Tag Archives: Coilovers

Made In Japan or China?!

Posted on by

We’ve recently received several calls or emails from consumers regarding the country of origin for our coilovers. So we wanted to clear up the confusion.

In short, coilovers, and our springs for that matter, are being manufactured in both of our facilities- Japan and China.

It shouldn’t be news by now that we have our own factory in China, and it has been operational for nearly 10 years now. Initially, this factory handled our new-at-the-time ENDURAPRO and ENDURAPRO PLUS shock absorber manufacturing. But within the first few years, we were also able to get our STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z kits made at this factory. It wasn’t that cut and dried of a plan, though. TEIN Japan was still manufacturing a majority of the coilovers. It is just that TEIN China needed to address product manufacturing for their local market and soon demand increased and we found ourselves needing to increase more manufacturing out of this factory to meet global demand.

Then, the pandemic threw all of us a curveball. If anyone can recall, there was a period of incredibly ridiculous costs on freight. Soon, we hit a problem with getting containers and scheduling vessels from our Yokohama facility. From China, however, shipping wasn’t much of a concern. The only exception being regional lockdowns in China due to the fast-spreading virus, as well as some shut downs due to electric power being rationed (kinda strange). Shipping was still more expensive than usual, yes. But at least we were able to have products shipped. But another problem became apparent- not all of our customers want STREET BASIS Z or STREET ADVANCE Z coilovers. Soon our backorder list was growing by the week, but it seemed to revolve around one specific coilover model- FLEX Z.

TEIN China had yet to manufacture any of our FLEX coilover line. But the shipping concern forced us to retool for FLEX production out of this facility, and we started adding new machines necessary for FLEX Z production. Starting in late 2021, we received only a few part numbers of FLEX Z from China. But to date, they are now making a majority of FLEX Z kits.

This isn’t to say that TEIN Japan does not manufacture FLEX Z any longer. It’s just that TEIN Japan can now focus on product manufacturing for their domestic market, and a few other Asian countries, as well as for USA.

We now have springs being manufactured in China too! This is relatively new, about 1 year or so now. Before, we were having springs shipped to China for the assembly of STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z kits. We were hoping to find a suitable spring manufacturer in China, but several tests of locally manufactured springs didn’t meet our requirements. BUT, by importing coil spring wire from Japan we are now able to have springs made to our specifications. Yes it costs us more to do so, but quality is still paramount to our business. Still, there is a savings in doing so, and ultimately we still want to bring a quality product to our customers, so long as we are in control of that quality.

2022 Subaru BRZ Products

Featured

Posted on by

We’re glad to report that, for the most part, existing coilovers for the Subaru BRZ will in fact work fine with the latest 2022 BRZ body style (ZD8 chassis code).

So, we’re listing our FLEX Z (VSQ54-CUSS4) and FLEX A (VSTD8-D1SS4) as compatible for both first and this second generation BRZ.

2022 Subaru BRZ on TEIN FLEX Z coilover

However, our STREET BASIS Z, STREET ADVANCE Z, and our S.TECH & HIGH TECH lowering springs will have new part numbers.

As to why our existing FLEX Z and FLEX A coilover lines are still compatible- the spring rate and valving work very well on the new platform. But, these coilovers are a bit more aggressive than the STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z lines. Therefore, we’ll have to determine what changes we’ll need to make for these kits. As well, our S.TECH & HIGH TECH springs will be unique for this car due to different lengths and spring rates.

The only issue now, really, is the supply chain, as we’re still experiencing massive delays in imported goods from Japan.

Currently, the FLEX Z and FLEX A coilovers have an eta of late February 2022, while the HIGH TECH springs have an eta of April 2022.

Please visit our Product Stock Page for more information.

FLEX Z (VSQ54-CUSS4) shown

HIGH TECH Lowering Springs (SKAEA-G1B00) shown

Toyota GR Yaris

Posted on by

This vehicle isn’t anything new, but lately we’ve been looking at pictures of all the different prototype kits that TEIN Japan has made for the Toyota GR Yaris.

In case you’re not aware for some reason, the GR Yaris is the latest hot hatch from Japan. Unfortunately it will not be making its way to the U.S.A. But, we do hear that this car will be available in South America. So, we’re a bit jealous of that news.

Anyway, this car has some pretty incredible specifications given the size of this vehicle. It’s still as compact as any previous Yaris, a bit wider though. But the drivetrain is something else- turbocharged 3-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive. Oh, and that turbocharged 3-cylinder engine puts out ~270hp and ~273lbs-ft of torque. That’s pretty crazy.

