I just got the tien basis and coming from the aspects springs the body movement is much much less. But it rides a bit rough. I suppose raising the car will not make it any softer...?

 

it looks better being lower, but it is more stiff than I like. Now I watch out more for bumps. contemplating selling them.. and they are brand new!! So many people said they like them, and the SA's are suppose to have 200% more dampening, and the description said they provide just a generally sporty feel, but these things are stiff.


was going to drive to Tulsa from Dallas for the holiday, now I am thinking I am going to be beat up by the time I get there.


I would be interested in trading Tien Basis for Koni's if anyone wants..




.

 

they are the most comfortable coils i have ever had. just my experience and mine were all the way down the whole time i had them. maybe lowered isn't for you...

 

I like low cars. I've had eibachs on Camaro's.. but this is stiffer than that.. One of the vendors said to another member, "if you don't want your car to be bouncy then don't get Megan". So that through out Megan. I wouldn't say these are bouncey but I did get a few bounces while I was on some rougher highways and a side road.. So, I dunno. I still have my Aspec springs. But I wanted to get rid of the wallop in the suspension.. And I can say I achieved that!! But hey it definitely looks better and it handles better around corners! I'll have to give it a few days and see how it goes.

I've been riding on a walloping suspension for 5 years.. And bam, now its stiffer than my old Camaro. So you can imagine my shock.

 

Op you'll get accustomed to it. They also need to be broken in.

They also have a "sweet spot". I'm 25" GTF.

 

your car will ride better with time,I've had mine just a little over a yr. My ride height

F 24.75 gtf B 25" gtf.

 

I am right at 24.75 all the way around. That is ground to the center top wheel well.

So I just got back from driving it again and yes, the shock is wearing off, but I think I would be interested in tires that don't relay so much noise. I have some V12's that are almost to the wear indicators. And they have been getting noisy even with the aspec springs. But it is more pronounced now with the Tien's. One thing for sure, it doesn't feel as much like a "sedan" now. I wonder what kind of sport tires can provide noise absorption and absorb vibrations fairly well?

 

I fixed it! I raised it to 25 and 1/8 inches from ground to top center wheel well and it now rides like I like it! It's not so harsh. As I raised it by turning the nuts, I heard the shock.grunt and make a noise. I heard it on both sides. Then when I test drove it, I heard a loud pop on th e drivers side as I went over a big dip. But it still rides smooth now. I don't know why it was so harsh at 24.5 inches. I drove it back home and no problems. No noises. Just riding smooth and "controlled.."

 

Anyway I can only suspect that when the spring is lowered, the car rides on the lower section of the shock. And it has more damping or dampening there. Whatever the reason, it rides MUCH better now. Not harsh at all.

final result: (quick random shot)

.

 

chad, nice assessment of shock height ride position. I think the lower you go with
these shocks the more play between the spring and top hat, thus making unsprung
weight transfer to lower spring nut adjusters, if this makes any sense.

Your UA7 looks good with the waffles..nice job.

 

Thank you sir. I like your use of the English language. So are you saying the thud I heard after i raised it was a gap between the top hat and the spring? because it did sound like a "gong".. like a boiiingggg. It wasn't just a thud. it was a thud followed with a fading sound like a spring popped. But I wonder why one side did it and the other did not? Should I expect another gong from the passenger side? haha Whatever it was, I inspected everything and I don't see anything wrong. And by the way, I did not install them myself. I paid a shop in Arlington to do it.

Anyway, another profile from a distance. (The car is actually dirty in this pic. I caught rain this morning)

 

Careful pulling up that close now!


Don't want to get a new bumper!

Looks Good! More side profile shots!

 

Thanks. And your are right. The bumper is now low enough to hit.


(click on it)

 

[QUOTE=Chad05TL;15063731]Thank you sir. I like your use of the English language. So are you saying the thud I heard after i raised it was a gap between the top hat and the spring? because it did sound like a "gong".. like a boiiingggg. It wasn't just a thud. it was a thud followed with a fading sound like a spring popped. But I wonder why one side did it and the other did not? Should I expect another gong from the passenger side? haha Whatever it was, I inspected everything and I don't see anything wrong. And by the way, I did not install them myself. I paid a shop in Arlington to do it.



Could be, IDK. I guessing when you got the shocks you also bought new
top hats and you had the shop install them. My only guess is that the shop
installed the spring/s in the wrong position under the top hat rubber bushing.

What I mean is the bushing has a channel or grove which the spring sets in
so the spring was off-set in the bushing and when you drove the car it must
of pop back in the channel. Know IDK if that caused the pop.

For now I would just monitor the coils.

 

We re-used the OEM top hats. I'll keep and eye and ear on the lookout for anything peculiar. Thanks.

 

The front look that have a big gap and the gap look exactly like my aspec height from the photo. But the rear is on sweet spot in term of height.

But really how do you like the basic comparing the aspec after you raise the car?

