im looking to purchse coilovers for my IS within the next few weeks. i am debating between the tein ss and the tein flex. will i be able to tell a significant difference in performance between the two? please keep in mind that i use the car mostly as a daily driver. thanks for your inputs.

 

i would get the flex. i have the HA, i think it's very stiff. the ss is just as stiff as the HA if not more. if you want pure performance, the ss is good. but for normal street driving, i think the flex makes more sense

 

Stick with the Tein Flex - much more comfortable for a daily driver and you can always add edfc later-on to adjust damper settings on the fly .

I have the Tein Ha - and they are stiff - I wanted it that why. The Tein SS like rominl mentioned is as stiff or stiffer than the Ha's. Unless you want bone-jarring driving - I'll stick with the Tein Flex

 

yeah, only if i knew it's going to be so stiff..... i had HA on my gs4 before and it's ok, even with 19s. but the HA on my is3 with stock wheels is killing me

 

i have some tein s tech springs...are they any good? (right now that's all my budget will allow). I would like to get some SS' in the future, but for now, these will have to do.
Does anyone know if they will work with stock shocks (on a IS300)? (a local shop said I needed aftermarket shocks as well)
If so, how will it ride and handle?
Is it easy enough to install yourself (mind you the shop tried to charge me $500 for front and rear installation with new shocks)
If not...might as well stick to stock. (but I really do wanna lower my car)

 

the s springs are nice. rmmgs4 he has it on the is3 and i rode in the car. very soft indeed. and he has the stock shocks too

for the install, it's not hard but it's not trivial too. you need spring compressors together with impact guns to make your life easy.

and 500 bucks for install? you gotta be kidding me man. i think 200 is the most i would pay for these installs

 

i kid you not. the shop (phil's toys) specializes in Lexus, Toyotas and Scions.
First the guy says "It's gonna be 250 to install"....i was suprised at that pricing. But then he added "mind you, that's only the front..so its 500 for front/rear"
I said thank you...and promptly left....

anyway, so rmmgs4 has stock shocks? i hear that it shortens the life of the shocks...like 8 to 12 months. Is this true?

 

man, go somewhere else. that shop can have my ****.... pardon me....

yeah he has stock shocks. it's going to shorten the life of the stock shocks of course. not sure the duration though. as far as i know, his is3 isn't driven that much at all

 

thanks for the info. much appreciated.
will definitely go someplace else if not DIY.
probably will go with tokico hp's just to be safe.
rather than having it go out on me and then have to install new shocks anyway, might as well do em all now....
my wallet is crying....

 

well that's why i got coilovers, do it once and do it right

 

i would not pay more than 100 for a spring install. coilovers are even easier but shops seem to want to charge more?

 

a lot of times installation includes height adjustment, that's what the hassle is

and man, 100 bucks, that's cali prices man

 

Personally I have driven in TEIN SS, HA, Flex. they all are very similar and they all provide adequate adjustment options. I have to say they are all very good. I like the SS for the simplicity in desiign. I would choose the SS coilovers.

WHY? If you not racing your car on a weekly basis you will never know the difference. Seriously now.
You can adjust the SS soft enough to mimick stock suspension for daily driving comfort . Why spend an extra $500 to achieve the same thing?

I have been very content with my TEIN HA's. My next purchase will be TEIN SS.

 

yes but the flex not only has wider asjdjustability i believe BUT it has SEPARATE ride height / Preload adjustments.. on the SS if you change the ride height IE raise / lower the car... you affect the spring preload/rate....

not a problem if you NEVER raise or lower the car I guess.. & you find a setting that rides well enough with the drop you want...

but if you are concerned about the dynamic handling properties of the chassis & take it to the track once in a while even....the ability to separate those adjustments & their effects on the handling... was worth the extra $$ for me ...


good luck bro!!!