DaveGS4, Your exactly right, the PSS will be slightly lower than your current set up. To me, thats still no where near enough of a drop, but to each his own. Im not sure how the PSS are for the GS, but I had them on my E46 330ci before I sold it. I absolutley loved them on the Bimmer, but they dropped alot lower on that car. I have the FLex on my GS, trust me, they are NOT too soft. They can be adjusted to be pretty damn stiff.

 

oh yeah, from what i heard bilestin does miracles to bimmer. a lot of e46 owners including m3 owners have the PSS on their cars, and it's low! i have no idea why the one for GS is so mild

 

Thanks guys.

I can't do a search for Flex vs HA because the search engine doesn't work for less than three characters I'm sure some exist, just can't find them!).


- Any comparison between Flex and HA other than Flex is softer but not too soft and HA drops lower and is harder?

- What's the advantage of an upper mount coilover? Just easier access to adjust the stiffness?

- I've read that the Flex (even without EFDC installed) won't fit under a TRD STB... is this true?

- Is the Bilstein PSS an upper mount coilover? Any problems with Bilstein under a TRD STB?

I'm not that concerned about the drop as long as it is a 'little' lower than my current drop. Having said that, people say that the Tein's have a huge drop, but on their website it says the ride height adjustment for the HA is 1.4" front and 2.1" rear and 1.8"f and 1.2"r for the Flex. Am I reading something wrong?


Finally... any best places online to purchase either of these? I know Steve G carries Tein stuff.

 

i believe they drop the car about the same. the good thing about flex is it's a new design, so it allows you to lower the car and keep the full shock travelling (something like that?) also, with the HA, when you lower the car more, even with the same stiffness settings, the car will get a bit stiffer. but with the flex they are totally independent

not suer about upper mount, i would love to learn that as well

this is arguable, i heard the same story from drewgs4 too, but then i also heard couple other cases where they said the flex fits with their trd stb no problem. in my case my HA goes with teh trd stb like a charm

well i guess the reading on tein hp is just the reference height, it's just like their suggested stiffnees setitng is 8 (middle) but they allow you to do whatever you want with it

and don't forget the 400 bucks price difference

 

The Flex definitely drop way more than that, I would geuss around 3", if not more.

Im a little confused with what your trying to ask here. When you say upper mount, Im geussing that your talking about the solid upper mounts that come with some coilover systems. If so, the upper mount has nothing to do with the adjustments of the stiffness of the system. The PSS are not dampening adjustable, only height, so its a mute point with them. The Teins, as with all other dampening adjustable systems, do adjust at the top of the struts. I dont know for sure about what STB will work, but i do know you need the RMM STB to use the EDFC with it. backing up for a minute, the solid upper mounts will give you more precise handling because they dont have play in them , easier installation due to the fact they are already assembled, but they also transfer more road conditions to you as well, you feel more bumps, etc. The Tein CS comes with a harder rubber upper mount, its kinda a compromise between a solid upper and a stock upper. Softer and easier on the car than the solid, but not quite as precise. IM not sure about the PSS for the GS, but I know the PSS for my Bimmer did not come with upper mounts, I had to use my stock uppers, which I didnt mind at all. I had that car slammed and it still rode almost stock as far as comfort goes. The Flex does have the advantages that rominl stated above, about the independence of them.

I hope this helped a little bit.

 

Based on the adjustment quoted on the Tein website, I'm surmising by the comments here on the Bilstein and also Henry's ability to lower way below the listed adjustment that the Bilstein probably will be able drop the car far more than the 45mm they list, just the same as the Tein drops the car more than the 46mm they list on their website. Are there any GS Bilstein PSS owners here that might be able to comment on this? Sounds Like TTP was able to slam his car using the Bilsteins on the BMW.

Me too, sorry for the confusion . I see on the Tein webpage a column that says Upper Mount -->http://www.tein.com/lexus.html I guess I'm trying to figure out exactly what that means and what the advantages/disadvanages are. The Flex says "P/U" and the HA says it has "none".

I haven't found a good explanation as to what this column means anywhere or how I need to consider it as part of my decision making process.

 

DaveGS4, OK, now were on the same page. On the Tein website, when they talk about upper mounts, they are talking about what I was describing in my post, as far as the solid pillow ball mounts, rubber mounts, etc.. Here is alink to their explanation of the pillowball upper mount.

http://www.tein.com/pumnt.html

Also, the Tein website is a little confusing when it comes to their lowering capabilites. They list a suggested ride height, then a max adjustment. I thik in the max column it has 3.5 and 2.8", this may be a little off, im going by memory here. I am alomost positive that the PSS does not go any lower than the 1.8" that they claim. I could be wrong here, but I am "almost" positive.

 

TTP: Thanks! I was looking at the wrong column on the Tein site . I haven't found anywhere online that lists the drop and specs on the Bilstein including the Bilstein site). Anybody know where that info came from?

I know JohnP66 has the Bilstein PSS - anybody else?

 

I have a dealer account with a supplier out of NJ that is an authorized Bilstein wholesaler, which is why I was looking into them to begin with, less $$$. They looked it up in the Bilstein dealer book, 1.8" all around.

 

I had the tein Ha for about a year on my car and I garantee you that you can tuck your tires if you wanted to. I had my fender sitting right about the tire (couldn't stick a finger in), and I still had more room to drop. I also purchased a set of PSS from another member here on CL a long time ago. I ended up not putting them because the drop was not nearly enough. The PSS use H&R springs, and that was another thing I didn't like (personal preference). The quality of the Bilsteins didn't seem as good as the Teins in my opinion. The Teins seemed like they were crafted much better. In my opinion, I think the Teins are a better value because you will have much room to play with for height adjustment, and you get the dampening adjustment which is another perk that the PSS doesn't have.

 

i'm really curiuos as to where u got ure information from that allows u to say that Bilstein uses H&R springs for their PSS kits. the last time i talked to Bilstein they told me that they contracted another German company to produce their springs for them. it is tru that H&R uses Bilstein shocks (calibrated to H&R's specs) for their coilover kits, but i believe H&R might be making their own shocks in house now. as for the quality issues behind the Bilsteins i really have to ? what makes u think that the TEINs are that much better. when porsche 911 turbo owners, M3 owners and every other vehicle just about seem to swear by them, and can't wait for Bilstein to release their PSS and PSS9 kits, i really have to wonder why u think the PSS kit is so far down the chain of quality. do u have any specifics, i'm curious??? and not to sound like i'm bashing on the TEINs but honestly i don't think that slamming ure car is gonna do all that much to help ure handling, all those extra threads are really there for only one purpose, SHOW. the PSS kit was designed from the get go, as with all the PSS kits as being a very streetable kit that doesn't drop the car too low that u sacrificce drivability and most importantly handling. as for the dampening adjustment, everyone will tell u to get it, but in the end its always the same, u end up setting it to something u like and leaving it there, unless u start hitting up the local auto-x or trackdays the dampening adjustment isn't something to go home raving about.

oh and btw i am in no way bashing on the TEINs, they make quality products, but to hear such lackluster opinions on the Bilsteins is just amazing.