Tanabe Coilovers assembly HELP!!!!!

[Darkside]

okay, i am havin some trouble assembling these coilovers since the instructions are entirely in japanese, so to you people who have these, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE help me out

these are the parts i have, so please refer to the pics when telling me how to put it all together:

http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/coil1.JPG
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/coil4.JPG
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/coil2.JPG
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/coil3.JPG

any help would be IMMENSELY appreciated! thx in advance

[Nu Concept]

I never installed my coilovers on my car and nobody helped me with putting them together- I just guesed. You can also call tanabe USA and I think they can mail you the english intructions. Use this picture for reference: http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid124/pb778eb628f300e152e36654af4710668/f81e5291.jpg

[Darkside]

sweet that will help a lot! thank you

does anyone know what the things are in the third pic i posted?

any more info would help

[Nu Concept]

The discs on the left (the smaller ones) fit between the main spring and the helper (tiny red) spring. the bigger discs fit on top of the rear struts-i think.
I do know the discs with the "jagged" edges on the right fit underneath the main spring- there are 2 for each shock, one on top of the other. the main purpose of these is for height adjustment. you use the "wrench" in picture 2 to turn them clockwise or counter-clockwise to lower or rise your ride.
I still dont know what the "stabilizer" rods (on the left) in picture 2 are for.

You should also wrap the threaded area of the shock with teflon tape to prevent stripping (it says so in the manual).

Lastly, the pic doesnt seem to work. Give me your e-mail and I will send it to you.

[Darkside]

Originally posted by Nu Concept
you use the "wrench" in picture 2 to turn them clockwise or counter-clockwise to lower or rise your ride.
I still dont know what the "stabilizer" rods (on the left) in picture 2 are for.

You should also wrap the threaded area of the shock with teflon tape to prevent stripping (it says so in the manual).
i copied & pasted the link and the pic works :)

so the hook looking things are actually tools used to change the height of the car? the car would have to be on a lift or a hydrolic jack to do this though right?

also, what is the "threaded" area that you're talking about that i need to wrap?

and, the straight skinny shocks are for the back and the fat ones are for the front of the car, right? i assumed that since you have the upper pillow mounts on those ones and tanabe only sells them for the front shocks

[ringthree]

Call Tanabe, they were pretty helpful when I spoke with their representative.

You can find a link to their website in the parts catalog.

[larryd]

Hey, I'm gonna steal your pictures for the parts catalog, which model is that the Tanabe Sustec Pro S-S or Tanabe Sustec Pro S-S Type II?

Also would you be so kind to take pics of them on your car after you've installed them? Id really appreciate it.

[Darkside]

they are the Tanabe Sustec Pro S-S (not the cheaper type II version)

and yes, i will have a pic in my sig of the car after the coilovers have been installed, so be looking out for that by the end of the summer

more pics later tonight cuz i still need some help

[Darkside]

k back; here is what i have so far - they are nearly complete:
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/coilcomp1.JPG

now you may notice the rear shocks look pretty bare at the top; that's cuz they each came with a baggie of little pieces that i have no idea what to do with so maybe someone can enlighten me on THESE:
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/bolts1.JPG

i also have NO CLUE what the heck these things are or where they go or what they are used for:
http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/SRods.JPG

[pokgai]

whoa that black adjustment knob looks very similar to KYB's adjustment knob for the AGX.

[hephaestus]

I don't know if those are thrust washers, but you will need all the pieces that came with the coilovers including the washers. Thet all have a purpose for something. The other things are the end links/ sway bar links. They attach to the bracket on the front dampers and then to your sway bars. You will see where and how they go when you start installing the coilovers on you car.

[larryd]

Originally posted by Darkside
they are the Tanabe Sustec Pro S-S (not the cheaper type II version)

and yes, i will have a pic in my sig of the car after the coilovers have been installed, so be looking out for that by the end of the summer

more pics later tonight cuz i still need some help

cool.. I'll keep checking for updates ;)

[CIN]

I think you have the helper springs wrong. On the Tein HA for the MR-S they are mounted at the bottom.

[sheizen]

yes the helper springs are are on the bottom

[QWKsilvr808]

http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/bolts1.JPG

The bolts and the washer will be used on the front to tighten down your stock upper mount to the coilover assembly. You'll see what I mean when you take your stock struts and upper mounts off in the front. I'm assuming you didn't get the Tanabe upper mounts? Your coilovers won't be completely assembled until your stock upper mounts (or Tanabe upper mounts) are fitted to them.

The knob on the right is the damper adjuster for the rear. It fits on the pin on the top of the damper.

http://members.cox.net/chadchapman1/SRods.JPG

These are the adjustable endlinks for the front. You'll have to replace your stock pieces with these when you do the install.

