dentinger
09-25-2008, 04:39 PM
alright, there has been some interest in some people about the yonaka coilovers lately, so i figured i'd help them out and write a review.
Yonaka Coilovers
first off, let's talk about the coilovers themselves first.
there is NO dampening, rebound adjustments, etc at all. you can only adjust the ride height. they are very similar to Tein Basic coilovers
they have a 0-4" height adjustment. the front springs are 200mm, with a 5kg/mm spring rate, and the rears are a 180mm spring, with a 5kg/mm spring rate as well. (as comparison, tein basics have a spring rate of 6kg/mm and 7kg/mm respectively...i think lol)
installation....
so i installed my coilovers back in April or so, and i've put approx. 10,000km's on my car since then.
i work in a shop, so i installed the coilovers myself. and to my surprise, everything fit like stock, and i didnt have any problems installing them what-so-ever. i think it took me a good part of my day to install them, but it was understandable, seeing the work involved.
driveability
in the 4 or 5 months i've had them in, i've had ZERO problems with them.
i did have some clunking in the rear from time to time, but it ended up that the collars on the shocks werent tight enough. after a good tightening, the clunking never returned.
now, the one thing i dont like about the Yonaka's, is that they dont go low enough for me. i still seem to be at sportline height (approx. 2" drop)
however, i've read that your not supposed to re-install the front strut bearings with coilovers, and im still working on confirming that, as i still have my front bearings in.
i wasnt happy with the height of the front (about a 1.5" drop), so i removed the two lower perches. now, this IS NOT recommended, but i figured, hey, $700 coilovers and a lifetime warranty....why not.
im thinking about removing the front bearings in the spring, and some of the rear perches in the rear, to go even lower, but im still debating it.
something else i noticed, is that you will need an alignment afterwards, and if you plan on going low, you need Camber links too.
from wat i can see, my toe in the front seems to be out, (inner tread on my drivers tire is going bald), and my rear camber is just terrible. after being lowered, without camber links for 1.5 years, my tires are cooked. altho, burnouts dont help the matter.
so to be on the safeside, Camber links and an alignment is highly recommended.
now as for the ride, it is quite stiff. it seemed to loosen up a bit after a few weeks of driving, but it is still noticeably stiff. you can feel just about every bump in the road, from potholes, to just small cracks. you can feel everything.
and like i said, i have no clunking, no rattling, no anything. just a somewat quiet clunking from my front bearings, but that is typical when your lowered, as aftermarket springs put more stress on the bearings. they are stiff springs, and i love how tight the suspension feels now. an ex girlfriend of mine hated how bumpy it was, but her opinion doesnt matter.
now onto pics......
the first one is taken from Blue3's thread a while back....
but the rest are all mine....they arent the greatest, but they'll do to give you an idea....
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/yonakacoilovers.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/Picture271.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/Picture279.jpg
in both pictures, the 2 lower front perches have been removed, but you would get the same drop if you didnt install the front bearing.
also, from the ground, to the middle of the fender arch, i am 24.5" from the ground. if that makes any sense.
i hope this helps everyone, and let me know if you want to know anything else...
and as far as i know, these are very similar to Tein Basics, in forms of construction, adjustments, and driveability.
Yonaka Coilovers
first off, let's talk about the coilovers themselves first.
there is NO dampening, rebound adjustments, etc at all. you can only adjust the ride height. they are very similar to Tein Basic coilovers
they have a 0-4" height adjustment. the front springs are 200mm, with a 5kg/mm spring rate, and the rears are a 180mm spring, with a 5kg/mm spring rate as well. (as comparison, tein basics have a spring rate of 6kg/mm and 7kg/mm respectively...i think lol)
installation....
so i installed my coilovers back in April or so, and i've put approx. 10,000km's on my car since then.
i work in a shop, so i installed the coilovers myself. and to my surprise, everything fit like stock, and i didnt have any problems installing them what-so-ever. i think it took me a good part of my day to install them, but it was understandable, seeing the work involved.
driveability
in the 4 or 5 months i've had them in, i've had ZERO problems with them.
i did have some clunking in the rear from time to time, but it ended up that the collars on the shocks werent tight enough. after a good tightening, the clunking never returned.
now, the one thing i dont like about the Yonaka's, is that they dont go low enough for me. i still seem to be at sportline height (approx. 2" drop)
however, i've read that your not supposed to re-install the front strut bearings with coilovers, and im still working on confirming that, as i still have my front bearings in.
i wasnt happy with the height of the front (about a 1.5" drop), so i removed the two lower perches. now, this IS NOT recommended, but i figured, hey, $700 coilovers and a lifetime warranty....why not.
im thinking about removing the front bearings in the spring, and some of the rear perches in the rear, to go even lower, but im still debating it.
something else i noticed, is that you will need an alignment afterwards, and if you plan on going low, you need Camber links too.
from wat i can see, my toe in the front seems to be out, (inner tread on my drivers tire is going bald), and my rear camber is just terrible. after being lowered, without camber links for 1.5 years, my tires are cooked. altho, burnouts dont help the matter.
so to be on the safeside, Camber links and an alignment is highly recommended.
now as for the ride, it is quite stiff. it seemed to loosen up a bit after a few weeks of driving, but it is still noticeably stiff. you can feel just about every bump in the road, from potholes, to just small cracks. you can feel everything.
and like i said, i have no clunking, no rattling, no anything. just a somewat quiet clunking from my front bearings, but that is typical when your lowered, as aftermarket springs put more stress on the bearings. they are stiff springs, and i love how tight the suspension feels now. an ex girlfriend of mine hated how bumpy it was, but her opinion doesnt matter.
now onto pics......
the first one is taken from Blue3's thread a while back....
but the rest are all mine....they arent the greatest, but they'll do to give you an idea....
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/yonakacoilovers.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/Picture271.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w65/dentinger/Picture279.jpg
in both pictures, the 2 lower front perches have been removed, but you would get the same drop if you didnt install the front bearing.
also, from the ground, to the middle of the fender arch, i am 24.5" from the ground. if that makes any sense.
i hope this helps everyone, and let me know if you want to know anything else...
and as far as i know, these are very similar to Tein Basics, in forms of construction, adjustments, and driveability.