SPL Parts Coilovers - Review

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by 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.

Actually, Charlie did mention that the frontal wheel clearance was improved over his Tein HE's. As for rear clearance I can't be certain.

[pruto]

rear wheel clearance for coilovers are never a problem tho...

awesome, i love how there are more and more products for us 240 folks here. =) keep up the good work

*sniff* happy tears. i remember just 2 years ago my options for s14 suspension under 1k were tokico blues, koni yellows, and tein RAs. My my how things have changed.

[Var]

you mean Tein Ha's not Ra's right?

[sykikchimp]

Originally Posted by 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.

Those look awesome, and that shock dyno is very good. Very equal yet linear changes b/w the settings. Only thing is there aren't 15 lines on there? Did they just test every other setting on the shocks? and only 2 settings on the RA's? Just curious. I'm assuming the thin lines are your shocks, and the RA's are the thick lines?? Usually the different settings are deliniated someway so you can tell which settings provide what amount of damping force.

What size pistons do the shocks use, and what kind of design are they? mono-tube?

Tein suck. They are budget coilovers all the way. Crap for dampening differentiation, and the dampers are much too soft for the springs they sell for performance. painted bodies, and limited camber adjustablity.. booo.. I never liked Tein coilovers.

Also - Inverted shocks are good b/c they reduce unsprung weight compared to normal shocks since the only part unsprung is the strut rod, instead of the shock body, and interior assembly. They are also stronger, and are more durable.

[chmercer]

Originally Posted by sykikchimp

Tein suck. They are budget coilovers all the way. Crap for dampening differentiation, and the dampers are much too soft for the springs they sell for performance. painted bodies, and limited camber adjustablity.. booo.. I never liked Tein coilovers.

false. tein makes a very high quality product. that is why they hold the majority of the market share in japan for suspension.

about wheel clearance - i run 17x9 +15 f 17x10 +25 r. with the tein HEs there was about 3mm of space between the HE spring perch and the inside lip of the wheel. it was very close. Now there is about an inch of clearance with the SPLs. this is in the front. in the rear i had no problems with either setup, i would have to run like 12" wide to run out of room in the back.

[chmercer]

Originally Posted by westboroughpimp

you mean Tein Ha's not Ra's right?

RAs. kuah had tein RA on his z32 and was dissapointed, and now runs the SPL setup.

[sykikchimp]

Originally Posted by chmercer

false. tein makes a very high quality product. that is why they hold the majority of the market share in japan for suspension.

Quit quoting magazine articles..

Their market is driven by advertising, and the almighty dollar just like ours is.

Tein coils suck. When I first started looking at coilovers, NOBODY wanted to run them b/c of all the rust problems EVERYONE was having, and the blown struts, and crappy damping. Now since Tein has started advertising their elite "Drift Spec" coilovers, suddenly they are the hot shit. I don't think so.

[justinhustle]

its always been a choice between gab, hks, and cusco for me

fawk tein and their trendy edfc for ex civic owners w/ airride who now have s13 and flex :P

[Var]

Originally Posted by chmercer

RAs. kuah had tein RA on his z32 and was dissapointed, and now runs the SPL setup.

since when can you get ra's for under 1000? + was directed towards pruto not you

Originally Posted by pruto

remember just 2 years ago my options for s14 suspension under 1k were tokico blues, koni yellows, and tein RAs

[citizen]

I've been impressed with SPL quality and I think i know what coilovers I will get.

[AKADriver]

Originally Posted by sykikchimp

Tein coils suck. When I first started looking at coilovers, NOBODY wanted to run them b/c of all the rust problems EVERYONE was having, and the blown struts, and crappy damping. Now since Tein has started advertising their elite "Drift Spec" coilovers, suddenly they are the hot shit. I don't think so.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers that! People used to bash Tein HARD, haha.

For a street car, I'd still consider the Flex, only because they took care of the rust issue, and the street spring rates should work well with the damping.

In the end, all coilover setups are flawed somehow, but you have to pick your battles.

Personally, I'm a bit bothered by the lack of a brake line bracket on these. I guess you'd have to tie-wrap your brake line to the lower bracket?

[TheTimanator]

Originally Posted by AKADriver

I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers that! People used to bash Tein HARD, haha.

For a street car, I'd still consider the Flex, only because they took care of the rust issue, and the street spring rates should work well with the damping.

In the end, all coilover setups are flawed somehow, but you have to pick your battles.

Personally, I'm a bit bothered by the lack of a brake line bracket on these. I guess you'd have to tie-wrap your brake line to the lower bracket?

I remember that. So they never fixed the "rust problem" on the HE's? I haven't heard anyone talk about that in a long time. As for the brake line bracket.... Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, will the lines rub the wheel or something without it?

[nightwalker]

I'll wait for some performance driving impressions from auto-x people (would be good advertising to sponsor someone with a set)

[HyperTek]

I wanna see these go up againts Aerestages'......

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by nightwalker

I'll wait for some performance driving impressions from auto-x people (would be good advertising to sponsor someone with a set)

We tested these on Willow Springs during ZCon (National Z Convention), performed very well and up to our standards. Kuah drove on them all the way from Austin, Texas to California and back on them.

