First In Na: Tein Flex Coilovers

[BangHatch]

Hey everyone...

As some of you may have known, I had ordered coilovers back in the summer.. And I have finally received them recently (just in time for winter!!! LOL J/K).. The wait time was expected as these were special ordered from Japan as these are normally not available for the USDM market.

So here they are. TEIN FLEX. Based on the chart below, you can tell where these coilovers stand in their product line. These are probably the best you can get from Tein without going too extreme - Not to mention, this is the best you can get from TEIN for the Mazda6...



Some details on these coilovers...
*One VERY important thing to note, and what could possibly be the best among the rest is that you do NOT lose suspension travel when lowering your car. BOTH front and rear shocks have adjustable shock bodies..
*Furthermore, they have fairly aggressive spring rates (in comparison to what is currently available out there).. Fronts are at 10 kg/mm and Rears are at 8 kg/mm..
*Also if it matters to some people, these are made in Japan. Now, I don't know if they were assembled in china/taiwan or wherever and just sent back to Japan for painting... LOL... But I'm led to believe it's MADE in Japan.
*TEIN FLEX is also EDFC compatible - I'm still waiting for my unit to arrive - which is why they haven't been installed yet.
*TEIN USA will service your shocks back to spec if needed.

So of course, everyone likes to see pictures... I will post them below.. But first I'd like to thank CVR Motorsports for their excellent service and help.. I've purchased a whole bunch of stuff from them - and in fact this is the 2nd set of coilovers I've bought from them. They have always given me the BEST deals in price and service...
















A STREET review will follow as soon as the coilovers (and EDFC) get installed... I'm unfortunately going to have to wait until next season to give a more in-depth TRACK review..........

Will keep everyone posted...

[arch4life]

congrats!


tho you gotta realize, that susp. travel depends on the distance the piston can move, when the spring compresses. to me, that does not look much ( if at all) farther than the ksports i have. (which is smaller than stock.) just a note everything else looks great, nice and clean and shiny.


edit: not to rain on your parade any more, but d2 coilovers and ksports have higher rates of 11kg/mm front 9kg/mm rear.

[Egierda]

i won't lie...im quite jealous.

[BangHatch]

congrats!
tho you gotta realize, that susp. travel depends on the distance the piston can move, when the spring compresses. to me, that does not look much ( if at all) farther than the ksports i have. (which is smaller than stock.) just a note everything else looks great, nice and clean and shiny.
edit: not to rain on your parade any more, but d2 coilovers and ksports have higher rates of 11kg/mm front 9kg/mm rear.[/b]

Oh, there's quite a bit of travel there.. I'll take more measurements when the install goes through. You might be judging it right now based on the pictures which has the dust boot..

But yeah, I know about D2/Ksports. I had those coilovers before. They were great while they lasted/new. I had the 13kg/mm fronts too... BUT... The thing with D2/Ksports, although I can believe their claims of spring rates up front, I find it extremely hard to believe the 9kg/mm rears. We had found that the rear springs are even softer than lowering springs.. And the shocks.. Well.. as most people already know, they suck... In any case, like I said in the original post, in comparison to the current offerings right now, these are fairly aggressive (not the most).. And again with the D2/Ksport, having experience using it myself, I don't believe them to be true (at least the rears)..

i won't lie...im quite jealous. [/b]

Jealous? Don't be.. YET... We'll have to get it installed first.. Hehe

[critical6]

congrats. cant wait for the results.

how are these different from the TEIN basic and the super streets?

[Mazda6sMtx]

Well as soon as the EDFC gets here they'll be in my hands, LOL.



Since I'm the one doing the install. To all the members you can expect another picture step-by step write-up DIY like I have done before with other suspension goodies.


I find it odd the that rear has an adjustable shock body. Sure it makes sense and was probably easier to manufacture, but I wonder if it's really necessary since the car itself will run out of suspension travel before the shock does. Either way I'm looking forward to getting these on.

[msumlin]

Good Luck, let us know how it all works out.

[BangHatch]

congrats. cant wait for the results.

how are these different from the TEIN basic and the super streets?[/b]

Based on the product chart from TEIN on the first post, you can kindof see where each product stands...

Just from the top of my head, these are the differences:

TEIN Basics:
-Non-dampening adjustable.
-8kg/mm Front, 5.8kg/mm Rear.
-No upper shock mount (front).
-Suspension travel is reduced the lower you go
-Price is inexpensive for what you get

TEIN Super Street:
-Dampening adjustable
-EDFC Compatible
-Essentially the same as basics except with dampening adjustability and front upper mount
-Price is increased from basics

TEIN Flex:
-Dampening adjustable
-EDFC compatible
-10kg/mm Front, 8kgm/mm Rear
-Threaded shock bodies - both front and rear - allows lowering without sacrificing suspension travel.
-Not sure where the other one's are made, but this is made in Japan
-Based on the TEIN product chart, Flex line is the best street/track coilover you can get with out going to their competition lines.
-$$$
-Special order from Japan only - TEIN USA does not carry this in stock.


Marlon! Thanks for the goodluck wishes! I'll need it! haha Will definitely keep everyone updated on how it goes

[arch4life]

gah.


how did you test the rears to see if they were truely 9kg/mm ?

if you cannot tell the difference in the rear between a lowering spring and the coilover spring, i dunno what to tell you. i guess i'll be glad your not trying to do the install yourself.

[Mazda6sMtx]

I'll chine in on that one.


I weight around 200lbs, I stepped on the spring which should have compressed about 3/8" and it compressed over around 5/8". We didn't do an actual measurement but it was more then the calculated 3/8", so we knew the rate was wrong.