SPL Parts Coilovers - Review

[chmercer]

I recently got a set of s14 coilovers from SPLParts and switched them for my old tein HEs, i thought you guys might like a little compare and contrast.

Both coilovers have 8/6 springs front and rear. Pillowball mounts all around with front camber adjustment. Dual height adjustable. for reference, D2 coilovers also can be had with these same features. The main difference, on paper, is that the SPL coilovers feature an inverted shock design in the front, which is desireable for its increased durability and longevity. SPL has 15 way adjustability, Tein has 16 way, and D2 has 32 way.

here is a picture of the front assemblies side by side.



If you look closley, you will notice a few key differences. From left to right -

- SPL unit has thicker mounting plate, and more "beef" around the heim joint.

- The SPL spring is longer than the tein spring. this probably makes no difference in performance, but it is worth noting. conversley, the shorter spring on the tein unit might allow for more agressive lowering while still maintaining 0 spring preload. Both units go plenty low enough for me, and my car is quite close to the ground, so this shouldnt be of any concern unless you are making a show car really.

- The SPL spring perches are thicker and cut sharper. The tein perches are more rounded. While i suppose the roundy-ness would help you avoid getting scrapes and such, i prefer the notchy cut perches because the spanner wrenches hook more easily to this kind.

- The SPL mounting bracket does not have a brake line bracket, or that little thing with the screw thread in it. I personally would have liked to see a brake line bracket, although it dosent really bother me. It could be noted that high end JIC units do not come with brake line brackets either.

- The SPL unit includes a spring perch at the bottom of the mounting bracket which could theoretically keep the mounting bracket from backing itself off. although i never had a problem with my teins doing anything like this.

- The SPL unit adjusts from the bottom of the shock. this is necessary with an inverted shock design. the knobs are large enough that they can be manipulated by hand, no allen wrench tool is required for adjustment. Some people like to be able to adjust under the hood, but with this design you can change the front dampening without opening the hood at all (although you have to get on the ground). some may view this as a plus.

Moving to the rear, a side by side picture of the rear struts.



Again, some of the differences -

- The same trend of nicer spring perches and mounting plates holds true in the rear.

- The SPL unit does not include a rear dust boot. This is another small detail that i would have liked to see, but it shouldnt really affect much of anything. It could be noted that topline aragosta coilovers do not come with dust boots on either the front or the rear.

- The SPL unit has a shorter spring in the rear than the tein. again i have no idea what difference this makes. in this case, there is no way it could cause any conflict with lowering the car, as the bottom mount on each piece would bottom out far before they reached the bottom spring perch.

- Both the tein HE and the SPL coilovers adjust from the top in the rear. the stroke of the rear shock is such that it would be very difficult to invert the unit; this is the norm for all rear s chassis suspension that i have seen anyhow.

- The same knobs are found in the rear as in the front, no additional tools are needed to adjust the SPL units.

A close up of the rear pillowball assembly-



- On the SPL unit, there is a tapered edge surrounding the heim joint. This could serve to keep dust out, or protect the joint, or it could very well just be an unrelated design difference. Either way, note that it is different from the tein top mount.

- Not very well illustrated by my photo, but still worth mentioning is that on the SPL unit, the adjustment knob comes up higher than the knob on the tein unit. This makes adjusting easier, although it prohibits the use of the stock rubber foam rear strut covers. the rear speaker lid will still go on with no problems.

Finally, a picture of the bottom of the rear mounting brackets.



I dont really have any commentary for this one, but i noticed the difference and thought some might like to see a picture.

extra information -

The SPL coilovers seem to have a much wider damping range than the HEs, based on my limited use of the SPLs so far. They can be set to give a rather soft ride, although they can easily be stiffer than the HEs.

The spanner wrenches included with the coilovers are made out of thick gauge steel. It would be EXTREMLY difficult to damage the spanner wrenches included with the SPL product trying to take off suspension perches. FYI, I have bent tein spanner wrenches before.

