ENDURA PRO Install

With the Endura Pro line still relatively new to Premium OEM replacement market, we would like to continue the promotion with another Endura Pro install. This installation of our Endura Pro dampers was done on a 2011 Toyota Carmy base model. Being that the vehicle was in for some other product testing, we said “why not” and see how the install goes.

Upon initial side by side comparison between the factory and the Endura Pro, they are overall similar with the exception of the strut body being thicker larger on the Endura Pro for added oil capacity which improves the durability and increases damping force performance long-term.

When we design our Endura Pro line replacement struts and shocks, we try our best to mimic the OEM strut or shock design as to allow worry free component and coil spring installation.

With the Endura Pro Plus offering the damping force adjustability, some top strut mount covers may not pop on as before and would need to be removed. However the struts and shocks will include our add caps to protect the click adjuster from any debris.

Since all of the OE strut components were in decent shape, we proceeded to just clean them up the install them on the Endura Pro as seen in the image below.



With all components installed including the upper mount being tightened down, everything lined up just as it would on the factory struts. Even the install onto the vehicle, all components lined up and mounted as they should.

Initial test drive impressions left me very surprised. Now obviously most folks would feel that this is biased being that I work for TEIN USA INC. However this was based on how the factory felt as well as other vehicle experiences with the auto parts Monroe and/or cheaper replacements. I feel that the vehicle rode as though it were brand new from the dealership even though with around 70K on the chassis. This would put the factory shocks slightly over the manufacturers recommended  replacement interval of 50K for shocks and struts which can attribute to the original struts being worn but not completely blown. Now another contributor to this ride would be from the Hydraulic Bump Stop system offered on both ENDURA PRO lines.

I can honestly say I am impressed with the ENDURA PRO and look forward to getting a set for my daily driver civic as I am interested in ride comfort of the Hydraulic Bump Stop and the damping force adjustment offered on the ENDURA PRO PLUS. I will definitely be making a post on the install one the time comes.


ENDURAPRO Shock Absorber Testing on S550 Mustang GT (w/ Performance Package)

This past week we had a 2018 Ford Mustang GT (S550 chassis) come in for testing. This particular one has the Performance Package. This package looks to include “heavy-duty” front springs and a thicker rear sway bar. Our guess is that the factory shock absorbers and rear springs have also changed from earlier S550’s Performance Package, with the shocks being a tad big more aggressive in valving, and so far we can say that we feel these differences.

ENDURAPRO PLUS (damping adjustable) for S550 Mustang shown

You can say it is a much sportier ride now. However, for some of us older fellows at TEIN USA, it was a bit too uncomfortable, whether it was street or highway driving. Personally I don’t really like how overly sensitive the steering was. Felt like I could accidentally loose control should my reflexes overreact. It just felt very twitchy and unstable.

Anyway, we wanted to test our upcoming STREET BASIS Z coilovers for this vehicle. BUT, it was also an opportunity to test our ENDURAPRO shock absorbers on this car, and it was definitely an improvement from our point of view!

As mentioned, the new GT Performance Package offers factory upgraded suspension. It was a far cry from how the first S550 GT we tested felt (when we were developing our FLEX Z coilover kit).

With the ENDURAPRO shock absorbers, ride quality was much more bearable for a daily drive. Much of the harshness we feel from the factory suspension is gone (however we can feel a difference with the stiffer front spring). Turn-in hasn’t changed dramatically, which we can possibly attribute to both the front springs and the larger rear sway bar.

Front ENDURAPRO strut compared to OEM strut.
Rear ENDURAPRO shock absorber compared to OEM shock.