I'm contemplating to buy the basic but that thread gave me more doubt and I think I have to shell more money to buy the Tein SA.

 

I forgot to add how much gap from 25 and 1/8 inches in term of finger gap? Like one finger and half or less? If that make sense.

 

Your car looks great! I have come to my senses that I just wont be happy with a lowered car as the ride is just uncomfortable. So even though I love the lowered look of a mild drop, its just not for me. Glad to hear your happy with it now, the car looks great.
I don't know if its the lighting or the pictures, but your Type S wheel look so bright...almost like a regular silver color.

 

few things: My aspec springs are the automatic springs for automatic car. So I did get a drop in the front when I moved to Teins. Most people put the manual springs on the automatic car which goes lower than normal, that is lower than OEM. So, when you say my current ride height of 25 1/8 is about like aspec, make sure you are comparing it properly. Because people install the wrong type of aspec springs on their automatic car to make it lower than OEM Aspec. I might be able to drop back to 25" with no ride issues. The shock seemed to make in internal adjustment when I was raising it, from 24.5-.75 so maybe it will still be ok at 25"? I don't know but I like the way it looks the way it is now. Even the perspective from the drivers seat looking out is more of the right OEM angle instead of more downward.

As far as "the big gap on the front.." Different angles can look differently. And I am just as concerned with the overal stance of the car, not only wheel gap. (Like I hate the wedge look). And these TL's have a big rear end compared to the front. So, IMO it needs to be up a hair or 2 in the front.

As far as SA's. they claim to have up to 200% more dampening or damping than SS and presumably Basis. (Basis is an upgrade from Basic) So given the way my car drives now, I see no reason to have more dampening. But if you could go softer with the SA's that might be of some value. But I do not know if they will adjust to a softer side. If you did do that, the car could turn too bouncey if you go too soft. I had some short springs on my camaro once and I used Monroe gas-o-matic's and it lasted for 1 day. I went for a drive and the the shocks could not keep up with the spring. So you cannot reduce dampening to much on a short spring. On the flip side, for street use, I have no use for being harsh, like 200% dampening. That would be nuts. Tien's commentary even says the SA can be used for track. Because they get so firm they will provide more feedback, and stiffness is desired on a track, unless you are talking about 1/4mi. run's. Then a rear wheel drive car needs to have softer springs to get some body roll to shift the weight to the rear for added traction. So even then it depends on what kind of track we are talking about.

I like the Basis enough now to know that I am going to leave them on and probably sell the aspec springs.

Lastly, using finger gaps is not a good way to judge ride height. because there is a difference in appearance between 17's, 18's and 19 in rims and tires (on the average). Plus, my tires are almost down to the wear indicator. So how much is that? 1/4 to 1/2 of tread? Is that half a finger? And what if I hold my hand differently? What if I have skinny fingers? I do see a lot of fat hands on the net and even Azine. haha There's too many variables is using finger gap.

Thanks! I have Plasti-dip "true metallics silver" and 2 heavy coats of "glossifier" on the wheels.

I think 2005 TL's are only UA6. Now you are about to razz me. right? haha

 

I think 2005 TL's are only UA6. Now you are about to razz me. right?
haha[/QUOTE]

NAW, I don't razz anybody....but I do on occasions talk in riddles

you're right, after my 1st post in your thread, I prematurely thought you had
a UA7 and seen your sig (2005 TL) Bu But your side mirrors are 07/08 yrs.
So I automatically thought you had either a 07 or 08.

 

Understandable. That was the goal. I have the typeS front grill and side skirts and a typeS steering wheel where every control I spliced to the steering wheel including the information panel and I have the autolight switch but I don't have that installed yet. Full red conversion too using one bulbs and 08 navigation. Plus I got the usb port from grom. And only 72.9k miles with a new timing belt and water pump service. So I'm good for a while. New Honda one tranny fluid too. So hopefully all is well in that department. Anyway I'm waxing it now. Meguiars tech wax 2.0 is awesome. Getting ready for a road trip.

Peace!

 

I'm simply asking since we have the same set up, I do have automatic aspec plus the waffle and yet from 24.75 you were complaining about the stiffness and you were considering to sell em and that just grabbed my attention and asked for finger gap since we have same set up. But you are right here's too many variables is using finger gap.

I'm contemplating to buy either basic or koni yellow but hey Im glad that you like the basic after raising it.

 

They both offer good ride quality. The advantage of the TEIN SB is you can adjust the ride height and the damping/valving is set for a daily driver. The advantage of the KONI shocks is you can set the damping to what you want and use a lower or higher perch to achieve more or less lowering.

