Tein 'Vs' Bc Racing 'Vs' D2 Racing 'Vs' HSD

[Guest Budz86]

Time to start thinking about colour and price...it's the only way to decide!

[TBDevelopments]

BC and D2 also K-sport (I know not listed) are actually all made in the same factory Asia way. I've dealt with BC for a good while now and always been happy with them, but anything you see advertised from the other 2 can also be done on the BC like the different spring rates etc.

 

Tein I actually dropped my dealership of them because I was tired of them constantly leaking and having to try and get free repairs for my customers so don't bother with them any more, They are good when they work though but they are big money for what they are, and to be honest from my experience although they work well not a huge amount different from the likes of BC or other brands I've listed below

 

HSD, I've never approached the company but my supra came with a set of them that jurgen fitted when the car was imported as the tom's ones currently fitted leaked badly. Geo had the car from import and then sold to me, but in this time the HSD's have only been on the car from brand new for less than 12 months. And i'm very unimpressed to there resistant to corrosion, I tried to adjust my ride height the other day and all were seized solid with a good build up of rust on the threads and the tube with the powder-coating falling off the springs. To put this into perspective I've got Mieser R's fitted to my glanza daily drive, its done 80,000miles on these coil-overs in over 5 years, i wanted to adjust the ride height for new wheels last week, and they were in much better shape than the HSD's that are under 12 months and less than 2000miles. They came apart nicely, little bit of paint flaking and corrosion but still fully functional and easily adjusted.

 

The other brand you've not mentioned if you want a good quality unit but are offered on a softer side of springs is miester R, again there not that well known in the Toyota world but are getting big in the starlet scenes, and are huge in the honda world already. Like i said above I've had a set for a very long time and hasn't had an easy life and performed and lasted very well. Also similarly priced to BC etc kind of range.

 

Hope that helps with experience.

 

Tim

[Paul Whiffin]

Tein Superstreets have been discontinued and replaced with a new model now. I don't know what they are like though.

 

By far my biggest selling damper kit are the BC Racing, I've never had a complaint, never had a return, keenly priced and do exactly what they say on the tin.

 

There's also KW, these are a bit more money but come with an actual racing pedigree and are top quality, the best shocks for quality and price.

 

And then at the top end you have the Nitrons, these are for those when money is no object.

[Swampy442]

Then just get JZS147 Aristo or Soarer units then Scott, same fitment

[Scott]

Then just get JZS147 Aristo or Soarer units then Scott, same fitment

 

AE86 only unfortunately

 

I've contacted them to see if they plan on making any.

[Mugello]

BC and D2 also K-sport (I know not listed) are actually all made in the same factory Asia way. I've dealt with BC for a good while now and always been happy with them, but anything you see advertised from the other 2 can also be done on the BC like the different spring rates etc.

 

Tein I actually dropped my dealership of them because I was tired of them constantly leaking and having to try and get free repairs for my customers so don't bother with them any more, They are good when they work though but they are big money for what they are, and to be honest from my experience although they work well not a huge amount different from the likes of BC or other brands I've listed below

 

HSD, I've never approached the company but my supra came with a set of them that jurgen fitted when the car was imported as the tom's ones currently fitted leaked badly. Geo had the car from import and then sold to me, but in this time the HSD's have only been on the car from brand new for less than 12 months. And i'm very unimpressed to there resistant to corrosion, I tried to adjust my ride height the other day and all were seized solid with a good build up of rust on the threads and the tube with the powder-coating falling off the springs. To put this into perspective I've got Mieser R's fitted to my glanza daily drive, its done 80,000miles on these coil-overs in over 5 years, i wanted to adjust the ride height for new wheels last week, and they were in much better shape than the HSD's that are under 12 months and less than 2000miles. They came apart nicely, little bit of paint flaking and corrosion but still fully functional and easily adjusted.

 

The other brand you've not mentioned if you want a good quality unit but are offered on a softer side of springs is miester R, again there not that well known in the Toyota world but are getting big in the starlet scenes, and are huge in the honda world already. Like i said above I've had a set for a very long time and hasn't had an easy life and performed and lasted very well. Also similarly priced to BC etc kind of range.

 

Hope that helps with experience.

 

Tim

 

Tein Superstreets have been discontinued and replaced with a new model now. I don't know what they are like though.

 

By far my biggest selling damper kit are the BC Racing, I've never had a complaint, never had a return, keenly priced and do exactly what they say on the tin.

 

There's also KW, these are a bit more money but come with an actual racing pedigree and are top quality, the best shocks for quality and price.

 

And then at the top end you have the Nitrons, these are for those when money is no object.

 

After reading the above about the HSD's.... I feel myself leading towards the BC's tbh.