How this compares to earlier S550 GT suspension is quite different, however. Again, with the current Performance Package suspension being more aggressive, the ENDURAPRO shock absorbers now make the car feel more compliant (not soft, not boaty, just better comfort). On an earlier S550 much of the sportiness is still there. But in both cases, the included Hydraulic Bump Stopper of our ENDURAPRO shock absorbers adds a much smoother ride quality under heavy loading. Over very large bumps, like expansion joints or overpasses on a freeway, this Hydraulic Bump Stopper really helps suppress upward jolts and smooths out the rebound. Given that the Mustang has relatively short suspension stroke, this pays huge dividends to providing comfort!

ENDURAPRO shock absorbers for the S550 Mustang are in stock and ready to ship!

Part numbers:
Front- VSGC0-A1MS2-L (left side)
VSGC0-A1MS2-R (right side)
Rear- VSGC1-A1MS2

Also available in ENDURAPRO PLUS (16-click damping adjustable)!

Front- VSGC0-B1MS2-L (left side)
VSGC0-B1MS2-R (right side)
Rear- VSGC1-B1MS2





1992-1995 Honda Civic Suspension Testing

While this car has been out of production for well over 20 years now, we still find that the 1992-1995 Honda Civic is still a good seller in terms of our suspension products. Many older vehicles don’t really fare so well when it comes to aftermarket parts. Many parts being discontinued due to little demand. However, Civics of this generation are still very popular platforms to modify, and there are still plenty of them on the road, whether in sedan, coupe, or hatchback form.

Many of our customers should be well aware that TEIN is adamant of technological innovation in suspension. In fact that is a huge part of the name “TEIN” (TEchnological INnovation). Year after year we always look into ways to improve our suspensions and we try, as much as possible, to offer various kits to make it easier for the customer to choose the correct kit for their needs.

With that said, we’re still working on developing suspension for the ’92-’95 Civic. Currently, we’re working on the specifications for our upcoming STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z applications. While this line has been out for a few years now, we had yet to release it for these model years of Civic.

Why bother with testing, especially if we already have existing STREET BASIS and STREET ADVANCE coilovers? Why not just carry over the same specs of that kit to the newer Z line? That would be the easy way of doing it. However, we rely very heavily on customer feedback when deciding what spring rates and what type of valving we will designate for each application. Over the years, our customers’ mindsets have changed. In the past, we were making suspension kits that were very aggressive in terms of springs and valving, mainly because the customers were expecting a very sporty ride feel. While great for track driving, they proved to be very harsh for the street, especially if it was for a daily driver.

Over the years, we’ve taken the time to revise our tuning philosophy for suspension. Making dedicated street suspensions such as the STREET BASIS and STREET ADVANCE lines, we wanted good performance with uncompromising comfort to be the emphasis.

That, along with other updated suspension components like our Advance Needle (for damping adjustable suspension), and piston valve designs, different shim designs, etc. , means that we must retest certain vehicle platforms to make sure there is no degradation in either performance or comfort. Simply trying to carry over an old specification into a new suspension doesn’t always work out so well.

So, back to testing the ’92-’95 Civic and finding that good balance we’re looking for! Actually, since we’re on the topic of this car, we’re planning to revise the spring rates for the front (from 7kg/mm to 9kg/mm). That may not sound logical, since we’re trying to set up a good street kit with ample comfort. But, with the prototype valving we’re testing on it, it is working perfectly!!

Oh, and I forgot to mention- look for the new STREET BASIS Z to start around $450 and STREET ADVANCE Z at $550 for this platform Civic when it’s released later this year!

2017+ 86 & BRZ FLEX Z, FLEX A, & MONO SPORT Coilover Testing

We just finished up some testing on the 2017 Subaru BRZ (and which would of course affect the 2017 Toyota 86). While the vehicles aren’t drastically different compared to 2012-2016 model years of the aforementioned vehicles (the 86 previously named the Scion FR-S), there are some small changes in suspension that affect how our existing coilovers feel.

TEIN Japan currently sells part numbers VSTD8-C1SS4 for the FLEX Z line, VSTD-D1SS4 for the FLEX A line, & GSTD8-71SS4 for the MONO SPORT line for their market.