We offer both. Please let me know if you need either.

http://store.excelerateperformance.com/

 

Actually, the Koni's that I have seen have only 2 settings. 1 lower, and 1 factory height. So its either "lower or none at all", rather than "lower or a little less lower.." (unless you are accounting for a shorter non-oem spring, which actually is lower withouth the koni's)


And for those who are unsure about the Basis dampening, the Basis is more firm than any shock I have ever used on a Camaro. Even after I raised it, when it became less harsh, it is still very firm. So I wouldn't hesitate on the Basis if you think you won't have enough dampening for the street because you will! You really don't want extreme dampening for the street anyway. (Unless you want to break something and feel like riding on rails.) But I guess if you gotta have more, then you can buy it. But it will cost you a few extra hundred for the SA. And I bet you'll just have to turn it down for the street so you can handle it. Also remember, when I was around 24.5 - 24.75, it rode more harsh. So, if you want it stiffer, and you bought the Basis, then lower it more if you have tire room.. It will get stiffer.


By the way Excelerate.. I just noticed on your website your koni's say they will drop 35mm.. whereas Heeltoe and other resellers says 20mm. I suppose the 35mm you are talking about is accounting for a shorter spring too.. correct?


The only reason I didn't get Koni was because too many variables with thinking "ok 20mm down for the koni's, + x amount down for brandX springs) and neither one I know exactly what it would look like alone, let alone mixing both together and hoping for the best?? naa.. and for about the same price as Basis. And I didn't want to re-use my aspec springs. I didn't want to have the same wallopie suspension when I was done. And I know some people say, "springs don't cause a floaty feeling", but I am not taking any chances! So I changed it all.. I am pretty sure the OEM springs are taller than Tiens.. So that alone tells me the car has more room to travel up and down. And that body movement was frustrating on the highway. So I had to change it all.


And you can try looking at pictures on Azine of cars with Eibach and koni's and you can see they look great, but it will look different if you have different size tires. And it might even look different based on what color car you have. So, again, I wanted the ride height adjustability. And I got it for 685 shipped to my door. Koni's and new springs will be that much if not more. But I had mine installed for an extra $300. They also installed LCA's and did a hunter alignment for additional cost on top the 300.

 

there are 2 versions of koni shocks: the SP3's and sport. The "sport" is the one that everyone calls koni yellows.
Sport has 2 height adjustments
SP3 has 5 height adjustments(2 raised, 1 normal, and 2 lowered), and from what I've read, marginally better dampening, but the difference is probably negligible from the sport dampening.
SP3's are discontinued now I believe

 

I waxed it with Mcquair's Tech Wax. Also note: this thing is much faster to change lanes, and cornering in general is faster because it does not lean nearly as much, AND.. even when I accelerate, it feels like it goes immediately. I think it is because the suspension does not rock back as much, and therefore it just goes forward. So, its weird. It definitely feels more like a sports car than a sedan. I like it a lot better now! And my driving habits are not impaired as much by a mediocre suspension. I only have a few more things to do. I just figured out how to solve the 08 speedometer upgrade issues. Specifically.. the airbag light and the tpms. I can swap the cluster with the typeS , and have it work perfectly with no funky warning lights. I will post that later. I already moved the information panel buttons on the right, to the steering wheel.. I've had this for 4-5yrs! finally a suspension that works! And making progress on other stuff.

 

your type TL lookin nice!...

 

thanks. Mom always said, "don't go too far off base". get it? Base... haha

 

That is what I wanted to hear and I'm glad that you like the basic. This help me to pull my trigger when I'm ready to buy the aftermarket coilover.

 

Suddenly I feel like a salesman for Tien. But I am not, trust me on that. I think the internet is a big marketing tool that tracks people and plays on their senses and tailors ads to their surfing habits and presents material that you would not have seen otherwise. Just look up at the top and down at the bottom of this screen. So, it can be a divot to your pocket if you are not careful. I have to be careful too.

But if you get them, I don't think I misspoke anywhere. Basically lower is stiffer. Handling is flatter and it responds faster when turning. It also reduces the need to swap out the rear anti-sway bar. And actually it is slightly stiffer than I like it even after I raised it, but it rides smooth on most roads, just some are a bit too stiff. That's all I can tell people, is what I experience.

 

never thought i'd say this butt your car is HAWT, chad!

minus the TLS badge, butt its fucking HAWT!

 

thanks.. I have 10mm spacers on the rear if that helps? No spacers on the front though. But it looks great with the badge. That's why I have it. And I don't mind showing it. I even have the door body guard moldings. I put them on when people we taking them off. haha There is a post somewhere on here of people ridiculing me for installing them when they were taking them off. I might go for curb feelers next.. haha (kidding)

 

I may end up selling these new basis coilovers. Thinking about switching to koni and eibach. It's still a bit too firm. I have aspec springs too. I haven't decided of I want Aspecs or eibach with koni's

 

That is why I am afraid going with basic and I might go with koni plus aspec. How much stiff is the base comparing to the aspec?

 

base oem springs compared to aspec springs are very little difference. Aspec just makes it tolerable. Meaning, its still too floaty with aspec springs and oem shocks. Firmer shocks would probably solve the floaty thing in combination with the aspecs. but no guarantee..