23109VC

anyone here have any experience on whether one of these is better than the other? BC's are around $1000 and the Teins are more like $600. is BC worth almost twice as much?

I know that many people who install Teins replace their upper mounts. is this necessary?

BC's come with something called pillowball mounts. are these the upper mounts that are an "extra" cost with the Teins? or is this something different? is there some benefit to pillowball mounts and if so why?

I will not be tracking my car. I drive hard on the street and want great street handling with decent ride comfort. I don't need to customize my setup - I will buy it off the shelf and leave it alone. but I don't want it stock. right now I have H&R springs on my stock shocks... when I first put on the springs it was nice, but I wished it was even stiffer.... now my shocks are blown and it bounces and floats.... handling sucks right now... i'd like the best street handling I can get. I like the idea of being able to adjust my setup so when my wife borrows the car, I can adjust it toa softer setting.

thanks.

BROlando

As far as overall quality goes...Tein is the clear winner. Doesn't matter which model of either product we're discussing.

Tein will be WAY more resistant to rust/corrosion, and will have longer service life.

The BC are more feature laden. If you don't know how to use those features or what they do...then...this isn't a good thing unless you're willing to learn.

Pillowball bearings are a metal bearing that rides on a plastic (or soft metal) sleeve/liner. Kind of like a ball joint. Typically, their effect on double wishbone or multilink cars isn't really all that profound. They do allow the shock to freely pivot on the mount. So...apples to apples, the shock should see less side load and seal life should improve.

I still doubt a set of BC will last like a set of Tein.

Which Tein model are you looking at? For $600, I assume Street Advance Z?

The inherant advantage to the BC in that case is that you don't have to swap over any stock parts (tophats). And the BC allow for a lower ride height.

That's about it.

The Tein SA-Z will ride more comfortably unless they are SLAMMED down. They are also more simple to adjust, more simple to install, and more simple to tune (although you're limited by what you can do with a simple setup).

Buy a system based on your needs/wants.

I wouldn't buy BC (personally). But everyone is after different things.

As far as I see, you'd be way better off with Tein SA than you would be on BC.

Wdp_3g

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

ah perfect thread for me to chime in on. i've had H&R springs on, i've had tein flex, and now i'm on bc.
long story short, go BC for performance

- H&R springs: i had these on my stock shocks for a week before i hated it so much that i took them off and put on coilovers. i hated having no control on dampening and my car bounced around everywhere. ride/handling was horrible, i will never buy springs again on their own.

- i was on flex for probably a few years and loved the softness and quality of the product. however, they lacked when it came to performance. anytime i started to drive spirited or pushed my car, i would get horrible response. i tried many preload settings and could never dial it in.

- i started to ask around and i found a decent amount of people that actually switched from tein to bc and loved. i decided to take the plunge and bought some bc coilovers and instantly loved them. the performance compared to tein was night and day. i could take corners and uneven roads with bc that i never could with tein.

i probably can count 15 people with TL cars that switched from TEIN to BC and loved the switch, including me. I wish i had only done it sooner. if you want to go the extra mile get swift springs. i did not, but am always curious how they would feel
BC has enough comfort that i can drive my pregnant wife and 2 year old around in too...my wife and i actually took a 4 hour drive to vegas in it last summer.

the stock BC spring rates are the exact same as the spring rates on the tein, 12k/6k. and yes you can customize it if you want but stock rates were good enough for me.

BROlando

^Valuable info from a person with experience.

Glad to see your new setup works for you.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thanks i've been loving it even though i knew BC has a so so past. you were a huge help in testing my setups to know what i wanted! i just don't think there are many great options for the TL

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

This has been pretty similar to the feedback that Heeltoe customers have given us. Those looking for a smoother, more compliant ride are pretty happy with the Tein FLEX Z while the customers looking for more street performance are happier with the BC Racing kit. We think this happened because Tein consolidated the FLEX Z kits for the 3rd gen TL and the 7th gen Accord. In doing so it got a little softer-feeling on the TL.

Both kits remain strong sellers for us!

23109VC

sockr1-
thanks for the info!

I actually have a 4G SH-AWD...but when I posted suspension questions on the 4G forum I got so few replies, I figured I'd post here where there is more activity. thanks!

do you find that you can easily adjust the BC's with the adjustment extenders in the rear? one of the reasons the BC appealed to me is that I have the ability, if needed, to adjust the rear AND fronts as needed. My wife will occasionally borrow the car and she does not want it all stiff and firm... whereas I like the car firm and adjusted to handle better.

I've seen that the BC has extenders that come with the kit that you can route up/through the rear seat back/ deck area. I'm hoping that if I did BC I could be able to adjust all 4 corners and make it soft when my wife uses the car.

I want it low but NOT slammed. your ride height looks perfect. I'm currently on H&R springs on the OEM shocks and the drop now is fine. a bit lower wouldn't bother me, but I don't want it "slammed" looking.

my goal is to maximize handling for the street. I doubt I will ever track the car, but I would like it nice and firm so that when I take on / off ramps and tight hairpin turns I can push the hell out of it. the car is no rocket ship in a straight line but it does handle AMAZING..especially with SH-AWD...

do you find that the ride is decent for normal commuting with BC?