Stateside, we currently sell the VSQ54-C1SS4 for FLEX Z and GSQ54-71SS1 for the MONO SPORT line. For the FLEX A, we previously sold the VSQ54-D1SS4 model number. Now we sell the VSTD8-D1SS4. For the MONO SPORT line, we’re looking to start selling TEIN Japan’s GSTD8-71SS1, since there isn’t much variation between the U.S. and JDM spec.

Phew, that’s a lot of part numbers…..

So, why the change to FLEX A part number VSTD8-D1SS4?

The reason is that there are a lot of similarities between the U.S. part numbers for FLEX A and FLEX Z. If you’re not familiar with either, we’ll just say that the FLEX A includes our proprietary Hydraulic Bump Stop (H.B.S.) and is also a serviceable damper (can be rebuilt/revalved). In terms of cost, the FLEX A is $210 more.

Since the features are really the only noticeable difference, we had to look at damping force between the JDM and US kits to see what would work best for our market. The U.S.-spec FLEX A and FLEX Z both had very similar damping characteristics. Aside from the H.B.S. setup in the FLEX A’s, they feel nearly identical.

With that said, we wanted there to be difference between the two kits. Something that will help differentiate the two when a customer decides what they’ll be using the kit for.

So, we recently started offering the newer part number of FLEX A, the JDM version, part number VSTD8-D1SS4. These actually have a difference in damping, being more aggressive. We feel this may end up being a better option for the more-than-occasional track driven car owner. Being a serviceable damper, this also will allow owners the ability to revalve the dampers for different spring rates, if necessary. Along with being slightly more aggressive, the damping adjustment range is shifted up slightly, giving the end-user a higher range of tuning flexibility at the track.

That’s not to say that the FLEX Z isn’t at all capable of track use. However, we wanted this setup to offer greater compliance for a daily commuter, while still having an available adjustment range that allows for much more sportier handling characteristics. Comfort was just more of our aim for this kit, and it is greatly noticeable on larger bumps as high-speed compression is softer and more forgiving.

 

FLEX Z and FLEX A coilovers will look nearly identical. But, as mentioned in this blog, there are some features that FLEX A has over the Z line: Hydraulic Bump Stop, serviceable dampers (rebuild/revalve), and slightly more aggressive valving out of the box.

 

So, as far as a total breakdown of each suspension offering we have for the FR-S/86/BRZ:

STREET BASIS Z (GSQ54-8USS2)– perfect for daily driver not looking to sacrifice OE ride feel but improve handling performance, while being ride height adjustable.

FLEX Z (VSQ54-C1SS4)– high performance street kit, with 16-click damping adjustment and included upper mounts (camber adjustable for front).

FLEX A (VSTD8-D1SS4)– higher performance street kit/occasional track kit with aggressive damper valving, but with a greater adjustment range for ease of tuning. Included Hydraulic Bump Stop (H.B.S.) providing greater control and damping stability against repulsive compression force. Includes upper mounts as well (camber adjustable for front).

MONO SPORT (GSTD8-71SS1)– entry-level race setup with single adjustable damping. Monotube internal structure with greater oil capacity for better endurance and performance for long track stints. Also utilizes are Micro Speed Valve (M.S.V.) to improve low-speed damping curve. Includes upper mounts as well (camber adjustable for front).

SUPER RACING (DSQ54-81LS1)– 2-way damping adjustable setup for dedicated track cars, suitable for cars with R-compound or softer tires. Lightweight (full aluminum rear damper assembly), and included duralumin upper mounts (camber & caster adjustable for front) and camber washers for front.

Hopefully this info helps. If not, you’re more than welcome to give us a call to discuss your suspension options!

2016+ Mazda Miata (ND chassis) Testing

This week we had a new ND chassis Miata in for testing. FINALLY, after well over a year, we have our hands on one and can now verify fitment and do road testing.

