Tein "Street Basis" coilovers
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Drivesolo
Well-known member
I went to the Tein USA website and submitted and inquiry asking about the availability of their Leaf suspension package for the Leaf:
My inquiry:
> Hello,
>
> Tein currently has a suspension coilover package for the Nissan Leaf
> available in Japan. Are there any plans to make this kit available for
> the North American market? If so, when do you think this would be
> available? If not, is there a way I can order through Tein or one of
> their vendors?
>
> Thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry,
Tein's response:
> Thank you for your inquiry. We have developed our Street Basis and High Tech
> lowering springs for the Japanese market only. Testing and product
> development here in the US is pending due to not enough inquiries from
> owners wanting to modify their vehicles. The option of purchasing these
> parts from Japan is available, but we cannot guarantee fitment on US
> vehicle. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
> Best Regards,
> TEIN U.S.A. Inc.
> 9798 Firestone Blvd.
> Downey, CA 90241
> Phone: 562-861-9161
> Fax: 562-861-9171
> [email protected]
> Please visit the new TEIN USA Blog at http://www.teinusa-blog.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My inquiry:
> Hello,
>
> Tein currently has a suspension coilover package for the Nissan Leaf
> available in Japan. Are there any plans to make this kit available for
> the North American market? If so, when do you think this would be
> available? If not, is there a way I can order through Tein or one of
> their vendors?
>
> Thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry,
Tein's response:
> Thank you for your inquiry. We have developed our Street Basis and High Tech
> lowering springs for the Japanese market only. Testing and product
> development here in the US is pending due to not enough inquiries from
> owners wanting to modify their vehicles. The option of purchasing these
> parts from Japan is available, but we cannot guarantee fitment on US
> vehicle. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
> Best Regards,
> TEIN U.S.A. Inc.
> 9798 Firestone Blvd.
> Downey, CA 90241
> Phone: 562-861-9161
> Fax: 562-861-9171
> [email protected]
> Please visit the new TEIN USA Blog at http://www.teinusa-blog.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The "product inquiry" link redirects to Tein Japan Web site? Was that your experience?Drivesolo said:
Drivesolo
Well-known member
Yep, I thought it odd too, but later that day I received an e-mail indicating that my inquiry had been sent to their North American headquarters.aqn said:
adrianco
Active member
I ordered these from Japan a while ago, they took a while to source the parts, shipped in Japan Monday Oct 3rd, due to arrive to me (near San Jose CA) Friday Oct 7th using the economy Fedex option.
We are taking the Leaf to an Autocross on Saturday, so I'm going to try and get them fitted on Friday night...
We are taking the Leaf to an Autocross on Saturday, so I'm going to try and get them fitted on Friday night...
Drivesolo
Well-known member
adrianco said:
Adrianco, could you share w/ us how you went about ordering from Japan? Is it possible to do w/o having someone handling the business of shipping over there and can it be done w/o the need to be fluent in Japanese? I'd appreciate it greatly, thanks.
Hope you get the parts on and good luck w/ the auto-X. Will you be running time only or are you in a (indexed?) class? Would be very interested in hearing how it goes.
aqn said:
Drivesolo said:
Ditto on the email from tein.co.jp, saying "To better assist you, your message will be forwarded to TEIN USA (http://www.tein.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return falseTNleaf said:
, as they are in charge of the region you reside." I should have been more patient!adrianco
Active member
Drivesolo said:
I followed the link to Nengun earlier in this thread. Cost was $1000 + $250 shipping via FedEx.
I normally AutoX with a modified Lotus Elise, but Laurel is going to drive that on Saturday, while I see how the Leaf does. We are only doing fun runs, not trying to win anything.
Here's how the Elise goes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1hXJ_AeZQo
adrianco
Active member
The shipment arrived on Friday morning, I spent 3hrs Friday evening putting them on, no real problems. Didn't need a spring compressor to get the old springs off or the shorter ones on. I would need to use one to refit the old front springs I think. Special tools needed - 17 and 18mm deep sockets.
I set the rear to max height and guessed the front at about half way, got 14" from wheel center to top of arch all round.
After it was done, realized that I hadn't put the rear top rubber spring mounts in, it seemed to work ok without them, I suspect that is why the rear adjustment doesn't match the front. We will run it like that today at the AutoX and I'll drop the mounts in and adjust heights tomorrow.
I set the rear to max height and guessed the front at about half way, got 14" from wheel center to top of arch all round.
After it was done, realized that I hadn't put the rear top rubber spring mounts in, it seemed to work ok without them, I suspect that is why the rear adjustment doesn't match the front. We will run it like that today at the AutoX and I'll drop the mounts in and adjust heights tomorrow.
I initially left the top isolator off in the rear too and realized there was not enough adjustment.
If you look at the Japanese instructions (towards the middle of the packet) it tells and shows you what distance to set the collars at and where to measure from in order to attain their recommended ride height. It took me awhile to figure this out but once I spent some time trying to understand the numbers it made sense and was quite comprehensive. Having a micrometer will help you dial in the collar heights. Also use the thin bumpstop in the rear or else you wont have enough upward travel and will be engaging the bumpstops all the time. The large ones they include are for when you have the rear set higher than recommended ride height.
