$300 vs $2000 Coilovers

- This is a set of Tein Mono Sport performance coil-over shocks that I just purchased for $2,100. - And this is a set of threaded shock absorbers that we got on alibaba.com for $300. - But just because they cost six times more, does that mean they are six times better? - We're going to look inside each of these shocks, - We're going to do some scientific testing, - Then we're going to install them on these identical Subaru WRXs and see how they perform on the track. - Does more expensive mean more is better? - Let's find out. - Welcome to Donut.

Upgrading your coil-over shocks is one of the easiest and most impactful modifications you can make to your car. From lowering the center of gravity to reducing body roll, stiffening the ride and improving traction, better suspension means better traction, which means better lap times. So I bought this game from Tein, - Tein? - Tiny? - Teen? - Japanese shock absorbers (Nolan laughs) for $2,100. - I like the color green, James. - Like money. -And I bought this set of Maxspeedingrods coil-over shocks for $300. - Why are the bags so greasy? - I don't know. My hands are so slimy. - They are disgusting. - On paper, these things are supposed to be pretty similar. - Supposedly, but that's on paper.

I think some of the major differences might manifest themselves along the way and perhaps during installation. - Well, there's only one way to find out about James. - And that's to ask our mom. (baby crying) (intense hip hop beat) - Here we are again, HiLow, once again. This is a pretty familiar position we find ourselves in right now. Now we've done threaded shocks on a few different cars. Pretty standard stuff. All we have to do is pop these nuts. - Upgrading your coil is a fun and easy thing to do and usually only takes a day with a few basic tools.

All you have to do is remove the wheel, remove the suspension braking components, disconnect the bottom bracket, and disconnect the top bracket, and then the shock is ready to go. (tools clicking) (grunts) It's as easy as that. (coilover crashing) Sometimes you will have to do a little prep work before your

coilovers

are ready to install. You may have to install some top hats and you'll probably have to adjust the ride heights to your liking. Luckily for us, our top hats come pre-installed and these things are ready to throw in the car. (tools whirring and ratcheting) - It should fall, fall.

Here we go. There is the first shock absorber. Dude, these, these Maxspeedingrods, aren't bad. - Yes, they seem misleading, friend. I mean I can't lie. - At first there's nothing that makes me think, oh, that's atrocious. - As long as these don't start dripping immediately. - Yes. - I think you'll be fine. - I am concerned about the quality of the trip. - Yes, I was going to say, I hope they don't feel terrible, but I bet they won't. - Yeah, they'll probably be fine. (rhythmic synth music) - When it comes to car parts and ugly friends, it's usually what's on the inside that counts.

We purchased a second set of identical coil-over shocks and will take a deeper look inside. (saw speed up) Not yet, Jimmy. A few days ago we met up with our friend Jonathan at Shaftworks and ran both shocks through his dyno. And here are the results for the front and rear shock absorbers of each car. Now we know that dyno diagrams like this can be a little scary, so we won't go into too much depth. But in general there are three main conclusions. The first, the $2,100 Teins, had a more progressive curve, while the cheap coilover showed a more progressive curve.

Now decreasing settings are well suited for a smooth track, while a progressive curve is more common in off-road settings. So one point for the Teins. Now number two, the adjustability of the cheap threaded shocks was inconsistent. Look at this huge gap in the rear, with just one click of adjustment, another win for the Teins. And finally, the third conclusion was that cheap coil-over shocks are simply overdamped. Tein shocks are optimal for 400 to 500 inch-pound springs, which is exactly what they come with. Cheap

coilovers

also came with 400 pound coils. However, Jonathan's calculator rated them optimal for 700 to 800 pound springs.

Another L for the Maxspeedingrod shock. Okay, that's enough numbers, Jimmy. Let's open these fools. (saw accelerate) - Okay, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I've never really worked on a Subaru, so I'm learning as I go. And in these, I suppose you have to remove the rear seats to install the rear suspension. So, (drill hum) Voila. (chair covers squeaking) (drill whirring) - Rear suspension officially disabled, R-S-O-O. (car parts crashing, cat howling) - When it comes to adjustability, both teams are pretty evenly matched. We both have four settings that we can modify in ride height, preload, rake and damping. - Adjusting the ride height of our coilovers by threading the lower amount up or down allows us to raise or lower our car, and therefore adjust our center of gravity. - Preload adjustment changes the amount of compression you apply to the coil before it is under any load.

