Coilovers, Buddy Club N+ spec Vs Tein SS

[spetz]

A friend has an MY06 STi
And wants to get coilovers
He wants them for lowered looks but also for handling.
Just wondering which ones are better, Buddy Club N+ spec or the Tein SS?

Or any other coilovers around the 2K mark? Cusco?

[kayot1k]

most reputable coilover brands would want atleast $1500-$2000 for entry level coilovers.
the list goes on for coilover brands in that range.
why doesnt your mate log onto the suburau forums and see what them boyz are running for suspensions.
also depends on what application your friend wants the coilovers for.
these two brand you mention are entry level, for most these are usually sufficient enough.
but then again if your hardcore thats another story,

[Professional]

Both are very similar. Depends on the price. Around 2K mark, you may choose many brands of coilovers. I will choose the brand which specialize on coilovers.

[turtleEK1]

buddy club shits all over the tein SS's... with the buddy clubs you can go low and have the same spring rate = good handling...

where as the tein... lower you go, the more the spring gets compressed and your handling is crap... you'll bounce all over the shop!

if you wanted tein... go for something higher

[rated_r]

i think the buddyclub n+ are hard upper mount, where as the tein ss are no uppermounts and also the height adjustments are on the spring only for the teins and the buddyclubs are from the spring and the bottom of the shock where it conects to the control arm.

in my opinion i think the n+ is the better by far

[Cr@ckerJ@ck]

And the buddyclub wins!!

[[stealth]]

Ya BC are the go.. from what I can see

[1900-hustler]

to be honest u kinda gta compare tein flex and BC n+.. and even then i reckon BC is the better..

imo tho.. the springrates of the n+ suited to my driving better and the streets i was in.. (tein flex was too hard for my own street.. and my gf haaha)

edit: oh and to be clear.. its not my car that has the bc.. although thats wat i plan on puttin on it.. lol

[Professional]

I am using Tein Flex on my dc5r. It can lower a lot and improve a lot from handling. I love Tein coilovers.

[Mikeyas]

Tein SS have served me very well so far. Vastly improved handling with a very good ride comfort. Remember your not going to to be a "hard core" racer every day on the street. And you are going to do things other then race around corners all day everyday. Do you really want to bounce around on hard as hell coilovers all day for the marginal increase in street situations or a decent ride with well above par handling ?

[Justified]

His choice in coilovers really depends on his application.

In regards to the Tein Superstreets, in order to adjust the height for the looks which is what your mate wants, you'd be looking at compressing the spring which in turn changes its springrate. i.e., the lower your mate wants the car, the higher the spring rate, the stiffer/uncomfortable his ride will be.

If your mate is looking at getting a set of Teins, I would recommend Tein Flex, as they have a spring independent height adjustment. This means, he can lower his car without having to change the spring rate, hence keeping the comfortness.

Another thing to look at for comfort, is not only the spring rates, but also how well the shock absorbers are on the coilover.

I've actually found the Tein dampers to be quite harsh. So even though they may have lower spring rates, they may not necessarily be more comfortable on the street.

Brands with good dampers would include zeals, hks even..

Other coilovers to consider would be zeals function B6 or even the HKS Performers if they are available for your mates car.

But if you're mate is set on getting either the buddy clubs or teins ss, I'd suggest the buddy clubs purely because you wont need to adjust the springs when adjusting the height of the car.

[spetz]

I don't understand why the springs would get stiffer the lower you go?
I have Tein SS and by looking at them I don't see going lower getting stiffer?



He doesn't know much about cars and I am trying to help him make the best decision

[aznpsuazn]

To the best of my limited knowledge, a spring's rate is only affected by 3 factors
- amount of active coils or the spring
- the width of the spring material itself
- the average spring diameter aka mean diameter

Springs do increase their rate as they are compressed, not only as a characteristic of springs themself, but as with the Tein SS, when you lower them you compress the spring. A side effect is also the smaller amount of travel you have between each coil, and over sustained bumps you will experience coil bind - which is where one coil touches the adjacent coil. For that momentary contact you will have 1 less active coils, also affecting the already impaired spring rate.

Was that good bs or what?

[spetz]

Ok and the way I see it, is if you lower it more, you are moving the spring further down the coilover so in fact it does not get any more compressed? In fact, it would be more compressed at the highest setting if anything?

Now is that good bs or what :)

[ewendc2r]

He is saying that as you lower the Tein SS, you compress the spring. They do not have a bottom adjustment for height setting, and as such, the more you compress a spring, there will be a proportionate increase in the static spring rate.

[bennjamin]

A certain fact is that the lower you go , the less suspension travel you will have. To contain that bound/rebound you need stiffer spring rates...as well as well designed shocks to absorb the travel.
A spring rate is determined with its stock length (uncompressed) and deformed length ( compressed , static) so from basic understanding being at a different height which changes its static load does change the rate.