We must say that, even though we can technically just special order available kits from TEIN Japan, we’ve found that there is, what we feel, a better setup that we’ll soon be making for the U.S. market. With that said, we’ll be making some changes when we put forward our FLEX Z and MONO SPORT damper kits for this platform.

Fortunately the changes aren’t that drastic. So, if you are one of the customers that had special ordered something like our STREET FLEX coilovers for the ND, you are able to make the changes if you want them to be more like the U.S. spec we’re planning to release (for the newer FLEX Z application).

Ride height drop, per our recommendations, is approximately -40mm lower front and rear.

Spring rates for the FLEX Z (U.S. spec) will be 6kg/mm front, 4kg/mm rear.

Spring rates for the MONO SPORT will be 7kg/mm front, 5kg/mm rear.

 

 

Test Cars Needed at TEIN USA!

Since we’ve been working hard to release the latest suspension kits for 2016, we’ll always run into one hurdle in trying to get the newest products out to the consumer. Finding the correct vehicle for testing is one of those hurdles.

We (TEIN USA) have always done our product development in our Downey, CA. facility for products destined for the U.S. market. The fact that all of our tools and testing equipment are in this facility, and also because our relative distance from TEIN Japan, makes it easier to communicate with our engineers overseas on a daily basis.

However, this type of convenience makes it difficult to locate local vehicles since we’re working in a relatively isolated area. Some times the vehicle we need is more popular in the Northwest region, or even the East coast region. Some times the vehicle we need has been out of production for a number of years already, so finding one type of vehicle can have its challenges.

So this is where we turn to our customers for help!

If you are in or near the L.A. county, and can leave your car with us for a few days of product testing/developing, it would be greatly appreciated! This type of assistance from you doesn’t go without some type of reimbursement. Of course, we want your car to look and handle great, which is probably why you’re reading our blog right now. So, we typically give our customers free product for the inconvenience of leaving them without a car (assuming you only have the one car) for our testing purposes.

If you have any of the vehicles listed below, and want to work with TEIN in developing suspension, please give us a call! We’d love to work with you!

 

 

Vehicle requirements:

-Must retain OEM body (no widebody kits, aftermarket fenders, bumpers, side skirts, extended bumper lips).

-Must retain factory interior. There may be exceptions for some aftermarket interior parts.

-OEM wheels (and tire size) preferred. Plus sized wheel and tires may be fine, depending on size. No aggressive widths and offsets. Contact us if you have aftermarket plus sized wheels.

-Must retain OEM suspension (stock springs, shocks, upper mount assemblies, bushings, swaybars, endlinks, etc.). There may be exceptions for some aftermarket suspension components.

-Must have valid registration and tags, and proof of insurance.

*consult with TEIN staff if your vehicle may have questionable modifications/parts.

 

Loan requirements:

-Vehicle testing schedule may be from 3-5 business days. In other words, the car will need to be left with us during the scheduled/agreed time frame.

– Vehicle must be dropped off with a full tank of gas. We will be return vehicle with a full tank of gas.

 

Give us a call at 562-861-9161!
Or, if email is more convenient, send your inquiry to tus_sales@tein.com

 

3-Way Damper Customization for Super Racing Suspension

This has been a long time coming. We’ve actually had 3-way damping (Rebound, Low-Speed Compression, & High-Speed Compression) technology for a long while now, made for our N1 suspension. But, it is very expensive and mainly reserved for race teams only. We also developed one for our Gr.N and 4×4 dampers, which are much more robust units, but these offered a wider range of tuning possibilities due to rally suspension needing the highest available tunability because of the higher piston speed range these dampers have. As you can imagine, this was an even more expensive unit.

4x4 damper

Here’s a 4×4 Damper with 3-Way Unit installed on the External Reservoir.

