WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

the subject sorta says it all.. I ordered Tokico Illuminas to use with the Eibach Prokit springs, but when they arrived, they most certainly were NOT Tokico Illuminas, but Tokico blues... When I called the guy on it, I got this response:
As he won't return my calls or emails, I'm assuming that I am stuck with them.. .the problem is I DO NOT WANT A SUPER HARD SUSPENSION SETUP.. This is my daily driver, and my girlfriend doesn't like the car as it is.. "It's so noisy compared to your old eclipse.." either way.. How bad are these shocks, are they super hard, not hard enough, should I just run them... . help.. I'm pissed off and (apparently) stuck with them...

thanks.

snub disphenoid

I'm between sets of coilovers right now, so I have my tokico blue/ST springs setup. The ride is about as harsh as the JIC coilovers i had in before ( a little quiter, though), and the handling is not quite as good. If you know how to tweak dampening force and you really want some control over your suspension aside from the GC coilovers, you might want to get the Illuminas.

casio

first, what did you pay? i remember paying ~$350. its been some months, so i dont remember exactly.
i'm happy with them i guess. i'm running Intrax springs (on car when i bought it) and the Blues. i'm not experienced at all with suspension setups (though i've driven a spec miata which handles like a go-kart), but i won't complain. i like the stiffness, but i've never thought "man these make my car ride like poop." my mom's 4Runner rides like a boat; i like hitting a small wave in the concrete and my car being stiff over it and not bouncing. as i said, i'm not experienced enough with suspensions to even grade em, but i cant complain about them.
as far as what he said about stiffness, that was probably BS to make you happy. i dont know the full story, but Illuminas (that i saw) are adjustable. the ones i saw were white, too (older, i dont know what they look like now). either way, he probably assumed you were going for stiffness, so he made up a shtick to please you.
as far as pleasing your girlfriend, rx7s (sub 93) are girl repellants. ya gotta find a special lady to actually "like" the car. me, i have no intention on finding that girl. love me for me and we'll take your car out (or maybe i'll steal my mom's 4Runner ).

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

I really wanted to get the illuminas... but as I'm in college, and another bill for 1800 bucks is due in a few days, I can't afford to just ditch these and buy another set for 400 bucks.. I was under the impression I was getting illuminas the whole time, since it was in the subject of the email..

you're going to have to help me understand how harsh the JICs were, though.. I have never been in another 7 (except for my dad's 85 GS), so I have no idea what the stock suspension is supposed to feel like (mine is shot), so i've never gotten to drive a modded one, either..

Edit: Casio replied while I was typing this..

I was getting a helluva deal (on illuminas), but not that good of deal on blues. They are at least new, like he said, but I'm just worried it's going to be like a few of the race cars i have driven. I don't want to feel every bump and pothole, as there are LOTS in PA.. I mean, a WHOLE LOT...

As for the girlfriend thing, she normally drives, now... just because she doesn't like my car but I have been dating her two and a half years longer than I've owned the car, so she has priority..

thanks for the review, though

casio

youre in college ?! i was always under the impression you were an older fella. i'm 21 and they dont bother me a bit. i have an n/a with those shocks (Blues), the springs, aftermarket pressure plate/clutch, and some solid motor mounts. doesnt ride like a BMW, but i'm a kid. daily driven, doesnt bother me.

koukifc3s

iTrader: (3)

I am running those with ground control coilovers and I like them. The ride is pretty smooth and my gf doesn't complain
They handle really nice too compared to my old stock FC.
I will be getting KYB AGX tho since they are not stiff enough for me.

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

yeah, I'm 22 (for a few more days)... I can't wait to get out of school, though.. Graduate next spring, luckily

I don't think it will bother me, honestly, I guess i'm just mostly pissed off.. espeically since I recieved them on a week that my house flooded, my credit card number got frauded, my engine kept overheating to the point it needed a rebuild, and a crapload of other stuff happened...

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

cool, thanks for the info..

I think I'm just going to have to install them...

snub disphenoid

The JICs were really obviously stiff. Since they were a different shock design, though, they were louder, so when I hit a bump I heard it a lot more than I do now. My dad thought it was a harsh setup, but I never felt bad after driving the car. I never got aches or pains, and that's on racing seats no less. The blues shouldn't be bad, though, they're probably like the illuminas set at the intermediate setting.

VietFC

the blues are supposed to be just a tad stiffer than stock... and tolerates more of a suspension drop. ur stock shocks are probably dead anyway. Just use em if you can't get the illuminas. =/

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

thanks everyone for the information.. I'm going to use them, and i'll see how it goes.. i should be dropping my engine back in on sunday, and hopefully, by the next weekend I can get them installed.

twistedriver

I got some TOk BLue from the junk yard a few days ago. They ride alot nicer than the stock shock. Smoother but not stiff or harsh in any way. So if you can't change your shock back than just enjoy the shocks.

88IntegraLS

i have tokico hp nonadjustable shocks on my NA and love the stiffness. adjustable would be nicer, especially for track or autox use, but the nonadjustables are stiffer than stock by a good margin, at least when coupled with eibach springs as in my suspension setup. I go over steep inclines and curbs way easier than stock FC's that scrape their bumpers on them.

Evil Aviator

That's bogus. First of all, you are going to want adjustable shocks if you are autocrossing because you will want to click up or down one setting for short/long tracks. Also, "Illuminas" are adjustable, while the non-adjustables are called "Performance" (HP Series), and putting HP shocks in an Illumina box doesn't change that. If anything, it sounds like fraud to me. If you bought these new from a dealer, I think you should call Tokico at 1-800-548-2549 and tell them what is going on.

If you are content with being a victim, and decide to keep the shocks, you should at least check the numbers to make sure they fit your car. The proper numbers are:
Front Right: HB3024
Front Left: HB3025
Rear: HU3633

RETed

First off, HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY FOR THEM???

You can get those HP's brand new for under $300 for a set.
Now, unless you get them for under $100, you're getting fucked.

**** the seller.
Even if he tries to get away on technicalities like "I never mentioned the word 'Illuminas'", I'd be majorly pissed.

At the very least, he shouls return some money to you for the "illcommunication".
"Illcommunication" this Matt you *******.
That's really low trying to get this sale by skirting with technicalities, but trying to project a false image you're trying to sell a set of adjustable Illuminas.

Threaten to report that bitch to the FBI Internet Fraud unit.
He deserves it.
You should not be content you got something that were inferior on what you thought you were getting.

-Ted

RETed

You know what, it pissed me off this guy is from Hawaii...

So I had to do some poking around...

I found the post here:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=296386

You know what, THE ******* POST SAID "tokico illumina".
"For sale, full set of tokico illumina gas struts and shocks for 89 thru 91 rx7, brand new in box"
It does not say "Tokico in Tokico Illumina boxes" or anything implying as such.
If YOU, MATT, got fucked over by someone else, don't try to **** the next seller like this.

Matt you ******* ***** you flat-out lied.


-Ted

Cwaters

Illuminas are adjustable and are not blue. Period. He said they were illiminas and that means they're adjustable and white. If what you got were blue and not adjustable then he lied in his description. This is true whether or not he actually knew the difference between the two products.
You paid him for something and he delivered something less valuable.
If you decide to keep the HPs to avoid the hassle, get him to give you at least SOME of the purchase price back.
No need to be a jerk about it at first, this could have been a mistake by the seller who may not have known the difference but he's certainly at fault here.

incedentlly, you'll want something stiffer than the blues if you're going to be seriously autcrossing this car.

Cory
has HPs in the back of his autocross 86.

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

Evil Aviatar - Yeah, i'm not happy about it, but short of getting the FBI involved or something, there's not really a whole lot I can do about, especially since I really don't have time right now to do all the leg work for the "investigation", and keep prodding the office to contact him, as I know I'd have to do. I also don't have time to wait for a resolutino before I fix my suspension, unfortunately. If i hadn't recieved the product at all, or it if wasn't going to fit (They're the right models, I already looked), i'd be more pissed off.. They were not in the Illuminas box, though.
ReTed - Don' t worry, I don't hold it against you Islanders. The thing is, he called them illuminas multiple times.. I paid $275 after shipping, they were in new in box, like he said... I don't think I got too ripped off in that respect, since I was looking at about 350 after shipping from most sites I looked at.

I learned that I guess I need to get pictures from all sellers... throughout all of this I assumed that the guy knew if they were illuminas or not, and i didn't really need to see a picture cause I knew illuminas looked like..

Besides time, the other major reason i'm not pushing this as much as i probably should (to the authorities, that is), is that I don't really have any additional money to buy illuminas, even if I were to get a full refund. I'd still be left with the same price range I bought these at. Stupid School taking all my money

Thanks for looking out for me, you two.

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

That's the problem. I recieved these two weeks ago (roughly), and after that last email that I posted on the first page, he doesn't respond to me.. I've tried calling him and leaving emails.

I'm not going to be seriously autocrossing the car, it's still my daily driver, and I don't want to feel every bump in exchange for a few tenths of a second or something..

HenryV

If it is any consolation --

My RX7 is on Tokicko Blues, and the ride is very good. If in fact, just *slightly*on the soft side. I would say that the setup is a very good compromise for a daily driver.

Also, there was FC RX7 Autocrosser that had the Eibach/Tokicko Blues setup - he won Nationals (SCCA) a few years back. So that has to say something about how balanced the setup is. The post is on teamfc3s.org - check their autocross forum.

David

PS: Sorry, I'm at work, and my coworker has his name logged in.