My car is unexpectedly sitting on jack stands right now due to a damaged coilover, and I need the car to be out of the garage in the next couple of days. I can't leave it on jackstands while my coilovers are sent out to be repaired. I was looking online, and it seems like the only coilovers I can get locally in the next 2 days is Tein. Tein now offers a "Z" series for all of their coilovers which are not rebuildable making them cheaper for the consumer. Tein offers the Basis Z coilover for about $400 dollars which would be around the same price if I had to buy springs and shocks. The price is very attractive, but I'm wondering if I should just spend a little more for a higher model just in case my current coilovers can't be repaired. The 3 options I currently have are Tein Basis Z, Tein street Advance Z, and Tein Flex Z.

Tein Basis Z
- 12 kg front springs, 7 kg rear springs
- no damper adjustment
- uses oem top hats
- not rebuildable

Tein Street Advance Z
- 12 kg front springs, 7 kg rear springs
- 16 way damper adjustment
- EDFC Compatible
- uses oem top hats
- not rebuildable

Tein Flex Z
- 14 kg front springs, 8 kg rear springs
- 16 way damper adjustment
- EDFC Compatible
- includes top hats
- not rebuildable

Anyone running one of these coils? I want to hear the opinions of someone running the Basis Z the most. Would you buy them again or spend a little extra for dampening?

 

I am running the Tein Basis on my race car simply because I had to install non adjustable dampening to be legal in the series we race in. They are ok, but to be honest the set up I had before with Tein lowering springs and stock shocks worked about as good. They are not bad, just wasn't a huge improvement in handling over what I had with the lowering springs, and I don't remember what the spring rate is on the lowering springs. Both are better than the stock arrangement however.

 

Thanks for replying. I figured it would be comparable to buying a spring and shock combo. I know comfort isn't a main concern in your application, but how would you rate them compared to your previous setups?

 

Slightly stiffer than stock. About the same as the Tein lowering springs, those must be about the same spring rate.

 

Thanks, so I would assume it ideal height for performance is around the same drop as a tein spring?

 

Problem with many of those Teins, is you don't get adjustments. If you are just looking for height, than these may be the coilovers for you however most people like to play around with the dampening especially if the the manufacturer preset does not meet your standards. Most guys are going with the D2 Racing or BC Racing coilovers. Few pennies more but well worth it.

 

Only the Tein Street Basis coils and Tein street basis z don't have damper adjustment. The slightly more expensive Tein Street advance and tein flex z lines have damper adjustments.

I think the street basis line is a great coilover for guys who are looking to replace just their springs and shocks or for people like RXRodger who need a coilover that doesn't have damper adjustment. It seems like a great choice for the money.

I was leaning towards getting the Flex Z because it has the same spring rates as my HKS coils, but I was really curious about the cheaper line of coils since its hard to argue with the price. I won't be needing temporary coilovers anymore though. I was informed by feal they were able to locate new shafts or ones that are close enough and can be machined and polished to the same spec for my HKS coils. The repair and rebuild should be done in the next week or two.

 

Thanks for all your input guys! I will go ahead and call. Mods can close this post if they want or move it to a forum for information instead of a sale forum. Thanks again guys.

 

Any pics of the finished product? How do you like the Tein-Zs?

 

I ended up buying the tein basis coilovers which are rebuild-able unlike the "Z" models this thread was about. They were very soft and required me to raise my car up higher to keep my wheels from rubbing. The market for the product is very specific, someone that has a mostly stock car (stock spec'd wheels and barely wants to lower). If you want to slam the car or run aggressive wheels, then these aren't the coils for you.

My car has changed a few setups since this thread was originally started. While the Tein basis was on the car, I sent out my HKS hipermax coils to be completely rebuilt and I ran HKS during 2017, and for 2018 I upgraded to KW v3. I have plenty of pictures of each setup in my build thread (assuming picture links still work).