hornedfrog

It seems these are the two best options for the 4G. I read a lot of the older material from when the ISC coilover was first distributed for the 4G, and I'm assuming their issues have been cleaned up in the past 2 years.

The TEIN on the other hand, have been in the Honda market for as long as I can remember.

It seems that ISC gives you more bang for the buck, but TEIN has the name. Which would you choose? Or is there another one you'd write in?

potmilkz

Tein

ExcelerateRep

I know you mentioned in your PM you have some bumpy roads. You might be better off with the TEIN coilovers since they reuse the OEM rubber mounts. This makes the ride a little softer than the ISC's that have the aluminum mounts.

hornedfrog

I actually like the aluminum mounts, because it's like, more mechanical looking

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

The Tein Street Advance is going to be a bit better product. Unless they won't lower as much as you need I would stick with them. Alternatively the BC, ISC, etc group is not a bad choice if you need extra lowering (slamming the car).

hornedfrog

Thanks. I'm not going to slam it by any stretch. About 1" is as low as I'm going to go for the time being. I've lived with slammed cars before and honestly it's just misery having to be so careful and slow over every bump and ramp.

What makes the tein better in your experience/opinion?

Zalgorithm

I too am very interested in this. I'm looking for about 1" of drop and I was considering springs, but I'd rather coilovers. I'd like to maintain some clearance/driveability and not sacrifice my ride quality.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

The long and the short of it is, Tein is a suspension manufacturer. ISC is a private-label brand. You can get coilovers made very similarly to ISC with all kinds of different colors and names.

Heeltoe has been a direct supplier for Tein for more than 10 years, and in that time We have had to warranty maybe 2-3 individual dampers. We've engaged with them in product development efforts and worked with them on a engineering level to develop a bespoke kit for some of our customers (we helped them develop this program in the USA: TEIN.com: SPECIALIZED DAMPER - PRODUCTS).

Because of our history in the industry we are able to say that Tein, as a brand and a product, has more meat to it than the dozens of private-label damper systems available these days. There is just no substance behind ISC, D2, Megan Racing, K-Sport, etc. That is not to say that these brands are not decent products because they are. But they don't have the design, tuning, or quality control built into them.

We had a brief stint with a number of different entry-level brands and the reality is they cannot match Tein on product development and quality. Many customers are only buying for the short term so it may not make a difference and are not driving their cars for sport. We try to match us customers with the right parts for their needs.

In general, we stick with Tein.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Honestly though for just a 1" drop you might consider just putting some sport springs on your stock shocks.

TeamAcura

Marcus, what are your thoughts/opinion on Fortune Auto? Is it on a similiar level like Tein?

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Great question. I didn't have the answers. However over the social medial I saw a friend of mine, Loi over at Sport Car Motion, post up something about Fortune and I decided to give him a call.

Bullet points:

• Designed and assembled in the USA
• Can do full tear down, revalving, custom valving - not just change to a new oil tube
• Can be ordered custom from new with different springs
• Good on-track performance

They are a performance oriented system, so their low end parts are comparable to maybe the Tein Mono-Flex or possible the Street Flex. The capability is more than what your average street Acura person is going to need. The Tein Street Advance as far as we know suits at least 2/3rd of TL drivers, unless that lowering is really needed.

I might not recommend Fortune Auto right off the bat for a "I don't track my car" customer (which is about 95% of you) without feeling how they are on the street. I know some Acura drivers can be quite particular about the ride. For a performance system though I might just need to give them a shot when I get tired of the Street Flex in my HTSpecTSX.

hornedfrog

How can I say no to a sales pitch like that?

Historically I've just gone with the springs and variable shocks and that's really been good enough for me. On the s2000 I run eibach prokits with Koni yellows and its a solid set up. I can't really defend my want of coilovers for this car but it just seems appropriate... Big bodied sedan with a lot of rotating mass and the ability to set up the stance and ride exactly like i want it.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

^ I'll take that as a compliment. At the end of the day, the branding has to mean something more than a catchy phrase or a color palette smeared on a racecar. Tein, to me, stands for reliability and performance (whatever performance means to you). Tein literally represents the phrase "TEchnical INnovation." When you look at the EDFC, their bringing high quality features to mass market, at always doing new things (have you seen in 2015 they will release a Flex variant with a hydraulic bump stop!??!?) how can that be denied?