Although adjusting preload can reduce ride, it's really just intended to keep the springs in place correctly, and 90% of the time, you should follow the manufacturer's recommendations. - Adjusting our camber allows us to tilt the wheel in and out to change its behavior on the ground. When you corner, all of the car's weight shifts to the outside tires, and the body rolls, as do the tires. Now grip matters a lot when you are cornering. So when you get flipped like that, you want to make sure you have the largest contact patch available, to have the most grip available, to be able to fly through the turn.

And adjusting our camber with the included camber plates, with our coilovers, allows us to adjust it to get the most grip possible, so we can step on Low Team. - Lastly, we have the damping adjustment. This little knob on top turns some valves inside our shock, which affects the rebound rate. Some more expensive coil-over shocks have more knobs that you can control rebound, compression, high speed, low speed, and all that kind of stuff. But these $300 Maxspeedingrods only have rebound control. But interestingly, Hi Team's Teins also only have bounce adjustments. So it should be an even matchup. - Even a simple and easy project that you can usually do in a day doesn't always take a day.

Sometimes things go wrong. Like in the case here, we have these Tein threaded shocks and they seem to be a little off. The mounting points on the bottom of the threaded shock are not aligned with the holes in the car, so we won't really be able to install them. Those kinds of things happen. You return what doesn't fit and eventually you get what does fit. But sometimes it will take more than a day. I'm here live at Donut Media where they just announced that eBay Motors is once again sponsoring this entire HiLow season. I'm giving away these exclusive limited edition signed photographs, valued at $1,200, to anyone who knows eBay Motors is the best place to buy parts and cars.

Nolan, ask. I'm looking for an online marketplace with massive inventory. Where I go? - eBay engines? - Congratulations. - Oh great. My boss. - Justin. Building cars with your friends is all about trust, but if I want to find parts I can trust, where should I go? - Check out eBay Engines. - Congratulations. - Thank you? - You can only have one. Adam, I'm looking for a simple "get the part you ordered or your money back" guarantee. Where I go? - Dude, eBay Motors has that. Congratulations, you earned a headshot. Are you going to help me or? - There is no time.

Whether your budget is high or low, get parts you can trust at ebaymotors.com. - Oh yeah, just squeezing that thing. An important difference between Teins and Hi Team? Teenagers? and our Maxspeedingrods is that their shocks use a monotube design, while ours use a twin tube design. In a monotube design, it has a piston that moves through a single fluid-filled chamber. When the suspension compresses, a set of valves at the top of the piston restrict the upward flow of hydraulic fluid. And during rebound, valves under the piston restrict downward flow. That flow resistance is what creates the damping effect.

In a twin-tube design, a valve attached to the bottom of the shock controls the flow of fluid between an inner and outer tube. This valve restricts flow during the compression stroke, while valves in the piston restrict flow during rebound. Twin-tube coil-over shocks are cheaper to manufacture, have a longer stroke, and are generally more reliable because they are under less pressure. Monotubes, on the other hand, have a larger oil chamber, which makes them more responsive and allows them to disperse heat better. Overall, neither is 100% better than the other, but the idea is that the monotube is better for your track-focused car.

But honestly, I think we'll do well. Yeah, okay, boy. - Then we discovered the problem with our threaded shock absorbers. They were made for a WRX, but they were made for a WRX STI. - But that's not a big deal. We have the right parts and now we are back in action. Ready to put these things in the car. Just a little setback. - And now we can focus on bigger problems, like the fact that we blew up our engine yesterday. - Ah, (bleep). - The first day goes well. We had a small engine breakdown and blew it up.

And I had to spend a few days replacing the old blown engine that was actually just rebuilt, supposedly, with a new engine. (tools jingling) - Hi Jimmy. - Yeah? Yes, clear bench number two. (laughs) If the time it took me to get into this is any indication of the quality, - Mm hm. - The Hi Car shock absorbers, quite good. (Both laugh) The overall build quality of these is top notch. The Teins just looks better. - Yes Yes Yes. - And obviously this is like a small piece of the big puzzle, but there are little things that add up to improve the product. - Yes, like the amount of rubber strawberry on the top here. - Yours is bigger, then.

