Tein SRC Coilovers - Product Spotlight - Super Street Magazine

To most people, flying to Japan and staying there for one night seems ridiculous. Not to us. There are only certain times that we can justify such madness and this is one of them. We can never turn down an invite sent by Tein's Fujimoto-san and Seor Felipe Chavez. Prior to receiving our itineraries, we could only imagine that this trip would yet again consist of the Ebisu Circuit, hot springs hotels, and lots of sake. We'd be idiots not to go.

In the past couple years, Tein has not only become one of the leading suspension providers in Japan, but all over the world. If you haven't had a chance yet, you need to check out the Tein catalog. From street to strip, it's really quite extensive. So wide-spread, in fact, that we didn't think there was room for another product to insert into the lineup. We were wrong, again. The latest addition is the Super Racing (SRC) Coilover. The name should speak for itself. This is a really intense racing coilover modified for street use and unparalleled by anything ever offered in the past. Based off the N1 racing suspension, the external reservoirs are the first hint that these coilovers are more than your typical street setup. And like all durable racing dampers, the SRC shares a mono-tube design. The body of the SRC is fully threaded, which allows separate adjustability for ride height and spring pre-load. One of the most unique features is the separate rebound and dampening force settings. There are 16 levels for each and can be controlled through the EDFC.

But all that babble means nothing to us if we don't get to experience the SRCs for ourselves. We found our way back onto the Ebisu track that we've come to be more than familiar with. However, we decided to skip the sex museum and zoo this time around. Barring any unfortunate weather spikes, we would be abusing the SRCs firsthand. The Japanese Tein staff had SRC-equipped cars prepped and ready for us. An RX-8, STi, and Evolution IX all masked in the Tein signature white splattered with colorful decals were just a few cars that we would get to drive. Getting used to the right-hand drive is still a bit tricky for us, especially since we suck at driving anyway. But once we got the hang of it, we were able to push the SRCs to their limits. On the track, the new coilovers rode and handled very well. They had the characteristics of a race setup but rode extremely smoothly. We're guessing that was the idea.

Dampachi and Dumbpachi reunited once again.

I wonder why Phil isn't doing this. He's the lazy gaijin who came up with this trip. But then I remember that Phil is an idiot.

In the past couple years, tein has not only become one of the leading suspension providers in japan, but all over the world.