I'm not looking for a cush/plush ride... I dont' mind if firm if I get better cornering/handling as a result.

did you do a Rear sway bar on yoru car? also thinking of adding one of those too.

BTW - I saw your are in San Diego.. I am from there, went to UCSD..now am just up the freeway from you in Temecula.

oh one more thing - did you use the spring rates / setup that is "standard" with the BC coils or did you customize to something else? and did the extenders for the rear come in your kit or did you have to add those?

thx!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

haha yea 3G was always a more active forum than 4G so hopefully we can help!

currently, to adjust my BCs i have to remove the backseat to get access, not sure how it is with the 4G. i PLAN on installing the extenders soon and mounting them through the rear deck so that i can adjust pretty easily. I don't change often but sometimes I still want to. the BC coilovers come with extenders when you order them.

the ride is decent for normal commuting, mine is my daily driver and at times i have my 2 year old and pregnant wife in there as well. no one complains at the ride and i'm at 9 from stiff in front (out of 30) and 11 from stiff in rear.
you will get a much better handling car by going with BCs, i love them and i love to push my car around corners and on ramps. i also have a rear sway bar upgrade and that helped a ton! i hear the SHAWD is amazing but i've never rode in a car with it

yea you are pretty close! my brother and my friends went to UCSD (i used to live in la jolla colony) and now i'm up in Carlsbad. my parents live in menifee close you

i used the standard spring rates (12k/6k) and to me they were great, not too stiff but stiff enough. some days i wish i had gone swift springs just so i knew i maximized my suspension, but other days i appreciate the $300 i saved haha
let me know if you have any other questions!

23109VC

what rear sway bar did you go with?

SH-AWD is amazing. when you push the car hard into a corner and are on the throttle you can feel the car rotating in the turn. if you push it hard enough to where you think you are going to understeer - the front end pulls in even tighter and you just rip through the turn.

thanks again for the input. I was on the fence between Tein and BC and I think I'm going with BC. I'm going to find a shop to install mine.. i'm not handy enough to do it myself. I'm hoping it's not too expensive and I am going to get the extenders installed. I saw a photo online of another Acura and I believe they fed the extender through a gap between the seatback and the rear deck... there must be a way to let the exenders stick out. then if I want to make it softer or play around with settings, it will be a lot easier to make fine adjustments.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

i did the progress rsb which was recommend by many people on here. i've had it on for 9 years now. not sure what rear sway bar is recommend for your car

you won't regret the BC it's awesome for the 3G TL application. i'm guessing install will cost about $300ish. that's interesting they ran the extenders between the deck and seat back. i'm going to look into how to install them and mount them on my car.

23109VC

I think the pic I saw online of the extender was on a TSX.... not sure how similar the rear deck of a TSX is to a TL. probably similar enough.

did you install the coilovers and RSB at the same time or separately? I was wondering if you felt EACH Did something substantial to help handling, or if you did them simultaneously and just got a lot of gains in handling but can't say which did what.

Robbym

I’m late to this thread but I’ll say this. I had tein street flex Z on my car for about 5 months and hated it. The car was so bouncy no matter how much preload I added or how stiff I had the dampers. The bouncy ride causes the car to be super unstable at high speeds. I was barley lowered and had 4ish inches of ground clearance but I kept bottoming out the car on dips in the roads. It drove like an old Lincoln. They also started leaking in just those 5 months.

truonghthe

I got mine at full stiff and it still under power rebound, remove that POS and install BC. I would say its been better

BROlando

I'm not surprised that the Flex rides badly. The fix is installing a significantly softer spring set and measuring how much preload to add.

I am, however, surprised they leaked in 5 months!

Tein build quality is extremely high. Even though the Flex doesn't ride well, they should last for a very long time.

Catdaddy8686

You get the bc coils? Im in la jolla. Looking to trade out my teins?

Shadow2056

Had Tein Flex Zs on my 08 TL. Loved them. I have them on my 2020 Accord. Love them. Definitely the route to go if it's your daily and you're looking for a nice ride. Get BCs if you want more track like performance from your suspension set up. Even on full still, Flex Zs still don't give you a jarring ride. It'll last a lot longer than BCs as well. and there's more research put into Tein than BC.

E39

How are the roads around you?

Shadow2056

It's a mix. Some roads are real smooth. Others are horrible. Lol.

Igotissues666

I'm new to Acura's and curious about shock/strut/coilover options.

Are BC and Tein the two main options, and are there any other top popular brands that Acura owners gravitate towards?

And just to add to that. I'm much more interested in a comfortable ride rather than whipping around corners.

I don't mean to hijack anyone's thread. I figure that I'm still on topic, so it shouldn't be too out of place.

E39

KW makes the V1 coilovers for our cars. If you don’t want to lower the car at all then it is known that stock OEM suspension for 07-08 base TL’s is the softest. Stock suspensions are interchangeable 04-08.

