Review: Tein Mono Flex (dd and performance impressions)
04-15-2008, 10:20 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by Mansmind
"Tail of the Dragon". Almost all of the main part of the dragon have very tight turns, there are also some that are banked. That banking is great in that it allows you to carry more speed.. BUT.. you have another turn coming up very quickly after... which turns the other way and is also banked. Because of the short distance between the turns, and the banking on each you have a crest at the midpoint between the turns. In some cases that crest is quite dramatic. I personally felt the corners of my car unweighting across some of those areas... and that was with stock suspension. It's not a very comforting feeling to feel like you only have two wheels making good contact when you have a near hair-pin turn coming up.
04-15-2008, 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by ke0ki2k
lol just reading up on Mono's, thinking about buying some this summer. Im up there every weekend and I know the turns youre talking about. not a nice feeling have the car pointed towards the woods on the right when youre coming into a left hander hahahaha. done it a couple times, gets the blood flowing. good review!
Yeah, the mono's together with the much stiffer Hotchkis sways make for some interesting times on an uneven road. Still, I wouldn't trade them for anything. The car is literally a go-cart, you almost can't yank the wheel over hard enough to get it out of balance (at any reasonable speed anyway).
04-15-2008, 05:58 PM
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Originally Posted by 05 PPW Z33
One of the best reviews read to date. Any pics of your car before and after?
04-15-2008, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Mansmind
I've got some.. I'll have to look for them however. I've measured the drop since I wrote this review, and I'm about 1.2" lower on all four corners. You can't "really" get a finger between the fender rim and the top of the tire unless do it at an angle.. it's very close to a finger gap, just a little less.
I was thinking about 1" front and 1.2" rear but I would love to see what 1.2 would look like (I know it's not going make too much difference)
04-15-2008, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 05 PPW Z33
I've recently ordered some coilovers myself (not Monos) and I was trying to figure out how much people usually drop for DD and how it would look.
I was thinking about 1" front and 1.2" rear but I would love to see what 1.2 would look like (I know it's not going make too much difference)
I was thinking about 1" front and 1.2" rear but I would love to see what 1.2 would look like (I know it's not going make too much difference)
The shot above was when new.
[IMG]<a href="http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u22/07-350GT/?action=view¤t=Lowered2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u22/07-350GT/Lowered2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]
This shot was JUST after having the coilovers installed. It's interesting looking back at these. I never realized how small those tires looked. I have bigger tires on now (KDW 2s), only upsized by one size, but it makes a pretty big difference. Don't have any picks with the newer tires.
My 1.2" is derived from comparison with a stock Z sitting in a level parking lot. It could be a little off, but it should be pretty close.
04-16-2008, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Mansmind
Congrats! I'm still enjoying mine also.. although I've since added Hotchkis sways to the mix. I also just upgraded? from the RE050A's to KDW 2's. So far so good.. I went 10mm wider front and back. No real feelings about the tires yet, but the sways were a definite plus.. dialed out some more understeer.
John
John
I've got 3 track days under my belt with the new setup (coilovers, tires, sways) and its a radical departure from before. The coilovers have only a slight body roll, I've got just a little oversteer on my setup due to the sways and bigger rears which allows me to get on the gas a little bit more than before. When i really screw it up the wider tire gives me a little wiggle room to play with it too. The sways are great but the coilovers made such a huge improvement that I've noticed I'm much more comfortable in the larger sweeping turns, and thus able to go a little faster, because you can feel the suspension take over and keep the wheels planted. The car just feels happy cornering.
A friend of mine I work with just picked up a new Cayman S and I went along with him on some back roads. The coilover setup on the Z is very comparable, (and I'd say better), than the suspension setup on the Cayman S. I'm still N/A and it would be an interesting comparison to take some time comparisons between the Cayman S and the Z on the track.
04-16-2008, 09:05 AM
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One note on the KDW2's - I had my coilovers installed on my old set of Nitto 555's and then swapped the KDW's after I got the coilovers. When they put the wheels on it was CLOSE to the fender. So close that I was rubbing most of the way home. $50 later and a fender roll fixed the issue, along with a 1/4" raise on the rear (front was ok). I'm dropped about 1" all around and can get a finger just barely between the wheels and the fender.
Apparently the KDW's are "bigger" tires due to the tread design so have a wider stance than some of the other manufacturers. Or so I was told.
+1 million, especially in the rain.
Apparently the KDW's are "bigger" tires due to the tread design so have a wider stance than some of the other manufacturers. Or so I was told.
Originally Posted by Mansmind
Yeah, the mono's together with the much stiffer Hotchkis sways make for some interesting times on an uneven road. Still, I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Last edited by frizille; 04-16-2008 at 09:13 AM.
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