My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review
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From: Union, KY, USA
My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review
Several months ago at Koni we bought a single adjustable coil-over suspension from one of the leading brand name JDM companies simply to sample what they have, look like, do, etc. Because I was going to have some open track time this weekend while working with my racecar, we thought this would be a good time to do the evaluation on the dyno, street and track with the kit. We used my '89 Honda CRX Si which is my daily driver commuter, knock around, leave at the airport car but is in quite good shape with a good list of updates (fresh suspension bushings, light flywheel, ZC engine, Integra brakes, ported header and exhaust, Iceman, Neuspeed rear sway and front and rear shock tower bars, etc.). We took off a 5+ year old set of Koni Sport shocks and Vogtland springs and installed the kit.
Off car testing-
This particular kit came with paperwork that said it was for "off highway use, not for street use" but several web sites say how good the kit is for the street and for track use. They list the MSRP at $1,000 and can be found about $850 retail on-line. The spring rates measured 445 lbs. /in. front and 210 lbs./in. rear. This would be my first real experience with the high front rate/low rear rate set-up that is popular in JDM kits. The shock valving adjusters have 23 click positions of adjustment but we quickly found that the first half of them had not effect on valving but the top 12 clicks had some change and position 6 was about halfway tinot the range. This is common for needle valve adjusting shocks as a needle valve really only begins having real change as you get nearer to closing off the orifice. We installed them on the car at the ride height and damper adjustment setting that they suggested. At their suggested height, the car sat a bit lower than I preferred but decided to follow their lead.
Street testing-
On our first street test drive, we were at first a bit surprised that the car was not as rough as we originally expected and at normal speeds the initial turning response was quite sharp. Driving off small drops like the driveway to the road was quite harsh but it wasn't bad over many more subtle impacts and the car seemed to be quite flat in general light cornering. We did notice that the ride quality was pretty good over smooth roads but when you did hit bumps and rollers in the pavement, the rear end did get kind of an odd hop like it was ramping off bumps and undulations and bouncing a bit more than we cared for.
Our test drive loop has a number of variations in including hill climbs and drops, broken pavement, etc. so we get a good sample of situations. There is one place that gets regularly patched and repaved from hill erosion and it is a good test for when each wheel is dealing with different bumps at the same time. At about 40 mph over this section, we did hit one crack in the road that was an angle, one wheel step up of about 1 inch and we had the biggest suspension BANG that I have ever experienced in a car. I was surprised as I have driven my car on the old suspension and several other R&D test cars over this in recent weeks and never noticed it at all. Back at the office, there was no evidence of what had bottomed but certainly something had hit hard. Because the car was lower than we felt it should really be and probably contributed to the bottoming, we raised it up about 1/2 inch or so and the car changed a lot. The kit had come with it's own hard foam bump rubbers that were nearly always in contact when the car was at their recommended height.
Once the ride height was raised, the bump rubbers were not in near constant contact and the car began to roll a bit more and we noticed immediately that it got extra suspension motion showing that it was underdamped so we had to turn the adjusters to get the best ride we could from it. It was still best overall when it was down on the bump rubbers at their baseline setting. My wife drove the car the 160 miles to the track (I was towing the racecar) and said that the ride on the bumpy Indiana roads was quite hard and as far as she cared to drive the car but it didn't wake up our sleeping 4 year old son.
Track testing-
We put a nearly new set of Kumho DOT race tires on the car and drove it at Putnam Park Race Course outside Indianapolis. I have driven this car on track for many years doing driving instruction, lapping, etc. and have hundreds of laps at Putnam in it. Expect for the JDM kit, the car was exactly like I have use it there many times before. Normally, I run the progressive Vogtland springs on the street and then change to a drop on threaded coil-over spring set-up using 400f/600r for the track on the same off the shelf Koni Sport shocks. These springs I beleive are much too harsh for street use so I keep the two spring set-ups for the two uses. Since this kit called said it was not for street uses and the front springs are 10% higher on the front than my normal track set-up yet about 1/3 the rate of the rear, I was very interested to see what it would do.
