Tag Archives: Revalve

Overhaul Pricing

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Now, I know we list an overhaul starting price on our website. However, we do know that some customers are a little confused when we give them a quote higher than what they may find listed. I’m hoping to clarify on this matter a little bit.

On our Service page on www.tein.com, you will find a link to our Overhaul Price List. You can find a list just like the above image which is the starting price for our overhaul service, as well as revalve service (if you plan on having the dampers matched to a specific spring rate). Again, this is just the starting price for the work covering new seals, damper fluid, nitrogen gas fill, and labor.

However when we receive your dampers, we have our in-house engineer inspect the dampers to assess any damage or potential damage from the original parts. As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving components that comprise the complete damper. In some cases, we can reuse many internal parts. But in the event that an engineer finds a part to be under specification, we will suggest to replace those items. If you’ve ever received a quote much higher than the starting price, it is because of these findings.

This picture shows what type of internal parts may need to be replaced for twin-tube type dampers (Basic, Super Street, Flex, Super Drift).

This list above is for mono tube damper-specific parts.

In all cases, our staff will go over the details with the customer to let them know what will possibly need to be replaced on the damper part by part. Again, we know that for some customers a high quote is not what they are expecting. We just take these extra steps before starting any work to make sure that the customer has an overhaul that is worthwhile and that will last just as long as an out-of-the-box kit.

*For the record, we’ve taken a customer’s request to reuse some of his old parts (a damaged piston shaft was one of them) when overhauling to save on some costs. The kit came back to us not too long after because the nitrogen charge ended up leaking out past the new seals.

So we will do whatever the customer requests, within reason. But believe me- we do so hesitantly.

We do, however, leave some new internal parts as only a recommendation to replace. But in many instances, it is probably best to take the engineer’s word when they suggest part replacement.

Of course, if you need some explanation or any assistance with your dampers you’re thinking of having serviced by us, please feel free to give our staff a call at 562-861-9161, and we will take the time to go over the service in detail for you.

Japanese Spec Vs. US Spec Coil-overs

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Recently I have noticed that a lot of consumers and dealers of ours inquire about the differences between a Japanese-spec coilover kit and a U.S.-spec coilover kit. Relax, grab a cup of coffee, and let me do some explaining. It’s actually quite simple.

One of the main differences between these kits is the valving and in some cases spring rates. The U.S.-spec coilover kit comes with a more aggressive valving. The reason behind this is because consumers in the U.S. prefer a slightly more aggressive coilover in comparison to consumers in Japan. U.S. vehicle’s may also have some manufacturing differences opposed to the ones released overseas.

But as mentioned earlier, another factor is the spring rates. Some of the U.S.-spec coilover’s come with a stiffer spring to match the aggressive valving of the dampers. Of course there are other differences between the dampers besides the valving and spring rate. Damper designs may vary from U.S. to Japanese kits such as damper mounting points, damper body and stroke lengths, and required OEM parts.

As a side note- some U.S. applications may be compatible with Japanese dampers with no modifications whatsoever. But we recommended to verify with TEIN prior to purchasing these kits.

In conclusion, regardless if the coilover kit is Japanese or US spec they both come down to one thing- they both cater to different markets which is a matter of consumer preference. However, TEIN is able to assist with customization of your TEIN dampers through our Overhaul and Revalving service available Stateside through our in-house service departments in the East Coast and West Coast facilities. As a performance suspension manufacturer for a global market, we realize it is difficult to appease all customers. But we can definitely assist our customers in dialing in their suspension for their specific needs, all of which is for your driving pleasure!

N1 Racing parts on a street driven Civic Si Sedan

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Mike of Evasive Motorsports has successfully been using our Mono FLEX coilovers on his street/ track Civic Si Sedan. The car has finished well in the last few events (class win at Super Lap Battle Finals 2009 and class win at Redline TA 2010 Rd.1) and Mike wants to keep it that way. Mike already added a larger diameter sway bar and a revalve but still wanted more vehicle rotation. So Mike and our engineer agreed the next step was to try some parts from our N1 race kit.

The parts arrived last Friday and Mike brought the car in a few days ago for us to install the parts and perform the needed revalve to make it all work.

The N1 kit is used on many cars competing in Japan’s Civic One-Make race series. Normally these cars use spring rates of 20kg front and 26kg rear. Modifications are very limited to keep the racing tight.

We ONLY used a few of the parts from an N1 kit:

N1 pillowball rear spring seat, Special 20kg rears springs, N1 HAS (Height Adjustment System)

The N1 pillowball rear spring seats are NICE (you can see that the top section can pivot). The spring can now better match the travel radius of the lower control arm and allows the use of a straight spring which are readily available in various sizes and rates. Normally a barrel shaped spring is used for more spring stroke but alternate spring rates are not available.

To make this all work we needed to change the stroke and damping force of the rears dampers. Then in order to balance the car front to rear we increased the front spring rate to 16kg, shortened the stroke, and increased the damping force.

The end result is very aggressive spring rates, short suspension travel and race car like handling. When we took the car out for a test drive on local roads and highways the ride was surprisingly smooth. A passenger would never guess that the car has such high spring rates. The car is firm but not bouncy. It absorbs the bumps well and settles quickly for optimal grip.

A few more pics of the Civic Type-Rs TEIN sponsors in Japan. These cars look so good with just livery and being slammed.