Tein SS vs. Flex
 

So Tein SS is about $950 and the flex is $1329. At a $379 price difference what are the advantages the flex has over the SS? Do the benefits outweigh price difference? Also anyone have some experience with either model? The only difference I could really see between the SS and the Flex was the flex could change the ride height without loading the springs and the SS can't. I may be wrong and please correct me if I am. I want toget a really good susp. setup that has good performance and a good ride. From some things I have heard about the flex and the SS the ride is great.

Thanks guys

IIRC there are two main differences.

You can get a lower ride height (staying off the bumpstops that is) with the Flex. IIRC it mainly benefits people aiming for a ride height under 12.5-13".

Second, the Flex adds the pillowball upper mounts.

before you do all that look at what fatcat motor sports has to offer.

IMHO TEIN is overrated

Have you looked into KW's? They impress the fuck out of me every time I ride in a car with them. The Varient 2's may be right up your alley.

I agree, especially for the money. I bought a set of 440/350 gc with factory valved-up bilsteins, FCM stops, FM rear mounts, and most importantly corner weighting with Lanny's alignment. Two members at the local track drove my car and suggested it handled better than their tein flex equipped cars (probably the corner weighting). You also have to deal with 2x the cost to revalve the teins when the blow, which they do.

hey if your interested i have a set of tein basics. the are BRAND NEW, i was going to put them on my miata but i decided to go with the flex. email me at marko_cap2000@yahoo.com

If you wanna give a Tein Flex style setup a run for cheap try a set of Ksports. www.ksportusa.com I have em on my Gti and they are pretty nice. I can set you up with a set through a buddy for under $900.

I would doubt that is true from the ksport site. Suspension geometry deals with more than the shock heights. If its to low no matter how its adjusted you will lose travel, I mean unless you start changing a-arm angles, etc.

How do you like the ksports vs the flex? Are they essentially the same?

I had Flexes on my Miata and they were outstanding. The car rode great even though it was really low. The Ksports are more track based for sure but not too harsh for the street. Either way the extra travel from the pillow ball mounts and the adjustable body length are great.

So you would you say that they are pretty much the same in performance except that the ksports ride alittle harsher? How is the install and tunning for the ksports compared to the flexs?

Same here. I went with the Flex last winter and so far I love them but only have about 1000 miles on them. I also haven't tried much other things though so me liking the Teins was inevitable. The suspension I came from was awlful (RB Street springs which sagged incredibly over the years).

I've driven several cars with the flex on them. Personally, I like them a lot.... if I was to start over, instead of the koni's + GCs + FM Mounts, I would definately go flex..... I did the math, and it's not too far away, not to get the pillow ball mounts, and more importantly the adjustable shock length.

Dave,

If I was to start over, I'd go with Koni (race) shocks up front, Koni yellows in the back with FCM mounts and Hypertech springs. I've driven 2 such cars set-up for cone-dodging and it's an outstanding combo. You can get away with the "cheaper" yellows in the rear because the spring rates will be relatively soft (compared to the front), and the FCM will allow for a little more travel.

The "quality of ride" and even "handling" is very subjective to different people. Some are more tolarable to a harsher ride, while some think that the KYB/Tein combo is "too harsh", and I call those people wussies. In the end, try to drive as many miatas as possible with different set-ups and decide what is best for your ability, (driving) style and price.

With that said though, I'm VERY satisfied with my Flex set-up at 9k front and 6k rear. The only reason I would go with the Koni race is so that I could run stiffer springs in the front (a little too much nose-dive for me). To do it now, I would need the Flex to be re-valved, which is another possiblity down the road....

I would also go with Koni, or bilsteins (you can get both re-valved for what you like). I LOVE FATCAT STUFF, and several companies sell springs with differing spring rates.