Defi Advance CAN Driver Now Available!!!

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Paul P.

We made mention of this newest offering from Defi a few months ago, and finally they’re here!

Just a quick rundown of what it is and what type of customer this is applicable to:

It’s a plug & play kit for OBDII vehicles. Let’s say you want high precision gauges in your car (which of course Defi makes!!!), but the hassle of having to install each gauges (temperature and/or pressure) is too time consuming, or even costly (especially if you have a technician install them). The Advance CAN Driver is your type of system!!!

By using the included OBDII Harness Kit (comes with part number DF15601), you simply hook up to the On-Board Diagnostic port, then link whichever Advance Series of gauges using the Daisy Chain meter wire from the CAN Driver to the gauge (and each subsequent gauge; up to three gauges can be installed). All that’s left is where you plan on mounting the CAN Driver unit and your gauges!

Installing gauges this way not only simplifies the installation process, but it also takes advantage of pulling all the engine data from the ECU. Afterall, the issue with OE gauges isn’t that their sensors are faulty or too slow. They are, in fact, quite accurate and quick. The real issue lies with how quickly the gauges return this real-time data into something you can see. The response time for OE gauges, as most of us know, is relatively slow. Now, with Advance CAN Driver operating your Advance series gauges, you have a high precision and fast functioning gauge setup, and all it took was a couple of minutes to hook up and get going!

However, some readings aren’t readily accessible from the factory ECU, such as engine speed (RPM). So, in order to use Advance CAN driver for other parameters like engine temperatures or pressures, you can still use Advance CAN Driver. But to get engine speed, you will need to use Defi’s Advance Control Unit in conjunction with the Advance CAN Driver.

So far, we have two available kits:

Defi Advance CAN Driver
part number: DF15601

MSRP: $189

Includes: Advance CAN Driver Unit, OBDII Harness Kit, Adapter Wire, Power Source Wire, Speed & Tachometer Signal Wire, and a few small installation parts.

*does not include gauges faintly visible in the background.

Defi Advance CAN Driver + Advance BF 80mm Tachometer (White)

part number: DF15702

MSRP: $412

Includes: Advance CAN Driver, Advance BF 80mm Tachometer in White (11k rpm), Power Source Wire, and a few small installation parts.

Contact your nearest authorized TEIN dealer to order!

TEIN High Tech Lowering Spring Updates

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Paul P.

Not much of a change, really. We bring this up because customers have been contacting us on how the labeling on the spring doesn’t match what they can find online.

Previously we were using black paint when labeling our springs with branding and part number information. However, we now use white paint. Also, the printing has changed, which gives the new labeling a dot matrix appearance. Take a look below of what our current labeling looks like.

New Video of Evasive Motorsports’ Nissan GT-R!

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Paul P.

We never really get bored of the project vehicles that Evasive Motorsports works on every year, even if it’s a project we’re not directly involved with. GT Channel, in collaboration with Nitto Tire, put out a new video showcasing Evasive Motorsports’ Nissan GT-R, the very same car that was displayed at our SEMA booth last year.

Progress on this car is relatively slow. However, as you can see in everything Evasive Motorsports creates, these are all well-thought modifications. Rather than jumble a bunch of parts to create a race car, the team at Evasive tests each and every component in a long-winded effort to extract the absolute highest performance they can. It’s a balancing act, and an act they know very well.

For several years now we’ve been very fortunate to not only have Evasive Motorsports as one of our customers, but also as one of our largest promoters for our products. That’s not to say that they are necessarily brand exclusive. They also do builds using suspension components from various manufacturers. We were glad that they approached us when it came to their project GT-R.

There is already a plethora of suspension components available for the GT-R, none of them really being all that cheap. And if we’re being honest, neither are our coilover kits. The GT-R, from the factory, already comes with a great suspension setup. It takes time to R&D a kit that can really improve the vehicle’s performance. To date, we’ve released our MONO SPORT coilovers and our SUPER RACING coilovers. Evasive Motorsports chose the latter, opting for the SUPER RACING dampers’ separate compression & rebound adjustment, as well as aluminum bodied dampers. Available as an option through our Overhaul & Revalve service is our 3-way unit, giving our SUPER RACING Dampers both low and high-speed tuning abilities for compression.

