Super Street Magazine’s Cars of Formula Drift New Jersey

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Paul P.

For sure Formula Drift New Jersey, which took place on June 17 & 18, had a great crowd turnout, as well as a nice showing of cars both inside the venue, out in the parking lot, and of course on the track.

We were glad to have ourselves a beautiful booth car for our TEIN booth. The Evo X owned by Max Solarz was tastefully set up using our MONO SPORT coilovers, and a host of other JDM goodies. That really helped our booth stand out.

That’s not to say that there wasn’t any other good looking car at the event. As we mentioned, it seemed the whole venue was packed with nicely built cars. Super Street Magazine was gracious enough to share their pics of cars from Wall Speedway’s pit area. Check it out!

Formula D New Jersey 2016 Pit Walk

TEIN USA Operations Closed on July 4th, 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Paul P.

We will be closed on Monday, July 4th, in observance of American Independence Day. We hope you all enjoy the holiday and remember the importance of our independence!!!

We will resume all operations on Tuesday, July 5th.

WE’RE TRYING TO KEEP STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z IN STOCK!!!

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Paul P.

As we expected, the release of STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z has taken off extremely well. Applications are still very limited, but we’re working on releasing more and more applications before the end of this year, and we have a few more containers from TEIN China scheduled for 2016.

Still, that hasn’t stopped our authorized dealers and distributors in getting their hands on the new coilover kits and getting them out to their customers!!!

To date, we’ve released the following applications:

STREET BASIS Z

GSA22-8USS2 (2001-2005 Honda Civic EM2 & ES1, 2003-2005 EP3), msrp $530

GSS80-8USS2 (2008-2014 Subaru WRX GEE & GHE), msrp $530

GSHC0-8UAS2 (2012-2013 Honda Civic Si FG4, FB6), msrp $550

GSP92-8UAS2 (2007-2008 Infiniti G35 V35, 2008+ V36), msrp $550

GSM56-81SS2 (2004-2011 Mazda RX8 SE3P), msrp $450

GSS60-8USS2 (2002-2007 Subaru WRX GDA & GGA, 2004 Subaru STI GDF, 2005-2007 Saab 9-2x GGA), msrp $600

GSL52-8USS2 (2005-2010 Scion tC ANT10L), msrp $530

GSM64-8USS2 (1990-1998 Mazda Miata NA6C & NA8C, 1999-2005 Mazda Miata NB8C), msrp $450

GSY20-81SS2 (2000-2005 Lexus IS300 JCE10L), msrp $480

STREET ADVANCE Z

GSB80-91AS2 (2009-2014 Honda Fit GE8), msrp $650

GSQ74-91AS2 (2014+ Lexus IS250 GSE30L & IS350 GSE31L), msrp $650

GSA28-9USS2 (2002-2006 Acura RSX DC5), msrp $630

GSHC0-9UAS2 (2012-2013 Honda Civic FG4 & FB6), msrp $650

GSS60-9USS2 (2002-2007 Subaru WRX GDA & GGA, 2004 Subaru STI GDF, 2005-2007 Saab 9-2X GGA), msrp $700

GSL70-91AS2 (2007-2010 Toyota Yaris NCP91L & NCP93L), msrp $650

and more vehicle applications to come within the next few months!!!!

We’re doing our best to keep these kits on the shelves, but we still recommend you get a hold of an authorized dealer to order to assure you can get a set, assuming you have one of the vehicle applications listed above!

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.

TEIN USA Blog

The latest news and info from TEIN USA