KYB Super Specials from Japan!

[wprocomp]

F.Y.I.

F 5.5kg/mm, R 2.90kg/mm
F 45-40mm down, R 50-45mm down

Ti2000(titan added steel) ¥33,600
RS-R(steel) ¥22,050

http://www.rs-r.co.jp/

Lol yasu I know you know-I think me and you know most of the Jp performance groups

[mkymonkey]

Lol yasu I know you know-I think me and you know most of the Jp performance groups

ok so what does that mean for me

[epic1400cs]

My mentor used RS-R on his Aerodeck for short time.
He noted that steering character is rather tricky - in mid speed, it had neutral to oversteer and in low speed it had very strong understeer.
He is comparing this with OEM kit and MLS(in Ohsaka) sus kit.
I am sure RS-R is making these springs based on calculation rather than based on R&D like H&R or Eibach do.
Just my 2 cents.

[Oldblueaccord]

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60040

what about Legends D2 route ? this is more of a sure thing then what you guys are talking about .




wp

[ZackieDarko]

back from the dead


any updates?

[markmdz89hatch]

I'm still curious if anyone has come up with some real specs on these? How are they valved?

*EDIT: fUk it, I need to know for absolute fact. I'm on hold right now waiting to talk to someone there. As soon as I get any info I'll post it up.

**EDIT EDIT: Sh!t. So I'm still on my warpath, but here's what I have so far. KYB US (so far) will not get involved in importing these at all, as there's not enough of a market for them, and they do not want to do small group-buys at the moment. Apparently the Japanese division is the only KYB office that has true Racing Developement, and the US (and European) divisions select only some very select parts to bring over from Japan.

Before I do anything, I need to wait another week to speak with the Engineer at KYB US (...and yes, he does have training in Japanese only product lines as well) as he's out until next week. Once he's back in the office, I'll give him a call and try to get the actual lb.ratings on the compression and rebound valving of both the SR's and Super Specials. Once I get that, I have a phone number for a co-located warehouse for Japanese parts. I'm not going to bother trying to call them now and somehow struggle through the language barrier to find out if they have everything in stock until I find out the valving specs of each product line.

I'm not going to drop this one until I get to the bottom of it, so hang in there guys.

[EricW]

Interesting, thanks for the update.

[MessyHonda]

let me know before i send in my konis

[markmdz89hatch]

I'll let you know as soon as I get something guys. I plan on calling them either Thursday or Friday to find out.

On a side note, I figured what's the harm in calling Tokico to see if they would be willing to make their Illumina's or full-bodied c/o's depending on what sort of minimum order guarantee, and they wanted nothing to do with it. What really scares me about them is the fact that I spoke directly to one of their so-called 'engineers', and they didn't want to disclose their 'proprietary information' on the specs of their dampers. Damn fools, my response was: "without this 'proprietary information' I will not buy your products because I have no idea what springs would compliment them. Have a great day keeping your product collecting dust on the shelf or just blindly selling to the uneducated consumer. I have to go now, I want to go watch a rerun of the Koni Challenge I went to."

Dammit, why are some companies out there just to make a buck, and not care about the actual quality of their product.

If KYB falls through, I'm going to just jump into the big leagues and call Koni about their gas-a-justs, or Penske to see what they might have that can fit. Tein is on the short list too.

[Vanilla Sky]

So many shocks would only require small mods to fit our cars that it shouldn't take too much R&D to make dampers for us. They could even get away with using the valving we use for Bilsteins as their own.

[paul]

Will these have the same abysmal kyb quality of their other "performance" offerings?

[markmdz89hatch]

Will these have the same abysmal kyb quality of their other "performance" offerings?

While I'd love to say "No, these mean business", I can't say anything yet. That said, although the GR-2's are garbage for anything other then stock (..but they are a great stock replacement), I can say that i had AGX's on my 300Z, and they were insane. Very good dampers.

Just the 'For Street' as it says on the box in the first pic/post on this thread, I'm scared to find out what the tech is going to tell me. My guess (sorry, I'm the pessimist) is that they're not as beefy as we'd like to see.

[paul]

When I had my impreza, alot of guys were getting AGX's, good quality dampening, but I don't think anyone had a set that lasted more than 55k miles, would be awesome if these had some longevity!...

[markmdz89hatch]

paul --> You got me there. I can't attest to their longevity as I put maybe 10-15K on them until I sold the car, but up until the point that I sold the car, I loved the setup. I also admit that I didn't try any other setups, so I can't compare them to anything else on that same car either.

[markmdz89hatch]

Alright guys, here's the deal....

I just got off the phone with KYB US, who had one of their engineers call out to their Japan R&D/Engineering team to get the specs on these.


Will it be possible for us to get them?
Yes, but they'll cost you dearly for shipping. KYB US will not import them for us.

Onto the specs...
The Super Specials are basically a GR-2 made adjustable. Their mid setting will put you around 30% over stock, with the hardest setting getting up to 45% over stock.

How does this compare to the AGX?
The AGX (although not even produced for the 3G) ranges depending on which AGX is chosen. They come in two flavors, the 4-way adjustable, and the 8-way adjustable. The 4-way maxes out at about 90% firmer than stock, while the 8-way will net you a max of 123% firmer then stock.

*Again, as of right now, the AGX is not available for the 3G. I just mentioned it to put into perspective where the Super Specials fall in their product line offering.

If anyone is still interested in getting their hands on a set, just respond here and I'll put up a phone number for a warehouse in Australia (which is one of the only markets that get's the KYB Japan products aside from Japan).

I'll do the math in a few minutes and edit the posts with actual dampening rates based on the % increase on stock that I was given.

Edit: Here's a table for you guys to see what's what. Bare in mind though, that these are the REBOUND estimates only, not compression. But, when looking at a complimenting spring, it's more important (when dealing with only off the shelf product) to have the damper exceed the spring rate of any given spring choice. Also, remember, that much like an amp on a stereo where you NEVER run an amp at full gain, you should not choose a spring that's rate is equal or extremely close to that of the max rebound rate of a damper. KYB produces the GR-2 as an 'OEM REPLACEMENT' despite the 10-15% increase over stock. This is to help compensate for other suspension items (bushings, joints, stab.bars, etc) that may also be worn or tired. I try to keep a damper at minimum 10% stronger then the spring it's going to be paired with.

[markmdz89hatch]

ok, so next question,

What doors does the SuperSpecial open for us as far as springs that we can SAFELY pair with them and install on our cars?

Eibach Pro-Kit (304/97): The rear specs are fine, but you're pushing your luck up front.
H&R/Neuspeed (265/170): Should feel GREAT on the SS's.

Damn near every other spring available, or used-to-be available are still WAY too stiff for these SS's. To the tune of $800+ for this set by the time it gets to your doorstep, I personally would rather look at better performing options like revalved Bill's or Koni's. A bit more, but those can be built (or in Koni's case: rebuilt) to order.

On a side note, I put a little bug in the ear of the tech/engineer and sales guys that I spoke with to try and present the idea of tooling an AGX for our application. Oddly enough, and much unlike the responses I'm used to hearing, this was at least not an outright HELL NO.

[Vanilla Sky]

If I could get AGXs, I'd be buying a set. With the SSs that weak, then I know I'm not going to bother with them.