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esemte
20-06-2008, 06:10 PM
Looking to upgrade the suspension in my Galant VR4 in the coming weeks, but having a little difficulty searching for springs. I am 99% settled on grabbing either the B6 or B8 damper from Bilstein (dependent on spring), just need to find a spring to suit. I have been directed to the Tein S.Tech's, but just keeping my options open. Also not really looking toward the Adjustable Coilovers.

Stumbled across the Tanabe GF210 and NF210 today and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them or can provide any information about them? .. and where to source them would be helpful too.


What I've found so far:

GF210 (Grip Feeling) -
"The GF210 coil spring is geared towards maximum performance, without compromising daily driveability. A subtle drop provides an aggressive stance, while the higher spring rates (+20% - 30% over stock) provide excellent handling and vehicle stability characteristics. These springs provide a very noticeable gain in performance when installed.

The GF210 is well mated with a performance shock upgrade to extract the full potential of the coil spring, but will also work with factory equipment.

Each coil spring application is tested for fitment and optimal weight distribution for sportier handling".

Galant: EC5AGK - (Lowers - Front: 15-25mm, Rear: 10-20mm) - (Spring Rates - Front: 5.4kg/mm, Rear: 3.6kg/mm)
Legnum: EC5WGK - (Lowers - Front: 30-40mm, Rear: 10-20mm) - (Spring Rates - Front: 5.4kg/mm, Rear: 4.2kg/mm)



NF210 (Normal Feeling) -
The NF210 coil spring features a tasteful drop, and produces the best overall ride quality and comfort for a performance lowering spring. The lowered stance of the NF210 gives the car an elegant pose, while the spring rates, which are only slightly raised (up to 5% over stock) retain factory ride quality settings.

This coil spring is extremely popular with luxury tuned vehicles, as well as those with larger diameter wheels that want to eliminate fender gap, but maintain excellent driveability while reducing the risk of damage to wheels that is associated with stiffer suspensions.

Comfort especially important on daily driven vehicles, and their passengers. The NF210 provides the best driving experience for all types of roads.

For those who demand the best comfort from a lowering spring.

Galant: EC5ANK - (Lowers - Front: 15-25mm, Rear: 10-20mm) - (Spring Rates - Front: 4.6kg/mm, Rear: 3.0kg/mm)
Legnum: EC5WNK - (Lowers - Front: 30-40mm, Rear: 10-20mm) - (Spring Rates - Front: 4.6kg/mm, Rear: 3.6kg/mm)


Thanks :)

bradc
20-06-2008, 09:15 PM
I've got Tanabe springs on mine, I remember seeing 210 on them but unfortunately I can't remember if they said GF or NF. What I can say is that my ride height is perfect, and the car handles very well with them. I'm happy :)

Ryan
20-06-2008, 10:30 PM
I've got Tanabe springs on mine, I remember seeing 210 on them but unfortunately I can't remember if they said GF or NF. What I can say is that my ride height is perfect, and the car handles very well with them. I'm happy :)

Ja when Lance and I were discussing springs he recommended Tanabe if I could get hold of them - he said they were the best.

esemte
21-06-2008, 01:19 AM
Thanks for the response guys, looks like I'll be hunting these ones down :)

Brad, you using them on standard shocks?

AllBeItMine
21-06-2008, 02:44 AM
Go for the harder ones that have a more even distribution of spring rate.

If its too light at the rear, you will just get more understeer as the car will grip / roll more at the rear.

bradc
21-06-2008, 06:06 AM
Yeah I'm using them on standard shocks. I will go to adjustables I think before I buy new shocks for them.

esemte
21-06-2008, 06:47 PM
Go for the harder ones that have a more even distribution of spring rate.

If its too light at the rear, you will just get more understeer as the car will grip / roll more at the rear.

Excellent, I was looking toward the harder ones anyway :D, thanks for the recommendation.



Yeah I'm using them on standard shocks. I will go to adjustables I think before I buy new shocks for them.