Originally posted by CIN
I think you have the helper springs wrong. On the Tein HA for the MR-S they are mounted at the bottom.

Originally posted by sheizen
yes the helper springs are are on the bottom

For the Tanabe PRO SS, they do go on the top. ;)

[Darkside]

yes, i am absolutely positive they go on top

QWKsilvr808 - thanks for the info on the pieces! so i have all that i can do right now already put together?

then when i install them, it will be obvious what to do w/ the other pieces? what order do the bolts&washer go in from top to bottom? and which way do i put that piece on that is assymetrical (the left-most piece in the pic)?

what damper settings do you recommend i set them to for the front & rear for a semi-comfortable yet fuctional ride?

[KSilver2000]

When you put them on the car, please tell me if you have any gaps on the front with the coilovers all the way down. I noticed that the rears I can tuck in my rears so that the tire (215/45/17) will not even show with the helper springs on. But on the front, I can barely tuck in my tires only if I take off the helper springs.

BTW, does anyone know if the helper springs taken out hurts the suspensions or not? What are they for? And can someone explain to me how to adjust the front end links for best performance without damage to them? Thanks.

[Pump]

The helper spring is there so that the spring does not come off the spring perch when the suspension is fully extended.

[Darkside]

from tanabe:
Helper Springs:
Eliminates pre-load of the main spring, which maximizes ride comfort and rebound stability.
the ones with the helper springs are more expensive than the ones without them

[Darkside]

Originally posted by Darkside
yes, i am absolutely positive they go on top

QWKsilvr808 - thanks for the info on the pieces! so i have all that i can do right now already put together?

then when i install them, it will be obvious what to do w/ the other pieces? what order do the bolts&washer go in from top to bottom? and which way do i put that piece on that is assymetrical (the left-most piece in the pic)?

what damper settings do you recommend i set them to for the front & rear for a semi-comfortable yet fuctional ride?

[KSilver2000]

Originally posted by Darkside
from tanabe:

the ones with the helper springs are more expensive than the ones without them

But my fronts won't go down, it leaves at least a 2 finger gap with the helper springs on........BTW I don't even see a need for these because if you compress the helper springs, they are really weak. And so when you put them on the car, it basically is just like a spacer since it is always compressed from the weight of the car. Well anyways, just let me know what you get with them on when you're all done. Good luck.

[Darkside]

i dunno why you would want the front that low anyways (celicas look absolutely TERRIBLE slammed), but i will post pics when they get on

the helper springs help w/ ride comfort and they are not always fully compressed; when you hit bumps, they decompress a bit and act as little mini-shocks almost and take some of the force so the car rides smoother

[QWKsilvr808]

Originally posted by Darkside
QWKsilvr808 - thanks for the info on the pieces! so i have all that i can do right now already put together?



No problem bro. So far everything looks good. :)

Originally posted by Darkside
then when i install them, it will be obvious what to do w/ the other pieces? what order do the bolts&washer go in from top to bottom? and which way do i put that piece on that is assymetrical (the left-most piece in the pic)?


It should be. Your stock upper mount will be tightened down with a nut that the large one on the far left will replace. You'll also see where to replace the large washer. For the life of me I can't remember where that small nut goes tho, but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Originally posted by Darkside
what damper settings do you recommend i set them to for the front & rear for a semi-comfortable yet fuctional ride?

I recommend leaving the plastics out of the rear at first and playing with your front and rear settings instead of following my setup. Set the front and rear at 2 and then go from there based on your own feel for your car.

The height I have my car set at, combination of suspension parts, and also personal preference, determines how I set my dampers. Right now I have the front set at 4 and the rear at 3, and this works well for me.


Originally posted by KSilver2000
When you put them on the car, please tell me if you have any gaps on the front with the coilovers all the way down. I noticed that the rears I can tuck in my rears so that the tire (215/45/17) will not even show with the helper springs on. But on the front, I can barely tuck in my tires only if I take off the helper springs.


The PRO SS allows the front to go down a max of 2.25" and the rear 3.0". This does leave a little bit of gap in the front at max, while the rear can be tucked if you really want.

[eccentricGTSdvr]

yo clint did you use the rear stock bumb stops with the pro-ss....

[QWKsilvr808]

Originally posted by eccentricGTSdvr
yo clint did you use the rear stock bumb stops with the pro-ss....

I don't think so. It's been awhile, but I think the coilovers came with their own bumpstops.

[OneShotUno]

Originally posted by eccentricGTSdvr
yo clint did you use the rear stock bumb stops with the pro-ss....

Take another look at that first picture. You can see the bumpstop already on the strut.

[soceur]

i have the same setup but i didnt get endlinks. Do u guys think i can use the stockers with this setup?