It leads to my next question- why is Toyota releasing this vehicle?

The production of this GR Yaris is to meet homologation requirements for WRC, which the Yaris is the platform Toyota uses for rally.

All that power going to all four wheels and in a very short wheelbase. That has to be a fun drive.

Next question- why is it not being released in North America?

No answer there. But word is the drivetrain will make it into another compact Toyota for the U.S.A. That’s at least something of a positive. Still, we really do like the styling of the GR Yaris.

TEIN Japan is already hot in the heels to get product available for this platform, which we’ve already done several prototypes for circuit racing, and even some rally suspension based on our Gr. N coilovers. We had the chance to take a look at the prototype MONO RACING coilovers. Here are some of the pics:

Here’s our MONO SPORT coilover prototype for the GR Yaris. Upper mounts included front and rear, with the fronts using spherical bearings in an aluminum housing. This setup uses 12kg front and 16kg rear springs. This one was developed for circuit racing.
The front struts will use a camber washer arrangement, similar to what we already apply for certain racing suspension models. It will include 0.5 and 1.0 degree camber washers.
The front pillowball mounts are unique in that it still retains the OEM shape and mounting. However, instead of using serrated studs to secure the strut to the strut tower, this mount uses a ring nut to secure the upper mount to the strut tower.

New Products and Developments

Posted on by

With this COVID-19 pandemic throwing us all a helluva curveball, we find ourselves in a very fortunate position to continue our pursuit in bringing some of the best products we can for a wide variety of vehicle applications! We’re continuing to grow, and we couldn’t be happier!

As mentioned, the pandemic wasn’t what we were expecting. In fact, it was quite the opposite of what we were expecting- low to no business, extended lock downs, as well as possibly having to temporarily shut down our operations if things really got worse for all of us.

But, being an automotive parts manufacturer and distributor kept us fully operational ever since we had our lock downs. We have just been very fortunate that COVID-19 has not affected our staff directly. However, the same cannot be said for our parent company and our two factories. Our manufacturing facility in China had to shut down relatively early on in the pandemic. Japan is facing new lock downs due to the spread of the Delta variant. We’re only hoping that, with everyone doing their part, we won’t be faced with harsher lock downs and restrictions.

With that, we’re still facing some struggles. The supply chain has been greatly affected in all aspects and in all industries, and we’re just now catching up on a lot of backordered items for our customers. Freight costs have soared tremendously, not to mention extended transit times or delays for shipments. But yet, we still are trying our best to continue with product development while still being able to service our customers.

So, while we’re still technically trying to catch up, we’ve worked hard to come out with new vehicle applications and broadening our ENDURAPRO & ENDURAPRO PLUS line to reach the European vehicle market, and to-date we’re proud to see this line flourishing. But of course, our coilover lines, our bread and butter if you will, continues to grow as well, with new vehicle applications being added on nearly a monthly basis.

ENDURAPRO Shock Absorbers for BMW X3 and X4 now in stock.
ENDURAPRO Shock Absorbers for Toyota RAV-4 and Lexus NX200t now available.
ENDURAPRO Shock Absorbers for Tesla Model 3 AWD now available (different part numbers RWD Model 3’s also available)

S.TECH Lowering Springs for Tesla Model 3 RWD and AWD available (AWD springs shown.
MONO RACING Coilovers for Nissan GT-R (R35) arriving soon.

Unfortunately posting all the new vehicle and product applications we now have would make this post long-winded and quite boring. So we ask that you please check out our website and search around for what’s new from us!

Also, if it’s more convenient for you, you’re also free to email us at tus_sales@tein.com, or give us a call at 562-861-9161, and we would be glad to assist you in finding products for your vehicle.


A90 Supra Coilovers Arriving Soon!!!

Posted on by

Finally! It’s been an exhausting R&D process in getting a coilover available for the newest Toyota Supra. But now we can say it’s an honest improvement to the OEM suspension.

That was the hiccup in getting our coilovers released in a timely manner. While we had early access to the A90 Supra working with Toyota Motorsports in the U.S., this new platform proved to be difficult in getting to actually improve its performance on just suspension alone. But now, with the help of Japanese sports car tuner Matchless Crowd Racing (MCR), we finally have something to offer!

STREET ADVANCE Z (Part number: GSTJ4-91AS3)

MSRP: $1,200.00

*Front-Right and Rear-Right components shown

After nearly two years of R&D on this car, we’re first releasing our STREET ADVANCE Z coilover kit. At $1200 retail, this kit is a great value in high performance suspension for this new car.

