Another Rally xD Podium at NEFR

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Paul P.

Our favorite rally team, the TEIN-supported Rally xD, had a pretty good weekend at round 6 of Rally America, the New England Forest Rally event. Although not at the top of the podium, they were able to secure a 2nd place finish.

As they had dealt with in past events, a few troubles came their way. This time, a transmission swap was necessary to keep the xD in competition. After about 35 minutes, the team got the car back on the gravel.

By then, the damage had already been done. Driver Matthew Johnson had a lot of ground to cover. He and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey did well, cutting the margin to within a couple of minutes. Again, enough to garner a second place finish.
As always, the hard working driver and crew pushed beyond their limits to get the car to the finish.

Great job, guys!

Carbing Parts for the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ Now In Stock!!!

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Paul P.

Contact your nearest authorized TEIN dealer for ordering information!

TEIN USA Delivers to West Coast Customs

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Paul P.

It’s not often that you get to see TEIN on the tv screen unless it’s regarding Rally America, Formula Drift, FIA European Rally Championship, or something else along those lines. Even then, we tend to keep to ourselves tucked away in our own little pocket. Instead, we focus on manufacturing the products that continue to make the motorsports world go round.

But, every now and then we’ll be invited to participate on some television programs. Previously, we took part in the televised series Fine Tuned. This was a very similar approach to the show Overhaulin’, but aimed around the “tuner car” demographic. That was actually kinda fun!

Our most recent television appearance was with the West Coast Custom crew, taking part on a Scion FR-S build for Ryan Friedlinghaus Jr..

Since we already had product available for the FR-S, and since it’s a vehicle that continues to do very well for us, it was kind of a no-brainer to participate on this project. We had just launched the newer Street Flex coilovers and we also had EDFC Active. This was a great opportunity to get this new product out to West Coast Customs.

When we were contacted by Scott at West Coast Customs, we quickly got the parts ready and dropped it off to them. It’s funny- the whole process of taking the product to them and explaining what we brought them was just as shown on tv. I guess it is truly a reality! Haha!

Special Delivery!

A quick rundown of our Street Flex coilovers and EDFC Active.

Anyway, after a quick rundown of what we were providing them, we let them get at it by themselves. The project car was only beginning and they had a lot of areas to knock out before tackling the suspension.

Crunch time to get the car built before going to paint. Our friend Troy from Five Axis here helping them get the Five:AD body kit installed.

Fortunately, as many of you customer’s know, our products are a relatively straightforward endeavor right out of the box. The Street Flex is a complete swap of the factory dampers, also including their own upper mounts. It simply requires unbolting the stock stuff and bolting up our coilovers, then tightening everything to the correct torque specs (and final alignment to be done afterwards). Looks like the WCC guys didn’t have any issues getting that done!

West Coast Customs posted up photos of the car on their Facebook, following the airing of the episode on this build and the SEMA Show launch.

Ryan Jr.’s FR-S being unveiled at SEMA 2013.

Glad to be a part of this build and on the “big screen”! Hahaha!

Specialized Brackets

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Paul P.

As you may have seen through our blog before, we offer a Specialized Damper Program. This allows a customer to create a one-off suspension kit made to their specifications. A great option for those customer who can’t find a readily available suspension kit for their vehicle, whether it be because it is an uncommon vehicle or it is a vintage vehicle that no longer has aftermarket support. It is a unique offering that gives the customer endless tuning possibilities, and all made with TEIN quality!

We’ve also been able to do custom lowering springs through this program. We know, that sounds a bit confusing because “Specialized Damper” implies that we can make the dampers only. We’ll work on that name. We do like using the term “SPD” if that helps! Nevertheless, we are able to create anything a customer is looking for, short of custom torsion and leaf springs.
What we never really brush up on is our ability to create individual components. Just recently, we had some lower knuckle brackets made for a Scion FR-S which was already using our Mono Flex coilovers. The person wanted some more ride height adjustment, as the knuckle bracket was already maxed at it’s highest setting (lowest ride height). But, he also wanted some camber adjustment from the bracket, a feature included on our Super Racing coilovers for MacPherson Strut type suspension. For those applications we include a new upper knuckle bolt with off set washers to allow a few degrees of camber adjustment. Not exactly a cheap option because of the components needed, but definitely possible to create.

