Jump to content
Lauren

TEIN Flex with EDFC Active-Pro

Recommended Posts

Tomorrow is a training day to set mine and Dave's car up (In that order. ;) ).

 

Once we've all been trained and this will include Tony and Dave too, then they will be able to set it up for you. You have to remember it is Keith's car that had the first set of this suspension with EDFC Active Pro which was only debuted at TAS 2014 in January, so it is still quite new. 

 

Yukiko has said that the instructions need work as they are a bit of a nightmare. Even the installation instructions are not particularly straightforward, so this stuff needs sorting out and Yukiko is working on it. 

 

Also as it's so new and also new to the GT86 and this system has a lot of parameters you can set, it will obviously take a bit of testing to work out good setups for the GT. 

 

Keith has already done a fair bit of the development work and Dave and I will continue that to an extent. 

 

I might ask Yukiko for additional training when I go to Japan in July. It's an idea whilst I'm there. 

 

Richard, just seen your post. I put it in active mode and it was way too hard as it seems to go to full stiffness at around 60mph which is a little harsh. I remember Keith saying he had a similar issue until Yukiko worked some magic on it. 

 

So, I put it back to the fixed position that was mid-way between hard and soft (8/16). I realised I could easily change this and set the rears full soft which drastically increased the ride quality as I mooched through Handforth. I've now worked out how to change the fronts too which is easy enough. For tomorrow I'm going to experiment a little bit on the way down, but as I've got 173 miles of motorway and A roads I'll likely set it to something like 10/14 front and rear just to get the magic carpet ride as it's a long way to drive. It may be that on the motorway a little stiffer is better than round town due to the higher speeds. I don't think I'll put it in active mode on the way down to Fensport, but it's easy enough to play with a bit. 

 

There is some increase in NVH due to the solid top mounts. But on the plus side there is better steering feel. The geo does feel good, though I admit I wasn't pushing it as I was just too tired and simply relieved to be back in my car! Comparing to how it was a little harder having driven that wallowy Yaris for three days I admit! ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tomorrow is a training day to set mine and Dave's car up (In that order. ;) ).

 

 

 

I would have it no other way - I am old school - Ladies first!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Aha, after much reading of the manual, I thought I'd try the preset modes. Now I haven't driven it as it's a bit late for that. So I decided to try the first preset for lateral and longitudinal acceleration (NB these are independent of each other) and also a speed setting. 

 

Now, this was not too hard to do and I realised that you simply scroll through the modes. So if the speed setting is too much and it increases stiffness too much then I will try another preset and see what that does. As you can see it all changing, the issues should be obvious. Or if I can't work it out I will put it in GA (G-force arrange mode which is non-linear and more reactive to the road surface) mode. I think the linear increments in GL Mode are perhaps better suited for track work. 

 

I have spent three times as long trying to work out how to change the scale from 0-16 to 0-64 so as to allow finer adjustment. The manual is a bit of a game to be fair as it said, read page 46. So I did and wasted 20 minutes before I realised that page 45 tells you that you have to enter setup mode which requires some dexterity to perform. So the manual is a bit tricky. 

 

I will have plenty of time to mess about with it on the motorway tomorrow on the way down to Fensport and shall ensure I consult the manual on latte stops. ;)

 

What is striking is how you can not only see what the settings and how they change, you can also feel the difference. I think once I get it setup it's going to be brilliant. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

397559_10151949123586467_176155524593886

 

That picture of the settings and how they change with damper increments is actually quite simple, it shows a) acceleration and B) deceleration. So you can see how much g-force applied affects the strength of the damper. A larger negative number represents a larger increase. So for example an increase of -20 is increasing damper force (it does do compression and rebound) by a third (well nearly) in -64 mode. Wheras less g-force results in less increase (i.e. a lower negative number). 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First thing Yukiko/I did after road testing was change the speed settings from min/max range (20mph-60mph) to (35mph/100mph). Keep in mind that these are increased by the lateral (G-force) compensations when thinking of hard cornering, so a judicious trial is called for..

