# 200sx with teins.....



## psi wanted (Jan 17, 2005)

so i just installed teins on my 98 200 and the rear rides great but the front feels like it is riding on the bumpstops. i have the ride hieght set about 1 1/2 inches higher than tein recomends. anyone have any ideas as to what may be wrong??


----------



## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

psi wanted said:


> so i just installed teins on my 98 200 and the rear rides great but the front feels like it is riding on the bumpstops. i have the ride hieght set about 1 1/2 inches higher than tein recomends. anyone have any ideas as to what may be wrong??


The dampers are extremely stiff out of the box. Give them a couple hundred miles to break in, and they'll feel better. I will warn you though that if you haven't reinforced the front end of your car (strut tower brace, control arm brace, subframe bracings, etc), the front end will feel incredibly stiff, even after the dampers are broken in.


----------



## psi wanted (Jan 17, 2005)

ReVerm said:


> The dampers are extremely stiff out of the box. Give them a couple hundred miles to break in, and they'll feel better. I will warn you though that if you haven't reinforced the front end of your car (strut tower brace, control arm brace, subframe bracings, etc), the front end will feel incredibly stiff, even after the dampers are broken in.


thanx, but just curious how does not having a tower brace make the ride feel stiff?


----------



## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

psi wanted said:


> thanx, but just curious how does not having a tower brace make the ride feel stiff?


It's because when your suspension springs compress (like when you go over a bump or go around a corner), the chassis (which is connected to the strut, which is attached to the spring) flexes as well. So in essence, the chassis is acting like a spring - it stores potential energy when loaded, and releases that energy when that load goes away.

The big problem here is that unlike your suspension springs springs, your chassis is undamped. So when you go over that bump or clear that corner and the chassis releases the potential energy it's stored during compression, it will rebound and reverberate like a guitar string. These reverberations are in turn transmitted to the passenger compartment and in turn makes the ride feel stiff/bouncy.

Strut tower braces, lower control arm braces, and other types of chassis braces stiffen the chassis, making it less willing to flex when you hit a bump or go around a sharp turn. This actually makes the suspension springs flex more to compensate for the lack of chassis flex, but that's ok, because that's what they're meant to do. Plus, the suspension springs are damped, so any excess forces which hinders ride quality are taken care of by the dampers (struts and shocks) and don't make their way into the cabin.

_PS: Sorry if that explaination didn't make any sense. I'm very tired and I'm being nagged to come to bed, so if you don't get what I'm saying now, let me know and I'll post up something that's a little clearer tomorrow._


----------

