Rally Japan Production Class WIN

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Philip C.

Rally Japan – Production Class (P-WRC)

Patrik Flodin won the P-WRC class in Rally Japan. The win puts him into first place in the P-WRC class championship.

Team URT (Uspensky Rally Tecnica from Russia) in blue with TEIN USA Managing Director, Fujimoto-San in green and TEIN R&D Manager, Goto-San in black fleece.

Flodin and Bergsten atop their winning STi.

Patrik had the lead since day 1 and never let up. TEIN Japan provided Flodin with a new spec. of Gr.N dampers which proved to work well on the bumpy stages. The 2008+ STi is known for not have much suspension travel in the rear so designing a good rally coilover has been a challenge.

The body of the rear damper actually sits behind the lower control arm NOT over the top of the arm.

Lowering Spring Installation Tips

Posted on September 10, 2010 by TEIN USA

Many people assume that our S. Tech and High.Tech lowering springs do not need any special attention when being installed but that is incorrect.

Here are some tips to ensure your vehicle reaches the intended ride height and driving characteristics.

Note: we test fit and test drive all applications on OEM vehicles. So if your vehicle has an added turbo kit, audio system, heavy body kit, motor swap, basically anything that significantly adds or reduces weight you may not achieve the same results as from our testing.

Bump Rubber – needs to be modified as shown in our instructions. If the bump rubber is not modified as needed the ride height may not reach advertised drop and ride quality may be deminished due to lack of shock absorber stroke.

The OE bump rubbers may need to be trimmed to allow maximum stroke of the shock absorber in conjunction with the S.Tech or High.Tech lowering springs.

Spring Placement – placement needs to be the same as OEM. Front springs have a “F” in the beginning of the part number while rear springs have “R”. The part number should also be right side up. If the springs are not mounted correctly within the shock absorber perch or on the wrong side/ wrong shock ride height/ performance/ comfort can be greatly affected. Also check the OE rubber spring seats to insure they are positioned correctly as they shift during installation causing the ride height to be off. Certain applications do not require the use of OE rubber spring seats or rubber insulator on the lowering spring if the TEIN Silencer Rubber is included on the areas which would sit on the lower or upper spring seats.

The photo illustrates a High-Tech spring lined up correctly with the OE shock absorber.

Aftermarket Replacement Shock Absorbers – can be different in design causing the ride height to be higher or lower than advertised. Always use OE, or OE replacement shock absorbers to avoid any ride height or fitment issues. TEIN lowering springs are designed and developed to be used with OE shocks/struts.

Suspension Preload – During installation the suspension components should be tightened when the suspension has load. If not done correctly the ride height may be affected. This is especially important on multi-link suspension setups. Rubber or Poly bushings located in the suspension arms should be tightened when the arm is at its normal position which is when the car is on the ground. A lot of people tighten the suspension while at full droop (when the car is off the ground and suspension is hanging). Once the vehicle is placed back on the ground, the bushings twist and can cause a difference in ride height.

In this picture the car is off the ground and the suspension is preloaded by the floor jack. This sets all the rear left suspension components to their normal position and then all bolts are tightened.

We recommend a TEIN Authorized Dealer for installation and an alignment about a week after installation. You can find a complete list of TEIN Authorized Dealer HERE.

Revalving dampers for competition

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Philip C.

Scott Tsuneishi, senior editor for Import Tuner magazine is here today. He is taking photos and collecting data as we revalve a set of Mono FLEX dampers for a street/track Honda S2000. This particular S2000 is being built to display at SEMA in the DC Sports booth and then compete in the 2010 Super Lap Battle Finals at Buttonwillow Raceway on Nov. 10th.

Scott taking pics of R&D Assistant Jon who is hard at work

This vehicle build features C-West body kit, i-VTEC upgrade from Design Craft, DC sports exhaust and a plethora of other high quality parts. Evasive Motorsports is helping with aero and tuning so you know this car will be quick around the 2.6 mile course. Target time is 1:57 on street tires.

Jon performing the actual revalving

R&D Manager Mr Takizawa reviewing the damping force graphs for the newly revalved shocks

We will be doing our part to make sure the suspension is competitive at the track and comfortable enough for daily driving.

Check out future issues of Import Tuner magazine for the complete story and to see how this project S2000 does at the track.

09+ Toyota Corolla XRS Lowering Springs

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Jonathan L.

Lowering Spring testing for the 09+ Toyota Corolla XRS has been completed.