Geez. Two years… Why did it take so long?! We won’t go into all the details. After all, if you’re an A90 Supra owner, we really don’t want to say much to offend you. But since you’re reading this, I’d wager in my assumption that you’re looking to increase the handling performance of your car. So…… In a word, it’s a very difficult car to work with. Don’t take our word for it. If you do a quick search on “MCR A90 Supra” you’ll quickly find that MCR’s owner, Kobayashi-san, really doesn’t like the new Supra. According to him, in translated text, It can’t turn, can’t stop, and is slow. Those are supposed to be aspects that a sports car is good at!

MCR A90 Supra

Take it for whatever it’s worth. I happen to like the A90, but maybe the criticism of this car is just simply a tuner’s standpoint (or marketing point) in order to give the aftermarket something to work with and give the end-user something they “need”, if you know what I mean.

The fact is, the new Supra isn’t priced anywhere near other Japanese supercars like the Acura NSX or Nissan GT-R, and for good reason- it simply isn’t built like those cars. It seems like it was built with aftermarket tuning in mind.

MCR staff setting up the STREET ADVANCE Z prototype kit for testing/evaluating
Prototype STREET ADVANCE Z for A90 ready for testing with MCR.

But, it is true- the new Supra is a difficult one. It’s very electronically-laden, much like a lot of high-end sports cars these days. And, again no offense, it is very typical German engineering. That’s not a bad thing. It just takes some time to better understand their design to really improve upon it.

So, what do you get with our A90 STREET ADVANCE Coilover Kit?:


-6kg/mm front springs

-12kg/mm rear springs

-Damping adjustability (16-click rebound) for front and rear dampers

-Rear upper mounts with access holes for damping adjustment

-TEIN Developed Error Canceller Units

-Camber Adjustable Upright Insert

A few things to explain-


Our Error Canceller makes this a plug ‘n play suspension kit by connecting directly to the OEM’s Electronic Suspension control module. Without it, and simply unplugging the OEM dampers will cause a warning on your dash.

Example of TEIN Error Canceller

Our Camber Adjustable Upright Insert is a sleeve between our damper and the aluminum knuckle assembly. By allowing camber adjustment from the bottom of the strut, you can retain the OEM upper mount assembly, which is a good design in reducing NVH.

Camber Adjustable Upright Insert shown in red square in above picture.

While installation of our coilovers do void the use of the Factory Electronic Suspension system, you can opt for our optional EDFC ACTIVE or EDFC ACTIVE PRO kit to allow for electronically controlled damping settings.

At last, we finally have a setup that offers true handling performance gains for the new Supra. Better late than never, and better to be well-developed than hastily done, I suppose. Anyway, expect this kit to arrive mid June 2021!

TEIN ENDURAPRO/PLUS SPRING KIT

Posted on by

High Performance Premium Shock Absorbers and Lowering Springs

Although we’re well-known mainly for producing coilover kits, the ENDURAPRO and ENDURAPRO PLUS shock absorber line is gaining more momentum stateside. While much more popular overseas, our premium replacement shock absorbers are starting to generate interest in a lot of consumers, especially if you’re on lowering springs and are looking for suitable performance shocks to pair with them, or you simply don’t want to invest in a complete coilover kit.

At the launch of the ENDURAPRO/PLUS line in the U.S., we also launched the ENDURAPRO Spring Kit and ENDURAPRO PLUS Spring Kit, which pairs our S.TECH lowering springs along with either of the shocks, depending on if you want fixed damping setting or 16-click adjustable damping.

Let’s take a look at what’s included with a ENDURAPRO Spring Kit (part # VSQ54-A1SS2) for the FR-S/86/BRZ.

Conveniently packaged, springs are placed over each shock absorber to minimize packing space and package dimensions. Quite honestly, there isn’t much to it. For certain vehicle applications, other components may be included, such as dust boots or bump stops. Although the ENDURAPRO/PLUS shock absorbers utilize our internal Hydraulic Bump Stoppers (H.B.S.), you will still need to retain either a OEM or TEIN bump stop, which is used as a precautionary measure.

Springs packaged over shocks to minimize packaging size.

Hard to tell from the photo, especially when it’s not lined up against an OEM or OEM replacement shock absorber, but our ENDURAPRO/PLUS shock absorbers are much larger in diameter to and OEM/OEM replacement. In fact, it really is just like one of our coilovers, just minus the threaded adjustment for ride height.

Valved to provide far better handling performance, our ENDURAPRO/PLUS shock absorbers are a perfect enhancement for an otherwise stock vehicle. However, paired with one of our lowering springs and you have a much more sporty ride that you can appreciate. We recommend this type of setup for customers who can do without ride height adjustability or pillowball upper mounts (although it may be compatible with some aftermarket pillowball mounts). That just means less maintenance (you are periodically inspecting your suspension, aren’t you!?!?!?!).

