A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers

4banger · 03-04-2008, 06:14 PM

With a little over 70K on the odometer, I have finally installed my Turn-In Concepts coilovers with 7/6K springs and Group-N front and rear mounts.

Background: Please take my review with a grain of salt. I spent several months in daily contact with Clint (TiC) and Stretch pouring over the details of the dampening. I am just a little biased.

Mods: My other mods include a Whiteline 29mm FSB, X-brace, outrigger bushings, rear diff bushings, and most of the TiC/Kartboy shifter upgrades.

One tip that I would like to pass on to everyone with an X-brace is that you should probably uninstall it prior to installing coilovers. After I put my car up on the lift and unbolted the old struts I was suprised to find that the orange tops for the X-brace shifted enough so they would not allow the the tophats to be installed in the car. Save your self some grief and uninstall the X-brace before you get the car off the ground. Otherwise, the install went great. Clint answered his cell when I called him Saturday afternoon to answer a question that I had when something looked strange. The brackets fit the abs and brake lines perfectly. This was surprising because my stock struts did not accomidate my Goodridge lines in the rear, but the TiCs fit them perfectly.

For now, I am running a 13.5" ride height front and rear. I know the front is too low, but it is still higher than my previous lowring springs and I was curious as to how it would handle. I also set the camber bolts to minimum camber.

The first thing that I noticed about the TiCs is that my car actually feels "sprung" now. It is hard to describe, but you can really feel the suspension working.

Previously, the front end of my car noisly crashed over speed bumps and the rear felt like it was launched into the air. The TiCs are silent and barely upset the car (pending of course on how fast you going) at appropriate speeds. In parking lots and other low speed situations I could hear what sounded like popcorn popping in the trunk. I was never able to determine the source of this noise, but it is now gone. On the highway, my STi would respond to hitting potholes with anything from a loud thud to a gunshot loud bang. The TiCs handle the bumps so much better. You can definately tell that the new springs are significantly stiffer, but the suspension soaks up the bumps with ease. No more bottoming out, that is for sure. There are some areas on the highway that where my STi would oscillate constantly. This still happens, but the magnitude of the oscillations is so small that it is barely noticable. I just can't get over how much more smoother the ride is.

When Stretch posted his review of these coilovers, he said that the TiCs were not better than stock, just different. I would have to disagree with Stretch. Granted, it has been quite some time since I've ridden on the stock suspension, but I have to say nearly every aspect for a daily driver has been improved. Small bumps are almost completed absorbed and the larger bumps are handled significantly better. I wouldn't have noticed one particular set of rumble strips at work except for the noise that the tires made going over them. The stiffer springs improve the handling, but the ride penalty seems pretty minimal. Mrs. 4banger's instant reaction was "It is sooo much less bouncy." I agree.

My plans for the future include: raising the front ride height, getting an alignment and reconnecting my X-brace. I also want to try the stock from sway again, before going to a medium sized bar.

slim9300 · 03-04-2008, 08:50 PM

Nice Review!

Mrs. 4Banger... that's some funny stuff right there.

***snorky*** · 03-04-2008, 09:21 PM

Nice review. Get a good alignment and report back!

chaos311clarity · 03-05-2008, 02:39 AM

what suspension were you on before this?

4banger · 03-05-2008, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaos311clarity

what suspension were you on before this?

Stock struts with RCE orange (yellow) springs, 29mm fsb and an X-brace. I still need to hook my X-brace back up.

***BoostJunkie*** · 03-05-2008, 01:49 PM

Nice review! I have a question though. You say that your ride height on yellows was 13.5" front? Were you using lowering plates? I've measured them on several cars I've installed them on and they were always 14" front and 13.5" rear.

polyol · 03-05-2008, 01:57 PM

I have installed rear struts on my STi more times than I can remember and it has the x-brace...the trick is to untighten the x-brace...get a friend and use a heft screwdriver to pry the brace so that the holes line up. It is a pain since you cant do it by yourself....but it is do-able and much easier than taking the x-brace off IMHO.

4banger · 03-05-2008, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

Nice review! I have a question though. You say that your ride height on yellows was 13.5" front? Were you using lowering plates? I've measured them on several cars I've installed them on and they were always 14" front and 13.5" rear.

You know, I didn't measure the before like I should have. It just looks like there is more wheel gap than before.

4banger · 03-05-2008, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polyol

I have installed rear struts on my STi more times than I can remember and it has the x-brace...the trick is to untighten the x-brace...get a friend and use a heft screwdriver to pry the brace so that the holes line up. It is a pain since you cant do it by yourself....but it is do-able and much easier than taking the x-brace off IMHO.

Thanks for the tip. I will give that a try next time.

stretch · 03-05-2008, 08:31 PM

Great review 'cept the whole "disagreeing with Stretch" part.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

Nice review! I have a question though. You say that your ride height on yellows was 13.5" front? Were you using lowering plates? I've measured them on several cars I've installed them on and they were always 14" front and 13.5" rear.

Remember these were your pre-production springs, not the ones that hundreds of people now run. Maybe they sagged, though I don't really buy into the idea that springs really do that. My theory is that at 70k, 4banger's bump stops had worn out from the constant beating, and since a lowered car sits on its bump stops at its normal ride height, the removal of that bump stop resistance will lower the car further. Another contributing factor could be 4bangers' struts losing gas pressure as they age.

4banger · 03-06-2008, 04:20 PM

I am pretty excited about going to the doctor tomorrow. I'll get to drive on some of the worst roads in town. So far rail road tracks and rumble strips don't give the TiCs problems, so I don't expect and problems. But, this parking lot has a speed bump that is so tall I would always just inch over it and brace for the horrible jarring thud that would result. I'll report on how she performs. This weekend I'm going to start playing around with different settings. The main thing that I am curious to find out is how harsh overly stiff dampening with plenty of travel feels.