We’re working closely with Evasive Motorsports as they dial in their suspension for the GT-R. Again, it’s a process, and any major changes to the vehicle, whether additional power, or additional aerodynamics, or even more grip, directly affects how the suspension reacts. We want to make sure they get the most out of our suspension. Also, they’re perfecting their suspension setup using our EDFC ACTIVE PRO system! That certainly makes for a very adaptive suspension package!

Anyway, we’ve delayed you long enough getting you to the video. Check it out below!

What Makes TEIN Suspension High Quality

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Paul P.

Without a doubt, our cars face some of the harshest conditions. No matter where you live, whether it’s high desert, or the extreme cold (with snowfall), vehicles have to operate to the best of their abilities.

TEIN’s founders knew this full well when they decided to go into the shock absorber manufacturing business. As some of you may already know, our founders had a passion and career in rally racing, one of the toughest of motorsports for production vehicles.

Suspension, being a very important factor in terms of comfort and handling performance, must also operate in such extreme conditions. Also, it’s placement (within the wheel wells, besides brakes, and, in some cases, near the engine), means that they must also operate through extreme temperature fluctuations. Suspension, among other vehicle components whether in commuting or racing, have to face some of the most grueling of conditions and have to provide consistent performance from start to finish, and that start to finish can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to nearly a full hour of continuous use. Or even a full day, like we’ve experienced in 24 hour racing at Nurburgring. A shock absorber (damper), by design, is really an energy dissipator, which means that it must convert kinetic energy (damper stroke) into heat energy, and that heat energy is not easily radiated/dissipated away from the damper. Because of that, a mechanical damper has to take some seriously high levels of abuse that many of us are unaware of.

Our damper oil has to be able to provide consistent performance during these temperature fluctuations. That means that the viscosity of the oil should also be consistent. Otherwise, the dampers will provide a very large range in damping force, which is not ideal and makes handling far less predictable.

We use a proprietary grade of damper oil in order to maintain consistent performance. Some forms of racing, such as rally racing, put the oil under the worst circumstances, in some cases reaching temperatures as elevated as 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Engine oil typically sees operating temperatures near the 300 Fahrenheit levels as well , but from heat mainly transmitted from combustion cycles. So that just goes to show how much punishment our suspensions must endure. Even a short drive in your daily commuter can easily get street suspension into the 150 degree Fahrenheit temperature range.

Even the most basic material we use for our suspension, our steel damper bodies and lower brackets, are ultra high-strength, allowing us to make a light yet resilient structure for our shock absorbers. The use of ultra high-strength steel allows us to use less material for a given design application without sacrificing its strength. That translates to lower weight, especially compared to OEM suspensions.

We use several grades of aluminum alloy for components such as our spring seats/seat locks, upper mounts, lower brackets, and even damper bodies, all determined based on the types of use they are designed for. The most commonly used grade of aluminum is our 2017 series alloy (duralumin), followed by 6061 series, and 7075 series. Each grade is properly heat treated to provide us with optimum strength for its given application.

The spring steel we use is no different than what you can find from other well-known manufacturers, SAE 9254 vanadium steel. This material, when manufactured properly, provides an extremely resilient coil spring design, able withstand millions of strokes without sagging. Our manufacturing processes assure a worry-free spring for years and years of continued use, and that is absolutely critical for us.

We use cold drawn steel piston shafts. Cold drawing our piston shafts avoids having to use any type of coating or plating, which over time can be come brittle and break off the piston shaft surface. By cold drawing the steel piston shaft, it creates a near-finished and case hardened surface that only has to be polished for added low-friction operation. In the past, we had experimented with different low friction coatings. However, these proved to be short term, and longevity was our biggest concern.

Our piston valves, critical in providing our required damping force for each vehicle application, are developed and manufactured in-house. We use a PTFE lining on the sliding surfaces of the piston valve. This low-friction coating allows the damper to do the work it’s designed for, and not by account of friction caused by the sliding surfaces of the piston valve within the walls of the damper body. This extra step provides consistent damping force, no matter the internal temperature of the shock absorber.