Ahh wicked, thanks for that.


I've sent a few emails off to a couple of places, so I will let ya's know how I go :)

scocia
22-06-2008, 01:25 AM
Let me know how this turns out too mate.Will need a back up plan if the eibachs drop my front bar onto the pavement.

Whilst I was looking around I found Tanabes nigh on impossible to source to Oz! Lots of Canadian dealers and one in the UK was rather helpful though. Good luck!

esemte
22-06-2008, 02:04 AM
Will do

I initially found out about them through one of those Yahoo Japan Auction bridge sites (www.importmonster.com.au), so if I can't find a retailer to bring them in for me, I will just go through that site .. will probably take the same time too :)

Know if any of those dealers shipped to Oz?

scocia
22-06-2008, 06:16 AM
Interesting. Have to sign up there!

Nope, not one of that I contacted actually had them listed in their catalogue. Bear in mind all but one of them was located somewhere in North America. The UK supplier didn't have them listed in his catalogue either. They were going to contact Tanabe Japan and get back to me. Still waiting for that email. /pan

Trying to deal directly with japan was... difficult to say the least.

scocia
22-06-2008, 07:09 AM
Wow, there is quite a bit available through import monster. Including some springs I've never heard of before including espiler and ZOOM. Whacky stuff. The G210 are there but nearly $500 all up delivered via EMS. RHDJapan may be able to source them for much much less??

esemte
24-06-2008, 03:52 PM
Hmm, I dont seem to get that high of an estimate, will double check though.

Well it looks like Im gonna go through Import Monster, most places Ive contacted never replied and the ones that did couldn't get the parts in or weren't in their catalogue etc.

This means I'll also order the dampers too :D

Just to double check, I'm gonna go with the GF210 (which will lower the car 15-25mm at the front and 10-20mm at the rear) will it be ok to use the Bilstein B8 shocks (shortened height), even though the springs don't lower it more than 30mm? Or would I have to go for the B6's?

scocia
25-06-2008, 02:50 AM
Damn, thats a shame.

What did you end up getting quoted from import monster?

RHDJapan are now going to list the NF210s for our cars on their site. I was told that the GF210s aren't being made for our cars anymore so get them whilst you can mate!

Can't give you an honest answer about the B8s.I don't see a minimum lowering height on any of the documents. There are mated to springs in the b12 kit that are 25-30mm so I don't see a massive issue there. May be something you'd have to ask bilstein about. I found Bilstein OZ very eager to help.

esemte
27-06-2008, 02:34 PM
Small update:

Went to grab the GF210's from Import Monster, won the auction :D Then the next day I got an email from IM saying that they contacted the seller and unfortunately he didn't have any stock (why the hell would he advertise them then?) and subsequently, because they are discontinued, I wont be able to get them :(

So it looks like the NF210's for me then :)

Kieran
27-06-2008, 04:27 PM
Small update:

Went to grab the GF210's from Import Monster, won the auction :D Then the next day I got an email from IM saying that they contacted the seller and unfortunately he didn't have any stock (why the hell would he advertise them then?) and subsequently, because they are discontinued, I wont be able to get them :(

So it looks like the NF210's for me then :)

Bah, that's a shame.

Import Monster, you say mmm?........


/Goes googling...

scocia
28-06-2008, 01:29 AM
Ah man, thats a shame. Check your PMs re the NF210s @ RHDjapan! :afro:


Small update:

Went to grab the GF210's from Import Monster, won the auction :D Then the next day I got an email from IM saying that they contacted the seller and unfortunately he didn't have any stock (why the hell would he advertise them then?) and subsequently, because they are discontinued, I wont be able to get them :(

So it looks like the NF210's for me then :)

esemte
01-07-2008, 07:15 AM
Hmm, now Ive got a tough decision to make. Ive asked this question on OZVR4, but I figured I'll ask here too.

Got my quote for the Bilstein dampers, also a quote for Tein S.Tech springs, and of the course the price of the Tanabes from Import Monster and RHDJapan, and this comes to a price very similar to the Tein Super Wagon kit.

