Beware of Poor Quality Springs!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Paul P.

We’ve put a great video out on YouTube showcasing the effects of a poor quality spring compared to our own springs:

Goes to show that not all products are created equal. We spend a lot of resources for our research and development departments, and for good reason. We’ve built a great reputation of offering high quality performance parts at pretty reasonable prices. We have to uphold that reputation, and to do so means constant product development.

It’s sad to know that there are “high performance” suspension manufacturers that are mass producing components without ever testing them. We put each and every one of our designs through rigorous testing to ensure their reliability and performance. Everything we design must pass our extensive tests before it ever reaches you, our customer.

I’d rather spare you the whole “you get what you pay for” speech because, in some cases, the consequences of not knowing the first time around could mean your safety, and potentially your life. So, take it from us- if you really want something, don’t choose what you think is the second or third best option just because it will save you some money. Purchase from a reputable manufacturer. Purchase with confidence. Most of all, purchase wisely. If you don’t have the money now, you should save up for what you really want. Or, just shop around and find a great price from one of any of our authorized TEIN dealers.

For a list of our authorized TEIN dealers, please visit the following link:

http://www.tein.com/dealer_list/index.html

Short Spring Dilemmas Part 1

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Sergio M.

I will be going over the details of some issues encountered with the use of shorter springs. Part 1 of a 2 part post would explain the use of shorter length springs with a ride height adjustable coilover. Many consumers think that the use of a shorter length spring on a ride height adjustable coilover such as the Street Basis, Street Advance, Super Street, Basic’s, and Comfort Sport dampers would allow for the coilover to drop even further than the kits current maximum lowest setting. Essentially this is correct if the damper assembly has sufficient amount of range left on its body threads and/or overall damper length. Any consumer kits which have this type of set up will initially encounter the issue of the upper mount assembly riding against the bump rubber. This will eventually cause the bump rubber to break down causing either the damper to prematurely wear the seal and, in worst cases, cause internal damage of the damper. Other issues also experienced are spring slop (the spring moving out of its seat positions during operation due to the shortened length) damaging the damper body and threads, noises due to excessive damper component movement, and damper component failure (upper, lower spring seats, bushings, and bearings) from the loose fitting spring.

The images above shows a Super Street damper assembly from a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX utilizing the standard 6KG spring rate with a 225mm length offered with the kit but set to a significantly low ride height. The second image above shows a load on mount assembly placed against the spring. This is not what the springs normal position would be with the vehicle weight added to it. For this application, the calculations of the spring rate (6KG) with the vehicles sprung weight (the weight above the spring excludes suspension components below the spring) (sprung weight is 235) which would compress the spring another 39mm placing the upper mount assembly closer to the bump stop.

Now, if a consumer looking to utilize a 1 inch shorter length spring in the same spring rate, the images below shows (the same ride height setting is maintained) the increase in gap between the upper mount assembly as well as the amount of piston shaft stroke exposed. The second image below would show the dampers shaft compressed to the point at which the mount sit against the spring. With the previously mentioned sprung weight compressing the spring the additional 39mm’s the spring would compress further placing the upper mount assembly even closer to the bump stop eliminating stroke from the damper. At this point it would begin to hit the bump stop over slightly larger bumps on the road and slowly break down the bump stop.

Now, should the consumer consider an even shorter length spring (in this case 2 inches shorter with the same spring rate; again, if the lowest ride height position is maintained), the images below show how the size in gap between the upper mount assembly and spring has immensely increased. The second image would again show the damper assembly compressed to the point at which the upper mount and spring meet. With the details previously mentioned of the sprung weight added to the spring, the upper mount would sit up against the bump stop with no type of real movement on the dampers stroke. The end result if utilized in this manner would be horrible ride quality, as their would be no stroke available, the upper mount assembly would immediately begin to damage the bump stop which in turn would either break the bump stop wedging the pieces into the seal portion and tearing at the seal or worst case splitting the bump stop apart allowing for the piston shaft to fully compress and hit the base of the damper damaging the unit internally.

