Made In Japan or China?!

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

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

Tesla Model 3 Suspension Arriving Soon!

So we’re a bit late to the party. But better late than never, I suppose. We’ve probably said this many times before.

As Electric Vehicles continue to grow in popularity, and with many nations looking to reduce carbon emissions or become carbon-neutral, it was only a matter of time for the Electric Vehicle market to take off. And it really has taken off.

That’s a great opportunity for aftermarket manufacturers such as TEIN. People may need to rely on their Electric Vehicle strictly for commuting. However, that doesn’t mean they cannot enjoy their car for what it offers at face value. As always, where there’s a vehicle, the performance market is not far behind, and everyone wants that extra bit of performance, whether it be in power or handling, or just to simply have something different or unique.

As many of you have seen by now, the modern Electric Vehicle, namely the Teslas, are quite quick in acceleration. The manufacturer has done pretty well in setting their cars up. But let’s be honest, they’re catering to a global market. You can’t appease each and every person with a “run-of-the-mill” Tesla, regardless of which model Tesla it is.

So, we’re coming out with some performance suspension kits, starting with the Model 3, and soon the Model Y.

For the Model 3, both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive models, we’re making our S.TECH lowering springs, ENDURAPRO and ENDURAPRO PLUS shock absorbers, as well as our FLEX Z coilover kits.

The S.TECH lowering springs will provide a nice lowered ride height without being too aggressive. These will pair well with OEM shocks and struts, but for sure our ENDURAPRO or ENDURAPRO PLUS shocks will be a better pairing.

S.TECH Lowering Springs for Tesla Model 3 RWD (Standard Plus Model)

Part number: SKGP2-AUB00

Ride height drop: Ft- -1.6″; Rr- -1.4″

MSRP: $385

*Sold as a set of 4 springs
S.TECH Lowering Springs for Tesla Model 3 AWD (Dual Motor; incl. Performance Model).

Part number: SKGP4-AUB00

Ride height drop: Ft- -1.2″; Rr- -1.4″

MSRP: $385

*Sold as a set of 4 springs

ENDURAPRO and ENDURAPRO PLUS (16-click damping adjustable) shocks are true performance replacement shocks. Damper tuning is optimized to reduce body roll and provide better response to fast inputs. But beyond the tuning, the internal Hydraulic Bump Stopper (HBS) in each shock absorber provide increased comfort and safety by reducing a typical shock absorber’s tendency under full compression (bottoming out) to oscillate. This feature also increases vehicle stability in emergency maneuvers, especially in vehicles with added weight. Also, although designed to be a direct OE fitment, we incorporate a lot of features typical of our coilover kits- larger diameter damper bodies (increased damper oil capacity, larger diameter piston rods, and use of ultra high-strength steel in its construction.

ENDURAPRO Shock Absorbers for Tesla Model 3 RWD

Part number:
ENDURAPRO-
FL- VSGP2-A1MS2-L
FR-VSPG2-A1MS2-R
Rear- VSGP3-A1MS2

ENDURAPRO PLUS-
FL- VSPG2-B1MS2-L
FR- VSGP2-B1MS2-R
Rear- VSGP3-B1MS2

MSRP:
ENDURAPRO-
VSGP2-A1MS2-L – $145
VSPG2-A1MS2-R – $145
VSGP3-A1MS2 – $120

ENDURAPRO PLUS-
VSPG2-B1MS2-L – $160
VSGP2-B1MS2-R – $160
VSGP3-B1MS2 – $135

*sold as individual units

**Model 3 AWD (Dual Motor) shock absorbers coming soon!

Our FLEX Z coilovers, on the other hand, are for consumers who need much more than what our lowering springs and performance shocks can offer. FLEX Z coilovers provided full-length adjustability (separate spring preload and ride height adjustment), 16-way damping adjustment, upper mounts for front and rear dampers, high-rate springs, and valved to provide greater handling performance without compromising ride feel. For sure, much more aggressive for street, but not at the ride quality penalty typically associated with aftermarket coilover kits. Lastly, our FLEX Z coilovers are compatible with our optional Electronic Damping Force Controllers (EDFC)- ACTIVE and ACTIVE PRO, giving you the added benefit of damping adjustment from the driver’s seat. No need to have to manually set your damping by hand, and you can also save up to 10 different presets. However in Active mode, you can have damping that changes based on driving speeds or g-force load. This EDFC setup makes the FLEX Z a true adaptive suspension setup.

FLEX Z Coilover Kit for Tesla Model 3 RWD

Part number: VSGP2-C1AS3

Spring Rates: Ft- 9kg/mm (504lbs/in); Rr- 10kg/mm (560lbs/in)

MSRP: $1,200

*Model 3 AWD (Dual Motor) coilover kit coming soon!

