Preferably people who live in cities w/ bad road and who had S-Techs/Eibach springs.

Compare the ride quality best you can between spring/strut combo and JICs. How does it ride over bumps and potholes? Still rattle your teeth or doesn't hit as hard?

 

well I have the KYB and S-tech combo and compared to riding in Dixits car I would compare the ride quality almost identical to my setup and the settings he had his car on.

 

I love them. Firmer for sure but ride quality is better since it doesn't bottom out so badly (love those short stroke inverted struts). No comparison in terms of handling. KYB's, yuck. If you want something a little softer get a set of Tein SS's. Nicest ride of anything out there, also short stroke and not that expensive at all. Much better than spring and shock combos as they are matched to each other and the car.

 

I just thought when you go over bumps or potholes, JICs would provide softer impact to road flaws but if ride quality is almost the same, I guess I'll save myself $1000.

 

well Dixit hadn't had them on for too long so they weren't totally set up for comfort. He had the car pretty slammed tucking the rear. It takes time to tune the suspension for your comfort but overall it will ride better once you find the setup per your liking.

 

Ammi - Judging from what I've read from owners of JIC's, the ride quality is no better, likely a bit stiffer than spring/strut setups. It's the performance that makes them worth the big $. I've heard many JIC owners mention how "a rough road actually hurts" and "you feel every flaw in the road". Given, they are adjustable so who knows what settings they were running.

 

I've heard something like that before; that even w/ the lowest setting, ride is still harsh.

 

Rode in NT2SHBBYs car the other day, the ride is stiff as hell!! Bone jarring compared to my Maxspeeds.

 

That's what I thought. I guess JICs will work well if you live in a city w/ smooth roads.

 

the car without a doubt is stiff.....performance outweighs stiffness IMO.....plus with the adjustability aspect along with rebuildability, well worth every penny

 

Know how much it is to rebuilt JICs?

What's the warranty on JICs?

 

Well I just got JIC's. And I gotta say I listened to Heath when setting them up. I took the car for a spin and was bouncing like lil bow wow. Once I changed the settings a little bit the ride got NICE! And I mean NICE!

The car doesnt bang as much as it did before with my spring/shock setup. Performance with these is also crazy nice.

Can I also mention NO MORE WHEEL HOP!?!?!

 

What do you mean bang? As in when you hit a pothole or bump?

 

yo, could you share that setup...what are your dampening settings....


Ammi,

if you are worried about a smooth ride, i wouldn't suggest you getting JICs

 

Um... I used to run eibachs uncut in my old 2000 GLE and the damned thing would bottom out and bounce all the time, going over railroad tracks was like a dental procedure every time. On my FLT-A2 JIC's I have them set to 3 in the front and 4 in the rear with a fairly conservative drop (1 finger wheelgap) and the thing rides like a stock BMW M3. I can even hit speed bumps at a fairly good clip and not be too jarred. I maintain that a good coilover system adjusted correctly can be both more comfortable and handle better than a spring/shock set up. I don't brace myself for impact everytime i go over railroad tracks anymore either.

I've never bottomed out in these. And when I go to the track I can just crank em all the way up to max stiffness If you are worried about having a smooth ride compared to stock, then JIC's are a bit harsher. If you are worried about having a smooth ride compared to springs/shocks then by all means get them! BTW don't expect any smoothness if you're going to run 19"s and tuck your wheels.

 

I understand it costs around $300 to get all four rebuilt


warranty is 1 year

 

Seems like there's mixed opinions. Chinkzilla's FLT-A2s absorbs road flaws well, where a lot of people say they are more harsh compared to spring/strut combo.

I'm not planning on tucking my wheels; maybe 1 or 2 fingergaps. I just want a suspension setup that I don't have to hold on to myself when going over bumps and potholes. If JICs can provide that (with the right settings), I would definitely get them.

What's the main difference between A1s and A2s?

 

harshness is somewhat subjective, but more so locale biased....Chinkzilla is in Cali, while I'm in NY...

IMO, any spring/strut is nice on nice roads..hell you could cut the crap out of your OEM springs and have it ride nice on smooth roads....I have plenty of potholes here and I still maintain a decent ride, albeit harsher than my previous maxspeed/GR2 setup...



main difference between A2 and A1 is A2 has 15 way adjustability (dampening) while the A1 has 5 ways-which IMO is more than enough for everyday driving.

other difference is A2 is twin tubular design while A1 is mono tubular design.....

