Nutter_John
12-06-2007, 01:44 PM
Ok it has taken some time but I finally had 30 mins spare to write a review of the Diayama Coilover that I have fitted the VR4 . Pic's will follow when I get home tonight
Quality
.The look and feel of the coilovers is very professional , they come with a black springs and a gold annodised coating on the other metal bits . If you put these up against other coilover kits I think that they would stand up very well in the looks department and also in the performance as well .
Now the ones I got did not have any fitting instructions but it's quite easy to do and I have requested full instructions if we order more of them .
Fitting
Well the fitting is just the same as any other product like this , just a case of undo some bolts , remove old suspension and replace with the new ones . Before fitting it is best to set the ride height you want as once they are on the car you need to drop the bottom assembly to adjust the height . The amount you can drop the car by is quite a lot but after consideration I drop mine by about 70 mm , this may seem alot but it gives around 1" clearance between the arches and the tyres . These coilover have to collars that allow you to set the pre-load on the springs which can be done without having to drop the bottom arm , so once you have it installed you can change the pre-load with in a few mins using the C spanners provided . On top of the shock is a 28 way adjustable dial which allows you to fine tune the rebound etc , this works quite well .
Now the kit I got had a electronic adjustment controller which works in the same way as the Tein stuff , but it is a little better as you do not need to run wire into the cabin as it uses a remote control rather than hard wires . All you need to do is provide power to the front and rear control unit and away you go . Fitting the actual top mounts was a pain in the butt as the nut on the shock is too long to allow full installation , but once this has been cut down or replace then there is no problem . There seesm to be a few mm of clearance at the front between the top of the stepper motor and the bonnet so no real issues . The rear is fine on the Saloon , but have not tried this in a Leggy
Ride
Well at first I did think that the rating I chose maybe a little harsh ( 14lb front / 10lb rear ) but once out on the road I soon got used to the ride and it turned out not to be as hard as I thought . When pushing the car it does feel a lot more stable and it gives as lot more confidence when pushing hard around corners . I have driven over 6000 miles since they were fitted and must say they have preformed very well and would not like to go back to stock again .
One thing I would have like to do is give them a real good test on the track but due to some noise issue I am banned from all UK tracks bar Santa Pod ;)
For the average daily driver I would suggest that a lower spring rate maybe a little better ( something like a 10lb front / 6lb rear ) but for any track users then the ones I have would be perfect .
final thoughts
Price ,well to be honest you can't complain as the price is very good and the quality is far greater than the price should allow , but that being said Diayama are a newish brand and are trying to get into the market in a big way . Now some may know that I hit an issue with my set just before Japfest which when reported to the dealer was taken straight up with there HQ in Tiawan and they shipped me a new shock within 48hrs so I have nothing but priase for that aspect .
Group Buy Offer is on the way , just working out the final pricing etc .
Comments or questions welcome
Quality
.The look and feel of the coilovers is very professional , they come with a black springs and a gold annodised coating on the other metal bits . If you put these up against other coilover kits I think that they would stand up very well in the looks department and also in the performance as well .
Now the ones I got did not have any fitting instructions but it's quite easy to do and I have requested full instructions if we order more of them .
Fitting
Well the fitting is just the same as any other product like this , just a case of undo some bolts , remove old suspension and replace with the new ones . Before fitting it is best to set the ride height you want as once they are on the car you need to drop the bottom assembly to adjust the height . The amount you can drop the car by is quite a lot but after consideration I drop mine by about 70 mm , this may seem alot but it gives around 1" clearance between the arches and the tyres . These coilover have to collars that allow you to set the pre-load on the springs which can be done without having to drop the bottom arm , so once you have it installed you can change the pre-load with in a few mins using the C spanners provided . On top of the shock is a 28 way adjustable dial which allows you to fine tune the rebound etc , this works quite well .
Now the kit I got had a electronic adjustment controller which works in the same way as the Tein stuff , but it is a little better as you do not need to run wire into the cabin as it uses a remote control rather than hard wires . All you need to do is provide power to the front and rear control unit and away you go . Fitting the actual top mounts was a pain in the butt as the nut on the shock is too long to allow full installation , but once this has been cut down or replace then there is no problem . There seesm to be a few mm of clearance at the front between the top of the stepper motor and the bonnet so no real issues . The rear is fine on the Saloon , but have not tried this in a Leggy
Ride
Well at first I did think that the rating I chose maybe a little harsh ( 14lb front / 10lb rear ) but once out on the road I soon got used to the ride and it turned out not to be as hard as I thought . When pushing the car it does feel a lot more stable and it gives as lot more confidence when pushing hard around corners . I have driven over 6000 miles since they were fitted and must say they have preformed very well and would not like to go back to stock again .
One thing I would have like to do is give them a real good test on the track but due to some noise issue I am banned from all UK tracks bar Santa Pod ;)
For the average daily driver I would suggest that a lower spring rate maybe a little better ( something like a 10lb front / 6lb rear ) but for any track users then the ones I have would be perfect .
final thoughts
Price ,well to be honest you can't complain as the price is very good and the quality is far greater than the price should allow , but that being said Diayama are a newish brand and are trying to get into the market in a big way . Now some may know that I hit an issue with my set just before Japfest which when reported to the dealer was taken straight up with there HQ in Tiawan and they shipped me a new shock within 48hrs so I have nothing but priase for that aspect .
Group Buy Offer is on the way , just working out the final pricing etc .
Comments or questions welcome