03-04-2008, 06:14 PM	#1
4banger Professional STI Racer Car: 05 WRB STi Fav Mod: TiC AST's - 7/6K Location: Chesapeake, VA Posts: 621 Join Date: Feb 2005 Trader Rating: (3)	A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers With a little over 70K on the odometer, I have finally installed my Turn-In Concepts coilovers with 7/6K springs and Group-N front and rear mounts. Background: Please take my review with a grain of salt. I spent several months in daily contact with Clint (TiC) and Stretch pouring over the details of the dampening. I am just a little biased. Mods: My other mods include a Whiteline 29mm FSB, X-brace, outrigger bushings, rear diff bushings, and most of the TiC/Kartboy shifter upgrades. One tip that I would like to pass on to everyone with an X-brace is that you should probably uninstall it prior to installing coilovers. After I put my car up on the lift and unbolted the old struts I was suprised to find that the orange tops for the X-brace shifted enough so they would not allow the the tophats to be installed in the car. Save your self some grief and uninstall the X-brace before you get the car off the ground. Otherwise, the install went great. Clint answered his cell when I called him Saturday afternoon to answer a question that I had when something looked strange. The brackets fit the abs and brake lines perfectly. This was surprising because my stock struts did not accomidate my Goodridge lines in the rear, but the TiCs fit them perfectly. For now, I am running a 13.5" ride height front and rear. I know the front is too low, but it is still higher than my previous lowring springs and I was curious as to how it would handle. I also set the camber bolts to minimum camber. The first thing that I noticed about the TiCs is that my car actually feels "sprung" now. It is hard to describe, but you can really feel the suspension working. Previously, the front end of my car noisly crashed over speed bumps and the rear felt like it was launched into the air. The TiCs are silent and barely upset the car (pending of course on how fast you going) at appropriate speeds. In parking lots and other low speed situations I could hear what sounded like popcorn popping in the trunk. I was never able to determine the source of this noise, but it is now gone. On the highway, my STi would respond to hitting potholes with anything from a loud thud to a gunshot loud bang. The TiCs handle the bumps so much better. You can definately tell that the new springs are significantly stiffer, but the suspension soaks up the bumps with ease. No more bottoming out, that is for sure. There are some areas on the highway that where my STi would oscillate constantly. This still happens, but the magnitude of the oscillations is so small that it is barely noticable. I just can't get over how much more smoother the ride is. When Stretch posted his review of these coilovers, he said that the TiCs were not better than stock, just different. I would have to disagree with Stretch. Granted, it has been quite some time since I've ridden on the stock suspension, but I have to say nearly every aspect for a daily driver has been improved. Small bumps are almost completed absorbed and the larger bumps are handled significantly better. I wouldn't have noticed one particular set of rumble strips at work except for the noise that the tires made going over them. The stiffer springs improve the handling, but the ride penalty seems pretty minimal. Mrs. 4banger's instant reaction was "It is sooo much less bouncy." I agree. My plans for the future include: raising the front ride height, getting an alignment and reconnecting my X-brace. I also want to try the stock from sway again, before going to a medium sized bar. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad.

03-04-2008, 08:50 PM	#2
slim9300 Junior STI Driver Car: White 05 STi Fav Mod: dnx-7200 Location: Olympia, WA Posts: 144 Join Date: Oct 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers Nice Review! Mrs. 4Banger... that's some funny stuff right there.

03-04-2008, 09:21 PM	#3
*snorky* Teh Other White Meat Car: 32J GDFDYEH Fav Mod: Fullerton's Qrack on my car Location: Chicagoland Posts: 3,637 Join Date: Apr 2006 Trader Rating: (22)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers Nice review. Get a good alignment and report back!

03-05-2008, 02:39 AM	#4
chaos311clarity STI Guru Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: grip. Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 5,579 Join Date: Aug 2006 Trader Rating: (7)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers what suspension were you on before this?

03-05-2008, 01:49 PM	#6
*BoostJunkie* Sold My Soul For Mods Car: '05 CGM STi Fav Mod: Track Time Location: Bethesda, MD Posts: 6,454 Join Date: Jun 2004 Trader Rating: (12)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers Nice review! I have a question though. You say that your ride height on yellows was 13.5" front? Were you using lowering plates? I've measured them on several cars I've installed them on and they were always 14" front and 13.5" rear.

03-05-2008, 01:57 PM	#7
polyol Spec C Club Car: 04 STi Fav Mod: Motor Mounts Location: Eugene Posts: 2,237 Join Date: Oct 2004 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers I have installed rear struts on my STi more times than I can remember and it has the x-brace...the trick is to untighten the x-brace...get a friend and use a heft screwdriver to pry the brace so that the holes line up. It is a pain since you cant do it by yourself....but it is do-able and much easier than taking the x-brace off IMHO.

03-06-2008, 04:20 PM	#11
4banger Professional STI Racer Car: 05 WRB STi Fav Mod: TiC AST's - 7/6K Location: Chesapeake, VA Posts: 621 Join Date: Feb 2005 Trader Rating: (3)	Re: A brief review of the Turn-In Concepts SST Coilovers I am pretty excited about going to the doctor tomorrow. I'll get to drive on some of the worst roads in town. So far rail road tracks and rumble strips don't give the TiCs problems, so I don't expect and problems. But, this parking lot has a speed bump that is so tall I would always just inch over it and brace for the horrible jarring thud that would result. I'll report on how she performs. This weekend I'm going to start playing around with different settings. The main thing that I am curious to find out is how harsh overly stiff dampening with plenty of travel feels. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad.