TEIN Japan recently took delivery on their newest demo car which is the 2010 Honda CR-Z. They have already begun product development and are planning to release the Mono FLEX coilovers as well as High.Tech lowering springs for the Japanese Domestic market.

The CR-Z is “supposed” to be a Sport Hybrid. Comes with a 1.5L Hybrid engine which makes 84KW @ 6,000 (about 113 HP). The weighs in at 1130-1180kg depending on options which is about 2491-2601lbs. Does not sound sporty in comparison to other US vehicles but I guess we’ll have to wait to test drive one.

Front suspension is a MacPherson Strut layout which has the benefit of being lower in cost, having less moving parts and leaves plenty of space for the drive axle.

Rear is a Torsion Beam layout. As you can see the spring and shock is separately mounted. This has become a common rear suspension layout for many manufacturers due to relative low cost and ability to retain more interior space.

This is one of the hottest cars in Japan right now and TEIN is working long hours to finish the development quickly to meet the huge consumer demand. There is already a large back order for the vehicle from Honda.

TEIN Japan is also testing the automatic version.

Once the car is released in the US we will try to locate a test vehicle and begin our own development/ testing processes. TEIN products are developed for the specific region in which they are sold to best match consumer demands. In most cases the US spec products are more aggressive in spring rate and valving as well as drop range.