Honestly we don't feel the need to sponsor someone with a set when we drive the same cars, drive the same events, and have alot of experience with different setups. Someone that hasn't already driven other setups can't really make an accurate comparison of the products in that regard.

There is one thing I'd like everyone to know about SPL that many other shops don't do. That is that we don't sell anything that we 1. don't already use on our cars personally or 2. have tested before hand. Everything we list on our website has gone through fitment, technical, and pricing scrutiny, which is why you don't see alot of common items on our website. When we sell a product, we stand by it. We tell people the truth because that's just the way we do business. If we were out to make millions we would be selling anything and everything we could get our hands on, instead we'd rather make an honest living selling good parts. Might sound like babble to some, but ask some of our customers and I think you'll find that they believe in that as well.

[Zoom8112]

i have a question for the original poster:

how does the street ride compare? i mean on the softest recommended setting?

i have the HE's and they are just too harsh even on the softest setting for the roads here in san fran.

[atom]

Another nice thing (on paper anyways) about the KTS coilovers vs. the HE's is that the KTS's have 38mm inverted monotube absorbers vs. HE's 36mm (might be wrong about this one) twin tube absorbers.

Anyways, they look nice and beefy but I'm not gonna ditch my HE's just yet. It's just kind of funny that people seem to think these coilovers are SO much better than Tein (yet they don't specify which Tein) and Tein is a POS company yet KTS is a Tein Master Shop.......

[ICKY]

I think i will wait a few months to see if they can actually last as long, and to see how many people like them. The only 2 things stopping me from getting some for myself. My shocks/springs are about to go out on me and i need to find a replacement.

[sykikchimp]

specifically, the HA's had the most rust problems. No idea if they fixed it. Things certainly change..

It says on their site:
Front: inverted shock configuration with 40mm diameter piston, high pressure gas monotube construction
Rear: 49mm diameter piston high pressure gas monotube construction

...that's excellent.

KTS may be a "Tein master shop" (whatever that is), but these coilovers are nothing like most Tein products.

[thirteenlashes]

Nismo_Freak, maybe I missed it, but what are the spring rates for the s13 coilovers? I'm a little concerned about how they'll hold up to a Minnesota winter. New heim joints would come with replacement shocks, correct? You said it would be 4-6 months out for s13...do you mean 4-6 mos from when I order or you'll have some in stock in 4-6 months? Thanks!

[chmercer]

to the person asking about street driving - they are pretty smooth, i have them on about 4 out of 15 right now and it is much better than 1 on the HEs. very smooth but not bouncy.

my HEs never rusted for the entire time that i had them. the perches got stuck once or twice, but thats my own fault for not cleaning them. i dont know why you guys think tein is crap. tein wins a lot more races than jic or whatever.

[justinhustle]

im only against the 3-6 month wait o.O

[sykikchimp]

Originally Posted by chmercer

tein wins a lot more races than jic or whatever.

nobody said anything about JIC being better.. Lately, they seem even worse.

I'm just saying there are much better options. I'm sure they work fine for most people.

[thirteenlashes]

Originally Posted by thirteenlashes

Nismo_Freak, maybe I missed it, but what are the spring rates for the s13 coilovers? I'm a little concerned about how they'll hold up to a Minnesota winter. New heim joints would come with replacement shocks, correct? You said it would be 4-6 months out for s13...do you mean 4-6 mos from when I order or you'll have some in stock in 4-6 months? Thanks!

I emailed SPL...their post should have read 4-6 weeks out for s13 coilovers, not months. Also, the spring rates for s13 are 8k and 6k like the s14.

[justinhustle]

ya i thought i heard different when i called them to get some group pricing going

[orion::S14]

Originally Posted by TheTimanator

So they never fixed the "rust problem" on the HE's? I haven't heard anyone talk about that in a long time.

No rust problem with HEs...as someone else pointed out, HA had the rust problem. Just like the Apex and others with steel collars and/or boshock bodies...basically if it's made of a material that can rust, it will.

But the HE's are pretty much all aluminum. So no rust problems there...

Just so we're clear.

- Brian

[Var]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

ya i thought i heard different when i called them to get some group pricing going

that post is useless unless you explain yourself. what did they say?

[justinhustle]

Originally Posted by westboroughpimp

that post is useless unless you explain yourself. what did they say?

man o man


can i have like a DAY or TWO to organize something, or shall i just pass out half the information now and some to be named later...i like to get all details squared away before i share anything pricewise...

that post was me lettin the population know i heard what they wanted and im trying to get it for em

your post is useless unless you plan to buy something or share some needed info

[Var]

no my post isnt useless i was trying to get info . which makes 2 of your posts useless,. i win, hahahaha

no seriouly i was trying to find out about the wait time that's all. i'll sit here patiently and wait for you. no rush

[Nismo_Freak]

Originally Posted by thirteenlashes

Nismo_Freak, maybe I missed it, but what are the spring rates for the s13 coilovers? I'm a little concerned about how they'll hold up to a Minnesota winter. New heim joints would come with replacement shocks, correct? You said it would be 4-6 months out for s13...do you mean 4-6 mos from when I order or you'll have some in stock in 4-6 months? Thanks!

4-6 weeks is the lead time, I made a typo.

Spring rates are 8 / 6 kgf/mm