The ride height drop for the Corolla XRS: Front -40mm and Rear -46mm,

The actual drop may vary by models due to the weight of different components (ie Transmission, Packages, etc.)

These black springs are prototypes, production units will be green in color.

Springs will be available for purchase in November.

Defi Advance ZD Club Sports Package

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Paul P.

The recently released Defi Advance ZD, p/n DF09702, has now been offered as a Club Sports Package, which includes the following parts

1)Defi Advance ZD

2)Defi Advance Control Unit

3)Advance Oil Pressure Sensor Set

4)Advance Oil Temperature Sensor Set

5)Advance Water Temperature Sensor Set

Designed to be a complete unit out of the box (sans sensor attachments, which can be sourced separately), the complete package also comes with a cost savings.

When all items are priced separately, the breakdown is as follows

Defi Advance ZD(p/n DF09701)- $399

Defi Advance Control Unit(p/n DF07701)- $192

Advance Oil Pressure Sensor Set(p/n PDF08106SS)- $224

Advance Oil Temperature Sensor Set(p/n PDF08305SS)- $113

Advance Water Temperature Sensor Set(p/n PDF08405SS)- $113

Totaling= $1041

The Club Sports Package will retail for $859. A savings of $182!

Already available in Japan, and soon to arrive in the U.S. by mid September. For more information, feel free to give us a call at 562-861-9161.

VIDEO of Gittin’s Mustang at FD Vegas

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Philip C.

You can see the dual EDFC setup in the dash. Car builder and tuner ASD has had the TEIN suspension dialed in all year.

Targa Trophy San Francisco

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Philip C.

Got back late last night from the Targa Trophy Bay Area Rally Fest. It was a fun event around the San Francisco and San Jose area. Targa Trophy is a road rally where competitors are given and specific route and timed. The overall winner is the team with the most points. Points are deducted for too little mileage, too much mileage, too slow of a time and too quick of a time. The rally is not about who has the most HP or who is the craziest driver. Mileage and timing has to be on point, meaning no getting lost or detours and no ridiculously dangerous speeds.

Rally started at the W Hotel in San Francisco and we soon found ourselves driving through the woods.

Cruising behind a short train of cars including a Lamborghini Murcielago just in front of us.

Morning stage ended at the W in Silicon Vally which had a Euro car show and BBQ.

Parked at the W Silicon Vally. Fellow competitors parked next to us including C63, Gallardo and Audi wagon.

Final stage ended back at the W Hotel in SF with dinner and an awards ceremony.

Our 4 man team navigated the roads perfectly but we ended up in the middle of the pack due to some unscheduled stops.

Here are a few pics from the route which included the most beautiful scenery and some of the most challenging touge roads. Tight lanes, no guard rails, blind corners and V8 powered fun.

Non-scheduled stop at the top of one of the many canyon roads. There was cattle grazing 5 ft from this flat black E55.

One more of the unscheduled stops. I think this was to change drivers.

Pick up Import Tuner magazine to see more images and a complete story of the event.

Special thanks to Carter Jung and Edward Lee for the photos.

Formula Drift Rd. 5 After Dark Results

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Jonathan L.

This past Thursday night I was able to take a trip out to Vegas for Round 5 of the Formula Drift series. As much as I love the sport of drifting, the smell of burning tires and the sound of V8’s, Turbocharged and Rotary vehicles around the track, It was HOT at this event!

Tyler McQuarrie during practice. Photo from www.speedhunters.com

Vaughn Gittin JR’s new Mustang laying down tracks. Photo from www.speedhunters.com

In the pits: Tyler McQuarrie’s Vert 350z, Darren McNamara’s Saturn Sky, Justin Pawlak’s Ford Mustang and Vaughn Gittin JR’s Ford Mustang all currently running TEIN coilovers. Photo from www.wreckedmagazine.com

Congrats to Team Falken on their full podium sweep at Formula D Round 5 After Dark. Photo from www.wreckedmagazine.com

Results:

1st place: Tyler McQuarrie

2nd place: Daijiro Yoshihara

3rd place: Vaughn Gittin Jr.

TEIN Online Specials

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Philip C.

If you did not already know. The TEIN USA homepage has an Online Retail Shop where replacement parts, goods and specific products can be purchased.

It was recently updated with a host of coilover kits, single replacement dampers and Fujitusbo Titanium exhausts. Check it out, it could save you some money. Look in the “Special Offer” category of the Online Shop.