Tien Flex vs Stance Gr+
 

FC3S S4 with S5 TII swap

Already has Mazda Comp bushings, racing beat Sway bars w/ adjustable end links front and back. Rear camber adjustment. JIC Magic carbon fiber strut tower bar. Tokico blues with mix matched springs lol.

Car is mostly daily driver with light canyon/track/autox/drift usage.

I want coilovers for sure, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. With that said, I was recommended Tien Flex's with Swift coilover springs instead of the stock Tien Springs by my shop neighbor who is rotary specialist and Multiple SSCA champion car sponsor. However, everyone else that I talk to say Stance GR+ are just as good if not better and are cheaper than the flex's even before purchasing the swift springs. My neighbor thinks Stance are just more ebay crap.

What do you guys think? Tien Flex or Stance GR+

OR any other recommendation. My budget is less than 1800, and am obviously looking for my best bang for the buck. Function > than Form so please no "You can get wicked fitment and hella flush with these coilovers" lol

Zeal/Endless. No ifs, ands, or buts.
But $1800 won't be enough to get a set and they may be an overkill for a daily driven car.

I think your "neighbor" has a skewed view of coilovers. Being a SCCA racer, I'm sure he has top of the line parts and isn't use to using much else. He probably hasn't taken in the fact that your car is daily driven and only will see occasional track time. Both Tein Flex and Stance GR+ are decent entry / mid-level coilovers. But you need to as yourself, what are you really looking for? Budget coilovers? Will this car be a race car later on? Comfort? What about rebuild turnaround time? Extra options?

Most people lean towards Stance. Cheaper price, decent build quality, short turnaround time for rebuilds, and still comfortable for the street. I think with Tein, you're partly buying the brand name, Flexes are great coilovers but fetch a higher price tag. Rebuild time is a bit longer but they're also compatible with the EDFC.

The main difference between these are that one is twin tube and the other is monotube so this question is kind of life asking paper or plastic.

Stance XR coilovers are made with swift springs and are 8k/6k (most likely outside your budget). The Tien Flex are 6k/5k the Stance GR+Plus are 9k/7k.

I don't think I would classify the Zeal's in any different of a category than the Tein and Stance. They are all mid range coilovers that are good for someone who wants a balance between a street and track set up... and that's a good place to start. If your budget grows and you really get hit by the racing bug, I'd recommend something like Penske, JRZ, Moton, AST(who now owns Moton), or Koni.

I've ran the Tein Flex on several FD's over the years and tracked them extensively. Same as stated above, good dual purpose coilover just like the rest.

I've talked to several guys who have been less than impressed with their Zeal coilovers for track duty. DigDug was one of those people. I spoke to him a few years ago at VIR and he said didn't think they were any different than any of the other mid range coilover based off his experience and wished he would of purchased something different. He had his dynoed and can be seen in this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/fd-zeal-function-x-shock-dyno-plots-706344/

I'm fairly certain he had other posts in regards to his Zeal's, but I really don't know where they would be.

Hmm... great input guys thanks!

Yeah this is certainly a daily driven car at most with light track use so that's why I never even considered some of the higher end coilovers. It's not so much the money thing as it is the practicality of it all.

I know Tien's are built in Taiwan just like Stance and the rest of them all but Tien's have had quite a reputation with their mid to high range line up of coilovers which is another reason why they are heavily considered. However I am not a fanboy of anything in a sense that I will not purchase one brand over another just because of their "name" which is why I am willing to consider all options in my budget at this point.

Again thanks for the input and keep it coming!

Just installed my new Tein Flex coilover kit on 86 Fc n/a got them for 1600 out of and made in japan i read people say tein was made in taiwan i don't know but mine have ""made in japan" all over . drove just a few miles around and i wanna tweak them a Little more and get a wheel alignment tomorrow but so far i Like Tein Flex

how about some Fortune auto? 240 guys rant and rave about how great these are compared to the XR's (but than again I did most of my research on zilvia)

From what I gather from the website it's like a entry level koni/swift or bilstien/swift setup, valving is custom to w/e you want, samething with the springrate...priced extremely well, and they're serviced in the US...

only thing you can't seem to adjust is the caster..

http://www.fortune-auto.net/

Fortune Auto seems promising seeing how they have wins posted all over the website... I'll check them out some more.


How do you like the Flex's so far?

just checked the fortune site. they dont make coil overs for the fc

edit; i also just looked at the stance xr's. holy crap they are $2,400!

Aww boo Fortune Auto seemed like a good bet :(

I think so far from just forum scavenging Flex's seem to edge out Stances although neither are top notch.

Keep those opinions coming people :)

I track my stances, they're not bad for the price. They've seen an auto-x almost every month, with track events dispersed throughout the year - this will be the third year I have them.

I May move up to swift springs eventually, but longer term goals are to get a set of Penske's built by ARE.

^ Ok thats good to know... the more input the better :)

i've had zeals and stance gr + on my FC, and i would say stance are much better for daily

^ orly?? That's good to know and yeah I def won't be getting zeals it just wouldn't be practical. Thanks!

They do: Look at the app list of the most expensive version: http://www.fortune-auto.net/fortuned...ughtseries.htm

had the stance's on my car and they were absolutely awesome... best mod i've ever done... the price is right and the quality is top notch... they are a stout... friends of mine have teins, but i would recommend the stances... autornd has unbelievable prices too...

funkjaw
All out Freak!
tein type flex are great but.. .
an OVERKILL for street and daily driving
way to stiff way to violent and if you set them low enough and stiff it will bounce Like crazy
and specialy the way kansas city streets are i just wonder can they Last Long so you have to raise it a bit and adjust dempering down to middle and then you wonder well why did i spend that money to use it set this way could've had that for 1000 $ Less
if you do track serious driving YES YES YES tein is great simple , Quick to mount and adjust Rugged , just great

^ Very interesting, thanks for the info.

Car came with Stance suspension and i would say they are the SHIT! So IMO stance > tein.

Which Stance did it come with, GR+?

stance..

ive got stance gr+ on my fd and i love them, no way i'd downgrade to tein's

If you shop around you can get Stance XR for $1,600, but see my review of them in this section.

I would try the Flex with Swift springs for your application as your neighbor said- bonus is you can play with the electronic adjuster!

So I ended up getting the Tien Flex. I can say that on stiff settings the ride is a little bouncy on some of the tougher freeways around the bay area. BUT when taking turns and driving sporty I can say I have never felt so connected with the road before. Over all I am very happy with them.