I remember reading a thread about the JIC where the complaints were that they were very bouncy at lower speeds. There were some suggestions as to how this can be remedied (no extra turn to preload the spring, dialing in full hard and then full soft, etc, etc). JIC also mentioned the introduction of helper or progressive rate springs.

So, in the end JIC just changed the strut valving to be less stiff for the less-than-perfect US roads? What about spring rates? How "soft" would full soft be now?

 

I got em from roadraceengineering.com. I emailed you about them when I was shopping around. They were the JDM versions.

<--aka RidinLow

 

Hmmm, I was interested in the Leda suspension, but now I'm liking these a little more.

 

I've never heard anything bad about JIC's before and that includes the drifters around Japan who abuse the hell out of their cars. I've got a set waiting to go on my RS when I get back. I need to get with Adam about the pillow ball mounts though.

 

JIC has been around a while. Just because it hasn't been sold in the US doesn't mean its not a good company. I'm sure there are alot of companies over here in Japan that people in the US have never heard of. Hell I remember when people in the Subaru crowd first started talking about TEIN. Also everyone I know who has owned a TEIN suspension has had to have them rebuilt or replaced.

 

JIC FLT-A2's here on my 98 RS. Replaced the DMS 50's that were on the car.

The car rides about the same as it did with the 50's, but I REALLY like the fact that the FLT-A2's allow you to set the spring pre-load with the perch adjustment, then allow you to set ride height with the bottom sleeve.

I do get a little bit of porpoising on some stretches of freeway here in San Diego that are the grooved concrete, but that's due to the way they were poured. They have very short "waves", so the suspension loads and unloads slightly when it traverses the peaks and troughs of these "waves", inducing the porpoising motion.

On normal stretches of asphalt or flat concrete, the ride is smooth.

Edit:
I must forcefully agree with Z1 and N/A about the build quality of the JIC suspension parts. I'd compare these in every aspect with the best of the best from Cusco, FLATT, Tein, SYMS or HKS. They are, ounce for ounce, every bit as well engineered and built as any of the others, and their pricing makes them a bargain in comparison.

We've only had to replace one person's coilover, but that is because it was damaged when someone attempted to adjust it by piercing a seal and releasing the nitrogen charge in the strut, mistaking it for an adjustment point.

 

We are running a group buy on these if anyone is interested. I'm not sure If I am allowed to cross post, but it seemed relevant and I see that a couple of people are considering.

I have personally heard nothing but favorable reviews of the JIC hardware. They are a bit stiffer than some, but overall the quality and durability are up there with just about anything below $2500.

Please check out this thread if you think you might be interested: https://www.i-club.com/forums/showth...&threadid=1637

 

Ok, I'm gonna go out on a limb and make a couple of assumptions and hypothysize about the failure of the "Hawain" JIC's.

Could the failures be caused by air freighting the coilovers?

Extreme cold will cause the aluminum to contract, the degree of contraction is relative to the mass of the object.

Ambient pressure drop results in an increase in "apparent internal pressure". The increase would be realive to the pressure drop, if the cargo hold were not pressurized it would be rather substantial.

Could the combination of these two forces be enough to un-seat an "O"-ring?

I dunno..
later,
Andy