So again, we’re late to the party. We tend to take our time on product development to make sure we get it right, and to make sure we have products that fill the needs of our customers. If you need help deciding on what suspension setup suits you the best, please give us a call at 562-861-9161, or email us at tus_sales@tein.com, and we’d be happy to assist you in getting the suspension you need!

FK8 Civic Type R Suspension Development

We’ve already showcased our FLEX Z prototype suspension for the FK8 Honda Civic Type R at the SEMA show last year, but we’re now making more headway into production of this kit, as well as lowering springs and the upcoming MONO RACING suspension kit for this platform.




FK8 Civic Type R Suspension Soon Available

Development took longer than expected, mainly due to the availability of this platform in Japan. Why that was troublesome for us is that TEIN Japan usually gets a head-start on product development whenever a global vehicle platform is available. That saves TEIN USA the development time on designing the suspension (altogether possible for us to do, but it still comes with its own development delays).

Prior to the SEMA show, we knew that TEIN Japan finally had an FK8 to do testing on and had prototypes they could send to us. So, as soon as that opportunity came around, we contacted a local partner in having his Type R brought in and tested, and eventually asked ever so kindly to use the car for our booth display at SEMA 😉

As many of you consumers already know, the FK8 front suspension is a far cry from the design for the standard Civic’s that platform shares. It has a very unique strut suspension, much like the Super Strut design of the Toyota Celica.

In fact, the design was so unique that it posed another issue for us in both disassembly and reassembly of the suspension. Of course, we try to offer a suspension kit that is a bolt-on affair for the consumer, so it took a bit of self-education to figure this out ourselves.

Also, newer cars like the Type R have factory electronically controlled suspension. This was a problem because once the factory suspension is removed, a fancy warning came on the dash display. This led us to develop our new Canceller Units that will be included on applicable vehicle applications we make suspension kits for. With the Canceller Unit, no more warnings on the dash, and that means a customer can opt for one of our EDFC controller units, like EDFC ACTIVE PRO.

Production Canceller Unit for FK8 on display at SEMA 2018.

***Canceller Units are vehicle specific unfortunately. Again, we will include them for suspension applications that require them.
Canceller Unit (*prototype used for testing only) installed on FK8 front strut
Canceller Unit (*prototype used for testing) installed on the FK8 rear shock absorber

EDFC would actually be a blessing for this car, since Honda decided to make the shock absorber upper mounting position in an inaccessible design (since our damping adjustment is at the top of the piston rod).

Soon we hope to have these kits available! Please keep posted with us for more info, or keep checking our website for new product releases!


2017+ 86 & BRZ FLEX Z, FLEX A, & MONO SPORT Coilover Testing

We just finished up some testing on the 2017 Subaru BRZ (and which would of course affect the 2017 Toyota 86). While the vehicles aren’t drastically different compared to 2012-2016 model years of the aforementioned vehicles (the 86 previously named the Scion FR-S), there are some small changes in suspension that affect how our existing coilovers feel.

TEIN Japan currently sells part numbers VSTD8-C1SS4 for the FLEX Z line, VSTD-D1SS4 for the FLEX A line, & GSTD8-71SS4 for the MONO SPORT line for their market.

Stateside, we currently sell the VSQ54-C1SS4 for FLEX Z and GSQ54-71SS1 for the MONO SPORT line. For the FLEX A, we previously sold the VSQ54-D1SS4 model number. Now we sell the VSTD8-D1SS4. For the MONO SPORT line, we’re looking to start selling TEIN Japan’s GSTD8-71SS1, since there isn’t much variation between the U.S. and JDM spec.

Phew, that’s a lot of part numbers…..

So, why the change to FLEX A part number VSTD8-D1SS4?

The reason is that there are a lot of similarities between the U.S. part numbers for FLEX A and FLEX Z. If you’re not familiar with either, we’ll just say that the FLEX A includes our proprietary Hydraulic Bump Stop (H.B.S.) and is also a serviceable damper (can be rebuilt/revalved). In terms of cost, the FLEX A is $210 more.

Since the features are really the only noticeable difference, we had to look at damping force between the JDM and US kits to see what would work best for our market. The U.S.-spec FLEX A and FLEX Z both had very similar damping characteristics. Aside from the H.B.S. setup in the FLEX A’s, they feel nearly identical.

With that said, we wanted there to be difference between the two kits. Something that will help differentiate the two when a customer decides what they’ll be using the kit for.

