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Picked up a 2012 fwd tl base model 3 weeks ago. Had 23300 miles when I picked it up. Came from a 2003 BMW Z4. Bmw had to be put to rest. Getting used to the smooth ride and the extra room I have.
Day I picked up my car.
Taking side molding off.
Debadged and installed a spoiler.
Got my rims in. Going to order the tein basis soon.
Will get 20% tint all around and tint the taillights red when it gets a little warmer. Not liking the base model system so might upgrade the speakers/sub and amp soon. That is a broken mirror on my car. Someone dinged my door and broke the mirror last week while I was working . Replacement is coming in this Friday.
You know, I've been thinking that too. I've been reading a lot on the forums and everybody is saying the same. Think it's only $100 more for the SA setup with that sale going on. I might just go that route. Thanks for that suggestion.
Originally Posted by KarKraze
Nice work . Small suggestion if I may, consider the Tein's SA instead of the Basis, it is a much better setup for not much more.
Thanks man. Hoping to get most of it done before spring starts. Need to get comfortable working on this car like I was with my Z4. Still a little nervous since I just really picked it up.
Originally Posted by carbonTSEX
Great start for 3 weeks and welcome to Azine. Looking forward in your progression.
I was afraid to work on mine since it was new. Started modding a week after purchasing it. I'm currently at 9550 miles and have taken it apart plenty of times now. Just gotta get your hands dirty.
Yeah, I'll have to take the door panels off this weekend so I can install that new side mirror. I just have to be patient I guess. Ah yeah, Gotta thank you and TA for all the responses on wheel fitment threads. Every thread that got started, you guys were in there answering. haha
Originally Posted by carbonTSEX
Got mine added in when negotiating the price new.
I was afraid to work on mine since it was new. Started modding a week after purchasing it. I'm currently at 9550 miles and have taken it apart plenty of times now. Just gotta get your hands dirty.
I went with your suggestion and got the Tein's SA . $80 bucks more. Figured I can sacrifice one less night of boozing. How difficult was the install on it? I ordered new tophats from HeelToe so I won't be taking apart the old struts for the old tophats. Going through pdf manuals, it looks pretty simple. Any tips to make things go smoother? I've replace struts on my old Nissan Altima before and I've taken apart my z4 plenty of times but never installed coilovers before. I have a friend who offered to help. He restored a Chevelle so he knows his way around cars. He just never messed with imports or coilovers before. How many hours should I put aside for this install? Also out of the box without any adjustments, how low does the SA drop the car? I'm just looking for a 1.25"-1.5" drop. Nothing too crazy. Sorry for all the questions.
Originally Posted by KarKraze
Nice work . Small suggestion if I may, consider the Tein's SA instead of the Basis, it is a much better setup for not much more.
Install is easy. The back seat can be the biggest hassle. Also you will most likely need to unbolt the sway bar to get the factory suspension out easier, rather then trying to pull it out around it. With two people and basic knowledge I'd say roughly +/- 3 hours with adjustments depending on running into issues. I can't speak for the drop out the box for Teins but my BC's were slammed. Remember, the coilovers will settle a little in a few days to a week.
Thanks man. I'm going to give it a go when it gets a bit warmer.
Originally Posted by carbonTSEX
Install is easy. The back seat can be the biggest hassle. Also you will most likely need to unbolt the sway bar to get the factory suspension out easier, rather then trying to pull it out around it. With two people and basic knowledge I'd say roughly +/- 3 hours with adjustments depending on running into issues. I can't speak for the drop out the box for Teins but my BC's were slammed. Remember, the coilovers will settle a little in a few days to a week.
I went with your suggestion and got the Tein's SA . $80 bucks more. Figured I can sacrifice one less night of boozing. How difficult was the install on it? I ordered new tophats from HeelToe so I won't be taking apart the old struts for the old tophats. Going through pdf manuals, it looks pretty simple. Any tips to make things go smoother? I've replace struts on my old Nissan Altima before and I've taken apart my z4 plenty of times but never installed coilovers before. I have a friend who offered to help. He restored a Chevelle so he knows his way around cars. He just never messed with imports or coilovers before. How many hours should I put aside for this install? Also out of the box without any adjustments, how low does the SA drop the car? I'm just looking for a 1.25"-1.5" drop. Nothing too crazy. Sorry for all the questions.
