[ma71supraturbo]

First thing I noticed about these bad boys was the incredible quality in every detail. Every thing fit perfectly, although I did spend a day trying to find instructions in English. That said, they are easier to install than a normal spring/strut combo and the pictures in the manual explained most of the questionable items.



Things not covered (either in English or through pictures):

The bottom schrader valve is for the nitrogen, and I don't have much need to fool with that yet. The top adjustment is pretty intuitive -- clockwise makes the dampener stiffer, counterclockwise softens. The audible clicks are helpful in making sure all the dampeners are adjusted to the proper setting (no more painted dots like I have with the koni's on my mr2).
The adjustment for rebound and compression is simultaneous (you cannot independently change rebound or compression as I had been led to believe by the marketing). The ride height is changed pretty intuitively -- my only complaint is that you cannot change ride height without changing the preload on the spring (or vice versa -- you can't change preload without changing ride height)

Oh, there also is no second mount for the ABS front wheel speed sensor wires, so for the time being it is zip-tied to the shock body...




Weight difference:

2lbs lighter per corner than the "stock" front spring/strut assembly (not quite stock as two coils had been removed from each spring)

3lbs lighter per corner in the rear (compared to the factory shock assembly with one coil removed from the spring).

This weight difference does not include the TEMS actuators, and is despite the chromed steel body and included upper pillow-ball mount. Total unsprung weight savings is better than 10lbs (not bad, but I'm pretty sure Tein RA's are much lighter with an aluminum body).




First on-road impression: Wow these are quite the improvement over manually adjusted TEMS shocks and cut springs. The only thing I can compare it to is a newer BMW 3 or 5 series. Basically the car handles much better, without being harsh. The ride feels very solid without being rough. It seriously made me wonder how a car could handle so well without jarring my kidneys... That said, I do not believe these springs will be stiff enough in the long run. They seem just too soft for track and hard driving (I had heard similiar things from MKIV guys regarding their hipermax). Do not get me wrong, these things are awesome, but they do not make the drastic reduction in brake dive/ body roll that I would expect from coilovers. I still have some adjustment left in the dampeners, but ultimately I will change the springs (fortunately I know a guy who can make custom springs).


I still have not corner balanced the car because if these springs are like most others, they will settle within the next few weeks/1000 miles. I'll then do whatever corner weighting I can and have it re-aligned.



I will have pictures up later today. Unfortunately, the coilovers went in so easily I had to push my luck and install the goodridge lines as well. Everything was all gravy until I go to install the last line (passenger front). Somebody (probably whoever first installed it) overtightened the brake line to such an outrageous extent that the brass fitting took on a radical bell-shape on the very end. It physically will not fit inside the new line, so I get to experience the joy that is Pick-n-pull once more. If they don't have it, I'll grab a fitting from another toyota brake line, and hope that a shop can cut and re-flare my metal line...




****Things to keep in mind when reading my evaluation: I have an 87 hardtop with only a front strut tower bar. The car is ~600lbs lighter than stock, and my weight distribution has gone from the stock 52/48 to 54/46. I also run no front sway bar, although I will probably re-install it in the near future.

 

[220]

Keep us posted!

 

[Nick S.]

good job Jeff! if u need more help understanding Japanese u know the number!


good overview and very well detailed info for others who plan to do this in the future! :bigok:

 

[Bishop92T]

Nice writeup ma71supraturbo, if only I had seen it before I bought my Tein I wouldn't have even looked at HKS coilovers The HKS coilovers do scream quality though, I've seen a few sets up close and they look high quality. The Tein's have nothing wrong with them, but the way they are colored and put together they just don't look as high quality.

How adjustable are those HKS? I called HKS a while back and they told me there were 25 independent rebound/compression positions per corner (Flex have 16). Also how radical is the difference between full firm and full soft?

 

[BoostAddctn]

sweet jeff, I can't wait to see the pictures... how would you rate the job though, 1 being Intake easy 10 being Removal of Engine

 

[ma71supraturbo]

3, assuming you're not in the rust belt. For the rears -- 3 nuts on top, and one bolt down below. a little wiggling, and everything comes out.

For the front, you have the three nuts on top, the 1 bolt on the bottom, two small 10mm bolts for the ABS sensor line, and the really long 19mm bolt for the upper control arm. I could see how this job could be insane if you had to deal with any rust. I also borrowed my buddy's air compressor so removal of the 19mm bolts were easy.


I'll get back to you bishop on the # of adjustments. It is either 20 or 30.... Pictures are coming very shortly, I just finished fixing that brake line, and bleeding all the lines.

 

[ma71supraturbo]

Bishop:

There are 35 settings. #1 is very soft, and I'm currently at #8 (perfect for normal street driving). I'll play around with the stiffer settings once the springs settle.


(if you look closely you can see my new turbo elbow is leaking -- wonder if this slowed me down)

 

[ma71supraturbo]

I'm not a big fan of the purple annodized look, but hey whatever tickles the jdm pickle. Here's a shot of the left rear from the side:

 

[ma71supraturbo]

my only complaint is the lack of a mounting tab for the ABS sensor. For now a Zip-tie is doing the job. And if you look closely in the background you can see the new SS lines. I also re-installed the front sway bar while I had the car up, but I think I'm going to take it back out.