Author Archives: Sergio M.

March Madness!!

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No, this is not your typical NCAA March Madness. But it is March Madness in our
warehouse department! I recently went to deliver to Options Auto Salon, our
local authorized distributor, with the box truck full of pallets, including springs
and dampers in the passenger side of the cab!

The box truck can hold a total of 8 pallets. But since the order was so
massive, I didn’t have enough room in the back. So we just simply filled up
the cab. It has been very busy here at TEIN with other massive orders we had shipped
out this week, not to mention receiving our second container from TEIN Japan this month to help fulfill the rest of the orders we have pending. We hope we get many more of these “March Madness’s” this year (how about an April Madness?!)!

Though the cab was filled with product, safety precautions were of course taken to
avoid any accidents such as mirror visibility and the product
arrangement. Strange that for some reason the product was arranged in such a
manner that it stayed solid and in place even while driving.

As we get busier this year, we will do our best to make sure our dealers and customers have the products they’re looking for readily available and delivered as soon as possible!

The New Defi Advance Control Unit

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Hey everyone! Back again with some news about one of our product lines. Defi has just announced that the current Advance Control Unit (part number DF07701) is no longer in production. However, the item is still available for purchase in the U.S.. Once the item is no longer available, we will begin offering the updated Advance Control Unit.

This new Advance Control Unit (part number DF07703) which was released in February of this year is going to be the same with just a few new features.

–          The unit can be distinguished apart from the other by a small “03” on the lower right section of the unit.

 

–          Both minimum and maximum values of the oil pressure and fuel pressure can be displayed in peak modes using this new control unit.

 

–          Illumination is automatically switched on or off if the Advance ZD display is installed.

 

These few changes did impact the price of the unit from $192.00 MSRP for the DF07701, to $210.00 MSRP for the new DF07703. Unfortunately at this time we don’t have a release date for the new unit for the U.S. but we will notify everyone with the expected release date on our website hopefully within the next couple of months.

2nd Place Win for The Rally xD TEAM!

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Congratulations to the Rally xD Team pulling a 2nd place win just beating 3rd place by a few seconds!

Even though the teams were faced with a portion of blindness  due to high speeds and dry weather, which combined created major dust clouds affecting some of the teams on day one of  The Rally of the 100 Acre Woods in Salem, Missouri which forced the Rally xD to fifth place on Day 1.

They eventually managed a second place finish but not without battling their way through the ranks.

Nice shot of their custom TEIN Suspension.

Good Luck on their next event! Keep up the Good Work Rally xD Team!

Multi-Link Suspensions and MacPherson Suspension-Camber Adjustability

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There has been many customers inquiring about the Upper Mounts with Camber adjustability.

Yes, we do offer Upper Mounts with Camber adjustability and they are offered for certain applications, with MacPherson Struts type suspension.

Here is a quick look at a MacPherson strut and why it is able to be used with a Camber plate.

MacPherson Strut Type – A design in which the strut connects to the hub assembly directly to the chassis of the vehicle. No upper arm is used to control the movement of the hub. This design usually allows the camber and caster angle of the suspension to be adjusted from the upper mounts. Some vehicles with front struts may not use camber adjustable mounts because of limited space in the strut tower or major design differences of upper mount designs.

 

Multi-Link aka Shock Type – Independent or multi-link type suspensions utilize a shock. An upper and lower control are used to control movement of the hub. (double A-Arm, wishbone, etc…). This design does not allow camber or caster adjustment to be made from the upper mounts since all it will be doing is moving the coil over from one side to the other without adjusting camber since it does not bolt on directly to the hub for camber or caster adjustments.

 

The Upper Mount below is a Camber Adjustable plate offered for some applications with MacPherson type Coilovers.

The below Pillow Ball Upper Mount is for Multi-Link Suspension it is not camber adjustable but it is a good replacement of the OEM Upper Mount since a NWB spherical bearing is used in place of the rubber bushing, which allows for improved tire grip and more accurate wheel alignment.

Zoom, Zoomin’ on TEIN

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Another TEIN staff had mentioned this car earlier this month which caught my attention after checking out the post on Speed Hunters. The 2005 Mazda 3 SP23 4dr is not your typical car that would be used for drag but definitely thinking out of the box.

This car has taken a full gutting, even changing out the front and rear windscreens, as well as changing to a smaller battery and relocating it in the front passenger foot-well along with the ignition system mounted next to the drivers seat for quick access.  A 6 point roll cage and harness bar custom made by Mercury Motorsports located in Australia assure more safety when the car is screaming down the track. The car amazingly still has the stock brakes but as a precaution a  Deist parachute was added should the brakes give out when clocking in times of 11.6 @ 130mph.

