This site contains car modification and auto upgrade information specifically for the turbo import Toyota JZX90 MarkII TourerV, however the principles applied here can be mostly utilised regardless of the make or model of motor vehicle.

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Tein Coilovers 15/3/2004

I must admit that suspension was not the first thing that was on my mind when thinking about modifying my car. I would have to say that it was fortuitous that my left rear shock absorber expired as it forced me to think about suspension. Now previously in my RX7 I went for upgraded and lowered springs with new shock absorbers, however this time I did not want to compromise and I really wanted to be able to adjust the height to my specific preference. There was nothing to do then but to buy some Japanese coilovers. I decided on a set of Tein type HA coilovers.

This is what they look like after unpacking them. They are almost completely disassembled but this just makes the whole processs all the more interesting. You can see the dampers to the left and the main springs to the right. Below these are the helper springs, then the pillow mounts below them with the collars at the bottom. They also came with a buch of stickers and decals for those people who are into the sticker mod thing. I decided that I would rather not attract unwarranted attention to the car and just used some of the stickers under the bonnet.

Assembling the shocks is quite straight forward and even without the instructions, I don't think any mechanically minded-person would have any trouble. The biggest question was where to set the height and damper settings. I decided initially to set the height adjusting collars at about 6 turns out from bottom and the dampers in the middle of the adjustment range. After first testing I realised that this height was too low as the front wheels kept bottoming out on the inner guards. I wound them up to about 9 turns up from bottom, and this proved to be a better height, with no bottoming or scraping.

Here are some further shots highlighting the pillow mounts and the helper springs. With the JZX series of cars, they come with double wishbone suspension and so adjustable pillow mounts are pointless, as they do not adjust camber. Camber is instead set by snail cam adjusters in the actual suspension mounting points. Pillow ball mounts are advantageous because they remove all flex from the mounting point and allow the suspension to work more effectively without distortion. They can make the ride marginally harsher, and also a little noisier, however I have discovered that it is barely noticeable and certainly worth the extra tightness and precision it gives to the handling. The helper springs of course maintain compression on the main springs and also allow for a more progressive feel during the inital stroke, removing some of the harshness of stiff springs.

Here you can see a comparision of the stock springs against the new coilovers. Apart from the considerable length difference it is also clear to see the difference in spring rate. The new springs are much thicker and more tightly wound. This alone indicated that the ride would be much firmer and definitely quite a bit lower. It also promised to allow a wider more negative offest wheel should I desire it.

The first step to installing new coilovers (apart from assembling them) is to remove the old ones. This is a simple process of unbolting the mounts and wrestling with them to extract them from the suspension. Here I have already removed the old coil and shock and am ready to install the new coilover. I found it easier (using the suggestion on a Japanese web page) to insert a beam of timber above the upper wishbone, through and under the chassis. This gives enough leverage to push the wihsbone low enough to insert the new coilover. This is necessary because the suspension rubbers actually flex with the wishbone movement and naturally return to the neutral position. This is too high to enable fitment of the coilover. So with the help of the timber beam the new coilovers are slotted into position and bolted up.

This is the rear suspension shown, and access to the upper mounting point is only reached after the rear seat is removed. If you are unsure of the rear seat removal process see the article on the fuel pump upgrade where this is explained in more detail. This second shot shows the three nuts that hold down the plate which covers the upper mounting point.

Here is the new coilover in place and bolted up. You can see that the height adjustment is at a very low position, and this ultimately proved to be too low for effective suspension travel without fouling on the inner guards. I also set the damping setting to midway. The midway point is 12 clicks out as these are 24 way damper/rebound adjustable. I really don't have any idea as to the ideal setting so I thought that setting it to the exact middle meant that I couldn't go wrong. I have since adjusted the fronts two clicks harder but haven't modified the rears. Perhaps when I am able to drive at a more extreme level I may find benefit in further adjustment, but at the moment I am leaving it as it is. The only disadvantage is that the rear seat has to be removed in order to access the rear damper adjustment. The front damper adjustment however is accessed by just lifting the bonnet.

This is the reason for the urgency of the suspension upgrade. Shown here are the two rear shocks. Clearly the one on the left (my left hand side shock) is covered in oil and grime. This shock absorber spat the dummy and leaked all down the staunchion. The contrast between the good one and the bad one is quite obvious. If it weren't for this faulty shock (which was very evident when driving the car due to its tendency to skip all over the road) then I perhaps might still be running stock suspension as it is quite firm even from the factory. Having taken the plunge I know now that it was the best thing to do as one of the first upgrades.

Here is the front suspension and the before and after shots of installing the new shock absorber. I wont go into all the detail required to remove and replace as the process is quite simple and if you can't work it out then you shouldn't be working on your car to start with. The most notable thing to see here is the arm that connects the upper and lower wishbone. This arm made the installation a little trickier, and is the limiting factor in the wheel offset and width of rim that can be used on the front. There is a small amount that can be compensated for with wheel spacers, and larger diameter wheels will suffer less from this restriction I would imagine. (edit: this was proven when I fitten the 18x9" Rays rims to the front without wheel spacers and without fouling on the suspension. There is very slight fouling on the guards over harsh bumps however)

Here are some close ups of the front suspension.

The frist thing I noticed with the new suspension (apart from the initial guard scraping due to excessively low height) was the firmness and improvement of handling. This suspension transformed the car (my wife says they ruined it due to the stiffness) and was much more precise and responsive to driver inputs. Gone was the softness and flex present in the stock suspension. I must add that the standard suspension (when not faulty) is an impressively good compromise between ride and handling. It is definitely more sporty than it is luxury. I would compare it to say the FE2 suspension pack in the Commodores, but more refined. Having said that, the Tein coilovers are in another league again when it comes to handling. Comfort is compromised but such is the way of a performance car. You sacrifice some attributes that are not important for those that are. You really can never have a car that is total luxury while providing perfect handling. There is always a trade off, but the trade off is worth it in my opinion.

So the only disadvantage at this stage is that since the suspension is so much stiffer, the disadvantages of the open wheeler diff is so much more accentuated. It certainly is fun though as single wheeler burnouts occur at almost every corner even when the driving style is not aggressive. This will be fixed tomorrow when the LSD is installed.

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RECENT MODS CHRONOLOGY

5-Jan-2007

Turbo pages and Headlights
I have recently added a new page about my single turbo conversion. There is a second page yet to come, but page one outlines some of the supporting components needed as well as the turbo itself. Page 2 will be forthcoming where I detail the fitment of the turbo, manifold and wastegate. I have also added a page for modifications to my headlights that should be very useful for owners of import vehicles.

25-Jan-2007

Site Revamp
Wow, it has been a very long time since I worked on the site, but now I am in the process of redesigning it so stay tuned as I add some more content and attempt to bring this project up to date.

18-Mar-2006

Car Changes
Lots has happened since my last update on upgrades to the car. For instance the car is now running a 2JZ bottom end and the gearbox has been completely rebuilt with a stage 1.5 shift kit, beefier clutches and a 2800 rpm stall convertor. To say that this has transformed the car is an understatement. The car is now torque heaven, and is an absolute pleasure to drive. The lag that was sadly felt with the 2.5L motor is now completely gone with the 3L and the stally. When I can find time to update the site with the process I went through I will do so. I have many hundreds of pictures to add.

Whatever your vehicle is, whether it is a turbo car or NA or a Toyota or other manufacturer, I hope that the automotive information on this page is of benefit to you as you take the path of modification and upgrade on your car.

Toyota JZX90 MarkII TourerV.