 

Did you try your softest setting on your JICs yet? If so, how do they compare to your previous spring/strut setup? Still harsher than your spring/strut setup?

You have your car slammed though right now don't you?

 

read my above post....I said harsher than my previous maxspeed/GR2 setup


I am lowered about 2" all around right now and have another 1.5-2" left to go lower


settings for my JIC are currently 2/2...

 

I did read your post above. You didn't mention anything about having your JICs at soft setting.

Did any of you got a wheel alignment done after you removed your spring/strut and installed your JICs?

 

told you its better this way!

 

Honestly i have noticed that adjusting the dampening rate, is just that, a rate.

It does nothing for the "bone jarring" effect of the ride. If you have your set up at 2 then you will slowly smooth out a bump (i.e. more movement, less resrtictive). If you hit that same bump at the setting of 12,then the bump will quickly be smoothed out(ie same movement, more restrictive).....Albeit it may seem more "harsh" becuase the your brain is telling you that.

In other words, the car hits a bump and the suspension travels, now the car and suspension must react to this bump. With the JIC's set at 2 the car will react longer and seem less "harsh". With the JIC's set at 12 the car will react for a shorter time and seem more "harsh" because the suspension is trying harder to stop the car from bouncing (dampen)

The main reason of the increase in harshness on the max with JIC's it the upper pillow ball mounts. That is where 80% of the road harshness comes from. You hear about ppl. saying that it is "bone Jarring"....well that is becuase of the metal on metal on metal contact of the upper pillow ball mount. On a stock set up or even with a spring/strut setup you will have some sort of rubber mount between the suspension and the upper tower. But that is not the case with the JIC's, it is straight up metal on metal contact and that is what creates that "bone jarring" effect. That sound accompanied with a quick dampening will lead one to believe that their car is about to fall apart.


I personally have mine set to 12 all the way around, because i didn't like the prolonged dampening effect of a lower setting. The only downside to the dampeing set this high is that the car "goes" to the road, instead of the suspension going to the road. So therefore it is a little more bumpy, but not bouncy, unless that is how the road is made.

 

You feel every bump in the road regardless if set at 1 or 5 (FLT-A1). 1 is softer going over busted up roads than 5. 5 will knock you around somewhat but provides the best grip at the limit.

Ride comfort is less than the Tein S. Tech because you are always feeling everything in the road. However, the JIC's are not as harsh as the Teins when hitting pot holes. If handling is your main concern, JIC's are the way to go.

 

the ride on JIC's is ALOT better than the ride I had on my chopped Eibachs

 

10/13 here

 

That's exactly what I wanted to know. My main concern wasn't performance but rather smoothness when going over bumps or potholes.

 

You can order them with any spring rate that you want. If you are worried about the harsh just go with a softer rate. They are first rate though.

 

Anyone know where dual-rate/progressive JIC optional springs can be found?

Besides Avalon Racing please...I don't want to ask Paul how much.

 

Is there any need to trim the bump stops with jics?

 

no need, they are complete strut units, your stock bumpstops are essentially gone. I believe the main benefit of JIC's are the ability to maintain suspension travel while lowering the car. For me 'bone jarringness' was mostly experienced when my old struts would bottom out. Be sure that the springs are preloaded correctly, too little and you will get bouncing/rattling, too much and you will effectively increase your spring rate and decrease your suspension travel.

 

what do you mean by preloading springs correctly? Don't they come preloaded from the factory?

 

No, the units come fully assembled, but once you put them on your car the spring will settle. So you have to tighten up the spring seat collar and lock it in place with the lock collar. The "preload" should be no more than snug, once the spring has done all its settling.

I did a huge write up on the install, let me know if you want it. Word doc.

 

email me whatever you got please.... thanx

nt2shbby@aol.com

 

also please send me a copy

igor911@comcast.net

 

can i have one too please? ryanb612@hotmail.com

 

Let's see it Bulldawg

kfunk@aemail4u.com

 

JIC doesn't make them. Paul along with everyone else uses Eibach springs. They sell standard springs that fit a variety of coilovers. When you get your set, just measure the spring diameter, and spring free length and order whatever spring rate you want.

They aren't that expensive either.

 

Thanks...what's a ballpark price for a front/rear set?

 

I think they are around $60 each, so $240 for a set. Whoever you are buying them from to get the JIC linear springs in a different rate for your kit.