I know this has been discussed ad nauseam on here and I swear I've done research about this topic.

But I was looking for more people with experience with either the Tein Basis or the Tein SA.

Im currently in the market for coilovers after deciding on not going the springs (Eibach/HR) route.

Im torn between the two and really want to know if the dampening settings are really worth the 100+ price difference. Anybody with first hand user knowledge care to provide some input?

Little background info: I am looking for a mild to medium drop (1.25-2) Basically about half-inch wheel gap.


Thanks in advance!

Don

 

If having a minor drop is your only goal regarding the coilovers, I would go for the Tein Street Basis. They are relatively cheap (~$550-600). That would almost be the cost of a new set of springs + shocks I believe

I bought coilovers for my 2G TL for the sole purpose of losing the wheel gap, and had it dropped 1 finger gap all around and they rode like OEM. I didn't notice a huge difference when it came to bumpy roads

 

Yes...the damping adjustment is definitely worth $100 (for me). I like changing the setup every now and then for different situations. I also soften them up in the winter to account for the increased damper stiffness caused by cold weather.

I don't even think its fully $100. IIRC, the Accord versions have a $60 price difference.

The Basis rides like the SA does on a stiffer damper setting. Which is still totally acceptable in terms of ride.

I believe for the sedan, changing the rear damping requires removing the seat side cushions. Which is annoying. So you'll want to set and forget the rears. The fronts are easily adjusted. And the damper changes make a huge difference in ride quality. It gives you the ability to tailor the ride for your feeling/purpose of that day.

 

Adjusting of the rear just requires you to fold the seats down (which is easy) and to pop open the plastic cover behind the seats. It's a bit difficult to install/remove the coilovers alone with such little room, but to adjust dampening settings on a TEIN SA it shouldn't be difficult.

 

I personally went with the flex which are amazing in my opinion
In your case I would def just get the advance but I know someone selling a set of flex in good shape for about $600 of I'm not mistaken , so if your interested shoot me a pm and I'll get the sellers info you for

 

Flex are great... wish they were cheaper when I was looking for coilovers a year and a half ago.

 

i have the street basis on my car and absolutely love them. Perfect set up for and i'd probably would've never adjust the dampening anyways - never did on my other cars.

 

i just went from megans to flex and they feel good. save ur pennies and flex it out

 

A KillerG has been spotted in the wild

 

Dont mean to thread jack but whats the difference between the SA and the Flex?

I have the SA and have set my dampening to the stiffest both front and rear just because I want less wheel travel when I go up and down my driveway so i dont mess up my fenders. I also have a wagon so adjusting it is fairly easier than a sedan.

 

Street flexes are more performance biased than SA's. They have stiffer springs and damping. They also have full body adjustment so you don't lose shock travel as you lower the car. They come with metal (rubber isolated) top mounts. They are EDFC compatible.

They're a higher end, more peformance based system than the SA. The SA's are very soft, and are more comfort focused overall...as well as less expensive.

I bought SA's instead because the street flex didn't offer me anything I needed. I wasn't planning on slamming my car or going to the track. Although...If I was planning on going to the track and taking it semi-seriously, I wouldn't slam it...and I probably wouldn't buy street flexes anyway lol. They're good for *light* track use...and they're great to slam the car with.

SA's aren't meant to slam the car. Although nobody reads the manual anyway.