We also use proprietary coatings to protect our suspension components, such as our patented ZT coating for threaded shell cases and adjustment tubes. This has proven to withstand some of the toughest weather and driving conditions in racing atmospheres to daily commuting. Our patented 2-Layer/1-Bake powdercoating process (adding one layer of zinc and another layer of our green powder paint), a process pioneered and used exclusively by TEIN, not only provides a very durable shell case coating against corrosion, but also improves our manufacturing efficiency. All of our coatings are constantly tested through our artificial aging and salt water spray testing, and even compared to other suspension manufacturers’ coating methods, to ensure that we’re providing our customers with a kit that will last for many years. All shell cases and brackets are surface treated to make sure proper adhesion of our coatings.

Lastly, TEIN meticulously tests and develops suspension kits for each and very application we make. In doing so, we also ensure that our customers are receiving a kit that will provide the greatest handling performance for their needs. For anyone that believes that our shock absorbers are the same for every single vehicle model, they are absolutely incorrect. One area we continually pride ourselves on is our research and development, a constant evolution of suspension technology, and an adaptation to the consumers needs for performance suspension.

We’re always very proud of what we make. It isn’t enough for us to simply rely on the name and reputation we’ve earned. We’ll continue to develop the best performing and quality suspension at a reasonable price. When you buy a TEIN product, know that our continuous efforts go into making a high quality product for you to use for many years.

TEIN STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z Has Landed!!!

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Paul P.

We’ve been on a full-fledged effort to bring the consumer affordable, high quality suspensions. After all, this is the reputation that TEIN has built its successes on. At the end of 2015, we introduced the new FLEX Z suspension kits. Never before have we released a full featured coilover kit at under $1000 (FLEX Z starts at $800), and to our surprise, it has taken off better than we have expected. So much so that our biggest problem is keeping enough inventory of these kits on our own shelves, let alone our dealers’ shelves.

With this success, we still felt it necessary to address the demand for even more affordable suspensions, which is where our new STREET BASIS Z and STREET ADVANCE Z suspensions come in. These kits come at a starting price of,,,,, brace yourselves for this,,,,,, $450 for the STREET BASIS Z and $550 for the STREET ADVANCE Z. That’s not for two shocks, or just the coilover springs. These are the starting prices for the complete kit!

You may be asking “HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?”.

Good question! Let us explain:

A couple of years ago, we made mention of our new TEIN China factory. Now fully operational, we’ve been able to get to work on these two new lines of suspensions. Our goal was to maintain the renowned TEIN quality that TEIN Japan has prided themselves with and bring this technology overseas. In doing so, we were also able to meet our goal of offering an even more affordable suspension kit.

How do these two new “Z” line of suspensions differ from existing STREET BASIS & STREET ADVANCE lines?

STREET BASIS Z/STREET ADVANCE Z will still go through our patented surface treatment processes, the very same processes our existing suspension lines go through, providing excellent corrosion resistance and many years of service.

The only major difference is the fact that the new STREET BASIS Z and STREET ADVANCE Z lines use fully sealed dampers (non-rebuildable) and are made in TEIN China’s factory (as previously mentioned). Our new fully sealed dampers may not be able to be rebuilt and revalved since the damper bodies can no longer be fully disassembled. However, in terms of servicing the dampers, should a damper go bad after our 1-year warranty, the customer can simply purchase a replacement damper and swap over their original TEIN spring and factory upper mount assembly and get their car back on the road.

Fully sealed dampers may not be able to be rebuilt/revalved, but it still makes your suspension kit much cheaper to own in the long run when it comes to replacing old damper units. Instead of sending in your dampers, simply purchase replacements and get your car back on the road quickly!

Why is this of any benefit to the customer? Well, now you no longer have to send your dampers in to be rebuilt. That translates to less downtime (typical overhauls take anywhere from 3-4 weeks currently), and actually a much more cost-effective way for a customer to get their car running again (no need to ship dampers to and from TEIN USA, and replacement STREET BASIS Z/STREET ADVANCE Z dampers cost anywhere from $80 – $120).

STREET ADVANCE Z kits starting at $550. Ride height and damping force adjustable.

Although not much else has change with the introduction of our new STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z kits, we’ve done our best to give the customers more ride height adjustment range, offering lower ride heights than before. We’ve also reassessed some vehicle applications and revised spring rates and valving to provide even greater performance and comfort.

