Mr. O Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 Hey everyone and I'm about to buy the Tein HA coilover system for my 1995 sc300 and i was wondering if i had to buy anything else like mounts for this to work. Thanks for any information you can provide for me.
SKperformance Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 you can get ureathane mounts but it is not needed
SKperformance Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 i wouldn't say tein is junk but they aren't as good as the JIC ones
jzz30 Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 why is JIC superior to tein?and why do you say tein suck?(i just want to know)
mktbully Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 Copied from a Honda-Tech forum.... "DO NOT buy anything from JIC USA Their customer service is unimaginably bad. If you get a bad part from them you are S.O.L. their policy is no return no mater what. You can send it back for repair or replacement and if they can't easily fix it, your out of luck. I want everyone to know so you won't get burned like I did. I am going to join every car forum that JIC sells products for and let the world know. If you are interested, here it what happened: **I shortened it to make it a little easier to read** I bought a JIC-Magic FLTA2 coilover suspension kit for my 2002 Acura RSX last June. The front left strut would not stay tight and back out every couple days. After several phone calls, e-mails, and digital photo's to Ben at JIC USA he finally agreed to send me a USED replacement locknut. Getting the replacement locknut was like pulling teeth. I had to pull the entire strut off, disassemble it and have the car re-aligned in order to replace the lock nut. The strut would still not stay tight so I tried using Lock-Tite Blue. After that failed, Ben asked that I pull the strut off again and send it to them after the Sema trade show. I waited and called right before shipping it FedEx to expedite the process and make sure they could get right on it. Along with the parts I included a letter suggesting the problem appeared to be too much free play between the strut and the lower bracket and that thin locknut could not hold it tight. After JIC USA received the parts and sat on it for two weeks Ben told me they had fixed it by surfacing the top of the lower bracket so the locknut would seat better. I told him that I was concerned that, that alone would not fix it and if he sent it back to me and it was still loosening up I would be furious and was going to expect a full refund and reimbursement for the three alignments, the shipping, and all the labor. He said we would talk about that later. Three weeks after shipping it to them, I got the parts back. While installing the “repaired” left strut, I checked the right side. The locknut seemed tight by hand, but when I rocked the wheel I felt it move. I could see the strut rocking in the lower bracket. I used the spanner wrench to tighten it and the nut turned, so I kept tightening it, expecting it to stop turning. It did not stop turning, the nut stripped. I called Ben again and he told me it is impossible to strip the locknut. It is only three threads thick and made of aluminum, how is that impossible to strip. My car sat for a couple weeks while I dealt with the stripped nut. Ben refused to give me a replacement, but offered to sell me one, that is their idea of working with me on the problem, sell replacement parts. After driving it for a couple days I rechecked the left side, the side they fixed. Sure enough it was loose, I tightened it again, drove the car and it was loose by the next day. After this much trouble you would think they would be willing to take them back and refund my money. Well, you would be wrong like I was. They are willing to SELL you replacement parts, but no refunds, no returns, no reimbursement for shipping parts back to them, no help, no exceptions...NOTHING."
Masubi Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 JIC is ok too, what is great about them is that they have everything in stock and very quick to get. As for Tein, they are mostly for the civic or small compact vehicle and most people still don't like them that much. We own a shop here and even my reps (all from Japan) from other companies say don't buy tein. Here are the list of good companies, Kei-office, Apex (Not WS), HKS, Cusco. By the way, my suspension came with 20kg Front & 16kg Rear spring rates due to the very heavy weight of the vehicle. See what Tein offers.
SKperformance Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 the dude who posted that about his rsx is a whiner you can tell we are missing half of what was really said and why it really broke jic is a good cmopany and the so called jic america isn;t a manufacture but a warehouse so they know very little if i had a guy call and complain about somehthing big i would solve it real easy he wants to be spoon feed and get everyone to pay for something he probably screwed up himself
mktbully Posted January 20, 2004 Posted January 20, 2004 the dude who posted that about his rsx is a whiner you can tell we are missing half of what was really said and why it really brokejic is a good cmopany and the so called jic america isn;t a manufacture but a warehouse so they know very little if i had a guy call and complain about somehthing big i would solve it real easy he wants to be spoon feed and get everyone to pay for something he probably screwed up himself just happen to see that post in another forum so i don't want anyone to get stuck buying the wrong stuff. any idea why it broke? or what broke? i'm getting the thread from a 3rd party so it might be chopped up a bit. do you work for JIC or have some relation to them? ahh those honda guys..blah!
SKperformance Posted January 21, 2004 Posted January 21, 2004 i sell both tein and jic and perfer jic as they are mcuh more comfortable to daily drive and are more adjustable with valving for the track
jzz30 Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 hey SK the JICs can be adjusted more than some Flexes? which one has a softer ride? the magical stuff or the green things
jzz30 Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 well why do you hate tein besides the people from the mother land telling you that they are bad?
SKperformance Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 look you can ask one thousand questions and you can get not one answer that means a damn thing drive a car with one then decide , as everyone is partial to what they want and if you are going to ask for opinions ,try and fill in some more blanks when trying to get one. Like what car ,what you want out of it ,what you do in it daily ,track or just for show to say i have expensive suspension ? You know it is like buying jeans you don;t just say hey it is made by guess , the stiching is nice so it the colour ! BUT does it fit, and properly if anything as some people like ball hugger jeans ,while others want it to fall off there a$$ Try and throw someone a bone when asking Sorry ,but lately everyone ask one question with a variable response and nothing else to go on to respond I am not mc donalds and i am not going to ask if you want fries with that, you have to tell me
jzz30 Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 well i just thought you tried both and knew :( my bad if i bothered you but can i get the fries?
