lift3d_

Hey everyone -

I'm planning on riding on my Tein Street Advance coils this winter as I'm not interested in spending $$ and time on removing them and then reinstalling them next spring.

Does anyone know the best way for preparing/maintaining them throughout the winter? After searching online, I've seen a variety of responses ranging from doing nothing at all, to powerwashing and greasing them weekly, to sleeving them with nylon covers (see here)

I live in Southwestern Ontario which is known for absolutely brutal winters, and I expect to see snow fly in the next 2 weeks.

Any help you guys can provide would be appreciated! Thanks!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

What causes threads to bind?

corrosion.

protect the threaded shock bodies by keeping out corrosion.

Keeping them clean and free of debris will help fight corrosion.
keeping them greased will also help fight against corrosion.

another good idea i just thought of would be to add a sleeve of some sort to the shock bodies, kinda like a dust boot. it'll keep out salt and grime, which causes corrosion.

lift3d_

good thing we've got you around Justin, you basically summarized all the information I already had.

Now, if you have a recommendation on a specific type of grease, that'd be more helpful. Are we talking WD-40 here, or like full blown mechanic grease?

were those covers I posted what you had in mind?

thanks

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

lol, sorry....I read your OP but didnt realize you wanted specifics.

but if you know what causes thread binding, you can fight it.
which is why I explained it.

for your sleeve question; if it protects from salt and grime it will protect from seizing.


not sure what else you want if you came up with the same exact ideas I did....

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

some coilovers come with painted threaded shock bodies to try to combat this.

BC coils do this.
not sure if this is something tein has thought of.

lift3d_

thanks Justin! sorry for the sarcastic response

Unless anyone has anything bad to say about those covers, I'll probably order a set next week. I'm hoping their quality justifies the $80 price tag.....

Otherwise, I'll also plan to rinse them and use anti-seize/grease every couple weeks.

carbonTSEX

Yes BC did prevent their coils from seizing by having acorn style locking collars and painted shock bodies. Why hasn't Tein done this and been in the scene longer...? Beats me.

andrewcjduong

The locking collars on the BC still seize. My friend with his E93 335i has it and it's seized over one season lol. Luckily, BC stood by their warranty and replaced the set (rears). The only way to stop coilovers from the harsh winter weather and extreme Canadian salt and sand is to prep your coilovers.

What I usually do (or did before on my TSX) was upon changing winter tires, I'd grab gear grease. It's usually pretty cheap and it's some green grease. Motomaster one from canadian tire works fine. Grease the collar by twisting them and then greasing the threads all around. I've found that this along with washing your car at least once every 2 weeks or so is all that's needed.

I'd also recommend that after the winter is over and you put your summers back on, to wipe down the coils with a wet shop towel. Keeps the coils clean since you'll notice it collect some sand and it'll look really nasty.

Other people have opted for plastidip as well. I don't know how good that works since I've never done it nor do I like the fact that it's solid and can't be removed easily.

carbonTSEX

Good to know. I had my BC's on the TSX for 3-4 years and never had them seize on me. Guess I got lucky here in Seattle. The TL isn't driven very much so not too worried though it's worth cleaning and greasing anyway.

lift3d_

Thanks a lot Andrew! That's really helpful.

I also e-mailed Tein Japan yesterday about this, below is their response:

Hello Matt,

Thank you for your inquiry and interest in TEIN High Performance Suspension Products.

The Street Advance dampers have a ZT coated adjustment tube to prevent any rust or ceased spring seat locks. The ZT coating is a special coating that TEIN has developed to fight against rust issues and to help those that live in snow areas. For further information about this coating please follow this link https://www.tein.co.jp/e/special/surface/. We would recommend to keep them as clean as possible with a damped cloths to remove any small rocks or dirt in between the threads.

If you should have any further questions please feel free to contact us.

I still plan on pre-treating the coils and using the nylon covers anyway. May as well try everything

Thanks everyone!

carbonTSEX

This is helpful to everyone that has coil overs and has to deal with snow and the cold. Best to clean and grease them even if you don't deal with the harsh weather just to keep them fresh.

sympley

I am already after 2 winters on my coils and all i do is clean them up before the winter comes and spray with the rust protectant from Crown. After winter clean them again and so far so good. Not a single rust spot (knock on wood). They do become very dirty over winter but in a way i think it protects them a bit.