The first sets that have arrived are limited in vehicle applications, but we’re working on eventually adding more and more applications of STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z as the year progresses. In the meantime, however, we still have some current STREET BASIS & STREET ADVANCE coilovers at new, lower retail prices. So there’s still plenty of chance to get a high quality TEIN coilover at a great price!

Before the new STREET BASIS Z and STREET ADVANCE Z kits start leaving our warehouse, we just wanted to say thank you to all of our authorized dealers, as well as our customers, who have helped TEIN to continue bringing technological innovations in the high performance segment of our market. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to make our living in providing you with pure driving pleasure!

Please visit www.tein.com to see the available applications!

Formula Drift 2016

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Paul P.

The drift season got off to a start earlier this month, and what an event it was! The city of Long Beach, CA. hosts the season opener for Formula Drift, and around this time, the city prepares for the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Celebrity Grand Prix, the later of which had the final race for the series.

Weather seemed to be the only detriment to the Formula Drift season opener, and an apparent downpour was the biggest threat to what is essentially always an outdoor event. We figured the wet weather was enough to keep spectators out of the stands and staying at home instead.

But, we were proved wrong! Fortunately for us, we came prepared with our typical TEIN merchandise. However, missing for nearly two years was a full-size parasol (umbrella) from the TEIN Goods lineup. This time around, we were prepared with a new design. This bad weather proved to be one of the biggest favors we could have asked from mother nature, as we had a flock of customers NEEDING our parasol!!! We also had our smaller fold-up umbrella, which also sold well!

At any rate, the racing action also proved to be very eventful. As you can imagine, quite a few accidents occured on track, and any type of contact in drifting is usually met with cheers from the crowd.

We’re glad to see the 2016 race season off to a great start! Next weekend is Formula Drift at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA! We look forward to being there and seeing all of you race fans!!! So stop by the TEIN booth to say hi, and check out our booth car (and FD3S owned built by Phil Sohn)!!! And yes, we’ll have parasols with us 😉 !!!

Pics from: Speedhunters (by Larry Chen), Formula Drift, Phil Sohn

How Low Can You Go?

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Paul P.

One thing about TEIN dampers is that they’re definitely not know for being able to slam all cars down to the ground. There are several exceptions based on the factory suspension design. But, for the most part, we don’t really design our suspensions to do crazy types of ride height drops. For one, super low ride heights don’t really improve performance. In fact, it can hamper your performance, lead to increased uneven tire wear, and cause other suspension components to fail or wear prematurely.

Why is this?

One factor that we must take into consideration is that the vehicle manufacturer designed their vehicles with a specific intent or use. If, for example, Honda decided to make their Accord into a Super Touring race car available to the public (WHICH I WOULD WANT), chances are, they wouldn’t be marketing the car to the young family type demographic. Also, there’s a huge chance that this Super Touring race car bares very little resemblance when it comes to the suspension layout, among other things. Control arms will be different in length and position relative to the mounting point. For that matter, mounting points will differ. Take a good look at the details and you will find that one of our off-the-shelf damper kits will not work in a Super Touring race car.

To get your street car to have that type of “stance” would require tons of modifications other than the dampers and springs. You’d have to do tons more work to get the suspension and wheel geometry correct for such low ride heights that a race car achieves. Not impossible, just a lot of work.

Suspension geometry is set from the factory at a specific ride height per vehicle. When you alter the ride height, the geometry is, in turn, affected. Camber has always been a topic of discussion as many people will experience a gain in negative Camber. However, some suspension designs have the opposite affect, adding positive Camber. Also, areas like Toe and Caster are also affected. Bump steer can also be a very big factor when lowering a car’s factory suspension ride height settings.

Here’s an extreme case of negative camber in the rear. Essentially it will seem like the top of the wheel is aiming towards the center line of the car.

Toe affects the car’s responsiveness when steering, but can also affect the stability of the car in a straight line. Many people will err on the side of toe-in, however each type of toe setting has its advantages and disadvantages.

Caster setting also has a positive and negative setting. More positive caster has better return to neutral steering as well as a form of camber gain for the outside wheel when turning, increasing the contact patch of the tire to the pavement. Negative caster provides easier turn-in at slow speeds.