This is tricky because the are pros and cons of each but I cant seem which way to go.

The advantage of the Super Wagons, is that they are height and damper adjustable, which will be handy in the sense that I could fine tune to meet my needs, will also be useful when fitting new wheels - such as if they are too big and scrub, I can always raise it to temporarily fix the problem. Also, many people in the VR4 world have these and Ive heard nothing but good things about them. However, I only recently found out that they have a Twin-Tube construction, and possibly the legality issues in this part of the country, also every time I change the height, I 'should' take it in to get a wheel alignment to match.

The advantage of the Bilsteins is that they have the Monotube design, pretty much at the top in terms of damper performance, construction etc. However, of course they aren't adjustable in any way, very few people have them (in the VR4s) and trying to find a spring to match is a hard enough task (especially for the Galant).

Saying this though, the car is 90% a daily driver, the question I'm asking myself is that would I really notice the difference between them, I am gonna be happy either way.

Scocia, may I ask why you went the Bilstein route instead of the Teins?

bradc
01-07-2008, 07:54 AM
I kind of like the fact that the bilstein's are just install and forget. I am worried that if I buy adjustable's I'll stuff up the settings and make the car impossible to drive :)

scocia
01-07-2008, 08:32 AM
Heh, I went through the same thing as well mate.

You've answered most of your question to me yourself.

OK here goes *deep breath* The Bilsteins are a rock solid unit, despite not being adjustable this didn't really matter to me as I really don't NEED to have adjustable suspension. A lot of people all seem to end up with similar settings on their adjustables for street use which ends up being very very similar to the install and forget option only with a loss of quality. My car probably won't be tracked all that much either, but thats not saying that non-coilovers won't work well on the track just not as good as full fledged coil over unit (think cucso zero 2) that is able to be tweeked to different conditions/tracks. And nope not too many VR4s with bilsteins on them, but ask spirit what he think of them. Or any late model EVO owners, or a tonne of European performance car owners. ;)

IMO I was going to be paying for the ability to make adjustments that I just wasn't going to need to make. So I went down a similar priced route that gave a better quality unit overall. The Teins and etc whilst not being a bad system to me were still in the low-mid level end of the coilover market.

Then we've got legality issues here is Oz, changes from state to state, who is in power and when etc etc. The chances of being pulled over and having my suspension checked over are pretty slim, but its a hassle I'd rather never have to worry about.

All that and like Brad has already said. Install then forget, nothing to keep screwing around with. Doesn't take too long to get used to them and develop a driving style to suit.

That being said, I had to do this all over again, knowing all I know now I would be more them tempted to save for a set of cusco zeros. Haha. Hope that doesn't confuse you too much mate./pan

scocia
01-07-2008, 09:29 AM
I should also mention that I'm also fitting other suspension/handling parts other then the springs and dampers. Rear and front sway bars, 4 point lower strut brace and even an uprated greddy upper front strut brace.
There are other ways to improve handling that won't affect ride quality ;)

bradc
01-07-2008, 10:25 AM
I'll have the same mods soon scocia, but I didn't see a point in replacing the existing front strut brace. I am getting a rear one though

scocia
01-07-2008, 10:40 AM
After having a good look at the factory one it seemed a little thin and flimsy to me compared to the whiteline one on the magna and the greddy on my mate's R33 ?? I'm a big fan of the triple tube Greddy ones and got my hands on one for under AUD $100, so I thought why not!

I was on the lookout out for the ones that brace at the strut towers and at the chassis in front of the windscreen but couldn't find anything that wouldn't be custom made.

If you get your lower brace on before me Brad then could you let me know how low that sucker hangs, have you got downpipes too?

bradc
01-07-2008, 11:37 AM
Yeah I've got downpipes, but I won't be fitting it for a while.

esemte
01-07-2008, 01:22 PM
Heh, I went through the same thing as well mate.