Currently our part numbers for ENDURAPRO Spring Kits and ENDURAPRO PLUS Spring kits are rather limited. However, we’re also still working on either developing performance replacement shocks or lowering springs for certain vehicle applications. If you have any questions about these products, please feel free to contact us at 562-861-9161, or reach out to any of our authorized dealers!

Merry Christmas from TEIN USA!!!

Posted on by

From all of us at TEIN USA, Inc., we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

We’ve been very fortunate to continue a successful growth in the U.S., even with tariff increases due to the U.S. and China trade squabble. If anything, this only strengthened our sales for items coming from our Yokohama, Japan factory! Still, our TEIN China factory has continued to produce our STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z, as well as our ENDURAPRO & ENDURAPRO PLUS shock absorbers for a global market, and we couldn’t be happier with the demand for our products around the world! At any rate, we’re continuing to pursue manufacturing the most reasonably priced suspension package at the TEIN high-quality levels our customers are all aware of, and we thank each and everyone of you for helping us achieve those standards year after year!!!

Just to let you know, TEIN USA Operations will be closed on Christmas Day (Wednesday, 25th). But, we will be open Christmas Eve (Tuesday, 24th) and after Christmas! So, whether you have questions about new products for your car, overhaul/revalve, or just want to give us some company during those days, please feel free to give us a call!!!

Once again, Merry Christmas, and we hope Santa puts a new set of TEIN coilovers or lowering springs under your Christmas tree this year!!!

JZA90 Supra Development

Posted on by

Every year a new car release puts us consumers in a tough spot- choosing between a “want” and a “need”. Actually, that’s pretty much the market that TEIN is in. We have a performance product that either a customer simply just wants, or in fact really needs, all depending on what they’re using it for. And for us, just like these new car releases, we have to determine which of our products the customer is going to want, especially for something like the much anticipated new Toyota Supra.

Even on a spec sheet, a stock A90 Supra is a very good package. Of course, as always, the OEM leaves a bit to be desired in many aspects. However, we can see a change in demographic in what they “want” and “need”. Even before the A90 made its way to the consumer, we received inquiries on this platform, mostly with potential owners wanting coilovers. In fact, we got our head start working with Toyota Motorsports as they prepared a couple of A90’s for pace cars to be used at Toyota sponsored events, such as NASCAR races. It was a great opportunity for our in-house engineer to get all the measurements he needs and make a suspension that works well for a pace car, no different than what we’ve done for the Camry pace cars that Toyota Motorsports has worked with us on suspension over the past few years.

Toyota Pace Car

Again, on OEM specs alone, the new A90 Supra is very well equipped. Even though we knew that a “pace car” suspension will never be made as an out-of-the-box setup for our end-users, we had to really think of what, of our products, is the best fit.

A90 Supras have factory electronically controlled suspension. It’s sharing basically all the underpinnings of BMW’s Z4 platform, and BMW technology is found throughout the Supra. So, we know that some consumers are going to want to retain that feature. So first on the list is lowering springs, our S.TECH line specifically.

Next, we knew that coilovers were inevitable. So development on that naturally came next. We’re for sure making a street compliant kit, most likely based around our STREET ADVANCE Z, FLEX Z or FLEX A line. However, the issue is compatibility with the factory electronic solenoids. Much like the FK8 Civic Type R, we’re having to develop our Canceller Units to avoid any issues unplugging these said electronics. This means that the customer can opt for one of our EDFC kits instead of the factory electronics. Yes, that’s an added cost, but our EDFC systems (specifically ACTIVE and ACTIVE PRO) are very advanced and a worthwhile upgrade. Still, we may consider something like our FLEX AVS coilovers which is aimed at Toyotas and Lexus’s using Adaptive Variable Suspension. BUT, this car uses BMW based suspension, and not Toyota’s AVS. So, that will take a bit more time to develop.

On top of making a FLEX type of coilover, we will plan for a more race oriented type setup, most likely around our new MONO RACING coilovers.

Preliminary testing has been completed on production A90’s (the Supra Pace Cars were technically pre-production vehicles, to my understanding). But we’ll still be working on development once other coilover prototypes arrive. So, give us a little time to get these products out!

Test Cars Needed at TEIN USA!

Posted on by

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

 

TEIN STREET BASIS Z & STREET ADVANCE Z Has Landed!!!

Posted on by

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?

stbn_003

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.

flz_image1_en

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).

STAZ

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!