 

I will also look more into the Miester R's

[TBDevelopments]

i find the miester R's and BC are about on the same level of price/quality/adjustments etc.

 

both offer different spring rates but out the box the BC are a little harder than the miester R's

 

Tim

[Mugello]

i find the miester R's and BC are about on the same level of price/quality/adjustments etc.

 

both offer different spring rates but out the box the BC are a little harder than the miester R's

 

Tim

 

Cheers Tim

 

I seem to keep coming back to the BC's in my own mind... maybe i have decided

[Scott]

I really don't like the build of BCs hence why I never recommend them. I fitted them on a friends car and they were very similar in stature to Megan Racing coilovers. The extra adjustment is always seen as a bonus but why anyone needs more than a few settings is beyond me (soft and hard are the same across most mono dampeners). The car didn't feel as good in the corners as the HSDs I have and they were nowhere near as comfortable when set up for normal roads. I believe the Meister-R take the comfort one stage further, but they do sacrifice a bit of fast road handling as a result..... not something that would worry me personally.

 

People are happy with Tein, people are happy with BC, people are happy with HSD, people are happy with Meister-R and all other manner of makes. The trouble is that people generally can't see past what they have and will generally say they are the best. I don't think HSD are the best, far from it, but IMO it's between them and Meister-R at this sort of price range if you want the best handling for your money.

 

BTW the corrosion was a major issue with the HSDs a while back. The second generation had a special coating on them to prevent this, and I think there's a further generation (after mine) that has more additions. No matter what adjustable coilovers you get they are going to rust, it depends what coating they have for how long this time will be but it'll definitely happen. To combat this I copper slipped all the threads on the 2 different sets of adjustable coilovers I have had and I've been left with a clean up job... but no corrosion when it's came time for removal.

[imi]

I really don't like the build of BCs

 

I may be mistaken but I think I remember CW mentioning that they were fairly poor in build quality and design

[Mugello]

I really don't like the build of BCs hence why I never recommend them. I fitted them on a friends car and they were very similar in stature to Megan Racing coilovers. The extra adjustment is always seen as a bonus but why anyone needs more than a few settings is beyond me (soft and hard are the same across most mono dampeners). The car didn't feel as good in the corners as the HSDs I have and they were nowhere near as comfortable when set up for normal roads. I believe the Meister-R take the comfort one stage further, but they do sacrifice a bit of fast road handling as a result..... not something that would worry me personally.

 

People are happy with Tein, people are happy with BC, people are happy with HSD, people are happy with Meister-R and all other manner of makes. The trouble is that people generally can't see past what they have and will generally say they are the best. I don't think HSD are the best, far from it, but IMO it's between them and Meister-R at this sort of price range if you want the best handling for your money.

 

BTW the corrosion was a major issue with the HSDs a while back. The second generation had a special coating on them to prevent this, and I think there's a further generation (after mine) that has more additions. No matter what adjustable coilovers you get they are going to rust, it depends what coating they have for how long this time will be but it'll definitely happen. To combat this I copper slipped all the threads on the 2 different sets of adjustable coilovers I have had and I've been left with a clean up job... but no corrosion when it's came time for removal.

 

I may be mistaken but I think I remember CW mentioning that they were fairly poor in build quality and design

 

 

I have now gone off BC Racing Coilovers. HSD's, the newer versions could be good

[Scott]

 

I have now gone off BC Racing Coilovers. HSD's, the newer versions could be good

 

They're fine for me, but people have had failures. There's always going to be people with good comments and people with negative ones, regardless of the suspension. You can only make an informed decision based on what you have read/heard. I would say, however, that failures are VERY rare and they do come with a 2 year warranty. No matter which shocks you buy, there will be failures if you search the net..... it's all about the percentages

[Swampy442]

I may be mistaken but I think I remember CW mentioning that they were fairly poor in build quality and design

 

To be fair chaps, you/we are buying fully adjustable suspension at the bottom end of the market, you're not going to get Nitron or Ohlins quality for 600 quid. Just something to bear in mind

[Mugello]

They're fine for me, but people have had failures. There's always going to be people with good comments and people with negative ones, regardless of the suspension. You can only make an informed decision based on what you have read/heard. I would say, however, that failures are VERY rare and they do come with a 2 year warranty. No matter which shocks you buy, there will be failures if you search the net..... it's all about the percentages

 

As you say there is always good and bad, with some horror stories inbetween Think i will just shop around for the best price and maybe that will inform the final decision.

 

To be fair chaps, you/we are buying fully adjustable suspension at the bottom end of the market, you're not going to get Nitron or Ohlins quality for 600 quid. Just something to bear in mind

 

Completely agree mate !!