[spetz]

Ok I haven't ever adjusted my Tein's, so I will not comment on them

But, on my old Fulcrum's, which seem to be the same type of adjustment, the more I lowered it, the less trapped the spring would be so then why would this make it stiffer??
The adjustment is at the bottom of the shock, so by setting it higher it would compress the spring. The fulcrums didn't have the helper spring

[RexJacky]

I am driving a 05 Rexy.. as others mention already, Tein SS is not in the same category as the BuddyClub N+. N+ is more comparable with Tein Flex. SS is not full length adjustable type of suspension. so the spring rate varies while doing height adjustment. and about N+ to Flex, the spring rate is different, N+ for GDB STI is Front 8K, Rear 6K, where as Flex is front 6K, rear 5k setup. We sell both in our shop as well as i have been into customers car with either suspension (even the SS). From exprience, the N+ you would get sharper handling and stronger struct setup. but the flex would give you more flexibilty as you could get the EDFC and adjust the damping inside the carbin. but my suggestion is not to use SS as they are just not up there. if you are aftering comfortable ride, why borther with coilover? a good set of adjustable shock and lowering spring would get what you after. But taste to suspension is each to their own. theres no perfect setting for everyone. but to start with, the price tag of N+ would be nicer.

hope this help.

[spetz]

How much would you do the N+ for a 06 STi?

[RexJacky]

You have PM mate~

[MRH-22A]

Ok I haven't ever adjusted my Tein's, so I will not comment on them

But, on my old Fulcrum's, which seem to be the same type of adjustment, the more I lowered it, the less trapped the spring would be so then why would this make it stiffer??
The adjustment is at the bottom of the shock, so by setting it higher it would compress the spring. The fulcrums didn't have the helper spring

this guy is right.

the lower you adjust the height... the less compressed the spring becomes.

[HRD2BQT]

SS & N+ are both good example of an entry level coilover system. Both have a good warranty, Tein has rebuild facility in Australia and N+ come with 24months replacement warranty provided they are factory faulty unit. But in this instance, I wud rather get N+ due to it's dual height adjustable features and the hard top mount package where the SS don't have.

clear ur pm Phil

[PaZzMaN-R]

im sitting here thinking to myself that everyone has it wrong... or maby its just me that has it wrong. iv been in the 06 sti and the suspention is damn firm and awesome. i owned buddyclub n+ and they are awesome but this is what im thinking. the buddyclub n+ even though aftermarket may not be a better performing coilover compared to the stock sti ones. the only advantage of going to the aftermarket coilovers mentioned is that it will lower the car.

my advice is to contact mrt. they subaru specialist and they have a forum. i would tell your friend to also look at bilstein or a brand that specialises more for subarus:)

[RexJacky]

im sitting here thinking to myself that everyone has it wrong... or maby its just me that has it wrong. iv been in the 06 sti and the suspention is damn firm and awesome. i owned buddyclub n+ and they are awesome but this is what im thinking. the buddyclub n+ even though aftermarket may not be a better performing coilover compared to the stock sti ones. the only advantage of going to the aftermarket coilovers mentioned is that it will lower the car.

my advice is to contact mrt. they subaru specialist and they have a forum. i would tell your friend to also look at bilstein or a brand that specialises more for subarus:)

its about the flexibility about having coilover. the stock sti sussy is what we always called "Hard when driving slow, but soft when you drive fast". With the coilover, you are not just having the flexibility on adjusting the ride hieght, as well as the way your car taking a corner. from the damping setup, you could set your car being netural, under, or oversteering while taking corner. with a sti or rexy sussy, you would be feel like driving a boat while its at speed. bilstein are good but set you back for around 4k. and goodluck with mrt as well... :wave:

[HRD2BQT]

the thread initiator specifically mentioned on the first post that his friend is looking to upgrade suspension for something that will lower d car & at the same time handling is just secondary.

The purpose of this topic is to basically compare BC N+ vs TEIN SS and not to compare to OEM SUSSY. Fair enuff there are other better performing coilovers/suspension available out there - but bear in mind tha the budget is only around $2G's where choices r limited to BCN+, TEIN SS, D2, GForce, HSD

PS
Im not a suspension / handling genius either :) :)

[Malenic1981]

Ok I got my Tein S/S few weeks ago, they are on DC2R and I can tell you that I'm very happy, I looked around and at the end went for S/S mainly because they offer the most complete package (warranty, price ect) plus they are made for oz roads, I can't say that they are better or worst than BC N+ but I can tell you that they are worth the money.
I got mine for $1910 installed (with all the warrantys and so on) with wheel aligment, plus free suspension addustments any time I want. The only cheaper sets I could get were D2, K-sport, G4, but for few hundred dollars I think it's better to get something that's proven.

[HRD2BQT]

the reality is, choosing suspension is dependent on each individual specific requirments, needs & purpose and that's of course on top of the COST. Some people are happy to buy just any brand as long as they are coilovers and some people go extra miles choosing something more than just Height Adjust / Damper Adjust.
Anything you buy that makes you happy is worth the money. Who cares if its just D2, GForce, HSD, K-Sport, TEIN or BC etc. It's your personal satisfaction that matters d most :) :) :)

[spetz]

To clear things up
He is looking at lowering the car but it does have to offer a noticable improvement in handling

Like HRD2BQT said though the budget is not 4K but rather around the 2K mark.


Unfortunately his car got keyed the other weekend and he is now uncertain when he'll get the coilovers


Does anyone know the spring rates for stock 06 STi and the Buddy Club and Tein spring rates?