Congrats and good luck today!
If you look at the Japanese instructions (towards the middle of the packet) it tells and shows you what distance to set the collars at and where to measure from in order to attain their recommended ride height. It took me awhile to figure this out but once I spent some time trying to understand the numbers it made sense and was quite comprehensive. Having a micrometer will help you dial in the collar heights. Also use the thin bumpstop in the rear or else you wont have enough upward travel and will be engaging the bumpstops all the time. The large ones they include are for when you have the rear set higher than recommended ride height.
Congrats and good luck today!
why did you need to "get the old springs off"? On my past VWs, I'd remove the stock spring + strut as one unit, and if I'm putting on coilovers, just bolt the coilover into place. I can just leave the stock spring on the stock strut, no need to separate them. Is the LEAF's spring/strut assembly so different?adrianco said:
Very useful information, thanks.adrianco said:
adrianco
Active member
The rear suspension is definitely running the bump stops too much, but we impressed a lot of people today, I was getting times that were better than other similar cars (Mazda 3, Audi A4), and within a few seconds of much more powerful sports cars.
I ran our Lotus Elise a few times and got about 42s, other Elise/Exige, Evo, Corvette, two Mustangs were in the 40-45s range, I got 47s in the Leaf. The fastest cars had very sticky tires, I have the stock Ecotecs...
It turns in much better, has a lot more grip and stays flat in the corners. I turned off the traction control, it kept cutting the power when I was having fun, and I put about 42lbs in the front tires so they didn't roll over under stress.
Here's a run on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNpYI8ybgjQ - recorded using iPhone and GPS mount, because my GoPro battery went flat.
The event was at a Great America parking lot, Santa Clara CA. We had about 20 miles of fast freeway driving each way. After 5 runs in the morning, the battery was half gone, we recharged it at Citrix offices nearby for a few hours and it had 11 out of 12 bars at the start of the afternoon, which was good for 5 more runs and the drive home.
Battery consumption was 1.2 miles/KWh. I reset it before the morning runs. Here's how it looks.
I ran our Lotus Elise a few times and got about 42s, other Elise/Exige, Evo, Corvette, two Mustangs were in the 40-45s range, I got 47s in the Leaf. The fastest cars had very sticky tires, I have the stock Ecotecs...
It turns in much better, has a lot more grip and stays flat in the corners. I turned off the traction control, it kept cutting the power when I was having fun, and I put about 42lbs in the front tires so they didn't roll over under stress.
Here's a run on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNpYI8ybgjQ - recorded using iPhone and GPS mount, because my GoPro battery went flat.
The event was at a Great America parking lot, Santa Clara CA. We had about 20 miles of fast freeway driving each way. After 5 runs in the morning, the battery was half gone, we recharged it at Citrix offices nearby for a few hours and it had 11 out of 12 bars at the start of the afternoon, which was good for 5 more runs and the drive home.
Battery consumption was 1.2 miles/KWh. I reset it before the morning runs. Here's how it looks.
Very nice! Thank you for posting this!
adrianco said:The rear suspension is definitely running the bump stops too much, but we impressed a lot of people today, I was getting times that were better than other similar cars (Mazda 3, Audi A4), and within a few seconds of much more powerful sports cars.
I ran our Lotus Elise a few times and got about 42s, other Elise/Exige, Evo, Corvette, two Mustangs were in the 40-45s range, I got 47s in the Leaf. The fastest cars had very sticky tires, I have the stock Ecotecs...
It turns in much better, has a lot more grip and stays flat in the corners. I turned off the traction control, it kept cutting the power when I was having fun, and I put about 42lbs in the front tires so they didn't roll over under stress.
Here's a run on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNpYI8ybgjQ - recorded using iPhone and GPS mount, because my GoPro battery went flat.
The event was at a Great America parking lot, Santa Clara CA. We had about 20 miles of fast freeway driving each way. After 5 runs in the morning, the battery was half gone, we recharged it at Citrix offices nearby for a few hours and it had 11 out of 12 bars at the start of the afternoon, which was good for 5 more runs and the drive home.
Battery consumption was 1.2 miles/KWh. I reset it before the morning runs. Here's how it looks.
Thanks for the post! 47s is pretty good on stock tires - tires alone will easily drop 3-4+ seconds even on a short course like that.adrianco said:
How did you set up the alignment with the coilovers - did you attempt to dial in any negative camber?
What do you plan on doing to solve the bump-travel issue in the rear - just raise the height?
How is the ride for daily driving compared to stock?
Here's a video to ttweed's auto-x in his stock LEAF so one can compare body roll (from this post): http://vimeo.com/27563790" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
TRONZ
Well-known member
Very cool video! Thanks for sharing.
adrianco
Active member
drees said:
I didn't see any way to adjust the camber, I will get an alignment when I finish messing with the ride height. I will take the advice to use the shorter bump stops, put the rubber back in and set the rear slightly higher. I like the way the front is.
I will set the height up a bit more, since we run on bumpy mountain roads. The ride is much stiffer, but not unreasonable compared to our sports cars.
Thanks for the video, that course looks like a long high speed slalom, the courses I run are always very tight...
