Review of TOKICO ILLUMINA/EIBACH settings!! PICTURES!
 

I tested every setting on my struts last night. Same twisty, partly bumpy partly smooth road for each setting i tested. There were some people who wanted to hear more about this setup so i thought i would post my impressions while they are still fresh...

1F/1R: Very soft and smooth. More comfortable than stock in my opinion because it doesnt bounce up and down so much and doesnt lean like crazy in turns. Still a little bouncey sometimes. Still a good amount of body roll and car still nosedives a bit when braking. Car still prone to understeer.
1F/2R: About the same only less understeer. Car feels a little better in turns.

2F/2R: Slightly stiffer feel. This is a good deal more harsh than stock. Much less body roll and less nosedive. Still kinda bouncy. Car feels more like its on rails. Less understeer and easier to make the car oversteer.
2F/3R: Same as 2/2 but less understeer. Its kinda vague when the car will brake loose. The limits are so far out there that i was nervous to test too hard.

3F/3R: Very stiff, harsh ride. Very little body roll and practically no nose dive when braking. Feels like its on rails and doesnt understeer much at all.
3F/4R: Same as 3/3 with less understeer. I didnt push the car too hard on this setting. It feel like its better balanced like this. I mean it doesnt really understeer or oversteer without taking a really fast turn. Im not accustom to feeling like the car is going to oversteer so i need more practice with setting the rear stiffer than the front.

4F/4R: WOWWW!!! I really really like this setting. Practically no body roll. Very stiff ride but it felt really smooth for some reason. I was amazed with this setting because the car felt really comfortable for how stiff it was. The limits are so far out that i didnt want to try braking traction where i was testing.
4F/5R: Again, I didnt really brake the car loose much to see how the it felt when oversteering, but damn did it feel tight and well balanced. It eliminated the fwd, gonna understeer feeling. I need to test this setting more because i really like it its just hard to test braking it loose.

5F/5R: Ouch my kidneys..LOL. This feels great on smooth surfaces but very harsh most of the time. The car is just on rails like this. It stays nice and flat when hitting turns. I cant really even rock the car if i push it back and forth. I havent broken the tires loose much on this setting but it feels like the car wont understeer much and will easily oversteer instead with a flick of the wheel.

In conclusion i like 4/4 and 4/5 were the most. My car is set to 4/5 right now so i can get used to it. Best $700 i have ever spent!
Edit: Scroll down for pics.

:woot: !
Good to know that these struts are worth the money :thumbsup:

I am so close to getting these it is driving me crazy

I agree....saw them on Ebay for 439 shipped and almost jumped all over it, until I realized I was broke til next week :)

I've had my Illuminas with my H&Rs for about 2 weeks now. I'm currently running 2 FR 2 RR and I think that's where I will stay. You are right, the 1 FR 1 RR setting is too soft. I love the ride of my car now. I was running the H&Rs with factory struts for about 3 months and it was bouncing all over the place. I don't regret getting the Illuminas at all. This is my second set. First set was on a 91 Mustang LX and they were great on it too. Got mine on ebay for $429 shipped.

Sorry i have never lowered any car and im really interested in lowering my max. I dont understand what you mean by the ratios though. Is that the setting on the struts/shocks? Also is the price 429 for all 4 struts or just 2. And for the guys who have tried several drops is this the best option?


thanks
brandon

haha 2kgle u are my suspension buddy :bowdown:

im glad to hear this i am most likely installing all my stuff this weekend so im glad to have some more encourage metn by you :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

-J

All four struts.

2kGLE - Awesome review! :thumbsup: Great info that I haven't seen elsewhere. You've pretty much sold me.

Does anyone have pics of the drop with the eibachs/illuminas?

Forgot to ask - Is there any difference between the Tokico Blues and the Illuminas other than adjustability? Any idea what stiffness setting on the Illuminas would correlate to the Blues? For instance, are the Blues about as stiff as the Illuminas on 3F/3R?

Sorry for all the questions guys!

Its 429 for all four struts. I jumped on the ebay deal the first time i saw it. When I say 4F/5R or 5F/5R im refering to how stiff i have my struts set in the front (F) and the rear (R). They are five way adjustable struts. I set the rear stiffer then the front to eliminate understeer.

I actually took a few pics today but dont know how to post them. i dont have a cardomain site or anything so maybe someone else can post them if i email them.

and i dunno how stiff blues are compared to illuminas. i doubt its 3/3 because that is really stiff and ppl say blues ride like stock.

Very useful info...I really think I might be getting these someday...

You have a PM.

you are over your storage limit...

Alright, did a little housekeeping - give it another shot. Are these shots huge or what?

where did you get them from?

2kGLE's drop
 

Here are some shots of 2kGLE's setup: Eibach/Illumina. Actually looks lower than I expected! Thanks for sending these over!
http://www.innerbean.com/guitartabs/1.jpg
http://www.innerbean.com/guitartabs/2.jpg
http://www.innerbean.com/guitartabs/3.jpg

The Blues are around a 2 on the Illumina 1-5 adjustability scale.

