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SUSPENSIONBasic Course of Tuning / BASIC TUNING ACADEMY

What is COILOVER SUSPENSION?

“Coilovers" is generally refers to "ride-height adjustable coilover suspension", and as the name suggests, it is a suspension that can change the height of the vehicle by hands.
Basically, it is an item that lowers the ride height from the stock and provides a "low-down" style, which is a standard modification item.

The stock suspension is designed for a variety of situations, such as bumpy roads and carrying a lot of luggage, and for a wide range of people. For this reason, the ride height is often kept high and the ride quality is often soft.

However, in terms of driving enjoyment, the high vehicle height increases the center of gravity, causing the car to have a high degree of roll (tilting from side to side) and pitching (tilting back and forward), which results in a lack of stability.

On the other hand, lowering the vehicle suppresses these unnecessary movements and allows the vehicle to run more stably on curves.

Also, in terms of styling, the lower ride height gives the car a sporty look, which significantly changes the vibe of the car.
For some models, lowering the vehicle increases the camber angle of the tires, which allows fatter tires/wheels to be mounted, thus increasing grip and giving the vehicle a more powerful appearance.

How to adjust ride height

HKS offers a coilover products called "full-length adjustable coilovers".
There are various constructions of dampers, but "full-length adjustable dampers" have the advantage that even if the ride height is changed, the length of the damper to be extended or compressed to suppress vibration remains the same.
This makes it attractive in that changing the ride height does not considerably affect ride comfort.

Dimensioning

Measure the spacing before adjustment, as the ride height will be adjusted based on the "winding dimension" between the "locknuts" of the spring brackets.

Adjusting ride height

Loosen the "lock nut" on the "lower bracket" by turning it counterclockwise with the hook wrench provided. Once loosened, move the locknut in advance according to the amount of ride height you wish to adjust.

Lock nut should be loosened by the amount to be lowered if lowering the vehicle height and if raising the vehicle height, just loosen the lock.

To lower the ride height, turn the upper "ride height adjuster" clockwise; to raise the ride height, turn the lower "lock nut" counterclockwise by the amount of adjustment.

After turning the adjustment amount, tighten the lower bracket lock nut that was loosened at first step to complete the process. At this time, to ensure tightening, use a torque wrench, a tool that can control the tightening force, to tighten with a certain amount of force. Insufficient tightening will result in loosening and cause problems such as abnormal noise.

*Depending on the car model, the amount of adjustment for the wind-up dimension and the actual ride height change may differ depending on the "lever ratio," which is the ratio of the length adjusted by the wind-up dimension and the amount of movement of the part where the wheel is attached. In this case, calculate dividing the length you want to adjust by the lever ratio. Ex) In the case of GR86 rear suspension ⇒ The lever ratio is "1.26", so if you want to lower the ride height by 10mm, adjust it for approx. 8mm (10/1.26 = approx. 8mm).

HKS COILOVER SERIES

Under the theme of "driving comfort" that combines "driving performance" and "ride comfort," HKS offers two main models in its lineup: the HIPERMAX S, which is fun and comfortable in any situation, and the HIPERMAX R, which covers mainly the track use and sports driving, but also comfortable for everyday use.

“HIPERMAX S" covers from sports cars to mini-vans, and is a coilover that allows you to enjoy higher ride quality at every stage from city driving to winding roads.

Not only fun to drive, but also comfortable for everyday use, and with a 3-year or 60,000 km warranty, it can be used with peace of mind for a long time. This model overturns the stereotype of "aftermarket coilovers = stiff and stressful," making it an ideal entry point for customization!


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HIPERMAX R" is a series of coilovers mainly for sports cars, and is designed to enhance driving performance by adopting parts mainly designed for track driving.

 

Although it is mainly for racing use, it does not ignore the comfort, and it has enough depth to go to and get back from the track without any suffering. For those who have an idea that "track spec dampers are not comfortable", we recommend you to try HIPERMAX R!

 


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