You've answered most of your question to me yourself.

OK here goes *deep breath* The Bilsteins are a rock solid unit, despite not being adjustable this didn't really matter to me as I really don't NEED to have adjustable suspension. A lot of people all seem to end up with similar settings on their adjustables for street use which ends up being very very similar to the install and forget option only with a loss of quality. My car probably won't be tracked all that much either, but thats not saying that non-coilovers won't work well on the track just not as good as full fledged coil over unit (think cucso zero 2) that is able to be tweeked to different conditions/tracks. And nope not too many VR4s with bilsteins on them, but ask spirit what he think of them. Or any late model EVO owners, or a tonne of European performance car owners. ;)

IMO I was going to be paying for the ability to make adjustments that I just wasn't going to need to make. So I went down a similar priced route that gave a better quality unit overall. The Teins and etc whilst not being a bad system to me were still in the low-mid level end of the coilover market.

Then we've got legality issues here is Oz, changes from state to state, who is in power and when etc etc. The chances of being pulled over and having my suspension checked over are pretty slim, but its a hassle I'd rather never have to worry about.

All that and like Brad has already said. Install then forget, nothing to keep screwing around with. Doesn't take too long to get used to them and develop a driving style to suit.

That being said, I had to do this all over again, knowing all I know now I would be more them tempted to save for a set of cusco zeros. Haha. Hope that doesn't confuse you too much mate./pan

Yeah I have probably already answered my own questions, just get so confused and what will be best suited.

Thanks for the response, didn't add more confusion :) actually I think I finally found an answer. I agree with not "needing" adjustables, just figured that it was an attractive price for the features that you do get. But as ya said, you can get better quality for the same price. The way that I see it is get Very Good shocks and springs, or pretty average adjustables. I looked into those Cusco Zero's as well and found the spring rates to be too hard for what I want. Ive heard excellent things about them though.

And as Brad said, I would be happy with set and forget, I would probably stuff something up or forever trying to get the right setting.

I'm also looking into other suspension upgrades such as the Anti Roll Bars and Under Body Braces, but I think I'll take it one step at a time, see what the uprated shocks and springs bring first.

Lets hope the Tanabe's offer the drop that I'm looking for :S

Thanks guys, greatly appreciated

bradc
01-07-2008, 08:47 PM
You've seen my gallery? As I said I've got one of the sets of Tanabe's, not sure which though :)

esemte
02-07-2008, 12:51 AM
Yeah I have, thats basically the only thing I'm going off :) If they are the ones that suit the Leggie (I can only assume) then the front sits a lot lower compared to the Galant springs, 15-25mm on the Galant compared to 30-40mm on the Legnum.

Saying that, your car does sit 'very' well though. :D

Aah well, guess I'll find out

scocia
02-07-2008, 10:04 AM
No worries.

Going off Brad's gallery those tanabes look pretty damn good to me. And both the GF and NF have the same drop estimates so its looking good.

Thats my plan B incase my Eibachs don't work out so great. V6 owners stand by to acquire a cheap cheap pair of quality springs /pan

Cheers Brad, I'll try to get some before and after vids of the handling.

bradc
02-07-2008, 10:17 AM
Are you getting Eibach's for a Galant VR-4 or a Legnum? If for a Legnum you may find the rear will be 10mm higher.

scocia
02-07-2008, 10:47 AM
They are for a Galant :)

esemte
01-08-2008, 11:30 AM
Oh noes, bad news unfortunately


Stephen,

Thank you for choosing RHDJapan once again. We just heard back regarding
your recent purchase and the Sustec Suspension for the EC5A has been
discontinued and therefore no longer available. Please let us know if
you would like to go with another option or if you would like to cancel
the order.

thanks again!

So it looks like I might have to go the TEIN S.Tech option, unless any of you know other brands that I can look into?

scocia
04-08-2008, 05:42 AM
Damn mate, that sucks. They had only just listed them on their site too... kind of strange really??

Looks like your options are slowly being reduced!