So, we recently started offering the newer part number of FLEX A, the JDM version, part number VSTD8-D1SS4. These actually have a difference in damping, being more aggressive. We feel this may end up being a better option for the more-than-occasional track driven car owner. Being a serviceable damper, this also will allow owners the ability to revalve the dampers for different spring rates, if necessary. Along with being slightly more aggressive, the damping adjustment range is shifted up slightly, giving the end-user a higher range of tuning flexibility at the track.

That’s not to say that the FLEX Z isn’t at all capable of track use. However, we wanted this setup to offer greater compliance for a daily commuter, while still having an available adjustment range that allows for much more sportier handling characteristics. Comfort was just more of our aim for this kit, and it is greatly noticeable on larger bumps as high-speed compression is softer and more forgiving.

 

FLEX Z and FLEX A coilovers will look nearly identical. But, as mentioned in this blog, there are some features that FLEX A has over the Z line: Hydraulic Bump Stop, serviceable dampers (rebuild/revalve), and slightly more aggressive valving out of the box.

 

So, as far as a total breakdown of each suspension offering we have for the FR-S/86/BRZ:

STREET BASIS Z (GSQ54-8USS2)– perfect for daily driver not looking to sacrifice OE ride feel but improve handling performance, while being ride height adjustable.

FLEX Z (VSQ54-C1SS4)– high performance street kit, with 16-click damping adjustment and included upper mounts (camber adjustable for front).

FLEX A (VSTD8-D1SS4)– higher performance street kit/occasional track kit with aggressive damper valving, but with a greater adjustment range for ease of tuning. Included Hydraulic Bump Stop (H.B.S.) providing greater control and damping stability against repulsive compression force. Includes upper mounts as well (camber adjustable for front).

MONO SPORT (GSTD8-71SS1)– entry-level race setup with single adjustable damping. Monotube internal structure with greater oil capacity for better endurance and performance for long track stints. Also utilizes are Micro Speed Valve (M.S.V.) to improve low-speed damping curve. Includes upper mounts as well (camber adjustable for front).

SUPER RACING (DSQ54-81LS1)– 2-way damping adjustable setup for dedicated track cars, suitable for cars with R-compound or softer tires. Lightweight (full aluminum rear damper assembly), and included duralumin upper mounts (camber & caster adjustable for front) and camber washers for front.

Hopefully this info helps. If not, you’re more than welcome to give us a call to discuss your suspension options!

2016+ Mazda Miata (ND chassis) Testing

This week we had a new ND chassis Miata in for testing. FINALLY, after well over a year, we have our hands on one and can now verify fitment and do road testing.

We must say that, even though we can technically just special order available kits from TEIN Japan, we’ve found that there is, what we feel, a better setup that we’ll soon be making for the U.S. market. With that said, we’ll be making some changes when we put forward our FLEX Z and MONO SPORT damper kits for this platform.

Fortunately the changes aren’t that drastic. So, if you are one of the customers that had special ordered something like our STREET FLEX coilovers for the ND, you are able to make the changes if you want them to be more like the U.S. spec we’re planning to release (for the newer FLEX Z application).

Ride height drop, per our recommendations, is approximately -40mm lower front and rear.

Spring rates for the FLEX Z (U.S. spec) will be 6kg/mm front, 4kg/mm rear.

Spring rates for the MONO SPORT will be 7kg/mm front, 5kg/mm rear.

 

 

Super Street Magazine’s Cars of Formula Drift New Jersey

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

 

The End of The Scion Era

It’s sad to hear that the Scion marque has reached its end. With just over 13 years of production, the brand made a huge impact on the sporty compact car market, and has helped manufacturers like ourselves by being able to offer suspension packages for very customizable platforms. After all, that was the appeal of the Scion line- customization. And affordability.

However, with our economy hitting another rut, it seems to not be in Scion’s favor. So, as of August this year, we will no longer see Scion badged vehicles. Toyota will be carrying over a few of their current and new platforms. Whether that affects the model names is not known yet. Regardless, it will be great to see the continuation of some of these Scion vehicles under the Toyota marque.

Let’s take a look back at some memorable Scion projects we had our hands on.

How about our very own Scion xB widebody, built by our previous Marketing Director Philip Chase

DSC_0013v2_printDSC_0030v2_printPhilip had a completely custom, steel fendered widebody kit made for this xB. From what we last heard, this car is still roaming around at several car shows. This xB used a set of our [now discontinued] Hybrid Dampers, which was a ride height adjustable damper kit, but also had a hydraulic setup that allowed you to adjust ride height ~2 inches on the fly. Definitely useful considering this custom body kit gave the car very little ground clearance.