The lower control arm on this Ford Mondeo for BTCC is completely adjustable using heim jointed ends, and you can see it has a modified roll center. This is to correct alignment geometry at the low ride heights it is expected to run.

This engine bay of an Accord Touring Car may only look partially modified with some steel tubing, but you can see the lower part of the suspension and how it is modified.

Notice how little droop there is from the wheel? The suspension on Touring Cars is incredibly stiff and have very little stroke travel. Street cars have much more suspension travel in comparison. For a race car with limited stroke travel, that means less variation in wheel alignment and greater predictability when driving.

This is why we have our limitations when creating a damper kit. Yes, we know that you want to have your car look good and low. TEIN USA Operations Manager, Sergio (a.k.a. “Gonzo”, a.k.a. “Monster Tuck”) knows this. He goes well beyond what we consider to be safe for daily driving in terms of ride height.

Not every application is the same. Some suspension designs can do well with an extremely low ride height. Others…. not so much. Take a look at our suspension offerings for the Honda S2000, Nissan 350z. Those don’t have a wide range of ride height adjustment, and that’s due to their sports car type suspension geometry.

Cars like the DC chassis Acura Integra or EJ6 Honda Civic have a very forgiving suspension geometry, and our suspension kits for these applications have exactly that- a big adjustment range.

But again, why? Why don’t we just make kits that slam cars down to the ground?

Again, to safely lower a car is one very important factor. However, if there’s no performance gain from a super low ride height, then forget it. We won’t make it. After all, TEIN’s main goal is “Driving Pleasure”. It’s what we strive for and what we know our customers expect. We wouldn’t want to sell you a kit that makes your wheels rub up against the fender lining, produce extreme negative camber, or cause any other major problems where driveability suffers.

Defi CAN Driver Gauges

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Paul P.

Defi has created a new revolutionary line of gauges! This time, the gauge set is a much more simple installation for OBDII equipped (compatible with ISO-CAN) vehicles.

By using an OBD port harness, the Defi CAN Driver can link up to three gauges, and these gauges do not require the use or installation of sensors/sending units typically supplied with Defi gauges. In other words, you can now display factory engine parameters such as Boost, Intake Manifold Pressure, Tachometer, and/or Water Temperature.

This is the perfect compliment to many newer vehicles that don’t even display such parameters anymore. A lot of cars do away with water temperature readings and simply show you a cold or hot light. And yes, we still manufacture cars without tachometers (for cars that still use internal combustion engines).

CAN Driver was developed on the success of the Smart Adapter series, which is also capable of pulling all engine parameters from an OBDII port. The factory ECU is responsible for all engine function, so it isn’t as if the OE ECU is terrible. It’s the way engine vitals are being displayed on factory gauge clusters that is the biggest problem. As we’ve mentioned in previous Defi related posts, a lot of car manufacturers chose to use as affordable a gauge cluster as possible. That means sacrificing performance (and true readings) for a more aesthetically pleasing gauge display.

The obvious benefit of the CAN Display system is that you no longer have to locate a spot to install aftermarket sensors, or resort to aftermarket adapters like oil filter sandwich adapters, to make them fit properly. The factory sensors are more than adequate. The real problem is either your car doesn’t have these engine readings, or the readings are inaccurate, which many OEM gauge clusters have issues with. To have a properly functioning gauge to provide you with imporant engine vitals can be extremely important, especially to those that have modified their engine for more power. Not being able to monitor items such as pressures and temperatures can lead to detrimental engine failures. Best of all is that this is all plug and play. No need to solder any wiring (unless possibly you’re link the Advance Control Unit- the Control Unit may suggest soldering for power supply), and you can simply unplug all the components within a couple of minutes, if not less.

With the Defi CAN Driver setup, you will have real-time data of your engine’s vitals, and with the reknowned Defi precision and performance they’ve made their name on! Not to mention that Defi gauges give your car a great look!!!

The diagram below shows an Advance ZD (DF09701) unit installed. This is only possible by also installing the Advance Control Unit (DF07703) in conjunction with the CAN Driver. The use of Advance ZD is for customers that also want to obtain speedometer using Defi’s system. However, it is not necessary if you only plan to use CAN Driver to power one of the three gauges (Boost, Intake Manifold Pressure, Water Temperature, and/or Tachometer).

