Anyone running the New Tein Street Advance Coilovers? Questions about setup...

[teedoff00]

So I'm desperately needing to redo the suspension in my Supra and had long decided that I would get the Illumina IIs and Eibach combo, but because of the recent shortage, I have started shopping other options.

I saw that Tein has replaced their Super Street line with a new Street Advance line which are supposedly upgraded in many ways and also are much more affordable, around $950. So now I am leaning towards getting a set of these.

Questions:
1. Are they EDFC compatible??? All the vendors have them listed as "non-compatible", but on Tein's website, http://www.tein.com/price/toyota.html, it lists the Street Advance for the MA70 Supra, model #GSL44-2USS2 with compatibility for EDFC Part #EDK05-12120. Which I believe to be the motor only kit.
2. If they are indeed EDFC compatible, will they work with all available EDFC controllers? EDFC, EDFC II, EDFC Active?
3. The Tein site lists that they install with the OEM mounts, if this is the case, what is/are the advantages to installing with pillow uppers if our cars don't have a true strut setup?
4. How do you like them? On their softest setting, how do they compare to stock ride quality?

This car is my daily driver, and I am not sure how stiff I really want my suspension, but I think the Street Advance with the EDFC Active would definitely make me choose coilovers over the illumina/eibach route.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DeMoN2318]

I dont have any information on the TEIN coilovers...but I will say, I redid my entire suspension not too long ago and I went this Illumina IIs and Eibach and if I did it all again I would spring the extra cash and go coilovers without a second of thought.

nothing against the Illumina IIs or Eibachs but the adjustability of the coilovers, and the newer technology for only a few 100 more...worth it IMO

 

[teedoff00]

Yah That's where I am at. I'm thinking for the 700 plus I'd have to spend on Illumina/Eibachs, it might be worth it to just go Coilovers.

 

[DeMoN2318]

Yah That's where I am at. I'm thinking for the 700 plus I'd have to spend on Illumina/Eibachs, it might be worth it to just go Coilovers.

Yep I 100% agree.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I just bought koni shocks and Tanabe springs. I debated tein as well, but it was a significant cost increase and I don't trust them to last as long. I drive a lot of miles and plan on owning the car for another 50k miles minimum.

While the adjustability is nice, how often are you going to change it? If its a daily, I doubt you'll change it much.

The EDFC is super cool and I'm a huge fan of that. HOWEVER, the edfc setup nearly doubles the price. That $950 tein set becomes At least $300 more expensive. Nearly $800 for the edfc active. At which point there's a big difference between the cost of each option.

All that being said the edfc is really cool. Not sure how well it works but I think the idea is awesome, lol.

Sent from my Moto X.

 

[teedoff00]

Yah I estimated it would cost about 1300 for the Street Advance with EDFC, the active looks pretty cool but adds another 200, at 1500 it would be over double... the active would make the adjustability more "useful" as you could set it to Auto, and that would be a definate plus.

Suprarx7nut, have you heard that the Tein coilovers don't last very long? Because, you're right, if the setup lasted say, under 50k, the price wouldn't be worth it.

 

[suprarx7nut]

As a disclaimer, I dont have personal experience with any mk3 coil-overs. I've ridden in a couple mk3s with aftermarket shock/spring combos and one with no name coil-overs. Take my opinion for exactly that, an opinion.

That being said... my impression has been that in general, coil over setups are built cheaply in South East Asia with few exceptions. The valving is commonly cheap, the shock tubes are usually thin and warranties are short or non-existent. This is a well timed page from Tein's warranty section of their website:

This isn't to say all coil-overs are poorly made, but durability isn't usually the main attribute of any coil-over system until you get into the sets that are well over $1000. Take a look at Ohlins. While Tein is well known and well established I'd put my money on a set of Koni or Bilsteins lasting longer than a set of Super Streets or Flexes.

Conversely, Koni shocks are designed and engineered in Europe (Netherlands) and offer a lifetime warranty. Bilstein offers lifetime warranties on a variety of their offerings and 2 year or 90 day on others.

Coil overs offer adjust-ability first and foremost. That's great if you're constantly tweaking your set-up. That usually means regular alignments on an alignment rack and a lot of time with your car on jackstands. Not exactly my style.

There's my 0.02.

 

[teedoff00]

Thanks for your input, much appreciated.