| Tein Flex Coilovers - Control Master
Imagine standing in the suspension section of your local performance shop. You have your recent burger flipping paycheck in your hand (don't feel bad, it's more than we make) and you have to make a decision on what suspension setup to buy. You drive around with your girlfriend during the week and she won't put up with a rough riding, stiff suspension. So maybe lowering springs and soft riding struts and shocks. But then again, you take your car to the track on weekends and a soft suspension just won't meet your performance needs. There once was a time when performance and comfort were not to be used in the same sentence when talking about suspension. A high performance suspension would leave you with jarred innards on a daily basis and a soft one could sacrifice some serious lap times. Those days have come to an end. Paul Penkingcarn and Tein USA have succeeded with their extensive research and testing to merge comfort and performance. Tein offers several different types of suspensions to suit a wide range of driving styles. We chose to use the Type Flex coilover system on our Silvia. Damper force can be adjusted 16 ways to let us take on the tightest turns or drive through the most pothole infested streets without a flinch. The full threaded body allows two means of adjustment. One for spring seat and one for ride height. We complemented the Type Flex coilovers with the Electronic Damping Force Controller (EDFC), which allows us to play with the damping force from inside the car. Front and rear dampers can be adjusted independently from each other and three presets can be programmed into the memory. What does this mean? It means that you don't have to get out of your car with a little hex key wrench every time you want to change the way your car rides. Which will save you a lot of time when trying to find the perfect tension settings. Not many companies can boast that feature. With both units working in conjunction with each other, ultimate suspension settings can be achieved in no time, then saved in memory for later use.
The Low Down
Msrp: Type Flex Dampers $1,560, EDFC $380
Pros: Full ride control from within the cabin. Coilovers can be rebuilt in-house.
Cons: Wiring harness for the EDFC and motors is very long.
Install Difficulty: Intermediate
Verdict: Smooth, street-like ride with hardcore, track performance handling.