Other little things, such as maybe a splparts decal, a manual, breif insallation instructions, etc etc. would have been nice. Maybe a set of OEM bolts for the struts could be included, or offered for a little extra? or somthing. just throwing out ideas.

Extra pictures-

Here are some other photos i took.
vs





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In summation, i would suggest these coilovers to anyone looking for a wonderful setup for a wonderful price. Priced FRIGHTENINGLY competitivley at $1040 shipped, there is really no reason to short change yourself and your car with an inferior shock and spring setup or D2/ksport coilover setup. 15 way adjustability is plenty of adjustment, but not overkill. The damping range is extremly impressive and can adapt to basically whatever road surface you are on. (if i had to pick somthing i was most impressed with, it would have to be the damping range). Adjustment is a breeze with the knobs being firm and easy to click with no tools, and lowering is easy due to the large, crisply cut spring perches and heavy duty wrenches.

If you are shopping for suspension in the 700-1400$ range or so, i strongly reccomend you give these coilovers a good long look.

[heated heavy]

cool write up. how do they feel on the road? i have the HE's and they are stiff even on the softest setting.

[240trainee]

very Nice write up. Makes me think about my coil over plans..... I've wanted tein he's for so long, but it is write ups lke these that show there are better products for the same money. Thanks.

[240trainee]

Ahhh, now I know why. Only offered in an s14 version. bummer.

[SimpleS14]

Thanks for sharing this bit of information. I had no idea that SPL made coilovers for the S14.

[Zemus]

When do the S13 ones come out..

[KiDyNomiTe]

Finally someone carries those, I think nekopunch has the old versions, and he loves em.

[gmckey]

yep, first set of them in the US for S14. SPL will be carrying S13 ones, call them up and talk to them if you're interested, they can order them for you. they're great quality, saw them before charlie picked them up. plus, SPL has great customer service, so if you ever have an issue, they'll do their best to help you out.

-Grant

[justinhustle]

i had no idea they had those, im ready to ditch my blown gabs for em!

[Bryants95240sx]

I was set on HE's but i think i just might have changed my mind.

[gmckey]

Kuah at SPL Parts rode Tein RA's on his Z32 and is dissapointed after a year of use with them, so he's also switched over to the SPL's. He thinks the Tein durability just isn't that great.

[Bbandit]

when my HE's are blown, Im getting one of those. everything looks beefier on that spl c/o

[gmckey]

Originally Posted by Bbandit

when my HE's are blown, Im getting one of those. everything looks beefier on that spl c/o

also, SPL offers replacement shocks for their coilovers for $150 shipped incase you blow them in time or want to replace them as a yearly/whenever service.

[Bbandit]

interesting... there's also a good and a bad thing about this though...
good: I can come and pick it up
bad: I have to pay for taxes

[aa87]

Where are they, im like 3 hours from dallas, sounds like a good replacement for the HKS coilovers.

[Nismo_Freak]

We are in Round Rock, Tx.

We do carry the S13 coilovers, they are the same price, just not on the website yet. Should be soon.

Current leadtime on the coilovers is 4 - 6 months right now.

Price is $1040 shipped, and for you Texas guys we will eat some of the tax for you and sell them for $1090.

If you'd like to pick up a set feel free to email us, [email protected] , or give us a call 1-866-SPL-PART

BTW, we are a paid Zilvia advertiser.

[chmercer]

splparts is in roundrock tx. about having to pay tax - shoot them an email and check the price for them when they arent shipped.

edit - whoops nismo already got it for me

[pruto]

question, who makes these?

[Zemus]

Once my D2's blow, im all about those

[Nismo_Freak]

Our shocks vs. Tein RA's



This is a shock dyno, basically what it tells you is that on their hardest setting they are ever bit as hard as the RA's (on their hardest setting) but have much more adjustability.