The use of a stiffer spring in conjunction with a shorter length spring would be advisable as it would further support the vehicle weight minimizing the amount of contact between the upper mount assembly and bumper. This of course would also need to follow the spring rate change recommended range depending on the damper model. For any spring rate changes beyond our recommended range, we highly advise for the dampers to be sent in for a revalve service. Oversprung dampers can prematurely wear out as the dampers are not be able to keep up with the stiffer springs need for more rebound force.

For part 2 of the Short Spring Dilemmas, I will be going in depth to discuss full length adjustable coilover utilizing shorter lengths.

USDM Red Racer Gauges (White Needle)

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Sergio M.

52MM RACER GAUGE WITH WHITE NEEDLE (POWER OFF)

New Red Racer Gauges have now arrived.

New Features Radouts:

PSI
Fahrenheit
Bright White Needle for greater visibility for day and night

TURBO 52MM GAUGE (DF06507)

PRESSURE 52MM GAUGE (DF06607)

TEMPERATURE 52MM GAUGE (DF06707)

EXHAUST TEMP. 52MM GAUGE (DF06807)

Geoff Stoneback Heads to Formula Drift Rd. 5

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Paul P.

Here are a few words from our good friend, Geoff Stoneback, and his adventures at Evergreen Speedway for Formula Drift’s Rd. 5 race!

“On Thursday July 18th, my crew and I arrived at Evergreen Speedway for Round 5 of the 2014 Formula Drift season. We had double duties with Pro 1 & Pro 2 and were very eager to attack this aggressive course. Coming off of Round 4 and not qualifying, we had to mentally focus and prepare to go out for qualifying.

Thursday practice went well for us! The first time that we drove the course we realized how long and hard the bank was. Our alignment wanted us to push down further from the wall, but with the amazing crew that I have they stiffened the driver side to allow us to stay up in the outer zone and filling the touch and go area. We had a solid four hours of practice, until we needed to be at our Pro 2 meeting.

We had an hour of Pro 2 practice until it was time for qualifying. Our first run was the better of the two landing us in 4th place with a 74. Friday we had a long day of driving and meeting the fans. It started with a Pro 1 practice and into Pro 1 qualifying, but before qualifying we smashed up our third and fourth gear slider on our transmission taking us out of practice on Friday. Luckily, we borrowed some parts from Chris Forsberg and the guys at R/T Tuning got the transmission out and fixed in no time. We did a couple more practice laps and headed into qualifying.

On our first run we landed a 69 putting us in 27th place. Our second run we put down a 74 putting us in 17th place, our best qualifying spot yet. I was really excited to qualify so well until we heard that we were up against Daijiro Yoshihara. Although he was in a new vehicle, he is a former champion and in no way considered an easy win. Taking our momentum from Pro 1 into Pro 2 is always a great experience. Having that extra seat time on the track was our biggest advantage. After the top 16 ceremonies, we first faced Will Parsons in his Corolla AE86. I thought this could be an easy win as long as I do not take myself out. In our lead run I made the mistake of tapping the wall off the bank, sending me off course and giving him the advantage. On my follow run, Will tapped the second out zone wall in the power alley sending him off line. Knowing that I was at a huge deficit, I passed Will going into the inner clips giving us a OMT (One More Time). On our OMT run, I applied the pressure on him where it mattered and kept it consistent. We got the win and our next battle was against Jeff Jones.

Jeff was looking pretty solid, but his runs were inconsistent. On my lead run going into the power alley, I hit a bump and it caused me to correct my steering giving us a OMT. On my lead run in the OMT, I got too caught up in Jeff’s weird line off of the bank, almost hitting him so I backed off and ended up in his line of smoke and transferred into the outer clip 20 ft too early giving him an easy win. We ended up finishing Pro 2 in 4th place and tied in first with Dan Savage.

