box rates. I have them on my FC, and am considering getting some higher rate springs.

 

You've got a PM.

 

Another thing to consider is some custom valved Bilsteins to go with the GC's. Once they've been redone once and had a schrader valve then you can rebuild them yourself even. I've read a few reports from former Koni users switching and finding it to be much better, the only thing that you give up is the easy adjustment.

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

 

I've been looking around the internet for a while and have yet to find reviews for the tein mono flex for the fd. anyone in here wanna tell me how they preform compared to the flex.
~Thanks

 

For every bump setting, there's an ideal rebound setting. That's why independent adjustability is key, since in lockstep, you have no control of the settings change. If you're lucky, you'll hit an ideal spot, but 99% of the time, you'll either be overdamped or underdamped.

Rather than drive by feel, set your shocks up to give you the most grip on the course you run most often, and adjust your driving style to suit your shocks. That way, you can take advantage of the maximum possible grip of the car for that track. That will be the key to lowering lap times, assuming your skills are up to the challenge.