Sounds good . New top hats will save you some work of dismantling the old strut. Seems that you and your friend are quite capable of doing the install.
As "Carbon" mentioned, the rear seat is somewhat difficult to remove, especially if it's the first time.
The bottom part of the rear seat is easy, simply feel under the seat by the carpet for the release tab,one on either side. Pull outwards while pressing down on the seat and you will hear it release.Once the two tabs have released, swing the seat upwards.
The seat back has 4 bolts that you remove and then comes the difficult part of wrestling it out, I found it best to work on it alone and from one side at a time. You have to push against it with your shoulder and with your hands at the bottom of the seat wiggle it upwards.
I would also suggest you set the preload (height) as they are correlated, to Tein specs and then adjust as needed when you determine what kind of drop you are looking for.
Also, since the dampening on the rear coilover can only be adjusted with the seat out, it would be better to drive around a bit before re installing the rear seat. Once you have the right combo of handling /comfort dialed in to your likeness, install the seat and you are good to go.
Unless I missed it, I don't see any specs on your wheels. Guessing they may be around 10" from how concave they look, you will have to roll your rear fenders to avoid any rubbing, also turn your steering fully to check the front for any issues.
Yeah my wheels are 20x10 with a 40+offset and 245/35/20 tires all around. I contacted a shop that has a rolling tool and was quoted $100 to roll the rears. I'll fully turn my wheels this weekend and see any issues I might run into. Can you explain the "preload" thing you mentioned. I have an idea of what it means, just want to make sure. I don't want to assume anything. Thanks for all the tips man. I might just pull the backseats out this weekend and leave them out.
Originally Posted by KarKraze
Unless I missed it, I don't see any specs on your wheels. Guessing they may be around 10" from how concave they look, you will have to roll your rear fenders to avoid any rubbing, also turn your steering fully to check the front for any issues.
Yeah my wheels are 20x10 with a 40+offset and 245/35/20 tires all around. I contacted a shop that has a rolling tool and was quoted $100 to roll the rears. I'll fully turn my wheels this weekend and see any issues I might run into. Can you explain the "preload" thing you mentioned. I have an idea of what it means, just want to make sure. I don't want to assume anything. Thanks for all the tips man. I might just pull the backseats out this weekend and leave them out.
Not sure about the reference to 35mm. The preload means that you must make sure there is no vertical play in the Spring before bolting up the suspension completely.
The car will be jacked up or on a hoist when you are installing the Coilovers, there is no load on the suspension as the wheel is basically just hanging there.
Once you have bolted on the Coilover, place a jack under the wheel and jack the wheel up to put some tension on the Spring (there must be no vertical play or movement ). The Coilover is now preloaded and you can tighten the rest of the suspension to complete installation.
The Tein SA is not a full body coilover that has separate preload and height adjustment, that is why you install as I mentioned above. Hope this helps you and perhaps someone else can chime in with some more info.
Not sure about the reference to 35mm. The preload means that you must make sure there is no vertical play in the Spring before bolting up the suspension completely.
The car will be jacked up or on a hoist when you are installing the Coilovers, there is no load on the suspension as the wheel is basically just hanging there.
Once you have bolted on the Coilover, place a jack under the wheel and jack the wheel up to put some tension on the Spring (there must be no vertical play or movement ). The Coilover is now preloaded and you can tighten the rest of the suspension to complete installation.
The Tein SA is not a full body coilover that has separate preload and height adjustment, that is why you install as I mentioned above. Hope this helps you and perhaps someone else can chime in with some more info.
My cousin and I attempt the coilovers today. Started at 930am and finished a little before 1pm. That's with adjusting the dampers and cleaning up. The back seat was the hardest. Took us almost an 30mins just to get that out. Once we got that out, everything was a breeze. We eached tackled a side of the car since it was up on jack stands. Man I'm glad I went with the tein SA. My car rides a lot smoother than factory now. All the tips and advice you guys gave me helped out a lot. Thanks a lot guys.