 

4x4 3 way

As you can see, the 3-Way Unit for our 4×4 Damper doesn’t look much different than the newer units we’ve just come out with. That’s because the new ones are nearly a direct derivative of the 4×4 Damper (and Gr.N) units, just much more affordable in terms of manufacturing cost. The technology, which is proprietary, is just about the same.

Now, we’ve developed a much more affordable (in comparison to the original units), less complex, and effective unit based around the Gr.N 3-way unit’s design that we will start doing testing on very soon!

SRC 3-Way OH 001

The 3-Way Unit (Silver) is made as an adaptive system to our Super Racing coilovers. We replace the original ADJ System, as we refer to it (or Compression Adjuster, if it’s easier) with our 3-Way Adjuster Unit. As you can see, we have two different designs depending on how we mount the external reservoir.

What’s so special about 3-Way damping? Well, this specifically affects the compression side of damping. The thing is, while we can easily tune a damper for what we believe to be the most ideal conditions, race cars see various changes in track surfaces that can affect their elapsed time. Race tracks can be a mix of glass-smooth surfaces followed by huge bumps or kerbs, and even expansion joints, or just rough surface transitions. This can unsettle a car quickly, and the less time on the throttle means seconds being added to the elapsed time.

Such surface transitions require a damper that responds to such instances by allowing the compression side to actually soften for a brief moment. If you think of it from your car’s tires’ aspect, an increase in damping force as piston speed increases can cause the tire to momentarily lose contact with the surface (hop). That means a loss in traction. Remember, a car maintains its best mechanical grip when all four tires maintain contact with the surface it rolls on, and that means the driver can keep on the throttle for a longer duration.

Many of you may have heard of “Digressive Valving” for dampers. What this means is that as damper piston speeds increase, the damping force has actually decreased (instead of increasing exponentially as this speed increases). Many dampers, by design, are technically digressive valving. However, the drop off in damping force may not be as much as some manufacturers are expecting. So, some may use some type of blow-off valve that opens extra ports as piston speeds increase instead of just relying on the shim stack assembly, and this creates a greater drop off in damping force as piston speed exceeds a certain level.

Low-speed, both in terms of vehicle speed and damping speed, is easier to control. There is very little resistance to the tires contact with the road surface. It is when vehicle speed or surface changes occur that mechanical grip becomes more of a concern.

To correct for such instances, race dampers have some form of high-speed damping control, and mainly on the compression side. This is where our new 3-way unit comes into play.

As mentioned before, we have already had versions of this, the most popular being on our Gr.N coilovers for rally. Think about the road surfaces that rally racing has- loose gravel, gaps, jumps. These are all things that can make a tire lose contact with the surface quickly. We’ve done really well with our 2-way adjustable Super Racing dampers, but as race cars get faster and faster, their suspension needs to cope with potential road surface transitions and react at a much quicker rate. We’ve been trying to get a 3-way version of the Super Racing dampers out to market, but it was just too expensive with our previous technology. So, we now hope to have something a bit more reasonable! However, we’ll only offer this as an upgrade under our overhaul service.

Also, if you’ve ever heard people talking about unsprung mass (weight not being supported by the suspension under gravity) as a concern, it is because heavy unsprung mass (tires, wheels, brakes, knuckle/hub, etc) can cause great upward deflection momentum, and that means a tire can lose contact with the road surface for much longer (in terms of fractions of a second). While we can try to combat that upward momentum by increasing spring rate (to try and speed up rebound force), it doesn’t benefit the compression side. In fact, this only exacerbates the problem with lost traction. What we want is a damper that has the ability to control a wider range of compression speeds. This will help keep the tires in traction, or as some people say- keeps the car planted.
For now we have only developed them as optional units for our Super Racing setup, and we’ll have one of our closest sponsored parties using them for this year’s Global Time Attack Super Lap Battle finale for the 2015 season. The racetrack, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, is a great test for us as the road surface has all sorts of transitions and undulations that can really hamper a vehicle’s ability to be fast.