Any idea what the gr-2's would be???

GLE rims pwn j00! :laugh:


~limsandy

They are about 280-300 shipped.


~limsandy

sweet...thanks housecor for posting those. I sent you pics of the adjusters on the top of the front and rear struts if you want to post those too.

Gonna post those pics housecor? ;p would be real nice to see. And does anyone looking at this thread have koni's or know about them and maybe compare them to the illuminas, koni seems to be a little more $$ retail and 2kgle thinks they're suppose to be a b1tch to adjust especially in the rear (requirs both rear wheels to be removed) and that doesn't sound good at all. I hope these illuminas are close or even have the same quality as koni's are known for, if so then the illuminas can save us money and trouble :D

I meant, since someone said that the tokico blues would be at a 2 setting...what would the gr-2's be.

how do you adjust the stiffness on the illuminas?
Is it hard? Do you have to lift the car?

they adjust at the top of the struts. Its simple and only takes a minute. I sent housecor pictures so im sure he will post those later when hes online

Great Post!
 

Thanks for this great post!

My Illuminas / Progress Springs and Kumho Tires are going on Monday...I CANNOT WAIT!!

I simply cannot imagine this car handling like it should and being dropped properly to not look like a 4 x 4.

I think I'm gong to fall in love with my car all over again next week....don't wake me!

gr

trust me you will i just did today after my drop...adn ym new tires are one the way

-J

2kgle,

Very nice write up. Right now for my car I have Eibachs running on OEM struts/shocks and I have the Illuminas sitting in my living room ever since CustomMaxima deal was over. I need to find time to install those puppies and I can't wait after reading your review. My question to you in regards with your installation, how hard was it to change the rear settings on the shocks during your testing? Did you have to remove the shocks all the time from the car to reach the dial on the top or were you able to do the adjustments while they were still on the car? If I recall, there was very little clearance/room to reach the top end of each of the shocks through the small hole in the trunk. Thanks.


steve...

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait on the pics - I'm on-call this weekend so it's been pretty hectic.

2kGLE - Thanks for sending over the other shots. Adjustment looks pretty convenient! Here's the goods:
http://www.innerbean.com/guitartabs/4.jpg
http://www.innerbean.com/guitartabs/5.jpg

Hope housecors last post cleared up this question. :)

I use a flathead screw bit with some tape wrapped around it to change the settings. And i leave two of the pins in the trunk lining out to easily access the rear struts. I just pull it away when i want to adjust. Adjustings is easy but you might get some funny looks or questions when people see your legs sticking out of your trunk..lol

Hey do you have any pics of your car on illuminas and h&rs???
I was really torn between eibachs and h&rs. I went with eibachs because they only drop 1.3/1.0 and because of the reviews on performance. Im just curious how this setup would look with H&Rs.

looks good...
the beach looks real good right now...
i wish i was there!!!!!!
its fricken cold up here

With these struts on the 2/2 setting, how do they feel over big bumps/potholes? Does the suspension feel really stiff and then it feels like the car is hitting the pothole/bump really hard?

I've run Illuminas in '95 Civic and didn't like them because they were "floaty" on smooth roads and really harsh over bumps . . .

I'm just really interested to know if these feel more or less the same in a lowered Max?

Thanks!

Just got my cardomain site up. Check it out.

I dont have a problem with hitting bumps like you describe on 2/2. 2/2 doesnt feel very stiff or harsh to me, and none of the settings feel floaty. My GLE suspension felt floaty. I find that bumpy roads feel really rough at low speeds but if i raise my speed it actually feels smoother.

what kind of springs were you running on your civic? If they were really low and stiff like tiens or something, that would explain the crappy ride.

Cool thanks for the info! Is it me or is the drop a little lower in the back? maybe its just from the audio in hte trunk. whats the drop for h&r 1.5/1.3?

take a look at this link, haven't read through it yet but went right to the bottom to see some statistics, was kinda surprised: http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/t...bach_hr_rd.htm
It's an article on "Eibach Pro-Kit vs. H&R Sport Spring Ride & Drive"

"On the track, the H&R Sport Spring equipped BMW felt the stiffest of the three" (says three because they also compared to stock suspension)
"...they also produce a little more cornering power"
"The H&R Sport Springs allowed the BMW to run lap times which were a few hundredths of a second faster than the Eibach Pro-Kit equipped car, and the fastest of the three cars tested."

what does everyone think, i was told to go with the eibach's if i wanted better handing and h&r's for more comfort, and it looks like this isn't the case

looking at the ratings, Eibachs are more comfortable on the road and handle better on the track. Eibach has better response, the braking is the same, but H&R has better traction. It says H&R handle better in real word road ratings though.
Good info!