a little review on the new Tokico Hp's....
08-30-2007, 02:04 AM
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a little review on the new Tokico Hp's....
ok, I just installed these last saturday so this is an initial review of them and I'll update this in about a week or 2 once i get some mileage on them.
Also, i'm coming from an S2000 so if some of my info seems exaggerated (ex. understeer) please forgive me as well as my spelling....
Spec's: Car Has the 5 spoke acura Cl wheels but with stock sized TSX tires. Car is lowered on Tein S tech's and now the Tokico's. No engine mods or tranny mods. Tire pressures are stock per door label.
Stock suspension: The car is comfortable. Not mushy but def. not solid. Great for long trips, soaked up bumps well. Handling was fairly predictable but the car pushes into corners wicked bad. Good thing is that once into a long sweeper, like an offramp/on ramp, the car would settle and could hold a pretty good line with decent cornering speeds. Little bumps on straights and in corners were slightly noticeable but wouldn't cause the suspension to unsettle. Steering is surprisingly heavy.
Stock shocks with Tein S tech's: All stock ADJUSTABLE alignment angles adjusted to stock specs. Nice ride height, a little to bouncy for my tastes. A little more sensitive to bumps and little imperfections in the road but nothing major. Car follows the crown of the road a lot more. Chassis was a bit harder to settle down in a corner. When the suspension is fully loaded, I'd get a little bump steer if there was any decent seized bumps in the road and it would "bounce" the car off line a hair. Understeer was decreased a little but the bump steer in the rear would occasinally make the rear end feel like it was about to step out so it wasn't very comforting. Nothing surprising since I knew the stock shocks were'nt designed for these springs. Steering is a little lighter. A week goes by, knock in the RF. Check it out, blown strut. This thing has oil all over the place. When i was replacing them, I compressed the rod, 3 hours later, still didn't move. Glad I had new ones.
Tokico Blue shocks with Tein S-techs: Way better. Car is solid but not break neck stiff, responsive, VERY predictable. Car follows the road even more now and requires a tiny tiny bit more attention just driving down the road. More understeer is eliminated. Bumps are soaked up nicely with out feeling anything close to soft. On offramps/onramps, the suspension settles quickly and stays firm even while accelerating hard onto the freeway. Car actually turns in a little on acceleration. Not quite oversteer, just enough that it'll keep you in your lane with out having to turn more. Balance feels good. During braking, the nose dive isn't as much. Steering is back to being on the heavy side but nothing more then stock. They def. feel stiffer then the old tokico blues I've ridden on. The car still feels a bit under sprung but this setup was designed for a nice clean drop while sacrificing as little as possible on the comfort side. Now, if only Tokico can come out with the adjustable strut package...........
NOTES: This spring shock combo is great for the street. Not to stiff but not soft. Compared to an autocross/road racing setup, it's still nothing to write home about. Best way to describe the whole package is that it's a bit stiffer then the A-spec package and lowers the car more as well. Tein states 1.73" drop in the front and 1.3" or 1.4" drop for the rear. The Tokico's and Tein's compliment the car on both the sport and luxury side leaning more twords the sport side, obviously with out being a "Ricky Racer" type setup. Not bouncy in any way, just solid with out being bone jarring.
The struts came packaged nicely from Tokico. Double stacked, 2 on the left 2 on the right, foam peanuts between the struts and the box and in between the 4 struts. Came with new nuts for the tops of the strut rods.
Also, i'm coming from an S2000 so if some of my info seems exaggerated (ex. understeer) please forgive me as well as my spelling....
Spec's: Car Has the 5 spoke acura Cl wheels but with stock sized TSX tires. Car is lowered on Tein S tech's and now the Tokico's. No engine mods or tranny mods. Tire pressures are stock per door label.
Stock suspension: The car is comfortable. Not mushy but def. not solid. Great for long trips, soaked up bumps well. Handling was fairly predictable but the car pushes into corners wicked bad. Good thing is that once into a long sweeper, like an offramp/on ramp, the car would settle and could hold a pretty good line with decent cornering speeds. Little bumps on straights and in corners were slightly noticeable but wouldn't cause the suspension to unsettle. Steering is surprisingly heavy.
Stock shocks with Tein S tech's: All stock ADJUSTABLE alignment angles adjusted to stock specs. Nice ride height, a little to bouncy for my tastes. A little more sensitive to bumps and little imperfections in the road but nothing major. Car follows the crown of the road a lot more. Chassis was a bit harder to settle down in a corner. When the suspension is fully loaded, I'd get a little bump steer if there was any decent seized bumps in the road and it would "bounce" the car off line a hair. Understeer was decreased a little but the bump steer in the rear would occasinally make the rear end feel like it was about to step out so it wasn't very comforting. Nothing surprising since I knew the stock shocks were'nt designed for these springs. Steering is a little lighter. A week goes by, knock in the RF. Check it out, blown strut. This thing has oil all over the place. When i was replacing them, I compressed the rod, 3 hours later, still didn't move. Glad I had new ones.
Tokico Blue shocks with Tein S-techs: Way better. Car is solid but not break neck stiff, responsive, VERY predictable. Car follows the road even more now and requires a tiny tiny bit more attention just driving down the road. More understeer is eliminated. Bumps are soaked up nicely with out feeling anything close to soft. On offramps/onramps, the suspension settles quickly and stays firm even while accelerating hard onto the freeway. Car actually turns in a little on acceleration. Not quite oversteer, just enough that it'll keep you in your lane with out having to turn more. Balance feels good. During braking, the nose dive isn't as much. Steering is back to being on the heavy side but nothing more then stock. They def. feel stiffer then the old tokico blues I've ridden on. The car still feels a bit under sprung but this setup was designed for a nice clean drop while sacrificing as little as possible on the comfort side. Now, if only Tokico can come out with the adjustable strut package...........
NOTES: This spring shock combo is great for the street. Not to stiff but not soft. Compared to an autocross/road racing setup, it's still nothing to write home about. Best way to describe the whole package is that it's a bit stiffer then the A-spec package and lowers the car more as well. Tein states 1.73" drop in the front and 1.3" or 1.4" drop for the rear. The Tokico's and Tein's compliment the car on both the sport and luxury side leaning more twords the sport side, obviously with out being a "Ricky Racer" type setup. Not bouncy in any way, just solid with out being bone jarring.
The struts came packaged nicely from Tokico. Double stacked, 2 on the left 2 on the right, foam peanuts between the struts and the box and in between the 4 struts. Came with new nuts for the tops of the strut rods.
08-31-2007, 01:51 AM
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Re: (spooncl9)
I got them direct from Tokico. As far as i know, i'm the first one to have them installed in the states. Or so i've been told.
I know there is a vendor from another site that has them for sale for around $300 for the set.
http://www.excelerateperformance.com/index.htm
Try there, i'm pretty sure that's his website..
Good luck!
I know there is a vendor from another site that has them for sale for around $300 for the set.
http://www.excelerateperformance.com/index.htm
Try there, i'm pretty sure that's his website..
Good luck!
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