I just got the Tein High.Tech Springs installed on my stock shocks over the weekend.

Here are pics showing the difference before and after the drop.

 

realli not much of a drop

 

Looks great! Wheel gap gone!

 

Looks pretty good! If you want to fine tune the height and the handling a bit later, get some Neuspeed/Koni shocks!

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/Neuspeed-...-pr-65465.html

 

Perfect drop!

I'm not a fan of the wheel tuck look. :thumbsdow

 

Nice - how much did you pay for them?

 

Looks good! Now wait until they settle

 

i got them for $100 shipped brand new on ebay, the seller was trying to get rid of them

they've actually already settled, especially the back. the gap was more noticeable right after it was installed

 

Looks awesome. I'm considering going with the same springs. Does it ride stiff? I'm looking for something that doesn't hurt the ride too much.

 

it feels just like stock to me

 

Looks good! Im interested to see how low the settle after a couple of months. I had h-techs in a mazda 3 and not only did it settle a lot lower then i thought, but my shocks were blown after 50k. Man I miss the look of a well dropped car though.

 

I'm dropped on S-Techs and they've come down about a hair more than they were "supposed to", one of my shocks is blown as well

 

the rear actually settled a little when i was driving home with the weight of my oem wheels and tires sitting in the back seat. i'm waiting for the fronts to settle a little more if they do.

 

Nice.

 

Nice!

 

Eh any settling past about 5 minutes of driving is not normal.

50K on shocks with sport springs is really not too bad, either...

 

Thanks for the before and after pics. Looks great..I'm looking to get the H Techs too.

 

These are definitely a great choice. Even with stock shocks. LMK if you have specific questions about them!

 

Do you have any pics with the new springs and 17" rims?

 

sorry, no i don't. i'll be putting my stock OEM wheels back on when winter rolls around and i'll take some pics then.

 

They were blown well before 50k now that i think of it. Maybe closer to 36k? I traded the car in at 51k. I vowed after replacing my struts that if i was to drop again it would be done the right way with a set of coilovers. Springs are cheaper in the beginning but become a real expense after thousands of miles.

Probably not dropping the TL though.

 

ya my factory shocks were bad at 36k miles. Thats when I got the car. It's had this floaty feel and sort of "all over the road" feel since 36k miles and I have 56k now. Is that sad or what? I came from a 97 Camaro with eibachs and bilstiens and a 35mm/25mm sway bars too. So, ya the first week I had the car was pretty rough. Had to make an adjustment. NOw, I want to fix it. arg. I thought about buying another car, didn't know how long I would keep the TL, but no new cars other than an over priced vette interests me. And thats not going to happen now. At first I didnt know if a TL was suppose to handle like that. But now I know its not right. When I load the car down with grocies in the back, it handles so much better haha.. And highway driving is where the floaty feeling is most noticable. Ihatecars said, usually bad shocks is the reason for that.. and I agree and even David McDavid acura in Plano said I needed shocks. So, thats for sure is what is wrong. But as far as springs causing more expenses over time, vs. "coilovers".. well.. I dont understand that.

 

Well think about how quickly you blew your stock struts. The springs were definitely the cause although i don't think they are the most resilient. In the end spring and coilovers will have a similar cost after your replace the shocks. I'm not sure how what prices are like for the TL, but this was the deal with my old Mazda 3. I spent 200 on the springs which killed the stock srtuts in close to 20k. Then i had two options; Either buy stock struts for 300 or koni yellows for 750. Stockers are going to blow just as quick so i would have went with the konis and been at a total investment of 950. A decent set of coilovers would have cost me around 1200. I would have got the ability to adjust my drop when driving around in different conditions, they don't blow nearly as easily as the stockers, and they can be rebuilt for cheap. In the end they are the best choice.

 

my the factory springs did not cause my factory shocks to wear out abnormally soon. This is normal for factory shocks. however, if you have very low or very bouncy aftermarket springs, then yes it may wear your shocks out faster than normal. You have to be intelligent enough to get the right combination of springs and shocks so they work well together.

 

did you install them yourself?

 

nah, my friend installed them for me

 

Ah, i was going to ask if its hard. Im about to buy a set... How long do you think the shocks with last with the h.techs? I have an 04, only 57xxx miles so far.

 

with airtools, the install is easy. it was installed in 2 hours and we didn't run into any problems. its hard to say how long the shocks will last. my 04 actually is around the same mileage when i got the h.techs installed. when my shocks do go, i'll be getting the koni's to replace them.

 

im actually thinking of getting these, and pairing them with koni sports. i think the drop with 1 perch down would give a nice drop, about 3/4 of an inch give or take.

 

That's what I am thinking about too. But if you notice the S tech springs, they are lower, but the spring rate is a bit tighter. If you get the Koni's then instead of lowering the perch with the H-tech, you can raise the perch with the S-tech. The range may be increased if you get the s-tech. It just depends on the range you want now and may want in the future.

 

they look good i got the tein s.tech myself wanted that lower drop great springs.

 

yeah true. i dont want too much of a drop. i was thinking of anywhere from 3/4" to maybe 1.5" MAX. i cant drop the car too much, i wont be able to get into driveways around here anymore lol. the h.techs are appealing though, because even with 2 perchs down would get a bit over of an inch drop.

so much mixing and matching to do

 

drop looks good, though its almost the same as the A-spec iirc. looks like there's very little difference compared to stock, but then again, too much lowering on the stock shocks definitely speed up wear imo.

I plan to get Koni Yellows once my shocks go. I have Megan Racing springs on mine and they ride very close to stock. drop is also just about the same, if not a bit lower. 1.25" right now, straight down all around, no bottoming out or anything too.

 

how is the ride? near/same as stock?

 

rides great, feels like stock

 

looking good!

 

I unfortunately don't have the same experience. I just put the H Tech's on this Sat and have to say the ride is not as good as my stock Type S. I definitely can feel the bumps more but the springs feels "softer" too. Meaning when I hit a speed bump, it bounces more. So I basically got the worst of both worlds. I was looking to feel less bumps and have tighter suspension. Oh well...if I don't get used to the ride, I'm going back to stock.

 

Well if you want a tighter susp. you are going to feel more the bumps. I put some S techs and really love them. Love the drop, love the feel of my car. Is not soft at all, I do feel the bumps a little more, but when im in a curve or I hit a long bump the car feel awesome.

 

Did you have to get wheel spacers?

 

No Spacers, in the Before pics, the Stock Base Wheels are +45. In the after pics, the Ron Jon Wheels are +32