Tein springs really compressed! [FD]
 

Hi guys,

Just had my new tein springs and kyb gr2 struts installed. Also replaced everything that comes with fr & rr (boots, stops, etc...)

I noticed that the front springs are so compressed that the coils touch each other at the top.

Is that normal??

Sounds odd. Do you have a pic?

Sure:
1st one is front left
2nd one is front right
3rd one front left again: seriously needs alignment :rolleyes:

That certainly does not look normal. Did you buy the springs new?

Shit! Yes brand new! PN SKM50-AUB00

I don' remember hosw they looked like before install (they've been in their box in the garage for a while before I bring the car to the mechanic).

But I found pics on the web, not FD ones but you can notice that they almost touch.

Someone has a pic of theirs un-installed yet?

Three questions:

1. what spring rate are the springs?

2. what is the free (uninstalled) length of the springs??

3. what is the installed length of the springs?

Spring rate

Front
kgf/mm: 7.8
lbs/in: 436

Rear
kgf/mm:5.8
lbs/in: 321

Ride Height Lowering

Front
mm: 36
in: 1.4

Rear
mm: 33
in: 1.3

those are S-Tech's, which are progressive. the tops are softer, allowing the car to soak up bumps smoothly, then they get stiffer as they compress in corners.
its normal

Or they may be what are known as "dead coils" which basically just keep the spring in place within the shock perches. That way, when your suspension is in full droop, the springs won't dangle. I know some springs are made thsi way .... not 100% sure about those ones though.

that makes more sense.
as you can see in the stock photo, the top of the spring is almost all the way compressed.

if it concerns you that much, take them out and flip them, so you can see that the other end of the spring isnt fully compressed.

Here's a shot of one of my fronts with the car on jack stands (i.e. full droop):

Thanks for the inputs guys, I feel much better now.

Mahjik, thanks for the pic! Could you just confirm that when the car is down on her wheels the top of the springs is so compressed that the 4 top coils are touching each others. I'm now 99% sure it's normal as I see that there are some brown plastic protections...

It will be a while until my car hits the ground. Half of the rear suspension is off waiting for some replacement parts to get shipped. Given how my springs look at full droop, I would imagine those top 4 coils are probably compressed once on the ground. However, it's a little difficult to see once my car is on the ground:

http://mahjik.homestead.com/files/FD...tein_stech.jpg

;)

Looks good! I think you're right Mahj.

I had the bushngs changed for the Delrins during the install. I've not yet gone to get everything aligned.

Now when I turn the wheel completely right the left tire touches the arch. Bad re-install of the arms or just alignment that needs to be done?

Haven't checked yet if I have the same issue with the right tire.

When you say arch, do you mean the car fender? You'll mostly likely need to roll your fenders if you haven't yet for these springs.

No I'm saying the inner black plastic arch inside the fender.
I'm still on stock wheels.

The fact is that my left front wheel is too much in the front.

how does it ride? is it ungodly stiff or is it a pretty smooth ride?

Definitely stiffer than stock, not smooth at all.
Don't forget I also have Delrin bushings, lot stiffer than stock.

But I drove it only a few miles from the mechanic to my place. I need more experience and to get everything align to post more reliable feeling.

Part of the problem could be your shocks. The KYB's are going to basically be an OEM damper, which IMO the Tein's are too high of a spring rate (and too much of a drop) for the OEM damper.

Hmmm I see.
But the commercial of the tein s-tech is that hey've been developped to be used with OEM/OEM replacement shocks...
I would have been fooled?

The Tein S-Tech are almost double the spring rate of the OEM springs. If you look for some of my older posts, I don't recommend the S-Tech with the stock shocks because of their spring rate (as well as the amount of lowering they do).

Well, not really good point for Tein then to make this kind of advertisement.

Should have been more carefull before installing these I guess.

I plan to install in the mid term some aftermarket wheels on top of that...

So little review after a few miles of using this set-up: well if you're after some comfort, don't go for the s-tech!

As Mahj said these are really stiff and basically you're body's boucing on your seat a lot.

You'd better not having any digestion problem or you can say good buy to your breakfast...

Apart from this: just great handling!!

your dampers are too soft for the springs, hence the bouncing.
if theyre adjustable, crank them to full stiff.

correct, I had thought it was the other way around years ago. I had my shocks to the lowest setting and my car was bouncing all over the place until I cranked it almost all the way up.