Igotissues666

I actually have the CL. 2001 type S. I went to their website and apparently KW doesn't have suspension parts for my car. But thanks.

mariusz439

Isn't it that they have different specification due to weight differences and the interchangeability refers only to the same mountings.
I remember that when I was looking for new set of ASpec it was said that if I would like to have front a little lower than back I need to buy manual set for my auto 07 TLS. So I deduct if somebody would buy auto set for manual TL, the back would sit lower than front. Don't think anybody would like that, so I doubt the interchangeability.
BTW finally I bought set for manual TLS and mounted it to my auto version and front is lower indeed.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

where did you find a set of manual Aspec suspension? I don’t think there are any left but if I could find one I’d buy it in a heartbeat

truonghthe

Too late to the party lol.

E39

If the a spec manual setup drops the automatics a bit more due to weight differences, then does the non aspec manual suspension also lower the automatics?

TLDontFailMe

I'm going to jump in on this thread if you guys don't mind. I recently purchased an 07 Type-S 6MT with about 211K miles on it. It runs very well - but the suspension is completely toast. I'm trying to bring her back to her former glory. For the front I've purchased new oem lower control arm bushings, ball joints, sway bar bushings, and outer tie rod ends, as well as new upper control arms and sway bar links. I have not yet decided on the strut assembly situation. As mentioned above, trying to get a set of oem front strut assemblies is basically impossible or outrageously expensive now at this point. So I've set on going for an aftermarket setup. This thread in particular has a bunch of great information on some of the most popular brands it seems.

My goal was to try to remain as close to how the stock suspension would have felt if the vehicle were new-ish, I.E. not with 211K on the clock. I don't really need to lower the vehicle, but is probably inevitable even just a little bit with an aftermarket setup - I can deal with that. This car won't be tracked, but I like to do some spirited driving with it. I see that a popular spring rate for many of the aftermarket options is 12k/6k, with the exception of the Tein Street Advance Z, which comes in a 9K/4K. I prefer an option that already comes with a top mount, as well as the ability for camber adjustment. These are just preferences, and not "must-haves"

I've narrowed down to the following:
Tein Street Advance Z and the Flex Z. The difference between the two being the cheaper option (SA Z) has no camber adjust, lower spring rate (9/4) and requires OEM top mounts. The Flex Z comes equipped with all those options and a rate of 12/6
BC coilovers, BR Type. I'm not sure if I would get the swift spring or not, as it would be much more spendy than the Teins. Again a 12/6 spring rate, more dampening settings, and fully rebuildable. Does not seem to mention if there is camber adjustment.
Megan Racing EZ II: 12/6 spring rate, 15 dampening adjustment. Appears to be the cheapest of these setups.

I see from above that the BC coilovers as well as the Teins are very popular, and based on that I would probably narrow down to the BC BR Types, and the Tein Flex Z. Same spring rates, BC has almost double the dampening options, flex Z mentions camber adjustment. Money isn't really an issue between these options. I'm just looking for a quality setup that maintains some semblance of comfort.

Shadow2056

Flex Z if you want close to stock ride even on full stiff. BCs if you plan to slam or "stance" your car out.

E39

Where did you get that the street advance for TL’s are 9k/4k. Teins website says they are 12k/6k.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

Street advance is also 12/6 it’s the default for most of not all coilovers available for the tl.

having had both the flex and now the bc I have to highly and strongly recommend the bc. The flex are just not great. They feel out of control at speed and especially if the road has some dips or isn’t perfectly flat. Don’t go flex lol. I know probably 15 people that switched from flex to bc and every single one was very happy about the change. I’m not running swift springs I couldn’t justify the extra cost

I love the bc but it’s def not a stock ride. It’s manageable for sure tho as it’s been my daily for years and it was soft enough for me tk drive my wife who was pregnant at the time and two very young kids.

another option is pairing a koni shock with an aftermarket spring. You won’t lower as much and might be more comfort. I briefly looked into ground control setups as well (koni shocks)

good luck!

truonghthe

Still doing sale rep for BC Racing I see.....

I had SA before and highspeed cornering are awful even at full stiff. As far as the flex, I am pretty sure our TL camber is not adjustable on front regardless of SA or Flex Z.

El_Cheapo

Any experiences between the BC Racing BR vs. DS series coilovers?

TLDontFailMe

That's where.

BROlando

Confirm spring rates on the manufacturer websites. Not a vendor website.

You can't use tophats for camber adjustment on a double wishbone or multilink car.

There are no existing coilover options with camber adjustment for this car.

That only exists on McPherson Strut or Chapman Strut cars.

The front camber is seldom an issue unless you lower the car very agressively. If you do want front camber adjustment, use a low profile UCA from Hardrace. Never use SPC joints up front.

If you want to correct rear camber, I'd recommend buying Hardrace's adjustable UCA.

If you need more than 1.5 deg of camber correction, I suggest buying adjustable toe arms, as you'll run out of adjustment from the stock toe arms at that point. I would buy toe arms with spherical joints. The factory arm has spherical joints.

Remember to clock all your rubber bushings when you're installing new parts or changing ride heights or you will tear them in a month or 2.