SRC 3-Way OH 005

SRC 3-Way (EVS) 007 resize

SRC 3-Way (EVS) 010 resize

This 3-Way Unit is specifically for our “SA” type dampers, or dampers for double wishbone or multilink suspension. Basically it is directly mounted to the damper body.

 

SRC 3-Way (EVS) 014 resize

SRC 3-Way (EVS) 015 resize

For our Strut Type suspension (Inverted monotube design), or where room doesn’t allow us to mount the external reservoir and 3-Way Unit directly to the damper body, we can do a remote setup, this give us some flexibility in mounting the external reservoir/3-Way Unit to the vehicle. As much as possible, though, we try to keep the remote hose as short as possible.

Stay tuned for more updates on our 3-Way testing.

2014 Honda Civic Coilover Caution

Hello all,

We wanted to give warning to owners of 2014 Honda Civic’s. Not too long ago, we conducted some more testing on the late model Civic, only to find that coilover fitment is not the same. This is due to a difference in knuckle/hub design from the 2012-2013 over the 2014 models.

Current Civic body style for 2014:

2014 Civic Si

 

Here is the Front Strut from the 2012-2013 Honda Civic:

Civic 12-13 Knuckle

 

Here is the picure of the 2014 Honda Civic Front Strut:

Civic 14 Knuckle

As you can see, the bolt holes have a different alignment. That means that an attempt to install any of the GSHC0- coilovers will not be able get the correct camber angle, among other issues.

Because of the differences, our current line of coilovers, the following list of part numbers will be listed as 2012-2013 Honda Civic only.

-GSHC0-1UAS2 (STREET BASIS DAMPER KIT, FB6/FG4

-GSHC0-2UAS2 (STREET ADVANCE DAMPER KIT, FB6/FG4)

-GSHC0-5UAS1 (STREET FLEX DAMPER KIT, FB6/FG4)

Please keep posted with us for updates on 2014 Honda Civic coilover development!

 

 

Nissan R35 GT-R Suspension

We’ve already had our popular Super Racing coilover kit available for the R35 GT-R. The TEIN group was quick to jump into the development on that car’s suspension from the day it was released internationally. However, we knew that the sales of the GT-R wouldn’t necessarily take the world over right away. After all, it is a relatively expensive car.

Now in 2014 we’re looking to go back to redeveloping our already race proven setup.

SRC R35 001 (Custom)

SRC R35 004 (Custom)

SRC R35 005 (Custom)

With pre-owned GT-R’s now available at somewhat more reasonable prices, new owners are now able to put some money into enhancing an already well-balanced factory super car. Leave it to us to find a way to improve its suspension, which is what we do anyway!

For this year, we’re working with our good friends at Evasive Motorsports, who have recently acquired a GT-R. We’re pleased to see that they contacted us for suspension assistance. As aforementioned, we were looking to redo the damper valving and possibly spring rates. So it was good timing for us!

evasive r35 (Custom)

While it’s great to be working with Evasive Motorsports on the Super Racing development, we also look to put our newly released and available EDFC Active Pro to work on this car. TEIN Japan has already received praise on this new EDFC offering, with drivers reporting drastic improvement in driving and reduced lap times (one claim of -30 seconds lap time sounded too good to be true, but we’ll take it!). Now we’re looking to get feedback from our North American customers.

edfc active pro (Custom)

Please stay posted with us on the redevelopment on R35 Super Racing suspension and for our EDFC Active Pro testing!

 

Tech: EDFC Active Guide Part 1

IMG_6748

New to 2013, our EDFC Active system brings forth a higher and more enjoyable experience we expect on all of our products.  Not only can users adjust dampening levels instantly while sitting in the driver seat, the EDFC Active is also capable of automatic damper adjustments based on speed and G-forces making it truly one of a kind.  However, in order to properly utilize the maximum capabilities of this system, parameters must be set so the computer will know what to do at any given times.

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