Heading into top 32 on Saturday, the team and I went over how we could make the car even better for Pro 1. We dialed in some more grip, knowing the competition was going to be fierce. We put down solid runs in practice, however at the end of practice we noticed our clutch slipping. We were literally the last run in top 32 practice and we were also the second battle so we had no time to get it swapped out. We adjusted the pedal so it would hold and hopefully last until we had time to fix it during the top 16 break. The first battle was against Dmac and Tony Angelo. On the first run, Tony followed and put his car into the bank giving them a 5 minute call. We were called to the line and hoped the clutch held throughout this battle. On my lead run, Dai did a little flick up to the bank to surprise me out, however I applied the pressure and put up a great follow. On our lead run, my clutch was slipping when I floored it down the straight away. I backed off the throttle and it hooked, but when I went to initiate, our car had so much grip it would slip in 4th gear. I bobbled twice and downshifted into 3rd where it held a bit but we didn’t have 100% in it. We finished the lap but since we drove straight for half of the bank we gave an easy win to Dai. Although we got knocked out in top 32, Dai came up shook my hand and said “you are really good and I’m glad your clutch slipped because you had me.” We laughed a bit and honestly it felt amazing hearing that from a former champion. We hung out and watched the rest of the field battle it out.

At the end of the weekend we are tied for 1st for Pro 2 and we are in 23rd place in Pro 1. We are still leading in the Rookie of the year race. After the abuse the car took in Seattle, we brought the rig home to make sure the car is 100% for Round 6. We had a great time meeting new fans and signing autographs and look forward to making better progress in Texas!”

Sounded like a pretty fun weekend overall! Car problems will always happen. At least we know Geoff and the GS Drifting crew will do whatever it takes to get the car back on the track and put on a good show for the crowd, as always! Best of luck in Texas, Geoff!

See You at 86Fest!

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Paul P.

This year will mark the third consecutive show for 86Fest, and this year will be at a new, yet very familiar, venue (Irwindale Speedway, a.k.a. House of Drift)!!!

Car show, maybe some racing, and plenty of entertainment for all! From Old School (AE86) to the New School. Check it out!

We’ll be in attendance this year and will have our usual goods for sale at discounted prices. We’ll also be bringing some FR-S and BRZ specific parts, so come prepared as many vendors will have some great parts at discounted prices!

86Fest takes place on September 21, 2014. Gates open at 11a til 6p.
Irwindale Speedway is located at

500 Speedway Dr., Irwindale, CA. 91706

See you all there!

Mono Sports for the Nissan Skyline R35

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Sergio M.

To all the R35 Skyline owners that would like to upgrade the suspension set up, there is a new product you might want to consider. We have just finished testing.

The all new Mono Sport coil overs.

Full-Length Ride Height Adjustment Feature
Ride Height Adjustment with Little or No Change in Ride Quality

Mono-Tube Structure
Mono-Tube System to Robustly Convey the Information from Road Surface

Damping Force Adjustment System
16-level Linear Damping Force Adjustment System

Complete Kit with Upper Mount
Exclusively Designed Upper Mounts are Included (Except Some Models)

1-Full-Car-Kit
Complete Suspension Kit of 4 Shock Absorbers & 4 Springs

Currently the coil over kit is Special Order from Japan.

Part number: GSK00-71SS3 MSRP $1980

Another Overhaul Packaging Advisory

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Sergio M.

Hello Everyone. This post is a friendly reminder of the best methods for proper overhaul packaging. Poor damper packaging is unfortunately still happening to this day. Consumers are still reminded over the phone to pack up the damper/s well being sent in for the service as to avoid any missing, or in worst cases, damaged components.

Both images shown above were not sufficiently packed, allowing for the damper/s to move about during freight, more so seen on the top image as the box completely broke open and was just placed in a box by the USPS delivery driver.
Although not all consumers can be completely reached regarding this, we still try our best to inform them all. The best suggestion I can give to anyone sending in their damper/s for a service would be as follows:

–If the damper/s packed have some amount of movement inside, the damper will more than likely tear through the box. Packing peanuts and bubble wrap are your friends. Pack it to the point that the damper/s do not move around in the packaging. This would prevent the weight shifting back and forth as well as side to side which, with the weight of the dampers, can break through.

Packing peanuts are always a good way to fill in empty gaps in boxes.

–Sharp points on the damper/s should be padded to avoid bends or breaks and/or tearing through the box.

–Only send what is needed for service or inspection. Any unnecessary components such as springs, seat locks, spring seats, and/or upper mounts (unless you are looking to have them repaired or inspected) should be removed from the damper and/or packed along side the damper/s.