[Var]

Originally Posted by pruto

question, who makes these?

and also what's the warranty. i dont want to end up like the guys who buy JIC


edit: what are the spring rate listings for on the top of the dyno graph? is that the spring rate that the shocks are valved for? in that case you 7K shocks is as stiff as a tein 10K shock?

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by westboroughpimp

and also what's the warranty. i dont want to end up like the guys who buy JIC

1 yr. warranty covering shocks and materials.

Please note: Stupidity, lack of experience (ie. improper installation, usage, etc.), and running over things like curbs, dogs, your neighbors, girlfriends, etc. is not covered.

[nightwalker]

material used for construction?
build quality? who?
long term?
handling tests!

I've had my HE's for three years and will be looking for another set of coilovers. So it's good to see what's out there. If these are a competent competitor, all the better.

But I'll wait until a couple sets are sold and see how everyone likes them. (specifically people who are going to abuse them)

[AadosX]

These look nice, but I personally will stick with Tein HE. I like peace of mind and name brand is important to me.

Who makes these anyways?

Oh, and I really think there should be the brake line mount.

[Var]

thanks for quick response..some more questions sorrry

1-Are they shocks rebuildable through spl? how much is the charge? how much for replacement shocks? 2-Will spl ever make suspension kits for a deal...ie: coilovers, ruca's, powerbrace, and tension rods for x amount cheaper than if you buy separately
3-where are the shocks manufactured?
4-on the dyno graph, which is spl? the one that starts on top or bottom?

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by nightwalker

material used for construction?
build quality? who?
long term?
handling tests!

I've had my HE's for three years and will be looking for another set of coilovers. So it's good to see what's out there. If these are a competent competitor, all the better.

But I'll wait until a couple sets are sold and see how everyone likes them. (specifically people who are going to abuse them)

Steel body and bracket construction, aluminum perches, aluminum PBUs.

Long term, I don't forsee anything in the valving that would cause them to be any worse than a Tein damper or JIC for that matter. They are tuned with the spring rates and as long as you keep them on the softer settings (which is true for any shock) you should get good life out of them.

Quality is ever bit as good as any other coilover I have seen, this includes JIC, Tein, Cusco, Tanabe, etc. You can clearly see them representated in the pictures above. The pictures are accurate.

Handling tests? ... there is no standardized method with which we could test the suspension. Everyone has a different setup, and not all equal part setups are equal in tuning level. I have driven on it and honestly it feels better than my Tein HA's.

[Var]

what about rebuildability, costs and are they rebuildable in the US?

[AKADriver]

Hell... a shop that stands behind their shocks with a shock dyno? I'm sold. The only other company I've seen do this is Koni.

I don't know if it's just the picture, but the lower mounts for the SPLParts dampers look a little longer than the Tein lower mounts. If they are, it's good for a little more wheel clearance.

[Var]

it would be even better if we found out they were using koni shocks..lol i would buy a set right now.

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by westboroughpimp

thanks for quick response..some more questions sorrry

1-Are they shocks rebuildable through spl? how much is the charge? how much for replacement shocks? 2-Will spl ever make suspension kits for a deal...ie: coilovers, ruca's, powerbrace, and tension rods for x amount cheaper than if you buy separately
3-where are the shocks manufactured?
4-on the dyno graph, which is spl? the one that starts on top or bottom?

1 - Yes, but we offer a better deal. We will give you new shocks to replace the ones you have. Tein charges $150 / shock to rebuild them, we sell all 4 replacement shocks for $550 shipped. Shock is the entire threaded piece, so you swap your hardware over to the new shocks and you've got new housings and shocks vs. just rebuilt cores.

2 - There are honestly too many setups to go with. If you look on our website there isn't one thing we can't replace, other than the actual subframe, with something we sell. However for people that wish to get coilovers, tension rods, RUCA's, toe rods, etc. or a combination of such we can usually work around with the price, just shoot us an email ([email protected]).

3 - Japan

4 - SPL is the thinner lines, the ones with more range.