SKperformance Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 you are not bothering me it is just annoying as it is hard to understand when someone leaves an openended statement to try and define there needs by guessing
Masubi Posted January 22, 2004 Posted January 22, 2004 We have had customers come in with Tein suspension and most are happy, however we look at there product and see where there quality is just not equal to others. However Jzz30 is right, if you drive it and like it that is all that matters. Although, I do very much value the opinion of the JDM brothers :-) BYW, I did just reply on another forum that his Tein look nice. But for me they just won't do.
Mr. O Posted January 22, 2004 Author Posted January 22, 2004 hey sk you mentioned you sell the JIC coilover system. how much does that run for? just wanna weigh my options before i drop $$$ on something big for my baby (car) thanks
SKperformance Posted January 23, 2004 Posted January 23, 2004 first i don;t sell on loc second i am not sure what the going rate is in USD and third which model?
Mr. O Posted January 24, 2004 Author Posted January 24, 2004 ok never mind ive been thinking since tein and JIC have been getting so much crap i'll wait on buying anything and explore other options. would it be possile to put supra koni adjustible struts and eibach springs for the supra non-turbo on my 1995 sc300? Ive heard that supra struts fit on the sc300 as long as you use springs for the supra as well. i was just wondering cuz koni is a known good brand and ive heard that supra parts such as these do fit on the sc300. thank you mr. o
Masubi Posted January 24, 2004 Posted January 24, 2004 Oh man, now your going back a step. you can't compare koni shocks to a complete coilover setup.
Sadistic Posted January 24, 2004 Posted January 24, 2004 I agree, you can't really compare a full coilover system to a seperate spring/strut setup. But again, it's all in what you want out of your suspension. Koni/Eibach setup might be all he needs. Koni's offer very stock ride quality with a nice hint of corner performance, especially when matched with the pro kit. If he's just a daily and wants to lower his car and get a bit more cornering performance, then I think this is his best option. There is only one reason to buy a full coilover system if you're not going to show, or go to a track. They don't offer a spring that lowers your car enough. And even then, I would try to find a sleeve somewhere, or bag your car if all you're after is lowering. As for Tein being junk? I definitely don't think so. I've driven multiple cars with Tein systems, owned a car with a Tein system, and sold many Tein systems. They offer the adjustability, applications, moderate pricing, and I haven't seen one fail yet. To me that's a pretty good record. I don't understand why you would call something junk because someone else told you something, and a rep from another company at that. I understand you value their opinion. I value the opinion of my company reps, but I still wouldn't use that as a reason for flat out saying a product is junk. I personally haven't seen a riden in a car with a JIC system so I can't tell you how different they are from a Tein system. I've seen pictures and heard stories, and most of them say that the JIC's are an excellent coilover. From pictures and tech specs they look like they're extremely well put together. As for the RSX guy, I completely agree with SK on that one. There's a huge chunk of that story missing. I'm sure Ben at JIC could tell you a completely different story if given the opportunity. Customer service is one thing I feel stronly about, but there are some customers that don't want service, they are right no matter what, and want to give you a bad name unless you throw money at them.
AWJ Posted January 24, 2004 Posted January 24, 2004 I agree as well. It seems to be the going trend that people want stuff for nothing and complain about everything even when things are very well off. Really bugs me but - that's the way it is. On the tein/jic discussion, I drove a car with tein NA system and it rode like a meat cart. This was a GS300 turbo and it let you know if there was a pebble under the tire. Good for track maybe. Not daily driver. I have heard the tein pieces tend to rust over time as well. That can be dealt with though. So spec you're coilover out correctly or you will be sorry. As far as JIC goes, I believe another poster said JIC ships fast. That is the opposite of other accounts. I'm sure if parts are in stock anywhere, they get out fast. But JIC goes on back oreder just like anything else. Try locating their catback exhaust for the SC and getting it in under 3 months. On the SF series coilovers, I saw an account where the mount to the lower member broke at the weld. I have also seen accounts where their strut brace broke at the weld as well. Bottom line - aftermarket parts are a risk. Don't complain when they fail and the manufacturer won't give the money back. It may or may not be right or wrong - but that is business. As far as contract law is concerned, the deal is done. Unless there is expressed written warranty. Then there is a leg to stand on. Bottom line, get a warranty in writing if possible. Otherwise, buyer beware. This is the main issue holding me back from purchasing either brand. I will wait to see some more options. Is there a performance oriented air ride system available on the market - or are they all for spark it or park it low rider slam mobiles?
Mr. O Posted January 24, 2004 Author Posted January 24, 2004 I never said tein or JIC was crap all im saying is i wanna know and weigh all my options before i buy something thats gonna put me back about $1000. Im just looking for some better cornering ability while maintaining the smooth quite lexus ride. Just trying to see what other options are out there not dissing any company. By the way no one has answered the question is supra struts and springs work on the sc 300. thanks again
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