Anyone use Tokico Illuminas?

Anyone use Tokico Illuminas?

Thinking about putting a set in the 2...

It's doubtful that many here would have any experience with it since they don't make a illuminas app for the corolla... but you could never go wrong with Tokicos. But then again for the price of illuminas, you could get a set of koni sports for a little more and they have a better track record than any suspension company out there except maybe ohline.

~$287 for KYB GR2s, ~$425 for Illuminas, ~$710 for Koni yellows..

$667 shipped from Shox.com.. Koni are fully rebuildable and revalves are done in the US. They'll end up paying for themselves if you do a fair amount of track days.

Hmm. I'd like to order from twosrus to support the community..but for a $43 difference..

Here's my problem - my front driver's side strut housing's swaybar endlink tab is gone. I have another set of housings, but the shock in my replacement is gone..so I'd either have to swap my stock insert into the replacement housing, or go with new stuff all around. If I'm gonna pull stuff apart, I'd just as soon upgrade it (have to pull both fronts - need strut boots..actually, come to think of it I think I need them on the back too). Money is a little tighter than I'd like this year, though (damned tuition prices), so I might just use the stock stuff and wait 'till next year and spring for Koni's. I think I'd be happier that way..I don't like settling for lower-end stuff if I don't have to..

oh yea, I ordered some gauges from them.. great service

I consider illuminas a mid-grade level shocks, definately one of the best you could buy. I suggest considering your usage (drag, autox, or road course) and your choice in coilovers/springs and other suspension modifications before you make your choice.

Mostly DD / summer fun car. Occasional autox and drag.

I'll likely keep the OEM '93 springs I have on there now. I already have ST sways - don't want to jar my teeth out on potholes. I have family in Maine, and the roads over there suck.

i would go with koni for DD,autox and drag just because it handles everything very well and gives very comfortable ride.

Let's go to the shock dyno on this one:
http://www.koni-na.com/civicdyno.pdf

page 3, 4, and 5 has a good comparison of Koni Sport vs. Tokico Illuminas.

Koni
-wider range of adjustment from min to max
-rebound dampening ideal for low to mid speeds
-compression dampening adjusted simultaneously with rebound.

Tokico
-rebound dampening ideal for mid to high speeds
-compression dampening not adjusted.


Looking at those graphs, you really do get what you pay for.. notice the Kyb AGX, (the cheapest of the 3) barely shows a change within the 5 settings. But anyways, for AutoX and launching on the drag strip, koni looks like the best choice.

It's only money, right?

I probably should..think I'll have much difference over stock struts with OEM springs? I've never replaced just shocks before.

Just changing the struts will make a nice difference especially if you want to keep the ride closer to stock. If you want extreme handling then not so much. But sounds like you don't want a crazy stiff ride.

There are actually plenty of people who run koni dampeners with stock springs in the solo2 stock class and does very well (where SCCA only permit upgrading the shocks and not the springs). When using springs with low spring rates such as OEM, the one thing you want from your shock is a more aggressive rebound dampening rate (in terms of performance, not comfort). By increasing the rebound dampening, you'll effectively reduce body roll during turn-in by slowing down the transfer of weight away from the inside wheels. It would also get rid of a lot of the up and down oscillations you usually get after hitting uneven pavement.

I predict you'll se a good amount of performance increase... But as always, it is most ideal to match your springs to your shocks to get optimal performance. And if you don't a overdamped condition is less detrimental to performance than a underdamped "ricer bounce" condition.

I have very stiff sway bars already, and the 93 springs are stiffer than 91, so I'm hoping it'll all balance out okay.

This is getting a LOT more expensive than I had initially expected..twosrus will match shox.com's pricing, but now I want to do my ball joints and tie rod ends too - 245k on the chassis, and I'm not sure when they've been done last..

I know what you mean, I think I spent about 3K on suspension mods.. just save up and do everything at once.. you don't want to have to keep throwing money at the alignment guy everytime you replace one thing.

The konis should work nicely with your oem springs and the sway bar wouldn't be affected by the shocks, so you should be good.

If I wasn't dropping $4k on school this summer, it wouldn't be an issue. I can't just save up and do it all at once (unless I skip driving it this summer) because my strut housing is missing the tab for the sway bar endlink..and I have no endlink there. It's not exactly inspectable..and obviously without a front sway bar connected, gets a little interesting in the corners. I've got to do something, but this is one of those things where if you do this, you should do this, and this, and this too while you're at it..heh.

Well, I'll be installing this when everything gets here..I have some of it already (made my second order just now

1 x Sport Adjustable Strut Inserts - Front
- Model: 8641-1220 MK2 MR2 Front
1 x Sport Adjustable Strut Inserts - Rear
- Model: 8641-1221 MK2 MR2 Rear
1 x Sway bar reinforcement plates
1 x Sway Bar End Links
- Application: Front
- Model: MK2 MR2
- Color: Raw SS
1 x Sway Bar End Links
- Application: Rear
- Model: MK2 MR2
- Color: Raw SS
2 x MKII MR2 Steering Bellows (RH/LH for EHPS, RH for manual)
4 x Strut Boot
1 x Ball Joint/Tie Rod Combo Set
- Model: MK2 MR2
1 x Twos R Us Decal

I've got a set of Illuminas in my AE86 that I've been driving on for many years now. In the 86 chassis the Illuminas were one of the best available... while they were available.

Sorry.

imo, struts/spring setup tends to be stiffer for race use than full coilovers. Of course you lose all your adjust ability and have to drive your car as is like it or not.

I use Tokico HP struts/Megan Springs. This was the stiffest setup I could find, then again i tend to always miss where what i am looking for is.

sell me your car.

thanks.