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  • TEIN - Driving Impressions

    ** Disclaimer ** The following driving impressions are strictly the opinion of the drivers who created them. There was no compensation or gift recieved by the test drivers performing these tests. Your results may vary.


    TEIN Driving Impressions
    Driving impressions
    Test Driver: Stacey B. ‘Racy-Stacey’ SCCA Club racer and former Roush test driver.
    Passenger: Mike P. Car owner of the test mule.
    Vehicle specs: ’93 Ford Probe GT – TEIN Super Street suspension
    Swaybar: Front: Stock Rear: 16mm Mazdaspeed Rear Stabilzer
    No Strut Tower Bars
    Alignment settings: FRONT [Zero Setting on Camber Plates] - (L) Camber -1.5 Caster +3.0 Toe +0.15 (R) Camber -1.5 Caster +3.3 Toe +0.17 REAR - (L) Camber -0.8 Toe +0.14 (R) Camber -0.8 Toe +0.12 Thrust Angle -0.01
    Dampening Setting: (16) Softest setting X4 corners
    Vehicle weight: 2 passengers 350 lbs – 25 lbs in luggage in hatch area.

    TEIN - TEST ONE

    Regular daily type driving
    1. Small bumps
    2. Cruising
    3. Driveway feel

    During the Regular driving test at the softest setting I rode as a passenger and drove the car. When I was a passenger I noticed right away, that even though the suspension dampening was on the softest setting. The car still had a little more feel of the road than what you could compare to from a sedan with a floated suspension. So quickly I equated that this suspension is not a stock replacement. So any comparisons to a soft riding suspension with minimal driver feedback could now be thrown out. Cruising was crisp and lane changes were very comfortable. When we entered a driveway with a 1” lip we felt the front tire crawl over the lip. So the feedback to the driver of road surfaces is precise. It wasn’t jarring or bouncing but you did feel it. Also unlike other cars I’ve ridden in. The car didn’t seem to twist and strain the suspension.

    TEIN – TEST TWO

    Canyon driving
    1. Transition
    2. Cornering hold
    3. Push / Rotate
    4. Braking/ acceleration
    5. Emergency avoidance


    Test two was performed in Turnboe Canyon. Due to time constraints we could only run through three settings of the suspensions overall dampening settings. (16),(10)&(6). The Super Street comes with 16 settings. 16 being the softest, and 1 being the tightest, we continued the test with the settings at all four corners at (16).

    The first turn was in a residential area and the speed was about 15 mph. I didn’t lift off the throttle; I rolled off about 20% throttle and made a quick 90 left-hander. The car responded very surprisingly flat. As I approached the end of mid corner I increased the throttle to pull the car the rest of the way and realized I didn’t need to. The car went through the corner very flat and this was at the softest setting. There was a little body roll but nothing outside of what you would suspect from a performance suspension. The next couple of turns were also at relatively low speed. So I have to say that at this setting the car is very forgiving. If the driver makes a mistake and has to react quickly and gets out of there comfort zone the car will assist them at low speeds. Steering input was also very nice and didn’t require any effort to turn the car.

    The next series of turns involved hills and corners. The first part of the canyon is very twisty and low speed. We took the first 4 corners in third gear. The posted speed 15mph. The car tracked very nicely through at 24. The next part was an ascending climb to a tight 90 deg turn. With our increased speed we found the car push a little and did a little throttle lift to bring the front traction back. The softness of the dampening we agreed was the cause of this. The next series of corners gave me the impression of driving a newer sedan with high technology in the suspension. The car flowed through the corners with my every steering input. I tested nose-dive and there was a very acceptable amount. The suspension hunched down and the felt planted. The suspension didn’t feel as if it bottomed out its travel, which was really nice since we were at such a soft setting. The front tires led the rear at this setting so the car would push and there wasn’t any rear end rotation. At the limits the car made the driver feel in control of the car and not a passenger.

    At the top of the mountain we decided to change the settings to the next level. (10). Here was started out very conservatively as before. Like before I wanted to work my way up to what the suspension had to offer. The first series of corners were all down hill. The slow speeds – 25-35 – kept everything very comfortable. The transition from left to right was very noticeably different from the previous setting. The car also drove over terrain differently. The cars suspension started to entice the driver to drive it a little hard or aggressively through the corners. The ability to whip the steering wheel around and stay hooked to the road was really nice. At this setting I made the comparison between the Tokico-Illumina / Eibach suspension. Perhaps (11) would get you a very similar feel. So at this level the car was now very familiar to drive. The handling had now grown up a bit. The car started carving though the canyon and was very forgiving again, but not so much as to let my mother drive it around like this. The straight line bumps in the road are now more pronounced and the increased steering response would be to much for her. Braking dive and acceleration were very nice again. At this level the car could be pushed but to achieve rear end rotation you needed either sharp throttle off cornering or ‘Fade’ type drive technique to get the rear end to rotate. The front end had more bite and didn’t push nearly as much at this setting.