We left the shocks adjusted to the same settings that we had liked them best on the street which was about 4 clicks from firm front and 6 clicks from firm rear. Our first track session was during a worker break so we were limited to about 60 mph maximum and the car was just fine, very tractable and smooth on Putnam's perfect pavement. The next session I went out and picked up the speed pretty quickly after the tires got warmer but noticed that it began to understeer pretty soon as I began to push it. I have been triving CRXs on track since about 1994 and to me an understeering FWD car is very unfortunate. Although understeer may be preferable for a novice driver to learn the ropes and the limit, to me there is no excuse for understeer in a modern FWD car as good suspension parts and sorting can provide a neutral to predictably, lightly oversteering car that rotates well allowing fast lapping near the limit. With the car in this situation, the more I began pushing the car to higher speeds, the more it began really understeering quite a lot. No matter how smoothly and wide at entrance and exits I drove, the harder I pushed the worse it got plus I felt the car getting a surprising amount of body roll as the tires were gripping but the body was still moving. After about five laps of fighting the push, I pitted to set the rear shocks to the maximum rebound setting which is the appropriate shock setting to reduce understeer and help the car rotate.
With the tires still hot, I went back out and pushed harder yet. Turn 1 at Putnam is a fast, lightly banked, downhill right sweeper that in well set-up car is very fast and requires not too much slowing and basically serves as the entrance to Turn 2, a much tighter, slow-down and downshift right corner that is best taken with your front wheels at turn-in just a one to two feet from the left edge of the pavement. The faster I pushed Turn 1, the more it simply wanted to go straight and the car would not rotate as needed into the corner to get to the track edge for a Turn 2. I had to greatly decrease the corner entry speed to ensure that I would make it through the corner and not drive off the road before the proper track out point. The understeer was in evidence in each corner as I drove smoothly but harder to the point that I noticed that I was having to wait from 50-75 feet later to get back into the throtle to accelerate away from the corners. If I used the throttle where I normally would to pull out of the corner, the front end would lose steering ability and just wash out in the corner before the turn was completed.
I quickly thought of a term my wife uses when riding performance horses of being "heavy on the forehand" when the car just felt like it and the controls were dominated by the front end and just wouldn't respond the way you knew it should. After about five laps of fighting this now greatly annoying understeer, I pitted and called our Koni R&D engineer who had done the installation of this kit to makew sure that I was turning the adjusters the correct direction and not going softer when I meant to go firmer. Now matter what adjustments I made when pushing the car near the limit, it simply got no better and only got worse.
After confirming that I was making the proper adjustments to the shocks with no avail, I simply decided to park the car and not drive any more. There was no use in driving harder and getting frustrated with a car that wouldn't turn and taking chances of going off track and damaging the car. In more than 12 years of driving CRXs on track and more years of FWD cars, I can honestly say that this was the worst handling CRX I have ever had on track. All from the car that I drive everyday, have driven well over 1,000 miles on track with no trouble, ect. The only thing that I changed was the spring and shock package.
So that is my review of this kit. It was my first experience with the high front spring rate/ low rear spring rate system that seems popular in some JDM kits and I can say that I am unequivocally unimpressed on track and didn't care for it much on the street once we raised it up off the bump stops. I have specifically not mentioned the name and model of this kit as I am not out to start a war of words between our company and another. I will probably drive around on it myself for another week or two to see if the street responses begin to change as they settle in and start to wear. After that, we'll probably cut them apart to see how they function internally and as part of a display of other brand damper internals.
Off car testing-
This particular kit came with paperwork that said it was for "off highway use, not for street use" but several web sites say how good the kit is for the street and for track use. They list the MSRP at $1,000 and can be found about $850 retail on-line. The spring rates measured 445 lbs. /in. front and 210 lbs./in. rear. This would be my first real experience with the high front rate/low rear rate set-up that is popular in JDM kits. The shock valving adjusters have 23 click positions of adjustment but we quickly found that the first half of them had not effect on valving but the top 12 clicks had some change and position 6 was about halfway tinot the range. This is common for needle valve adjusting shocks as a needle valve really only begins having real change as you get nearer to closing off the orifice. We installed them on the car at the ride height and damper adjustment setting that they suggested. At their suggested height, the car sat a bit lower than I preferred but decided to follow their lead.
