what's the diffrents between coilovers and regular shocks/struts? just wandering


Mage.

 

I don't have much experience with those companies for FC setups so I don't know how they ride etc...I have KYB's and the GC conversion on my own car with poly bushings throughout and front/rear strut braces and a lower arm bar. the ride is very very stiff, pretty much the limit of what I would drive on normal street roads though I have NEVER and will NEVER take this car into NYC because I'd likely bend wheels, suspension pieces, bubble tires, rip off body pieces and destroy my kidneys in a matter of miles. that said, I do have a LOT of experience with Tein and JIC on other cars like the WRX, EVO and 350Z. in general, the quality it top notch from these guys. the WRX has been around for a while now and we have never ever had s single set sent back to us to be rebuilt by Tein or JIC. As far as I know, they last just fine if the car isn't abused, just like anything else. my only complaint with Tein is with the flex system and EDFC. on a few cars with these we've installed, I've noticed some noise from the dampers on small dips/bumps. it isn't noticeable with ALL sets, but on some cars the flex with EDFC controller makes some noise - a little knocking etc... If you have tried JIC and didn't likei them (surprising, it's nice stuff) then don't try Zeal...they are made by JIC in addition, HKS coilovers are made by KYB and although it's very nicely made (KYB makes many many OEM suspensions) you surely pay the premium HKS price for their name. conversely, in my experience, anything from HKS is a durable well designed piece.

 

I would like to know WHERE you got your info that:

Zeal = made by JIC
HKS = made by KYB

 

Are these installed on your FC yet? I'd love a few close ups of the single unit so we can see how they mount and adjust etc. more pics!

 

bc when you're a dealer for JIC and have sold HKS products for 5 years you sort of pick up that kinda information You'd be surprised at how many products are made by another company...exedy makes a bunch of clutches for different companies. Tein is all made in house and the owners (IMHO) are very nice people. they conduct site visits once a year to all U.S. authorized dealers and bring lots of goodies with them (we got a bunch of dempachi dolls, badges, stickers, banners, open/closed signs etc...). it's really just an afternoon of hangin out with some japanese car guys, they check out our projects, ask questions about their products and about any advice from their dealers. we always look forward to their visits.

 

just did some checking and wanted to update some info zeal is the US importer for JIC (thats the relationship) though zeal and endless are the same company...zeal is their name for suspension parts, endless for brakes. exedy makes clutches for power enterprises, cusco, some HKS (ogura also makes some clutches for HKS). KYB makes most HKS suspension pieces, but not all. this doesn't mean that HKS (or another co.) isn't involved in the R&D etc...for a certain product, it just means it's physically made by another company which tends to be the norm in biz's like this based on parts. for example, honda doesn't physically make the injectors for their cars...it's probably nippondenso like most other japanese cars. many people used to buy supra TT fuel pumps as upgrades and pay premium toyota prices when you can get the identical part from nippondenso at a considerable price difference.

 

I've driven my FLT-A2 for over 5K miles now, not one single problem.

It handles great, and even takes on the potholes ok, stiff, but ok.

I realize that 5K is not a lot of miles, so I will be keeping an eye on it, such as leaks etc.

In case anyone wants to know, the FLT-A2 came out tops among 6 (I think) other coilovers, which included GAB, Aragosta, Kei Office, and a couple of others in one issue (forgot the number) of RE magazine. I will try to dig up the info after I get home.

Keep in mind, this is application specific, which means for FC3S only. This does not reflect the other applications, so it is not advisable to generalize on the overall quality and performance of the entire line (eg. FLT-A2 for FC3S and GDB (STI WRX) will not handle and perform the same).

 

exactly...you can't compare how one car handles compared to another with the same model coilover...rates for rebound, bound, spring rate etc...are car specific. however, quality of build is pretty consistent for each model on each car.

 

I posted some more pics of them, let me know if you need more...


They are double height adjustable; spring preload, and strut height. 8-way adjustable; front is on bottom, rear is on top. Front camber plates/pillow ball mounts.... ummm come stock with 8kg/6kg F/R, although when I order they asked what I wanted mine at, so basically you can customize anything....

Oh heres the link clicky

 

oh, my KYB/GC coilovers have Tein pillow ball mounts/camber plates. awesome quality, awesome price.

 

I've had my JIC FLT-A2s for around 3k. No problems as of yet. I'll replace them whenever I have to.

 

Endless/Zeal is in no way connected to JIC. Please don't go giving out false information. Ziel Motorsports is the US distributor for JIC. Get your facts straight.

 

"In Option 9 of this year, pg.149, the FLTA2s are ranked as one of the best coilover applications specifically for the FC.
Revspeed April 2002- JIC is given a 5 star ranking in an analaysis between GAB, Bilstein, Aragosta, Zeal and Apex. The next closest was GAB with 4 stars."

Thats a quote I posted on a thread discussing this from last year after reading through some of my old magazines.

Not once have I seen "Silkroads" setup notably mentioned, let alone compared with the FLTA2s. Thats why I decided to go with a good setup rather then confuse facts with forum hear-say.


Im at 1k with mine with no problems. Have only had good exp with JICs staff. The ride is extemely stiff with my current setup though but I dont have any complaints.

 

haha. I thought the same thing, but I wanted to hear how jon88se came to his conclusion.

 

You were a dealer for 5 years what would you reccomend? or what is your current setup?

 

What spring rates did you go with?

 

What spring rates?

 

I see you have other parts there, what else did you end up getting for your suspension, looks like toe elim's and some of the rear suspension bushings?

 

Interesting thread.

I had the JIC FLT A's and ended up with Zeal V6's instead. I never drove on the JIC's, but I will say that having both products in hand the Zeal was of superior built. Beefier flanges and lock rings. Cleaner welding with machined parts and not stamped pieces. Just a better built piece.

Even looking at my JIC strut bars I was less than impressed with JIC's weld's and I found the same to be true of the FLT A2's.

As for Zeal being made my JIC... I"m gonna look into that myself.......

I love the Zeal's on the street and they have worked great for the few track events that I have done.

 

F8kg/mm R6kg/mm I believe. Seems to be the standard for most FCs i've seen.

 

Yeah I have RB toe elim's, Mazdatrix camber adjuster (red piece), new camber links, then just the Silkroads..

As for spring rates 99.99999% of the FC coilovers come with 8kg/6kg f/r. Alough some offer 2 choices,and even fewer offer complete customization...

 

sorry guys, mis-spelling...shoulda checked that. but zeal/endless is the same. ziel is what i meant to type for the distributor of JIC. ever see any of their cars? they turn out some nice stuff...their 240Z and 510 projects are just evil. again sorry bout the typo I described my setup above, KYB w/ GC coilover conversion (forgot the rates, have them somewhere) and Tein pillow ball mounts. this is a great setup for the street but I will be going to a Tein setup after the TII swap (have it all sitting in the shop).

 

hmmm... interesting, I think the 8 kg / 6kg setup might be too still for the street. Is it true that the JIC's springs are progressive? I always thought they were linear like most coilovers are. Thanks for the comments

 

they should be linear...you can tell by the wind. on a progressive spring the coils are further apart toward the top (soft) and closer together toward the bottom (firm).

 

Does anyone know if they offer lower spring rates with the higher end kits? Otherwise it looks like GC's are my only option.

Are there any progressive coilover kits?