Since this is a custom order, it still takes some time for TEIN Japan’s SPD (Specialized Damper) section to create the components. However, if it is a time-sensitive job, please contact us for quotation and we’ll see what we can do!

The nicest thing about this type of service isn’t that you can create your own custom pieces, but we build them to match your current suspension. As you may be able to see, our Mono Flex dampers use a different shade of green than our Street Basis, Street Advance, and Street Flex suspension. We can do custom colors by request, too. However, that does cost extra. But, who doesn’t like green?!

Anyway, please give us a call if you have any requests for custom damper components. We’re here to help!

A Slight Change in Fortunes

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Paul P.

Our favorite competitors in the Rally America series, the Scion Racing Rally xD team, put in a great effort this past weekend at the Oregon Trail Rally. Gearbox gremlins prevented from giving the xD a full-fledged attack, and driver Matthew Johnson did his best to baby the car through the stages. The onset of this eventually trickled down to engine problems, followed by a retirement from the race.

Ford-backed driver Andrew Comrie-Picard was able to nab a 2nd place finish, allowing him to pull away as championship points leader for the 2wd class as of this event, for the time being.

I don’t think that is much to worry about. We’ll see the Rally xD team back in proper form for the next event, STPR Rally in Wellsboro, PA on May 30-31.

Please lend your cheers to this hard working crew as they do their best to bring home their first ever championship this season!

Links:

Rally America

Scion Racing Rally xD

Scion Racing

T.O.R.C.’s All ToyotaFest

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Paul P.

For the past couple of years, TEIN has been attending the All ToyotaFest held in Long Beach, CA. at the Queen Mary. The Toyota Owners and Restorers Club (T.O.R.C.) runs the event, one of two events they have at the same location each year.

This Saturday, May 3rd, will be the 19th annual All ToyotaFest. Open to the public from 9a-3p! Check out all the classic and late-model Toyota’s on display. Maybe find some hard to locate parts you needed for your Toyota project? There will also be several vendors on hand!

This is a great opportunity to see Toyota’s of all generations on display, many of which belong to private owners who continue to drive their prized Toyota’s daily! This also attracts crowds of Lexus and Scion owners, and anything that has Toyota-related manufacturing to it.

It’s also a great opportunity to pick up some TEIN goods! We’ll also have some specials on a few suspension kits. So please stop by our tent!

Also, admission is free! That is another great reason to come by and enjoy the Long Beach weather!

See you there!

Rally xD Hits Some Hurdles at 100 Acre Wood

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Paul P.

Minor setbacks. Every person/team faces some. Whether it be minor or major is another matter. But, it seems like the Rally xD views any setback as minor, since they quickly get their car back to racing no matter the circumstance.

The Rally in the 100 Acre Woods event on February 22-23 brought such a “minor” circumstance for the team. Day 1 saw some transmission and electrical woes. However, not much could be done at the time. Fortunately, the transmission held up through the day’s stages.

Skipping out on some well-needed rest, the crew got to work after Day 1’s stages, putting in their backup transmission. Luck seemed to be running out as differential issues now plagued the recently swapped transmission. To add to the fading performance of the car, the power steering was starting to fail.

Not deterred by these events, driver Matthew Johnson continued a valiant effort to make this a podium finish. End result- 2nd place!

Well done, guys!

Photo credit: Scion Racing

J T Motoring’s FR-S Build

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Paul P.

One of our good friends, Brian Hung from J T Motoring out in Massachusetts, has made a name for himself bringing JDM tuning to New England. His latest build for 2013 is this beautifully crafted Scion FR-S.

When Brian, contacted us, you can already guess that he needed a suspension solution. We were fortunate enough to be one of the first coilover manufacturer’s to have something readily available for the new FR-S, and for Brian, it was a no-brainer to step up into the Type Flex coilovers since this build was more than show. He had performance in mind for this project. Matched to our coilover package is another new offering- EDFC Active. This was, in fact, one of the first cars in New England to sport this setup. But, this car is full of plenty “firsts” for its region.