Street testing-
On our first street test drive, we were at first a bit surprised that the car was not as rough as we originally expected and at normal speeds the initial turning response was quite sharp. Driving off small drops like the driveway to the road was quite harsh but it wasn't bad over many more subtle impacts and the car seemed to be quite flat in general light cornering. We did notice that the ride quality was pretty good over smooth roads but when you did hit bumps and rollers in the pavement, the rear end did get kind of an odd hop like it was ramping off bumps and undulations and bouncing a bit more than we cared for.
Our test drive loop has a number of variations in including hill climbs and drops, broken pavement, etc. so we get a good sample of situations. There is one place that gets regularly patched and repaved from hill erosion and it is a good test for when each wheel is dealing with different bumps at the same time. At about 40 mph over this section, we did hit one crack in the road that was an angle, one wheel step up of about 1 inch and we had the biggest suspension BANG that I have ever experienced in a car. I was surprised as I have driven my car on the old suspension and several other R&D test cars over this in recent weeks and never noticed it at all. Back at the office, there was no evidence of what had bottomed but certainly something had hit hard. Because the car was lower than we felt it should really be and probably contributed to the bottoming, we raised it up about 1/2 inch or so and the car changed a lot. The kit had come with it's own hard foam bump rubbers that were nearly always in contact when the car was at their recommended height.
Once the ride height was raised, the bump rubbers were not in near constant contact and the car began to roll a bit more and we noticed immediately that it got extra suspension motion showing that it was underdamped so we had to turn the adjusters to get the best ride we could from it. It was still best overall when it was down on the bump rubbers at their baseline setting. My wife drove the car the 160 miles to the track (I was towing the racecar) and said that the ride on the bumpy Indiana roads was quite hard and as far as she cared to drive the car but it didn't wake up our sleeping 4 year old son.
Track testing-
We put a nearly new set of Kumho DOT race tires on the car and drove it at Putnam Park Race Course outside Indianapolis. I have driven this car on track for many years doing driving instruction, lapping, etc. and have hundreds of laps at Putnam in it. Expect for the JDM kit, the car was exactly like I have use it there many times before. Normally, I run the progressive Vogtland springs on the street and then change to a drop on threaded coil-over spring set-up using 400f/600r for the track on the same off the shelf Koni Sport shocks. These springs I beleive are much too harsh for street use so I keep the two spring set-ups for the two uses. Since this kit called said it was not for street uses and the front springs are 10% higher on the front than my normal track set-up yet about 1/3 the rate of the rear, I was very interested to see what it would do.
We left the shocks adjusted to the same settings that we had liked them best on the street which was about 4 clicks from firm front and 6 clicks from firm rear. Our first track session was during a worker break so we were limited to about 60 mph maximum and the car was just fine, very tractable and smooth on Putnam's perfect pavement. The next session I went out and picked up the speed pretty quickly after the tires got warmer but noticed that it began to understeer pretty soon as I began to push it. I have been triving CRXs on track since about 1994 and to me an understeering FWD car is very unfortunate. Although understeer may be preferable for a novice driver to learn the ropes and the limit, to me there is no excuse for understeer in a modern FWD car as good suspension parts and sorting can provide a neutral to predictably, lightly oversteering car that rotates well allowing fast lapping near the limit. With the car in this situation, the more I began pushing the car to higher speeds, the more it began really understeering quite a lot. No matter how smoothly and wide at entrance and exits I drove, the harder I pushed the worse it got plus I felt the car getting a surprising amount of body roll as the tires were gripping but the body was still moving. After about five laps of fighting the push, I pitted to set the rear shocks to the maximum rebound setting which is the appropriate shock setting to reduce understeer and help the car rotate.