[TBDevelopments]

I've tried to be unbiased as I've had experience with all of them. the BC did have issues many years ago but have come on leaps and bounds lately so we've used them on everything from 24hour endurance cars, rally cars and street going cars and always been happy with them. BC are more than happy to do all custom spring rates as well if you so wished them for no extra cost and this service can be done by any of the BC traders.

 

Same goes for the miester R but the HSD I've got are the new generation ones and still have corrosion issues which is why I wasn't a fan. I'm expecting a failure in the next 12 months of some sorts so i'll be swapping out for the BC myself then, I've not compared the spring rates between them but I'll probably match the HSD i've got now as i like the way it rides.

 

The ones i really wasn't impressed with was Tein, i've had numerous sets on my own cars over the years and always leaking, to ARB tabs snapping off on mr2 versions, topmounts constantly clunking away, adjustment tabs snapping off etc etc. To a point i actually cancelled my arrangement i had with them.

 

Tim

[Mugello]

I've tried to be unbiased as I've had experience with all of them. the BC did have issues many years ago but have come on leaps and bounds lately so we've used them on everything from 24hour endurance cars, rally cars and street going cars and always been happy with them. BC are more than happy to do all custom spring rates as well if you so wished them for no extra cost and this service can be done by any of the BC traders.

 

Same goes for the miester R but the HSD I've got are the new generation ones and still have corrosion issues which is why I wasn't a fan. I'm expecting a failure in the next 12 months of some sorts so i'll be swapping out for the BC myself then, I've not compared the spring rates between them but I'll probably match the HSD i've got now as i like the way it rides.

 

The ones i really wasn't impressed with was Tein, i've had numerous sets on my own cars over the years and always leaking, to ARB tabs snapping off on mr2 versions, topmounts constantly clunking away, adjustment tabs snapping off etc etc. To a point i actually cancelled my arrangement i had with them.

 

Tim

 

Have you every had any bad corrosion issues with the BC's ?

[Scott]

Have you every had any bad corrosion issues with the BC's ?

 

The springs are prone to rusting.

 

If you don't clean the coilovers etc and if you drive during the winter with the salty roads etc it doesn't really matter which ones you buy. You're always going to have issues. I haven't taken a set of suspension off of any car yet that didn't have corrosion of some sort.

 

No matter which ones you buy make sure you copper slip the threads properly, even over the spring if you can when they start to peel etc. When it comes time to take them off, or if you want to adjust them, simply use a copper wire brush to clean off the road dirt/grime etc (important or the collars will lock on the crap) and you should be left with perfect threads. The copper slip stops the threads from corroding and also keeps them lubricated.

[TBDevelopments]

I had a play with a set we fitted over 4 years ago, and yes the springs had a bit of flaking but wasn't anything bad at all, the adjusters were caked full of dirt, but quick clean up with a wirebrush and some brake cleaner and they freed up nicely. One was a little sticky but in the end they all came undone nicely and adjusted. This was on BC's where the HSd's, which I was told are the new generation had a right pig of a job trying to adjust on my supra a few weeks ago after I had to raise them 5mm as had some tire scraping issues, they are less than 12 months old and were almost seized solid. Had to very carefully heat up the ring to get it to move. I suspect after this winter they will be stuck like that for good. Spring paint was all fine though lol

 

Tim

[Mugello]

The springs are prone to rusting.

 

If you don't clean the coilovers etc and if you drive during the winter with the salty roads etc it doesn't really matter which ones you buy. You're always going to have issues. I haven't taken a set of suspension off of any car yet that didn't have corrosion of some sort.

 

No matter which ones you buy make sure you copper slip the threads properly, even over the spring if you can when they start to peel etc. When it comes time to take them off, or if you want to adjust them, simply use a copper wire brush to clean off the road dirt/grime etc (important or the collars will lock on the crap) and you should be left with perfect threads. The copper slip stops the threads from corroding and also keeps them lubricated.

 

This is what i was thinking.

 

I had a play with a set we fitted over 4 years ago, and yes the springs had a bit of flaking but wasn't anything bad at all, the adjusters were caked full of dirt, but quick clean up with a wirebrush and some brake cleaner and they freed up nicely. One was a little sticky but in the end they all came undone nicely and adjusted. This was on BC's where the HSd's, which I was told are the new generation had a right pig of a job trying to adjust on my supra a few weeks ago after I had to raise them 5mm as had some tire scraping issues, they are less than 12 months old and were almost seized solid. Had to very carefully heat up the ring to get it to move. I suspect after this winter they will be stuck like that for good. Spring paint was all fine though lol

 

Tim

 

More food for thought.