 

 The engine was as built by Mercury Motorsports , changing to Pauter Rods, Wiseco Pistons, Cosworth Head Gasket and Water Pump, Weapon R Intake Manifold, Mishimoto 52mm Half Core Radiator and adding a GT3528R turbo with a 44mm Tial Wastegate with a side exit exhaust to give it that extra kick and achieve 405hp at the front wheels.

Keeping that SP23 planted to the track would be a combination of Mickey Thompson Drag Slicks and TEIN Super Streets coilovers.

For most info and pics of the car check out Speed Hunters weblink below.

 http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/11/28/car-feature-gt-gt-zoom-zoom.aspx.

 

2 popular street racing comics in JAPAN

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If you like to read comics I recommend 2 popular manga in Japan which focuses on street racing. Both are not new but are favorites among kuruma otaku (car nuts).

頭文字D　-　INITIAL D
The central character “Takumi” drives a Toyota Trueno AE86 (Hachi-Roku) which has his family’s Tofu shop name on the side of the car.
The story follows Takumi as he enters the world of illegal Japanese street racing on the various Touge roads in Japan (TOUGE = mountain passes). The focus of the story is driving technique and tuning.

Many people know about Initial D and have probably watched the anime or maybe even the movie. I am originally from Japan and grew up when the Initial D manga were still being released on a weekly basis.

湾岸ミッドナイト- Wangan Midnight
“Wangan” means Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway Bayshore route and it is their stage. The main character “Akio” drives a Nissan Fairlady Z (S30) called “Devil Z”. And his rival Tatsuya drives a Porsche 911 Turbo (964) called “Black Bird”.

The story is about car tuning, vehicle setup and driving technique as well as the emotion behind it all.

I recently watched this animation on DVD and I saw a TEIN logo in the story! If your familiar with famous Japanese tuners you can probably see a correlation between characters in the manga/ anime and real life shops/ tuners.

Check this out if you are a kuruma otaku.

Image from http://www.amazon.com/

350Z Tie Rods and Lock Plates

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Hey everyone.  This was recently brought to our attention that the replacement lock plate used on the Nissan 350Z  inner tie  rod lock plate is only sold as part of a new replacement kit from Nissan.

After further research on the web few online auto parts retailers do sell just that replacement lock plate at a reasonable price. The lock plate was never provided in the kit as the item can easliy be obtained through the a Nissan dealer in Japan, of course not knowing that the U.S. would sell this item in a kit.

Provided below would be a few links to the online retail websites which offer the locking plate for purchase.

WWW.DRIVEWIRE.COM

http://www.drivewire.com/vehicle/nissan-350z/tie-rod-lock-plate/?2004&OES_Genuine&location=Inner&dwnissan350z20042004oesgenuinew0133-172239297935004tirolopl&dwcid=B1266309530W4b7a599a692e4

WWW.AUTOPARTSNETWORK.COM

http://www.autopartsnetwork.com/shop/-part_Steering_Tie_Rod_Lock_Plate-make_Nissan-model_350Z-year_2004.html

WWW.PARTSGEEK.COM

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/WC/6656-01068590.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ff&utm_term=2003-2004+Nissan+350Z+Tie+Rod+Lock+Plate+OES+Genuine+Inner+03-04+Nissan+Tie+Rod+Lock+Plate&utm_content=YN&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+Google+Base

I hope this helps solve the hassle of locating this item on its own through the dealer. It may not be OEM but it will get the job done rather than reusing a damaged piece.

 

 

 

 

The benefits of SuperPro Polyurethane Bushings

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Hey Everyone check out these SuperPro videos, view the benefits of having these polyurethane bushings versus the OEM rubber bushings.

As you can see the major difference between the stock and SuperPro bushings.

For more information on suspension and bushings and how it benefits doing the change over from rubber bushing to polyurethane bushings check out this other video.

For information on how you can purchase SuperPro check out the following link http://www.tein.com/products/superpro.html

Progressive-ness in the House!

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Hey everyone!  Back again with another bit of info regarding our S.Tech and High Tech lowering springs.

Both spring lines are manufactured with progressive springs rates which would differ from OE springs found on vehicles or any standard springs found on most coilover kits. 

 Progressive springs usually have two different spring rates – one softer, easily compressible rate and one stiffer or main spring rate.

The softer portion of the spring is actually not felt at all as it is designed with the idea to place a light load on the shock absorber when fully extended. Once load is placed on  the spring , the softer portion of the spring fully compresses  leaving the main spring rate to support the load. Silencer Rubbers are used in these locations to help in reduce  any sounds of coil binding that can be produced during normal operation. 

 

A common misconception about progressive springs is that they will change in rate during operation, gradually becoming stiffer as the springs compresses. Again, the main purpose of the progression is to allow some preload to the shock absorber assembly when fully extended (so that the spring isn’t loose in its mount).

I hope this was able to clairify any questions those may have had regarding TEIN S.Tech or High Tech lowering springs.