With the tires still hot, I went back out and pushed harder yet. Turn 1 at Putnam is a fast, lightly banked, downhill right sweeper that in well set-up car is very fast and requires not too much slowing and basically serves as the entrance to Turn 2, a much tighter, slow-down and downshift right corner that is best taken with your front wheels at turn-in just a one to two feet from the left edge of the pavement. The faster I pushed Turn 1, the more it simply wanted to go straight and the car would not rotate as needed into the corner to get to the track edge for a Turn 2. I had to greatly decrease the corner entry speed to ensure that I would make it through the corner and not drive off the road before the proper track out point. The understeer was in evidence in each corner as I drove smoothly but harder to the point that I noticed that I was having to wait from 50-75 feet later to get back into the throtle to accelerate away from the corners. If I used the throttle where I normally would to pull out of the corner, the front end would lose steering ability and just wash out in the corner before the turn was completed.
I quickly thought of a term my wife uses when riding performance horses of being "heavy on the forehand" when the car just felt like it and the controls were dominated by the front end and just wouldn't respond the way you knew it should. After about five laps of fighting this now greatly annoying understeer, I pitted and called our Koni R&D engineer who had done the installation of this kit to makew sure that I was turning the adjusters the correct direction and not going softer when I meant to go firmer. Now matter what adjustments I made when pushing the car near the limit, it simply got no better and only got worse.
After confirming that I was making the proper adjustments to the shocks with no avail, I simply decided to park the car and not drive any more. There was no use in driving harder and getting frustrated with a car that wouldn't turn and taking chances of going off track and damaging the car. In more than 12 years of driving CRXs on track and more years of FWD cars, I can honestly say that this was the worst handling CRX I have ever had on track. All from the car that I drive everyday, have driven well over 1,000 miles on track with no trouble, ect. The only thing that I changed was the spring and shock package.
So that is my review of this kit. It was my first experience with the high front spring rate/ low rear spring rate system that seems popular in some JDM kits and I can say that I am unequivocally unimpressed on track and didn't care for it much on the street once we raised it up off the bump stops. I have specifically not mentioned the name and model of this kit as I am not out to start a war of words between our company and another. I will probably drive around on it myself for another week or two to see if the street responses begin to change as they settle in and start to wear. After that, we'll probably cut them apart to see how they function internally and as part of a display of other brand damper internals.
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (eLusive ek4)
If you dare take the car out like that again... try and put the biggest rear bar on there you can. My shop has been attempting to convince me to go light out back and stiffer in the front... they tune and set up 4 of the SCCS stock cars and that is what they have found to be VERY fast for the.... but they also say it requires a huge bar in the back to get it to work right... i keep telling them it might be the rear wheel drive that makes it work right.
I'm fairly sure with this set up you had to trail brake like a champ to just get it around track
I'm fairly sure with this set up you had to trail brake like a champ to just get it around track
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,144
Likes: 3
From: Union, KY, USA
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (MMsportsRexSi)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MMsportsRexSi »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you dare take the car out like that again... try and put the biggest rear bar on there you can. My shop has been attempting to convince me to go light out back and stiffer in the front... they tune and set up 4 of the SCCS stock cars and that is what they have found to be VERY fast for the.... but they also say it requires a huge bar in the back to get it to work right... i keep telling them it might be the rear wheel drive that makes it work right.
I'm fairly sure with this set up you had to trail brake like a champ to just get it around track
</TD></TR></TABLE>
What you speak of is exactly how you would set up a front engined RWD car, especially if it has a solid rear axle but don't do it in a FWD car or at least be very careful. There is a racecar tuner in the Northeast (not naming names) who pushes FWD cars on high front and low rear spring rates with big rear bars and honestly I have never seen a guru/tuner with so many destroyed cars that are under his wing. Very seriously, I have met a few drivers who like and do well with his system but of the dozen or so cars that I have seen at events that he has worked on, easily half and maybe 2/3rds were destroyed or had big body damage. The normal discussion is that those car become very nervous and hair trigger on the limit and don't inspire much confidence to push the envelope and risks can be high if you do.