Then we also have our R&D Engineer’s personal Scion FR-S which first used a set of MONO FLEX dampers, then eventually used our SUPER RACING dampers. Shu was a regular attendee for local track days. Originally owning a Honda S2000 with our SUPER RACING dampers, he eventually wanted to get an FR-S and try to develop it into a great street and track car. It was actually his daily driver for a while. While he was using our SUPER RACING dampers, it eventually became a test bed for us in developing damping for this setup.

shu bw

We also have the Rally xD, which was a Scion Racing program vehicle spearheaded by Gordon Ting

xd pikes 3 (Custom)xd pikes 2 (Custom)The Rally xD used dampers made through our SPECIALIZED DAMPER Program. Since rally type suspension wasn’t readily available for this car, this program was the best solution. In total we made two kits, one based around our HG type dampers and one loosely based on our Gr.N dampers.

Its final iteration was a take on some classic Toyota rally cars from the good ol’ days

xd nefr 3 (Custom)xd nefr 1 (Custom)

We also have the Scion tC of Edgar Coria and his wife Tiffany. They use our STREET BASIS dampers for their widebody 2nd gen tC.

Edgar Coria

One of our good friends, Five Axis Designs, has been involved with Scion since their inception, and they were responsible for prototyping a lot of vehicles for the Toyota group. Being that we’ve had a great relationship with Five Axis, a lot of their projects had TEIN suspensions.

Troy, owner of Five Axis was one of the first to get our TYPE FLEX dampers for the then-new FR-S

Troy's FR-S

Before the Scion iM reached the US shore, we helped Five Axis with suspension for this concept iM

proto scion im

Another FR-S built by Five Axis for CAPCOM. Yes, the producers of the Street Fighter series of video games! Also on one of our FLEX damper setups.

capcom fr-s

Five Axis has also built some pretty crazy concepts around the tC, xA, and xB platforms, such as these cars

tC 2 tC

xA 2 xA

We’ll be sad to see the Scion name disappear. However, for many of us, we were able to witness something pretty great for our generation of automotive enthusiasts. We got to see the era of customization grow into something never really seen before for the sport compact car market. It pushed the envelope in both show and race, with builders thinking way outside the box (like the guys at Five Axis!). Kudos to the Scion marketing team on getting their name spread all throughout North America and beyond. For us, Scion will be in some of our fondest of memories.

TEIN Japan Factory Tour with DSPORT Magazine

Never before has a consumer stepped foot into the TEIN factory, ever!

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016) 007 blog

As you can imagine, TEIN (as with many other manufacturers) has some proprietary methods for manufacturing shock absorbers, with several processes pioneered in-house. In fact, there are some machines developed specifically by TEIN engineers solely for our own use. So, to show that to the public may be detrimental to us since we do not want such information to be released to the public. This is information that can reach another suspension manufacturer!!!

However, there is a benefit to showing consumers what TEIN does and what we’re capable of. For one, it’s a sign that TEIN is confident in our technology. Second, consumers are just as interested in seeing how their products are made. So why not show them?!

Well, that’s exactly what we did! We worked with DSPORT magazine to arrange a tour of our facility during their Tokyo Auto Salon guest tour for this year.

Every year, DSPORT Magazine arranges a tour package for interested people. For about $3,500/person, guests get to take a trip to Japan and visit Tokyo Auto Salon and several Japanese performance parts manufacturers’ facilities. So it sounded like a prime opportunity to have TEIN show the public our factory.

We felt bad for our guests, though. The day before was to be a trip to Fuji Speedway. But, due to bad weather the event was canceled. We were hoping our tour would make up for that missed event!

We had just over 40 guests for our tour on January 19th.

Prior to the tour, we gave our visitors a general overview of our property, including our offices, R&D facilities, Quality Assurance facility, and manufacturing.

DSPORT Tour (Jan 19, 2016) 002 blog

Just a brief overview of TEIN’s facility prior to showing our guests our facility.

DSPORT Tour (Jan 19, 2016) 003 blog

Since it was a fairly large group for us, we had split up the group among 8 tour guides.

Below are a few pics of the factory’s facilities and processes. Again, we have to limit what we can show the public. Sorry:

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016) 094 blog

Our Materials Yard, where we keep inventory of parts to prepare for manufacturing our suspension.

ALUMINUM BILLET GRADES

Other than steel components, we also use aluminum alloys. We stock three grades of aluminum billets, each one to be used depending on the application and use. For aluminum damper shell cases, we use an A 7050 grade extruded tube, however.