Of course I would have a hard time steering you away from a set of Konis and Eibachs for the TL, but when the style is important that means getting the height just right. A coilover is great for that, and the Street Advance will allow you to get the body control where you want it without sacrificing the ride.

That said I would recommend at least 1.25"-1.5" drop with the SA. The more you preload the springs the more stiff-kneed it will be. Plus it will look nice and ground clearance is still pretty reasonable at that level. Shoot us a custom price request for our best deal on whatever parts you are interested in.

hornedfrog

You have a PM.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

I agree with Marcus for the most part.

TEIN is definitely hands down one of the greatest suspension manufacturer in the market today. And we've had over a decade of experience working with them directly as well. We can attest to their quality and durability. And for the most part, we stick to TEIN as well.

However, ISC is a suspension manufacturer. We just have exclusive distribution to their Acura lineup.

As you mentioned, it wasn't long ago that Heeltoe embraced Function n Form and there were a number of failures on the market. So there are definitely some concerns when choosing specific companies although we've had, for the most part, very positive feedback with the ISC lineup.

SiCk_TyPe_S

I would either go with tein ss or bc racing coilovers. I have bc on my tl and couldn't be happier rides just as smooth as stock.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for your balanced input....but could you elaborate more on this?

I mean, that would be like saying XLR8 or ATLP is a manufacturer. We are producers of parts, outsourcing/private label, etc. We own brands, not manufacturing capability and equipment.

ISC, as near as I can tell, is a private-label brand. I'd like to learn more about their manufacturing capabilities.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

ISC is a manufacturer. I think you're referring to their North American distributor. But the actual company manufactures shocks:

Shocks Manufacturers | Coilover Manufacturer | Auto Parts Manufacturer | I Shih Cheng

They have ISO9001 and ARTC certifications as well.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Everything on that site is looking a bit out of date. I emailed SGS to see if they can validate that ISO certificate. The certification is pretty worthless if they don't keep it current. But yea it leads one to believe they are an actual manufacturer.

I will say this is relative news to me that ISC might not be made by Bor-Chuann or whoever.

I guess the difference is yes ISC will give more FEATURES (not necessarily bang) for the buck, and Tein has a longer reputation for quality and problem-free operation.

Ultimately, I ask people how low they are trying to make their car and that usually ends up being the deciding factor.

andrewcjduong

I would go Tein if you're not slamming. TEIN's website specifically has coilover specifications in how low the drop should be and if you push that, it'll blow quicker than other brands but if you don't, the coils are beyond reliable. On top of their customer support, they have revalving options in California from what I remember and it's not too much.

The TEIN brand is reputable and there are many people who track or daily stand by the product. ISC is like any other coilover brand that you kind of question. They're good and they do the job from what I hear but they're probably similar to every other coilover brand like D2, KSport where they might not be as known or as popular plus I don't know too many people running them.

Along with that, Marcus is amazing with this stuff so I wouldn't hesitate one bit with what he's saying and I've ordered from him numerous of times with my previous TSX and can count on his customer support.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for that! I think it should be known that we support ANY of the parts we sell to the extent that we are able to. Note that we sell ISC as well, and aren't trying to belittle them. More trying to say how it is as we see it. ISO 9001 certification is a big deal to obtain but even more to maintain. SGS has been a little questionable in their responses to me. The most I have gotten is a cert that expired in 2009. I don't think that means everything in terms of if the product is good. Fact is a lot of people try to use these certifications to make you feel confident in the product...that isn't what the certification is for, and before saying "oh they are certified" I think it warrants looking more into what that means.

Tein is always and has always been our #1 preference unless it won't work for the customers' needs. Tein does offer kits that will go lower than the SS/SA will, but I think the Street Flex has not been released for the 4g yet.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

^^^^ I worked for an ISO certified company for a few years as an internal auditor. Maybe you've heard of them; Magnaflow.

ISO is a quality management system. The certifications are meant to ensure a company is doing proper internal communication and documentation. Everything from work orders to development processes to process improvement and customer satisfaction surveys not only must be in place, but they must be documented well and have a place in improving over time.

The certification on ISCs site indicates they are certified as a manufacturer so yea it means ISC is a manufacturer, and I would stand informed and educated on that point. I'm trying to learn more about the status of their certification...not because I think it is important, but because I am now curious about it.