I met a racer/engineer who claims to have found a suspension calculation that if you incorrectly invert a fraction in one equation, you will get very close to this guy's recomended set-up. I don't know that it is true but I sure get cautious when I hear his name being dropped.
I'm fairly sure with this set up you had to trail brake like a champ to just get it around track
</TD></TR></TABLE>
What you speak of is exactly how you would set up a front engined RWD car, especially if it has a solid rear axle but don't do it in a FWD car or at least be very careful. There is a racecar tuner in the Northeast (not naming names) who pushes FWD cars on high front and low rear spring rates with big rear bars and honestly I have never seen a guru/tuner with so many destroyed cars that are under his wing. Very seriously, I have met a few drivers who like and do well with his system but of the dozen or so cars that I have seen at events that he has worked on, easily half and maybe 2/3rds were destroyed or had big body damage. The normal discussion is that those car become very nervous and hair trigger on the limit and don't inspire much confidence to push the envelope and risks can be high if you do.
I met a racer/engineer who claims to have found a suspension calculation that if you incorrectly invert a fraction in one equation, you will get very close to this guy's recomended set-up. I don't know that it is true but I sure get cautious when I hear his name being dropped.
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From: BEVERLY HILLS
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
good writeup 
never did understand why most (if not all) 'jdm' coilovers used so much higher rates up front. 
never did understand why most (if not all) 'jdm' coilovers used so much higher rates up front.
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Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Lee »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
What you speak of is exactly how you would set up a front engined RWD car, especially if it has a solid rear axle but don't do it in a FWD car or at least be very careful. There is a racecar tuner in the Northeast (not naming names) who pushes FWD cars on high front and low rear spring rates with big rear bars and honestly I have never seen a guru/tuner with so many destroyed cars that are under his wing. Very seriously, I have met a few drivers who like and do well with his system but of the dozen or so cars that I have seen at events that he has worked on, easily half and maybe 2/3rds were destroyed or had big body damage. The normal discussion is that those car become very nervous and hair trigger on the limit and don't inspire much confidence to push the envelope and risks can be high if you do.
I met a racer/engineer who claims to have found a suspension calculation that if you incorrectly invert a fraction in one equation, you will get very close to this guy's recomended set-up. I don't know that it is true but I sure get cautious when I hear his name being dropped.</TD></TR></TABLE>
well thats what i defeat them with... you are setting up front engine rear wheel drive cars... not a short wheelbase f/f crx. I've got my koni/GC sitting in the basement waiting for me to get my *** in gear. i plan just to start with factory 90 CRX Si front and rear bars with 400/550 springs... off the shelf koni yellows. I should be fine and not hurt my HPDE learning curve too much... and at least this set up is predictable the closer i take it to the edge.
The "ricer" i car pool to work with just picked up Apexi N1 coils... and run the beaks rear bar in an EK... i just dont see that set up working so well... especially the way i've yelled at him for driving on the street.
What you speak of is exactly how you would set up a front engined RWD car, especially if it has a solid rear axle but don't do it in a FWD car or at least be very careful. There is a racecar tuner in the Northeast (not naming names) who pushes FWD cars on high front and low rear spring rates with big rear bars and honestly I have never seen a guru/tuner with so many destroyed cars that are under his wing. Very seriously, I have met a few drivers who like and do well with his system but of the dozen or so cars that I have seen at events that he has worked on, easily half and maybe 2/3rds were destroyed or had big body damage. The normal discussion is that those car become very nervous and hair trigger on the limit and don't inspire much confidence to push the envelope and risks can be high if you do.
I met a racer/engineer who claims to have found a suspension calculation that if you incorrectly invert a fraction in one equation, you will get very close to this guy's recomended set-up. I don't know that it is true but I sure get cautious when I hear his name being dropped.</TD></TR></TABLE>
well thats what i defeat them with... you are setting up front engine rear wheel drive cars... not a short wheelbase f/f crx. I've got my koni/GC sitting in the basement waiting for me to get my *** in gear. i plan just to start with factory 90 CRX Si front and rear bars with 400/550 springs... off the shelf koni yellows. I should be fine and not hurt my HPDE learning curve too much... and at least this set up is predictable the closer i take it to the edge.