There will be four available part numbers for the CAN Driver series:

DF15601- Defi CAN Driver (msrp $189)

DF15701- Defi CAN Driver + Advance BF 60mm Tachometer set (msrp $377; ***special order part number***)

DF15702- Defi CAN Driver + Advance BF 80mm Tachometer set (msrp $412)

DF15801- Defi CAN Driver + Advance A1 80mm Tachometer set (msrp $447)

From there you can add any of the following gauges: Boost, Intake Manifold Pressure, and/or Water Temperature.

For the upcoming new Advance A1 gauges, the applicable CAN Driver gauge part numbers are:

DF14802 – 2 Bar Boost Gauge (msrp $215)

DF15302- Water Temperature (msrp $215)

The new CAN Driver series is set to be released in the U.S. in limited supply by the beginning of Summer 2016!

Coil Spring Material

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Paul P.

I know some (if not all) of you people really care about what you buy. Although many of us are not engineers, we can tell good designs from bad designs. What we cannot typically tell is what are good materials and bad materials simply by looking at pictures.

Lowering springs can be found by many manufacturers. Many of them claim to use the same materials as “such and such well-known brand”. And they may be correct (since there are several spring manufacturers that let small brands outsource through them). But, some small brands may request a different material to get their price point way way down. These days, a set of good quality springs can average the $275 mark. Anything below that is not necessarily questionable, but I’d be wary of them (unless it is a discounted price from a known brand and reputable retailer, and you can confirm the product is authentic- beware of counterfeits!).

To get right to the point, TEIN uses SAE 9254V, which is a Chrome Silicon Vanadium alloy. This is not an uncommon material. Many well-respected brands state this alloy as their material of choice for their springs.

So, we get this Chrome Silicon Vanadium wire, which is in a “soft” state, and feed it through a machine that first draws out the wire and straightens it, then pulls it through a mandrel that makes the wire diameter consistent. Then we can feed it through our machine to form coil springs.

These massive hula hoop looking things are the chrome silicon vanadium steel wire we use for our springs. Still in a relatively soft state, it will be fed through dies to straighten out and ensure consistent diameter before being fed through a computer controlled coiling machine.

Coiling of the wire alloy is done in a cold state (not ice cold, btw). This is done “cold” because most all of our springs are not very large in wire diameter. It’s easy for us to form in such a condition. It’d be a different story if our coil springs were used for trains or huge trucks. This method also eliminates one step- preheating the wire, which can alter the alloys molecular structure and potentially weaken the material.

If you’ve read other articles about coil spring manufacturing, you’ll hear it likened to pasta being formed. These computer controlled machines can make adjustments as wire is being fed into the machine, allowing us to make many different shapes of springs, like our taper or barrel springs. This is what sets spring manufacturers apart from one another. Each manufacturer has their own design.

There is still a heat treatment step to follow our process anyway, which is the next step after cold winding. This adds strength to the alloy by realigning the molecular bond of the alloy. Close attention is paid during this step, as it needs to be timed properly and at the correct temperature. Improperly heat treated springs can either sag or break, depending on how long the heat treatment process went.

Finished coil springs which have been cut from the coiling machine will next go through heat treatment. Cold forming of the coils can alter the molecular structure of the wire, so heat treating helps to realign this molecular bond prior to the next stages of processing.

Depending on the vehicle application, the next step is flat grinding the spring ends. This is important because this allows the spring load to be evenly distributed across the spring’s surface area. However, this is only an important step if the factory spring design requires flat grinding. In other words, the springs we make must have matching ends to the factory setup in both the spring perch and upper seat assembly.

Our shot peen process is the next step. This takes tiny steel balls (called “shot”) and impacts the spring at high velocity. This is a stress relieving process. Impacting the spring surface is likened to a blacksmith hammering a piece of iron. It shapes and compacts the surface, giving it strength. This, however, leaves the core of the wire spring “soft”. That is what you’d want, because if the inner core of the wire spring is strengthened, it can make it brittle.

The heat treated coil springs will then be sent to shot peening for stress relieving and surface compaction.

