JMortensen Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 You didn't post the list John. Remember this list: Bilstein Penske Koni Ohlins Sachs Dynamic Suspension Not on this list? Almost certainly crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylemer Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) Dennis Grant has a really good series on shocks that is well worth reading. http://farnorthracin...s_secrets6.html He used to have a "crap" page that named names and showed dyno plots of the JDM shocks being discussed here. Lawyers from those manufacturers went after him so he had to take it down. Couldn't afford the costs to defend the truth from Taiwanese (not US) companies that had more money and more lawyers. This is the last bit left from the "crap" pages: This is exactly what I was trying to say. That is a great article! I started this tread simply to show people the similarities of the EMUSA and Megan coilovers. I have not put either on a shock dyno, so beyond just visual inspection, I have no clue what is similar or different. But I do not know, neither are on the list of stated " Not crap" shocks. People focus to much on brand names and how much they are spending. Just because you are spending $2,000 on a set of coilovers, does not mean you are getting what you pay for. I would be willing to bet that those people who have spent $2,000 on a set of coilovers are not out talking about how crappy they are. No one wants to believe they just blew $2,000 on a set of crappy coilovers. You would be admitting you made a $2000 dollar mistake. Its not until you buy a set of $3000 coilovers, that you admit you bought a set of crappy coilovers. I would venture to say, almost any name brand coilover is gonna be better than the cheap, crappy EMUSA coilovers, but how much better? And how much are you willing to spend for this better coilover? In the case of using it on the Z cars, I look at it as a means to lower my car, for the purpose of looks and not performance. These coilovers, by all means, are not the best solution, but for the price, they work for me. -Andy Edited November 7, 2011 by Xylemer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Wow, interesting read. I was a bit surprised to see Tokico and Tein on the crap list, especially considering the latter's racing experience, but this guy does seem to have the capability to test them correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Please remember that Dennis' article is in the context of autocross and road racing where performance is paramount. For a street driven car performance is less important. Tokico, lower cost Tein, Megan, etc. are fine for a street car that never gets driven at more the 75% of its capability. Its that last 25% of handling where good shocks stand out and make it easier to drive the car at its limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylemer Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Please remember that Dennis' article is in the context of autocross and road racing where performance is paramount. For a street driven car performance is less important. Tokico, lower cost Tein, Megan, etc. are fine for a street car that never gets driven at more the 75% of its capability. Its that last 25% of handling where good shocks stand out and make it easier to drive the car at its limit. Well said, and simply put! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 For sure, and I absolutely agree. For some reason, the images of the late 90's Tein corolla rally cars was burned into my mind, so I just always associated them with racing and quality. Just goes to show how effective racing marketing can be! It's good to have independent testers really shaking them down in a controlled way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Another thing to remember is that what's on a race car (especially a professional race car) may have nothing to do with the sponsor logos or what the teams says is on the car. I crewed on a professional ALMS race teams who had their Hypercoil springs powder coated purple because they were sponsored by Eibach. The BMW professional team in the next pits had their Penske shock cans and other shock parts powder coated orange to look like Motons. EDIT: And the above situation usually occurs innocently. If you're a race team that has no shock sponsor and you're good enough to start winning, you'll be approached by a shock company to run their products. Well, that's all well and good and extra money/parts are nice, but you already have a winning setup and its mid-season and you have no more time or money to test and develop a completely different set of shocks. So, its easier to make what's working for you look like you're new shock sponsor. EDIT2: And what's on a professional, top level race team is most likely not anything you or I can buy. Yes, we might be able to buy the model Tein shock that was on those old rally cars, but we certainly can't buy the custom valving inside that was developed by the race team in conjunction with the Tein engineers. I worked with Penske and EMI racing for two years to develop a set of Penske 8760 shocks for my 240Z and the only way to duplicate that is through me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letitsnow Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) That page was the final reason why I decided to go with the bilstein/GC combo. It rides MUCH better and handles rough surfaces MUCH better than a good friends tein coilover equipped s13. Edited November 7, 2011 by letitsnow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ineedboost Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 The first page of this thread states that the EMUSA coilovers have steel bottoms. I bought a set a few months ago and mine have aluminum rears, so plan on buying adapters if you want to run the EMUSA coilovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david boyd Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 well, got my kit from speedyracer finally last week.. what I can say, maybe good luck .. running above my expectation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.