BAND SAW FOR BILLET

Aluminum billets are cut into smaller billet blanks using either our band saw or circular saw.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016) 022 blog

A series of some of our many lathes used to machine many types of our suspension components.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016 086

A sampling of some of the suspension components our lathes can process, from prototype to finished product.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016 021

Some of our components are machined from billet blanks, which we cut from larger bar stock, using various grades of steel and aluminum depending on the product requirements. These steel pucks will end up becoming our pillowball cases for strut type upper mounts.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016 059

We use tubing of various sizes to make damper shell cases to lower brackets for full-length adjustable dampers.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016 076

Lower brackets, after any necessary welding, go through shot blasting prior to any surface coatings.

TEIN Japan New Facility (Jan 4, 2016 050

Semi finished piston rods that have just been gun drilled (for damping adjustable suspension applications). Still a few more steps to being completed sub assemblies.

NC LATHE

We have many lathes to handle different processes, such as piston rod machining. Here, threads being cut for piston valve assembly.

PISTON ROD INSPECTION

Vital for our piston shafts is our high-resolution inspection machine. It is capable of detecting even the slightest flaw on the piston shaft surface. Each and every piston shaft is inspected. If defects are found, we must discard the shaft.

Our Swiss Precision Lathes help create small damper components like our ADJ Needles. Such small parts require great detail, which this machine can do consistently. It also runs nearly non-stop!!!

NEEDLE STOPPER

A finished batch of our ADJ Needle Stoppers out from the Swiss Precision Lathes.

LASER CUTTING

A recent addition to our factory is this Laser Cutting Machine, capable of cutting steel up to 16mm thick using a carbon dioxide laser beam. Quite a fast and efficient process!

LASER CUTTING 2

Here’s the Laser Cutter in action, cutting our camber plates for strut type pillowball upper mounts.

SHOT BLASTING

The second floor of our factory handles our surface coating stages. First, we shot blast our steel components. This allows our powdercoatings to adhere better to the steel bodies.

POWDER PAINTING

After shot blasting, some shell cases go through our patented 2-Layer/1-Bake powder coating process, where zinc powder is first applied, followed by our trademark green powder paint, then cured.

PACKAGING

After final assembly, kits are packaged up and shipped out!

 

While a couple groups went out for the factory tour, we also set up a test drive so visitors can try our new FLEX A dampers and EDFC ACTIVE PRO on a Toyota Vellfire.

The tour went faster than expected, and considering the factory was in full swing when we had it, it was difficult to hang around the machinery for very long with TEIN staff trying to navigate around us.. We even had to speed through some demonstrations by factory staff. Fortunately we were able to showcase a lot of our machinery and even some prototypes.

Afterwards, we took our guests out for a sushi lunch.

Overall, it looked to be a fun experience for our guests. I got to speak with several of them and they were all impressed with our manufacturing. So many people wanted to purchase TEIN suspension kits right away!!! Lol. I felt bad that we couldn’t arrange any suspension purchases while we were there, but I’ll be taking care of them on their return to the U.S.!

TEIN Japan DSPORT Tour (Jan 18, 2016) 1 blog

Thanks to DSPORT and all of our guest for joining us in our Factory Tour!!!

 

We hope to continue doing tours for guests each year. So, if you plan on making your way to Tokyo Auto Salon, take a little extra time from your trip to stop by TEIN!!!……

……..Like our friends at Evasive Motorsports!

evasive at TJP

Thanks for stopping by, guys!!!!

 

Moto IQ’s Project Supra Updates (EDFC ACTIVE)

project supra front

We’re glad to see Moto IQ’s Project Supra make a return to their webpages! It’s a long-going process for this car, as it has essentially received a full makeover, from engine/trans, to body, and of course suspension. Just like real life, the crew at Moto IQ are taking the time to really sort this Supra build out. I mean, don’t you all take your time with your builds?! I’d hope so! No half steppin’ your project cars, no cutting corners, guys and gals!!!

Just over a year ago, we had taken in their TYPE FLEX coilovers for a rebuild. At the time we were addressing the rebuild, we wanted them to try out our ADVANCE NEEDLE for damping force adjustment (which became an addition to our STREET FLEX setup when they superseded the older Flex setups).

project supra dampers

However, we also thought this car to be a good candidate to try out the [then new] EDFC ACTIVE setup we had released at around the same time. So, now it’s installed, and all they need to do is get the EDFC ACTIVE controller calibrated for its mounting position!

project supra edfc

project supra stepping motor

We’re looking forward to other updates on this car. Again, they’ve done a full build on the motor, so we really want to see what this street hulk can do! We may be suspension guys, but horsepower and torque are other things we love too 😉

 

 

*pictures courtesy of MotoIQ