We then go through a Setting process, which puts the spring under load for a specified period of time and at an elevated temperature. This lets the spring settle to the correct length and is also a quality control measure. After setting, we inspect the springs to make sure they fall within specification prior to the final step- powdercoating.

We use a urethane powder paint, but prior to that, we apply a zinc powder base for corrosion resistance. They are baked on at the same time and can last the life of the spring.

Our 2-stage powder paint process ensures a long lasting spring with excellent surface corrosion protection.

Labeled springs will go through a final stage of inspections prior to pairing and packaging.

We have a great success rate with our springs. While we do offer a 1 year warranty against spring sag (more than 5mm), it is not to say that a spring will never sag. The repetitive cycling of a spring (compressing and extending) weakens a spring over time. However, the materials and processes we use provide a very long lasting spring. It is not very common for us to see a spring that has sagged, even after years and well over 150,000 miles of use.

Nothing much changes when we manufacture our springs for coilovers. The same processes are used. The only exception is our Racing Spring line.

Racing Springs use a SWOSC-KV material, which offers very similar properties as our SAE 9254V springs, but we can now make a much more lightweight spring. That’s a benefit when trying to keep weight of a race car down. This weight savings is accomplished by winding a spring with less material. The only downside to such lightweight springs is the spring stroke maximum. These have much shorter stroke length for a given spring free length and wire diameter. Exceeding the design’s spring stroke can cause them to sag.

Spring design is critical, for obvious reasons (performance being one of the main ones). But material is just as critical, if not more so. We want to utilize the best material that won’t cost a pretty penny. So, when looking for springs, be picky about the ones you really want. Know that TEIN puts a lot of time to engineer a great performing product at a great value.

As we’ve mentioned, a well engineered spring can make a world of difference, especially in terms of safety.

Counterfeit TEIN Springs (Round 2)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Paul P.

Well, maybe it’s more like Round 5 in the continuing saga of Counterfeit TEIN springs being put to market.

Several years back we made a notice for our dealers and customers that our lowering springs are being knocked off overseas. Well, it seems that someone new is out to do the same thing. Honestly, these counterfeiters getting better and better at making their springs look like ours, and getting labeling and packaging to look like pretty decent copies (but still not a perfect match).

Here are a few ways to identify the latest batch of counterfeits on market compared to authentic TEIN springs/packaging.

Why the concern?

One of the more obvious reasons is safety. We put a lot of time and effort into our research and development. Materials used are just as important, and we take the extra steps to produce our SAE9254V and SWOSC-kv spring materials to provide years of service, problem-free. If someone decides to knock off our springs using a lesser grade material, your safety is at risk. The potential for a cheap coil spring to break is very high, especially if the material is not of sufficient quality or is not produced to reduce the fatigue characteristics of a spring.

Take a look at a counterfeit spring being put up against a TEIN spring in testing:

Also, while a spring may not look like much to have to engineer, you’d be wrong. Each and every well-known spring manufacturer has their own unique designs and each of them are protected by the manufacturer. If you compare our springs to a company such as Eibach or H&R, you will see that for a given application, the springs are not the same. It’s not that difficult to copy a spring design, which makes it easier for us to identify whether or not it is being modeled after one of our own springs (even if they use a completely different paint, color, and labeling).

Maybe I wouldn’t be so bothered if you were getting some fake Louis Vuitton or a fake Rolex, unless they were made using harmful chemicals/materials (honestly, anything fake still bothers me). But, the thought of a spring that was never really developed and tested out on the road? That’s a huge concern for us. Anything that bears our name, authentic or not, can tarnish our brand and reputation. We stand by our genuine products. If our springs were to fail, even outside of our 1 year spring sag & manufacturer’s defect warranty, it will still be corrected by us. That’s how important this matter is to us.

So, while there may be a great savings in terms of product cost, counterfeit springs may cost you more in the long run, up to and including your life. Don’t take the risk of a potential car accident that these untested products may cause.

If you are aware of counterfeit TEIN springs, please notify us immediately so we can get them off the market. Know what you’re purchasing and be sure to purchase from an authorized TEIN dealer.

TEIN USA

tel: 562-861-9161

email: tus_sales@tein.com

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Author Archives: Paul P.