Got my Tein Basis in last night, along with SPC camber kit and some g37 coupe wheels that will be refinished. I have some fun work ahead of me!

Rochester was right on the packaging of the Teins though. What a s**t job. It doesn't LOOK like anything is damaged at least...

 

Your mechanic looks a little young, but at least she has them with the right side up. It looks like the adjustment is on top of the shock. How in the world do you get to that without detaching the top hat? I must be remembering this wrong, but I thought the top hat bolted directly to the underside of the fender.

Yeah the suspension is pretty easy to install. The packaging probably looked a lot better before it got shipped, but mine looked pretty beat up too when I got it. Same here with no damage. Phew!

 

So has anyone driven/ridden in a G w/ Konis and Tein Basis back to back? Maybe you have one set up and your friend has the other? Just trying to compare them on the same roads.

 

It's a tight fit, but it can be done... just need the wheel off really. I can't recall the size of the allen wrench I used to make the adjustment sweeps...but the adjustment sweep area is pretty compact so you're not needing a large radius or anything. Having adjusted them before off the car, I knew the feel I was looking for when making the 'sweeps'. This adjustment style was in response to people wanting to not unbolt the shock/top hat , as other Koni designs required literally twisting the whole shock body to make rebound adjustments.


As for finding someone that has Koni/Swift's or Tein Basis and access to another car locally, with the other setup... good luck. The Koni/Swift (or Koni with anything) setup is a pretty rare occurrence going off what you find in the historical posts on this forum and whatnot. We're around, but once you spend the money to get the pieces, you're right in low cost coilover territory and people opt for those.

Tein Basis I had never heard of until someone posted how much of a steal these could be had for and JDM quality yo! I'm familiar with Tein Street Advance coilovers from a past car and was extremely happy with them. However, Koni is Koni and the Dutch know how to make an amazing shock... team that with the proven quality of JDM made Swift...it's tough to beat in my book if you don't need to adjust ride height and fine with a mild drop.

I honestly don't think you'll have any regrets either path. I just think you're in for less maintenance (if any) over a duration of time with the Koni/Swift.. combo. Coilovers have inherently shorter shock valve bodies, especially when maxed out or close to being, and they can be rebuilt, but I'd prefer not to have to look into that after say 30-40k miles.. (all depending on driving habits and environmental conditions of course).

Oh, btw... zero bounce on the roads you inquired about--just like Lego_Maniac and his adorable helper/strut installer!

 

I was just hoping one of you guys with the Koni's maybe bumped into someone at a meet with the Tein Basis and compared. It has been so long since I had Koni's. I remember them being decent on the street. (I know, its' a long shot)

I am pretty happy with the Tein basis so far and the fact I can adjust ride height.

I had Koni inserts in the past and they were nice, but I was glad they had a lifetime warranty. At Autobahn country club one of the shocks decided to destroy itself on a pretty mild bump. They covered it, but the Koni's always seemed to be a little fragile to me for track days.

 

Could the failure have been due to the OE shock body or insert install?

I was under the impression Koni's were more than track capable. Lots more guys on the 370 boards rocking Koni setups than on here.

 

The Koni's are ok on the track. I think I did 2 or 3 track days with the Koni's before I had the issue at Autobahn.

 

Ok so no one with Koni's has experience with the Tein basis. But you all have experience with the stock sport suspension. How much more firm are the Koni's than the stock suspension and with what springs?

 

Anywhere from stock like to harsh

I dont think you're going to find the comparison you want.

Most people in here go coilovers because they are more concerned with leveling out the F/R height. Plus, Koni's are a hard sell when they go for more than coilovers. And there was a long standing misconception that Konis raised the ride height on the sedan because it was possible to assemble the lower spring pearch upside down and raise the ride height.

BlackBetty is the only one I'm aware of who went from coilovers to Koni Yellows, but IDK what brand of coils he went from.

 

Let me clarify- I was trying to get an idea how they ride on the street as far as the softer settings go. I had Koni inserts in the past and they firmed up nicely for track days with the adjustments.

I am pretty happy with the Tein Basis on the street as they feel like stock over bumps and on smooth roads, but they do bounce slightly on newer roads that are not totally flat(wavy). Much smoother than any other coilover I have ever used, but I was trying to figure out if the Koni's would solve this.

I found out yesterday talking to a construction worker that they have a new process in WI that saves money, but makes the road wavy. (Thanks to our moron of a Governor who cut funding for roads) You don't notice it too much, but as we plan to have a family it might lead to a little guy unintentionally head bang in the back seat...

 

At least is sounds like they repair roads there, they don't know how in New Mexico

 

That's debatable here in WI. One of the new ideas is lay down tar and then small pebbles on top. As cars drive over the rocks they sink them in and it eventually takes the shape of a normal road. But for 2-3 weeks, cars kick up rocks so lots of stone chips and cracked windshields. Genius!?!

 

Installed the coils over the last few days, along with SPC camber arms front & rear, as well as the rear toe bolts. A couple of notes:

Front camber arms are super easy when you've got the strut/springs out. Although you do need to put them back in to load the suspension & screw down the arms on the sides.

Rear arms are cake, although the toe bolt is a PITA. As someone else noted, the DIY vids / PDFs all show aluminum subframes, whereas the G37 sedan (and coupe?) has a steel subframe. This makes elongating the hole WAY harder. I ended up using a combination of the 115 Dremel bits and the cutting disks that blnewt suggested. Cutting disks to cut out and Dremel bits to square it out / clean up the edges.

If you use the suggested ride height, it ends up sitting at 26.5 FTG all around, give or take 1/4". I played with the heights endlessly, going down as far as 25.75 in the front, but it looked pretty dumb. I ended back at 26.5 in the end.

One very big note: adjusting the rear height with everything bolted up is an absolute MFer. I ended up unbolting the spring cradle's outer bolt and dropping it down to make any adjustments. It's too tight space-wise and the spring is too tight on the collar to do it otherwise.

Also, those little plastic shims between the collars and springs are brittle pieces of crap. Most of mine are cracked at this point.

My alignment is absolutely ridiculous at this point (I can clearly see toe-in out back, so you know it's super high). I did get a chance to take a quick spin around the neighborhood, though, and they feel pretty good actually (aside from the car feeling very squirrely). The ride is composed and not too bouncy. I have some "great" undulating freeway near me, which will be the ultimate test, but for now I'm not driving it until I get alignment done on Tuesday.

More observations / driving impressions to come.

And because all posts are worthless without pics, here is what it looks like at 26.5 all around. 10 spoke coupe wheels are coming soon, once I get them cleaned up and refinished.

 

Looks great at that height, especially w/ those coupe 19s. Sorry to hear you had a tough go w/ the toe slots. I thought they were pretty easy after I shredded the 115 bit and just went to the discs. I had my car pretty well lifted though so that may have helped too. Look forward to your impressions after you get the alignment set and put some time on them.