No rubbing at all. Hit a bumpy road at 30mph with 350lbs in the back. Didn't hear a single rub. Might be different when it settles.
Only shot I have now. Car is a bit dirty at the moment.
When removing the back seat, what worked for us was one person pushed up from the outside and one person gave it a hard shoulder bump. We did each side this way. My cousin has longer arms so he pulled up from outside the car and I'm 210lbs with no neck, so I hit the spot with my shoulder. This really came down to me being frustrated and getting sweaty. Hahahaha. Oh we did this before we jacked the car up.
Thx. I plan on raising the rear just a little more. Not by much. I went with what tein suggested to set the coilovers at. I have a finger gap up front and the back is like a quarter inch lower(maybe less than that). So I'll raise it up so the front and rear gaps are the same. I definitely will keep an eye out as it sets.
I will keep an eye out on that. I had my cosuin and brother sit on the trunk edge and bounce up and down. As it bounced, there was a good half or full inch space from the tire and inner fender lip. I might roll the fenders still. Just so I dont have to worry about it.
Originally Posted by carbonTSEX
Looks fresh. Watch those rear tires after it settles, cutting it close.
Did you get your wheel and tires local (i.e.) Bosley's? Or did you order online? I haven't been to bosley's in years, but thought about checkin them out to see what they can offer.
Last edited by Rdub81; 03-01-2016 at 09:06 AM.
Reason: Sp
I ordered my wheels and tires online from Wheel Hero. Think there's a sale going on now. Everything was mounted and balanced through them. I also ordered TPMS through them as well. All I had to do was put the wheels on. Customer service was pretty good and they were quick to answer questions I had. I had one minor issue that was taken care of and they offered to reimburse me for cost. Took it to Tracy's automotive downtown on St Francis and they fixed it at no cost. I haven't been to Bosley's in years as well. My brother had a bad experience there a few years back so I didn't bother going to check them out. Maybe it's different now so I guess it couldn't hurt to check them out.
Originally Posted by Rdub81
Did you get your wheel and tires local (i.e.) Bosley's? Or did you order online? I haven't been to bosley's in years, but thought about checkin them out to see what they can offer.
I ordered my wheels and tires online from Wheel Hero. Think there's a sale going on now. Everything was mounted and balanced through them. I also ordered TPMS through them as well. All I had to do was put the wheels on. Customer service was pretty good and they were quick to answer questions I had. I had one minor issue that was taken care of and they offered to reimburse me for cost. Took it to Tracy's automotive downtown on St Francis and they fixed it at no cost. I haven't been to Bosley's in years as well. My brother had a bad experience there a few years back so I didn't bother going to check them out. Maybe it's different now so I guess it couldn't hurt to check them out.
yeah that is what I'm leaning towards. Seeing your car and others with the kit on, the lip kit just completes the car. You done installing those new headlights yet?
Tried to get an alignment today and they said no go. I'll need a camber kit. Asked for a print out just to see how bad it was but they couldn't give me one =( guess that will be the next mod for me.
Hahaha. Thanks man. Was having dinner at abuelos with my brother and his wife. His car is that Audi next to mine. It took some playing around with to get her sitting right but I think I have it dialed in properly. Your car looks familar. I was pulling out of banana republic about a month ago and saw a similar ride. Was that you?
Originally Posted by Rdub81
Spotted your car yesterday. The wheels and drop are perfect!
02-03-2016, 04:54 PM
. $80 bucks more. Figured I can sacrifice one less night of boozing. How difficult was the install on it? I ordered new tophats from HeelToe so I won't be taking apart the old struts for the old tophats. Going through pdf manuals, it looks pretty simple. Any tips to make things go smoother? I've replace struts on my old Nissan Altima before and I've taken apart my z4 plenty of times but never installed coilovers before. I have a friend who offered to help. He restored a Chevelle so he knows his way around cars. He just never messed with imports or coilovers before. How many hours should I put aside for this install? Also out of the box without any adjustments, how low does the SA drop the car? I'm just looking for a 1.25"-1.5" drop. Nothing too crazy. Sorry for all the questions.