And finally the main thing is the inside of this. Just look at your piston stacks. - I mean, yes. - It is much more complex, with more holes for valves. And because of that, it allows for more precise adjustments. It doesn't mean this will do poorly, it just means this one will probably do better. - That's a good way to put it. -Overall, though, the Teins are a lot of really complex pieces that are very well made. The Maxspeed is also very nice, although not as nice. But you know what? I'm curious to see how they do on the track. - Me too. (triumphant orchestral music) - Hopefully, we'll need some ramps now. - It's a little short.

Now we're cool in high school. - Yes. - Not bad for a first try. We may be able to go a little lower, but we won't know until we put our future wheels and tires on. - Now let's see what the car looks like low on the ground. Probably like (bleep). - I heard that. (car cat complaining) - Why does he do that? - Because it is low. Oh well, that looks good. I think the rear needs to be lowered a little. But yeah, it sure is cool in high school. - Two cool high school cars. - Yeah. - Dude, we're cool in high school, guys. - We're in high school, friend.

Only 15 years late. I mean five years late. - Coilovers officially activated. Now we just have to make lineups and get out on the track. But first we have to replace the engine of this car, because we blew it up again yesterday. - Yes. (80s synth rock music) - The rules for our clue battle are pretty simple. Everyone will get their best fastest lap in both the Hi and Low cars. We're not going to do any averaging or anything like that. The one who achieves the best time in a single lap wins. (engine roaring) Let's go! - Okay, concentrate, concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. - The last time we were here, when the cars were packed, Nolan managed to put in a best lap of one minute and 36.2 seconds.

Now let's see if his $300 coil-over shocks have helped him improve that time. - Engine temperatures seem good. The tires squeal. Alright. Hell yeah. Alright, that was 1.35.88. - 01/35/88. That's about a half-second improvement over his stock time. That's pretty good. Only with a set of threaded shock absorbers. - That's very, very fast. - I guess you have to keep that car planted. - The car feels much better. Does not understeerso much. That might have to do with the camber plates we have on our threaded shocks. The car feels much more planted. Definitely much stiffer. I love it. It feels great.

You know, for $300 it's a good deal. - Alright, last time we were here these guys did a bunch of laps to learn the track, and then they blew up the car. So I didn't turn around. So to bridge that gap a little bit, I brought in Shop Daddy, pro driver Adam Knapik, and he'll give me some tips on the streets of Willow. - Like the wind, James, like the wind. - Okay, keep it a little wider. And now shoot me between these two cones. Speed ​​up, more, more, more. (engine roaring) Keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up, keep it up. - Alright, here come James and Adam.

Ooh baby. - Go, go, go, change. Let's go, Let's go, Let's go, Let's go. - I see Adam there. - 01/43/21. - Not bad, it's the first time. - Good guy. - That's the first ride I've done in this truck. - Ever. How did that feel? - (beep) scary, man, it's (beep) very scary. (Adam laughing) - A couple of years ago we started a gang. It's called Boost Creeps, when we turbocharge our 350 Zs. It's been a while since we've had cars with turbos. Last time I checked, these cars had them. So the Boost Creeps are back, baby.

To celebrate, head over to donutmedia.com, get yourself a t-shirt, and show everyone you're a Creep. - Okay, what's up, what's good? You know, a big part of driving fast on the track and stuff is like having the right sitting position and then, you know, saying a little prayer, taking a deep breath and trying to stay the course. -Hey, we have a puddle of coolant on the starting line. - Oh, damn. - Come again? There is a puddle of coolant at the finish line. - Oh Christ. - That sucks, because the last time we were here, we blew up the engines, and now we have it.

Excellent. - And I think it's safe to say that it comes from us. - Oh Lord. When we weren't rolling cameras, I went off the track at about 80 miles per hour. The curse of expensive cars continues. - Good? - That's a real mechanical thing. - Cut. Now where were we? - Begin. - Ooh, it already feels much flatter. I mean, there was a lot of body swaying there the last time we were here. In this section I just need to get my balls up a bit. - So on this downhill curve, you'll hit this ridge at about 90 or 100 miles per hour, depending on your bravery.