    ( Stay tuned more to come )
    Last edited by "The Brain"; October 6, 2005, 11:11 PM.
    Toodles, Stacey_B --++=1st Gens not slow!=++-- FallGuy
    MY 'NEW' 1990 RACE CAR Stacey_B AOL IM: SCCAStaceyIB - SCCA RS - Solo2 (FSP) "Girls Do It Better" Cal Club www.scpoc.com : www.probetalk.com Racing is my life. Winner One Lap of America 2003- SSGT2 class 1996 Ford Probe GT. Hagopian/Bertran
    Sponsors: Porterfield Racing Brakes - LTB Motorsports - Tires Warehouse - Auto-Meter

  • #2
    TEIN Testing Part 2 - Driver - Stacey

    TEIN - Test three - Setting on (6)

    This next test involved setting all 4 corners once again the same at [6]. This is the hardest setting we felt we should try before the sun went down. Accelerating away from a dead stop felt just like the past couple of settings. As I increased the speed I started to rotate the steering very smoothly from left to right still traveling forward and at a slight upward angle at about 20 mph. I did this to get a feel of steering response at this setting. The response indicated that the car was steering much sharper than before. The first part of the canyon took us back again through the same section as we did at the (16) setting. But something happened this time that didn’t happen the last time. As we climbed up the hill and made the sweeping left hand turn. I felt the car skip off a bump in the road. The car must have skipped about 3 inches off the bump. A bump at the (16) setting that we never noticed before. Also at the top of the first part of the hill as it made a sharp right hand turn I noticed that the car was now starting to rotate through the turn. So the suspension now is so stiff that it bounces off bumps on the road and allows the rear end to rotate a little during a sharp right hand turn.

    Once I increased the speed a little I tried some avoidance steering inputs to see if the car was safe to toss around at this setting. The steering response was unbelievable. The sharpness gave me the confidence I needed. The next thing that I noticed was the over all feel of the car. It once again went through a metamorphosis. I felt like I was driving a track car. It did feel a lot more like Gavin’s autocross-prepped 1st gen MX-6 GT, but it didn’t handle like that car. Gavin’s setup is tuned to be very rear end happy. This was not, and the first 4 or 5 turns gave me inspiration to test at higher speeds. The first things I noticed was the acceleration and braking transitions were very smooth like the (10) setting before. The suspension was begging for sticky tires as I drove harder and harder through some of the very sharp 90 and 120 deg turns. At this setting you are certainly in a track/autocross car type setup, because the car reacts like it. ‘This is Fun‘ is what I said, as I slowed it down and thought about all the new sensations I was experiencing. Through some of the corners it was like you were riding a roller coaster. The car turned where you pointed it and did everything smoothly. I used a lot of left foot braking and other racing techniques to really push the limits of the tires. Through one turn I tested mid corner avoidance steering and the rear end reacted more responsive. I can force the rear end to rotate, but it didn’t want to do it on its own. Throttle rotational steering is great for people who like a neutral feeling car. With a little less front dampening or a little more rear dampening, it is very possible that you can really rotate the car through the turns with steering and throttle inputs.

    During the test we also noticed that we never bottomed out the suspension. The hills we drove had left and right hand turns that were flat and some went up hill and some went down hill and some s-curve transitions went from on-camber left to on camber right, that really tested the flexibility of the cars suspension to keep it planted to the ground through these back and fourth transitions.

    Overall Impression

    The TEIN Super Street suspension system can truly be called a performance suspension upgrade. Even at its softest setting you can feel your riding on a performance suspension. You wont get a Cadillac soft and cushy ride with this suspension. So if your looking for one this isn’t the one for you. But for the rest of us looking for a performance suspension this could be the last one you ever need to buy. The flexibility, the cost, the choice of springs, the low cost to replace/change springs, the ability to service the struts, the ability to tune the struts to your liking. All these things make the TEIN suspension stand out.

    The adjustability of the Super Street allows you to go from its lowest (softest) setting (16-13) – and achieve an entry level performance suspension feel with some very nice manners. Take the next step and tune it up a little to the mid range (12-8) and your now on par with most of performance suspension set-ups currently available. Tune it up even more to achieve some really track worthy characteristics (7-1). All this can be done within a few minutes, with a twist of a strut valve. This was one of the really exciting parts of the test. We realized that roughly every 4 clicks of adjustment, brings you a totally different feel. As if you just completely changed out your suspension for a different one. Set it to do what you want, and with the availability of the EDFC you can change on the fly. You can experience the full range of adjustability as you need it, or want it.

    To think that after so much time, to think that after so many years, so many other suspension systems or hack jobs. To think that finally we can get the suspension that we’ve always wanted - Is finally here, is very exciting! I was impressed; I was happily surprised at what the ride quality was like. I was happy, and felt satisfied that my enthusiasm and optimistic feelings of what TEIN was making for us would unfold. It is a great system, and to think that there are other more advanced systems in TEIN’s line up is just scary. After the long back and forth drive up and down the mountain we talked about the TEIN basic damper. If its even 20% of this system its going to be worth every dollar. Having a system specifically made for our cars is what sets this apart from anything else I’ve ridden in. In a few words – Versatile – Ease of adjustment – ride quality – and driver confidence.

    Thanks for reading..

    There will be other drivers sharing their impression in this thread. We would like to reserve this thread for driver's impressions only. For comments on these impressions please see the comments thread. Thanks again.
    Toodles, Stacey_B --++=1st Gens not slow!=++-- FallGuy
    MY 'NEW' 1990 RACE CAR Stacey_B AOL IM: SCCAStaceyIB - SCCA RS - Solo2 (FSP) "Girls Do It Better" Cal Club www.scpoc.com : www.probetalk.com Racing is my life. Winner One Lap of America 2003- SSGT2 class 1996 Ford Probe GT. Hagopian/Bertran
    Sponsors: Porterfield Racing Brakes - LTB Motorsports - Tires Warehouse - Auto-Meter

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