 

I've found the 'Active' (rather than 'Linear') settings on both G-force and Speed to be more comfortable for road use - I've set maximum softness (48/60) up to 35mph as it stops the milk curdling and the stepping motors don't 'tweet' at me.. saved as 'Mode 1' with the Linear (track) settings saved as 'Mode 2'

 

There! I've done what I promised not to do... give away info.... we defo need a head-to-head comparison meeting when we're all set up.. might be an idea to invite Yukiko to a trackday...

 

Spec K

 

Spec K

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm using Active (or 'Arrange' as it's called, displayed as GA) for road use.

 

What I did with the speed settings is half the values in S2. Mine go up to 200 km/h (120mph).

 

 

My speed settings don't come into effect until 60km/h. They are 50/50 up until that point.

 

Then they go 42/42 at 60-80km/h.

 

80-100km/h 38/38.

 

100-140km/h 34/34.

 

140-160km/h 30/30.

 

160-180 km/h 24/24

 

180-200 km/h and above 20/20.

 

I changed the settings for 120-140km/h which were 30/30 as it just felt a little too stiff. 34/34 is nice and comfortable through that speed range.

 

I'm using the base G1 setup in GA mode with SA (speed mode) on for general driving. So the G-force remains active at all speeds. There is still much I need to learn about feel and stuff, so I will look at making alterations in due course. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I nicked a half day off work, went up to Fensport and joined Lauren at lunchtime.... oooer, missus! I left as Dave and Yukiko were about to start on Pitman's setup..

 

Rob - Yukiko confirms that the Tein 'Street Flex' coilovers, plus a few other models, can be retrofitted with the EDFC Active system. She suggests you phone her for a full list of compatibles..

 

Spec K

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It is an impressive bit of kit. Even with what I would call basically startup settings for the longitudinal and lateral g-force and my programmed in speed settings, the way the car rides is lovely. Then you can fly it into a bend and voila, it goes nice and stiff and you have great control. Come out of the bend and it's back to comfortable motoring straightaway. Brilliant really! :)

 

I think it's more comfortable than standard when cruising and obviously sharper than standard when it comes to cornering. Sort of having your cake and eating it. :)

 

The support I've had from RRG Macc, the boys at Fensport and Yukiko at Tein has been second to none and I like it that everyone is so enthusiastic about getting a great setup for the GT86. I reckon between, Keith, Dave and I (and anyone else who goes for one in the near future) we'll have some great setups for all occasions. Three testers are better than one and all that. We've all agreed to share our findings, so it can only be for the common good. :)

 

In related news, it looks like I've got a good chance of a factory tour at Tein when I visit Japan this summer. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In related news, I slackened off the rear a bit to 60 (from 50) and am running 50 front 60 rear as a starting point. Makes quite a difference to the ride quality, making it much more comfortable. 

 

I thought I'd try this after reading Keith's comments. 

 

Also whilst I was waiting to go into a house for a visit this afternoon, I did some more aggressive setups with harder starting points. This is using the four available presets. Lots to play with, need a trackday really to mess about with it. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Here's a few pics of my day at Fensport yesterday;
 
On the ramps getting the geo setup done:
 
 
Looking up at a front strut:
 
Rear Strut:
 
Close up of front strut:
 
Dave making adjustments to the camber:
 
Indy in the Fensport workshop. Dave's Turbo GT86 with same suspension in the background across the yard:
 
 
My car up in the air and Adrian's GT86R:
 
 
Dave's GT86:
 
Close up of Adrian's car:
 
 
Dave plays with the rear camber:
 
Rear toe being set:
 
Yukiko manager for Tein UK inspects the installation and notices the absence of collars on the bottom of the rear dampers. She runs to her car gets them and Dave has them on within ten minutes! 
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just to show it isn't too low! 
 
a>, on Flickr
 
a>, on Flickr
 
Had a chance to have a punt at a fast A road today in Cheshire. I'm still constantly suprised by how good it is. As soon as you put the hammer down, it just tightens right up, feels very stable in fast corners as the dampers go nearly full stiff on the outside and then you come out the exit the increase in stiffness with speed helps the car just to stick to the road, never getting unsetled, then a bit of stiffening at the front and rear under braking and as you make the transition for a bend it increases stiffness on the outside dampers again. Slow down for a 30mph limit and it's back to a comfortable ride once more. Happy days so far. :) 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×