The "ricer" i car pool to work with just picked up Apexi N1 coils... and run the beaks rear bar in an EK... i just dont see that set up working so well... especially the way i've yelled at him for driving on the street.
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,144
Likes: 3
From: Union, KY, USA
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (MMsportsRexSi)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MMsportsRexSi »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i plan just to start with factory 90 CRX Si front and rear bars with 400/550 springs... off the shelf koni yellows. I should be fine and not hurt my HPDE learning curve too much... .</TD></TR></TABLE>
I should think those rates will be great for the track and more than enough for the street. I start people out on 400f/600r in H4/ITA racecars are a really solid set-up and the few times I have driven it on the street I thought it was waaay too much to live with on the street. Remember that the light and short CRX does not need anywhere near the spring rate that you might throw on a longer, heavier Civic, Integra, etc. Everyone has their own preferences and flavors but don't be surprised it you find yourself softening at least those rear spring rates for the street. You might want to consider owning six spring in the long run and swapping out the rears from something lower and livable for the rear in daily use then swap to the 550s for track weekends. Swapping the rears is really a quick project and can make the car more livable for daily use.
i plan just to start with factory 90 CRX Si front and rear bars with 400/550 springs... off the shelf koni yellows. I should be fine and not hurt my HPDE learning curve too much... .</TD></TR></TABLE>
I should think those rates will be great for the track and more than enough for the street. I start people out on 400f/600r in H4/ITA racecars are a really solid set-up and the few times I have driven it on the street I thought it was waaay too much to live with on the street. Remember that the light and short CRX does not need anywhere near the spring rate that you might throw on a longer, heavier Civic, Integra, etc. Everyone has their own preferences and flavors but don't be surprised it you find yourself softening at least those rear spring rates for the street. You might want to consider owning six spring in the long run and swapping out the rears from something lower and livable for the rear in daily use then swap to the 550s for track weekends. Swapping the rears is really a quick project and can make the car more livable for daily use.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
great job, I'd love to see a set of upper level JDM dampers being tested not only w/ the dyno (as we've seen w/ the Zeal) but also on the track/street. However I know you are probably doing this out of your own time and pocket so I do appreciate someone doing this, and if you get the chance to test a set of upper level (cusco zero2Rs and higher level Zeals and Teins come to mind) that'll be great.
I've only read so many great reviews on the Zeals but it seems like their adjustability (according to your graphs) isn't as good, so I'd love to see some reviews from you on the street/track as you are obviously very knowledgeable in this field. Also I believe we've talked before about why Koni only offers the insert of Mac strut cars ;].
I've only read so many great reviews on the Zeals but it seems like their adjustability (according to your graphs) isn't as good, so I'd love to see some reviews from you on the street/track as you are obviously very knowledgeable in this field. Also I believe we've talked before about why Koni only offers the insert of Mac strut cars ;].
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 398
Likes: 0
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (yudalicious)
great review. Some very interesting stuff in there. I myself am switching from one of those heavily front-biased JDM setups (Tein Type Flex) with 9k/4k rates to another jdm setup that is much more able to handle a higher rear rate. There's some good points in that review. i was always under the impression that a higher rear rate setup would feel twitchy, as opposed to the high front-biased setup feeling that way.
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From: Molde, Norway
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
You should try this heavy front/light rear setup with staggered tiresizes too, as that is how they do it over in JDM land. Wider up front, maybe 205 or 215 and something like 185 in the rear. That should help get rid of understeer as you now have increased the grip at the front and at the same time lowered it at the rear end.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Bay Area, CA, USA
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (Pondus)
Over the Pacific they also, along with the staggered sizes, use their alignments to help with getting the rear end around. For most of us here, we just want to track our daily cars or be able to drive to the track, which the agressive toe alignments isn't going to allow. The reason that they believe in that is because the (supposedly) the Japanese tracks are so narrow in general, that if anyone gets into trouble during a turn they want to be able to get on the brakes and control the car. Instead, here if people get into trouble in a turn and needed to get on the brakes you'll switch ends.