By the looks of it, you can see that no expenses were spared. No corners cut. Brian wanted to push the emphasis on JDM and he chose the highest quality for parts that he could find, which happen to be the very same brands he sells at J T Motoring.

The spec sheet has more listed than all the ingredients needed for a Thanksgiving dinner. And looks to be more delicious, too.

Exterior:

APR Carbon Fiber Fender Insert

APR Carbon Fiber Brake Inlet Ducts

APR Carbon Fiber Trunk Garnish

Rocket Bunny Version 1 Kit

Buddy Club LED Tail Lights

JT Motoring Custom Retrofit Black Housing Head Lights

Nokya Yellow Turn Signal Front Bulbs.

Footwork/Brakes:

TEIN Flex (JDM Version)

TEIN EDFC Active with GPS

Tanabe Front and Rear Tower Bars

Buddy Club 4 piston/ 330mm rotors Front Brake Kit

Buddy Club 2 piston/ 330mm rotor Rear Brake Kit

Engine:

HKS Supercharger

ARC Oil Catch Can

Buddy Club Racing Spec Condenser Grouding Kit

MXP Front Pipe

MXP Cat-back with adjustable exhaust tip

HKS Oil Cap

Interior:

Bride Euro 2 seats in red buck skin

Bride Type VZ brackets

ATC Carbon/Suede Steering Wheel

MXP Titanium Shift Knob

STRI Club Sport Boost Gauge

STRI Vent Pod Gauge Holder

Kenwood dnn0990hd Double DIN Navi/DVD Receiver

Takata Drift 2 4pt Harnesses

Wheels/Tires:

Volk Racing TE37RT

18×9.5 +23 front

18×11 +17 rear

Wheelmate 5×100 to 5×114.3 conversion front 25mm

Wheelmate 5×100 to 5×114.3 conversion rear 30mm

Project Kics leggdura racing lugs

And they’re not done yet. More parts are being added to this project! We’ll try to get updates on this build!

For those of you out there in New England, give our friend Brian at J T Motoring a call. He can help you get your build to where you want it to be!J T Motoring

1183 Hyde Park Ave.
Boston, MA 02136

Tel: 617-364-6888

Web: www.jtmotoring.com

Also, please be sure to follow them on their Facebook page!

Season Starts With A Win!!!

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Paul P.

Congrats to the Rally xD team for their efforts this past weekend (Jan. 24-25)!

The Sno*Drift Rally is never truly an easy race (is any rally race easy?), but they once again took the season opener with a 1st place finish! Their new driver, Matthew Johnson wasted no time in getting accustomed to the xD, and piloted the car to what seemed like an easy victory.

I was following whatever updates they posted on Facebook and Instagram to see race stats. Basically, it looks like they led the whole time. Yeah, humble brag baby!!!

Here are some pics they shared from their Facebook Page

Matthew Johnson has quickly taken a liking to the xD!

Hot shoeing through the cold snow. The xD held the lead in their respective class for the whole rally.

The crew that keeps the xD in tip-top shape worked late nights and early mornings to make sure they kept the competition at bay.

Read more about the event here at Rally America

Once again, big congrats to these guys for their hard work and determination! We definitely look forward to the next race!

Rally xD Team- Same Great Car, New Driver

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Paul P.

We’re catching up with our friends, the Rally xD team, to see what’s in store for their 2014 campaign. But it seems that as soon as we do, they’re right back out there racing again.

Sticking with last year’s competitive chassis, the team has made a few upgrades in a quest to be a reliable gravel spitting machine. We’re glad to be on board once again as their suspension provider. In fact, they’re using the same suspension they used last season.

All we did was clean them up and checked them out. Fortunately, their custom Group N. dampers got a clean bill of health and ready for more abuse. Or racing, rather.

Also in store for the team is a new driver! Read about him in the link below

Matthew Johnson

Being that the upcoming Sno* Drift Rally kicks of this weekend, the crew has already started enjoying their Winter wonderland in Atlanta, MI and doing some shakedown runs.

Best of luck to these dudes. Oh, and happy birthday to their Crew Chief, Philip Chase!

Be sure to follow the Rally xD team on their Facebook page

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Tag Archives: Scion