I really want us to upgrade the tires and brakes. I think that's where we'll see a big improvement in that corner. But these all-weather tires we have now just don't give you the confidence to keep them on the track. - Oh God. (tires screeching) Oh God. (car parts colliding) (Joe laughing) - Joe got too brave on that peak and went off the road. - But if you're going to go off-road, you'll want to do it in your friend's car. (laughing) - Sorry, Nolan! - So 1.41. So affected a little bit. - He's still faster than me. - Yeah, sorry, Nolan, she's good though.

Oh, are we okay? It seems like something is making a noise that it shouldn't. (car dragging and scraping) Is it just the fender line or did I blow out a tire? No, it's just that you ruined my arrow, friend. - Oh (beep) man, sorry, I'll fix it. (Nolan laughing) - Now we want to make sure we get the most out of our mods. But since neither of us are exactly professional drivers, we brought our Shop Daddy Adam, who is a professional driver. - The time to beat is my time of 1.35.88 in a low car. It will be close. - Around the last corner.

You just have to keep it clean. And we're crossing the line. - Yes, 1.34.8. - It's a great moment. Hopefully our Teins can keep up. - Spikes. - Teen. - Taín. - Teen. - Ten. - Okay, so Adam is winning so far. What a thing. Let's see what happens when we say Hello car. - First impressions of Hi car. The seats, the seats in Hi car are worse than those in Low car. This is no support for a big kid like me, that's for sure. The shocks feel pretty good. On this very smooth track, you don't really feel a big difference.

We'll see how it handles high-speed turns. The temperature seems good. (heavy hip-hop beat) - Oh, yeah. Use the whole track, Nolan. Well, it's obvious which one looks better. Nolan ran a 1.34.34, which is faster than his best low car time, so that's cool. I think he's probably getting a little more comfortable on the track, but that's good news for the old Hi Car. Not only did he turn in a fast lap, he stayed in one piece. (intense electronic music) - Good, good, good, good. Turn in, wide, wide, wide, wide, now here. Both on the right. - So it's around that mark of 1.44. - Yes, good.

But you know what? He's getting more comfortable. - The goal of this season is personal improvement, really. - Yes. - We are a bit competing with each other. - Of course. - But we want to improve individually, as drivers. - But to beat you, I have to improve myself. - That's how it is. Zach goes to the track. - Ooh, that breeze feels good. Okay, hello car, it's you and me, honey. I'll try to keep you on track, I swear. Oh! I hear a metallic noise somewhere. I feel like I should stop and check this noise out.

But I'll just send it. - Woohoo. - That's 1.34.97, Joe. -Okay, right now Hi, the car is ahead and Adam hasn't even turned his lap yet, so we'll see if he can extend that lead a little more. - But Zach, does more expensive mean more is better? -If you look at it in terms of profitability, I think the Low team is doing quite well. - Me too. - Installation was relatively the same once we got the right parts. - Very easy, yes, once we had the right parts, at first we had ITS things, which didn't fit, but I think the Low team felt pretty good on the track.

Driving it daily, I think it would affect you. - I agree, I think the suspension of the Hi car feels a little better, it feels a little more flexible, a little less aggressive and harsh. But is that where there is seven times more money? - I don't know. - It depends on your budget. - Yes, flexible. - Uh oh. (tires screeching) - Ooh, it's going to cost him something. - Damn, buddy, you have 1.34.86, - With that, - with almost - Yeah. Almost turning it. - So, we're eliminating the 1.33. - Right in there. Right at that 1.33. - Like a small boat.

Just watching that fall. - Oh oh oh. Oh, Tostitos hits that 1.33. - It tastes good, guys. - We have all the Hi car times, we have all the Low car times, Hi car is ahead. But we thought, hey, we have to give Nolan and Low Car one last chance to redeem themselves. A poor boy and his sandy pig will take to the track one last time to see if they can set the fastest lap. (he breathes deeply) -I'm getting, I just have chills. (majestic orchestral music) The goal of this season is self-improvement. - To beat you, I have to improve myself. - What was my time? - 01/36/28, sorry friend. (Nolan screaming) Thank you very much for watching this video. - I don't know where... - Shut up. (all laughing) - That seemed like the best thing I could do so far, but I guess not. - Well, it wasn't.

You're ruining the ending. Thank you very much for watching this video and everything else on Donut Media. Hit the subscribe button to make sure you don't miss anything. Go to donutmedia.com and get some cool t-shirts that we've been wearing, that the whole team has been wearing throughout this whole thing. Tune in next week to see how much tires affect a car's handling. Peace.