Seat locks and spring seats can be sent along with the damper for service but can also be removed.

–Compressing and tethering down the piston shaft can also be done to save package size as well as allowing for more dampers/ components to be added to the shipment. Keep in mind though when doing this to avoid at all cost scratching the piston shaft surface as it may get damaged requiring a replacement then be required.

OEM replacement struts and shocks commonly come packaged like the image above to both help with packaging in a smaller box as well as help in protecting the piston shaft as it would be compressed into the body.

–Package insurance is recommended. Should any product happen to be damaged during freight, the insurance would cover at least the declared cost. Please contact us if you need to determine the declared cost/value of an item. That way, should the damage be covered by the freight forwarder, you will have sufficient value to get a replacement.

Following these suggestions should at least give you the peace of mind that the damper/s being sent in for service will not incur any damage on its way to our facility. Unfortunately I cannot guarantee that the package and contents will be received in undamaged condition. There are times that the freight courier may not have the best consideration for care of packages being shipped. Avoid any of these headaches and take further consideration when packaging and sending in your damper/s for service.

NEW DESIGN TEIN KEY CHAIN COMING SOON

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Sergio M.

Hey everyone,

Check out our latest TEIN key chain.

This logo is displayed on both sides.

It is a black on silver aluminum key chain.

Part number TN016-012 MSRP $8.00

Look out for this new addition to our goods arriving Mid August! We’ll update our Online Shop once it arrives for purchase or purchase through any of our TEIN Authorized Dealers.

Another Rally xD Podium at NEFR

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Paul P.

Our favorite rally team, the TEIN-supported Rally xD, had a pretty good weekend at round 6 of Rally America, the New England Forest Rally event. Although not at the top of the podium, they were able to secure a 2nd place finish.

As they had dealt with in past events, a few troubles came their way. This time, a transmission swap was necessary to keep the xD in competition. After about 35 minutes, the team got the car back on the gravel.

By then, the damage had already been done. Driver Matthew Johnson had a lot of ground to cover. He and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey did well, cutting the margin to within a couple of minutes. Again, enough to garner a second place finish.
As always, the hard working driver and crew pushed beyond their limits to get the car to the finish.

Great job, guys!

Toyota Team Thailand Race at Nurburgring

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Paul P.

Recently, Toyota Team Thailand attended the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. We were fortunate to work with them as their suspension supplier (even though this car is riddled with Bilstein Stickers; Bilstein was an event sponsor), and they even put our EDFC Active Pro to use for this endurance race.

Endurance racing brings a lot of concerns. As you can imagine, running a vehicle for 24 hours straight is bound to take its toll on some components, especially the drivers and team members. But definitely, equipment is put to the ultimate test.

Suspension components are every bit as critical. Dampers go through tens of thousands of cycles for compression and rebound (if not more), eventually heating up the damper oil. It is critical for the dampers to function at a consistent level at all times.

Having EDFC Active Pro definitely helps to negate the effects of heat soak and damper oil degradation. Being able to tune suspension based on their current condition helps to maintain that consistent damping force the driver needs. Otherwise, the driver has to make changes in driving style that may hamper their performance and elapsed time. And in endurance racing, low elapsed times is key.

Here is Mr. Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Company at the seat of the 2014 Toyota Altis! Just to the lower left (dash center) is our EDFC Active Pro Controller.

Here, the drivers explain a bit about their car. This was the first ever endurance race for the team. This presented them with a huge learning curve for this type of racing.

The Altis is a pretty nice looking car! Wish they had these stateside!

As mentioned, Bilstein is also a sponsor for the event. So, it kind of made it difficult to see TEIN as the suspension supplier. Fortunately, we had a few TEIN and Dampachi decals on the car!

Fortunately, the team saw the race through the end. Out of 241 entries, Toyota Team Thailand finished 109th with a total time of 24:01:41.283. Just a few ticks over the 24 hour mark. Nevertheless, their race was completed!

Congrats to Toyota Team Thailand!

Here’s a video that the team put together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyaxIZGvdlE

TEIN USA Blog

The latest news and info from TEIN USA