FreDroRN

I'm planning to order my suspension setup in the next few days. I have a few questions for those with the Tein Flex suspension setup.
- How is the ride quality compared to stock? Much stiffer or slightly stiffer? I know to expect a stiffer ride due to the spring rate and the fact that it will be lower than stock, but I don't want to feel like I broke something everytime I go over a bump.

I had a set of Tein SS w/o pillowball mounts on my 02' TL-S and the ride was very comfortable even with a considerably low drop (at least 1.75") and 19" wheels on. I'm looking for the same type of ride quality for the TSX which is a daily driver here in NY.

My g/f has a set of the Tein SS W/ pillowball mounts on her RSX and the ride is VERY HARSH. It feels like I'm going to crack my own teeth sometimes when we hit a bump.

I've been told that the pillowball mounts create a "harder" ride and some noise to the suspension, but I want to get the opinion of the owners. How do you feel about the ride quality of the Flex's? Give me some details like how low is your drop; what size wheels do you have?; daily driver?; road conditions?;etc.

Sorry for the somewhat long post and thanks in advance.

Adampops

Stock spring rates for the TSX are 280 lb/in in the front and 175 lb/in.

For the Flex, fronts are rated at 783 lb/in and rears at 448 lb/in.

For the SS, fronts are rated 559 lb/in and rears are 336 lb/in.

SS on an RSX are 448 lb/in in the front and 559 lb/in in the rear.

(Got the stock information from this site and Teins from their webpage) It should be noted that if you click on "Photo" on Tein's website, it will give you the spring rates of the S-Tech springs, not of the Flex or SS. So I hope I read the table correctly.

Anyway, maybe the high spring rates in the rear for the RSX contribute to the really harsh ride you get in your GF's car. But the Flex's have crazy high spring rates and I'm not so sure with what you said you would enjoy them. You might like the SS's more.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Check out this thread by LannyM on the Flex. I purchased mine based on the positive feedback. You wouldn't believe how comfortable the ride is despite the high spring rates.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21199

JKV808TSX

^^^^ Indeed. The ride is great.. especially if you have the EDFC installed...makes life easier.

FreDroRN

Thanks guys for the input. I tried searching, but has anyone experienced any excess noise from the upper pillowball mounts? I was told that the noise from the mounts could be another concern.

vwong

I think your assumption based on spring rates alone is incorrect. You have to understand that the RSX front suspension is MacPherson strut design. In suspension tuning, people don't use spring rates only. They also use "wheel rates". Wheel rate is bascially spring rate measured at the wheel, this is the rate that we actually feel. To measure the wheel rate, you need to know the motion ratio of the suspension. Motion ratio is just a ratio between the spring and wheel "displacement". The formula to calculate wheel rate is like this:

wheel rate = spring rate / (motion ratio)^2

In double wishbone suspension design (as in the front and rear of the TSX and the rear of the RSX), the motion ratio is higher therefore wheel rate is significantly lower than the spring rate. In MacPherson suspension design (as in the front of the RSX), the motion ratio is a lot lower. In some cases, the motion ration for MacPherson suspension can be as close to 1. Therefore, the wheel rate is almost equal to the spring rate. With that in mind, the wheel rate of the rear of the RSX can actually be lower than the front. Therefore, your assumption based on spring rates alone is incorrect.

The harshness of the RSX can be caused by the valving of the shocks, and/or suspension geometry. Don't forget that the ride of a stock RSX is harsher than a stock TSX to begin with. Therefore, I wouldn't be suprised that the valving of the SS for the RSX is stiffer than that for the TSX.

As for the question from the original poster, I can't comment on the USDM spec'd FLEX since they do have higher spring rates. I have the JDM spec'd FLEX which the spring rates are the same as the SS for the TSX. The ride is great, and the handling has improved a lot. I love it.

Yui

Whoah, I didn't even know there was a USDM Tein FLEX and a JDM one. What are the differences between the two? If it's a similar ride to the SS I may be interested.