Though one thing that I've noticed with the "JDM" products. The lower lines that you go to that are designed for the "street" the closer to equal or rear stiff spring rates that you see. Though usually this starts delving into the category of just springs and not shock/spring combonations.
Though one thing that I've noticed with the "JDM" products. The lower lines that you go to that are designed for the "street" the closer to equal or rear stiff spring rates that you see. Though usually this starts delving into the category of just springs and not shock/spring combonations.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Union, KY, USA
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (menkio)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by menkio »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your kidding me right... "jdm" coilover...
wow..</TD></TR></TABLE>
Please explain, I guess i'm missing your point.
wow..</TD></TR></TABLE>
Please explain, I guess i'm missing your point.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 14,462
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
You can't really change the rates around when using a lower front/higher rear spring rate setup, and not mess with anything else...of course it will be garbage.
Most of the Japanese FF guys stagger tires with a wider front, skinnier rear, and a smaller front sway, with a bigger rear sway. All of this, plus allignment settings can get the same handling characteristics as a typical US Honda setup. I prefer lower front/higher rear, but I have driven the opposites that are setup for THAT car. Any OTS stuff is usually nt well suited for most cars to begin with.
Most of the Japanese FF guys stagger tires with a wider front, skinnier rear, and a smaller front sway, with a bigger rear sway. All of this, plus allignment settings can get the same handling characteristics as a typical US Honda setup. I prefer lower front/higher rear, but I have driven the opposites that are setup for THAT car. Any OTS stuff is usually nt well suited for most cars to begin with.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,678
Likes: 1
From: Phoenix, AZ
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CRX Lee)
Sounds like precisely the type of experience I had with my low-end Tein SS's. The springs that are packaged with the dampeners are just way to soft for anything more than mildly aggressive street driving.
Clever Girl
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,521
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Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (menkio)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by menkio »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your kidding me right... "jdm" coilover...
wow..</TD></TR></TABLE>
Why would there be kidding in saying a coilover manufactured by a japanese company, just with the use of less words? Or are you just trying to nitpick like an old woman?
Good review mang Really informative 
wow..</TD></TR></TABLE>
Why would there be kidding in saying a coilover manufactured by a japanese company, just with the use of less words? Or are you just trying to nitpick like an old woman?
Good review mang
Really informative
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 4,245
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From: Gainesville, FL
Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (STN_Pat)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by STN_Pat »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Superb review Lee, thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Agreed. I wish more people were capable of reviewing products in this way. We'd get a lot better information here.
Agreed. I wish more people were capable of reviewing products in this way. We'd get a lot better information here.
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 6,173
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Re: My first personal experience with a JDM coil-over kit.. .A long review (CheezeFrog)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CheezeFrog »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The springs that are packaged with the dampeners are just way to soft for anything more than mildly aggressive street driving.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Its not just the stiffness, its the bias. Most of the Japanese companies (almost all IIRC) bias more springrate on the front (sometimes a lot more) than the rear.
Whereas you look at most of the road racing/roadcourse setups (for guys that take the time to research into it) and you notice the exact opposite here, softer rates up front, stiffer in the rear, often with the rear end set up a tad higher than the front height wise.
I'm pretty sure the bias of the rates, as opposed to them just being too "soft" is the point he was trying to make.
Its not just the stiffness, its the bias. Most of the Japanese companies (almost all IIRC) bias more springrate on the front (sometimes a lot more) than the rear.
Whereas you look at most of the road racing/roadcourse setups (for guys that take the time to research into it) and you notice the exact opposite here, softer rates up front, stiffer in the rear, often with the rear end set up a tad higher than the front height wise.
I'm pretty sure the bias of the rates, as opposed to them just being too "soft" is the point he was trying to make.