Buying JICs ...from VIVID!!!?!?!

[sperry]

Well, I'm getting a set of JIC FLT-A2's for X-Mas... my parents agreed to give me some money for my X-Mas gift, so now I can afford them! (It's kinda wierd having to thow in on you rown gift tho.. )

Here's the problem... So far only 2 places have gotten back to me with prices... Vishnu and Vivid, and the only reason Vishnu responded was because I pm'd Kevin (BAN SUVS) who works overthere... aparently the $4000+ I've spent with Vishnu isn't enough to deserve a response from Shiv (I wouldn't bitch except over the last 2 years Shiv has *never* responded to my emails).

Vishnu's prices are about $200 more than Vivid's, 'cept I'll have to pay Vivid's rediculous $65 for "insured shipping".

So the question is, has Vivid cleaned up their act? In the past, if you weren't down w/ them personally, you were taking a big customer service risk buy things from there. Since I'll be spending big money there on these things, I'm not sure I want to take that risk.

On the other hand, they seem to be the only vendor that's willing to sell these things... I've sent out emails to just about every west coast authorized JIC reseller, and only Vivid's responded. I'd much rather buy from S-Squared, Gruppe-S, or SubyDude, but none of those guys are "authorized resellers" and JIC's notorious for not supporting product not purchased from someone on their list.

So has anyone purchased anything from Vivid recently?

[MikeSTI]

i was going to buy my lineage kit from them but wanted to sell my factory radio first :?

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Hey, I don't know what kind of support JIC gives, but if possible you should find out the exact spring rates & strut/shock dyno data for what you're getting.



They certainly look dope... there's plenty of bling![tm] going on if nothing else. :wink:

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

Hey, I don't know what kind of support JIC gives, but if possible you should find out the exact spring rates & strut/shock dyno data for what you're getting.

Spring rates are linear 7kg/mm (392lb/in) front 5kg/mm (280lb/in) rear.
15-way rebound adjustable.
Dual high adjustable (i.e. you can lower the car w/o decreasing stroke).
Latest versions have extended stroke rear dampers with helper springs to eliminate oscillations during freeway driving (common on earlier versions).
Camber adjustable pillowball front top mount, pillowball rear top mount.
50mm inverted nitrogen gas dampers.
Valving is completely rebuildable by JIC-USA, and they will revalve to your specs if you'd like.
Coilovers are all aluminum and stainless steel, so they should be mostly unaffected by weather (minus winter salt, but we have sand out here, not salt).
These are simply the best coilovers for under $2000, and many would argue better than most over $2000.

http://www.jic-magic.com/productsjic_susp_flta2.htm

Now I just need to find an authorized vendor that I can trust that will friggen reply to my emails and sell these things to me!

[AtomicLabMonkey]

What's their charge for shock rebuilding/revalving? I know Bilstein goes for about $50/shock. Can you buy different springs from them down the road? What are the spring dimensions, just out of curiosity? I'm using 10" free length 2.5"dia. on front and back.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

And see if you can get shock dyno data out of them, like this:



That tells you what's really going on with the shock...

[MattR]

I ordered a couple of thing from Vivid, I never had any trouble. From what I understand, they are warehousing more parts now, not just a drop shipper anymore. I would think you're safe.

Congrats BTW, your car will own.

[ArthurS]

As long as they don't drop ship them, I think they are a good company.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

And see if you can get shock dyno data out of them, like this:

That tells you what's really going on with the shock...

Shock data's gonna be useless for me, since I don't understand it, nor do I have the info for the car's current setup to compare it too, even if I learned more about it.

Basically, I've read about 2000 reviews of all the different options for the WRX and talked to a bunch of people that have run several different setups. The design of the JICs (50mm, inverted mono tube) is the same as the top of the line race struts, so they're a great platform to build on. The rates/valving I'm getting have been optimized by JIC for the WRX to provide track capable suspension w/o being too brutal on the street. (Now, I'm not kidding myself, I expect these to be retardly uncomfortable on long trips, but it's a necessary evil if I'm gonna compete in SM). However, for like $200 I can always revalve, and most 2.5" springs will fit on these struts so I'm not locked into the more expensive springs from JIC. The best that I can tell these will be damn good from the factory for what I'm looking for, and if they're not it won't be outragiously expensive to tweak them once I have a baseline idea of what I need for SM.

[sperry]

oh and regarding Vivid: people are still bitching and complaining about their customer service, so I'm going to consider them a last resort. The last thing I want is problems with a $2000 set of coilovers.

[tysonK]

Well Scott:

I have ordered my little fog covers and intercooler protector from:

http://www.kastleskorner.com/store/d...th=77_22_35_67

He had really fast shipping, He is kinda a pillar of the Subaru comunity from what it looks like online. Who knows maybe he will be ready to deal on the oilcovers.

Give him a call.

Monday - Friday, 9AM to 6PM MST

623.825.4825

e-da-mail: Sales: [sales@kastleskorner.com]

--------------

Also that big ass Autobacs Store Opened in Stanton, CA

http://www.autobacsusa.com/us_stores.php

JIC says they are an authorz. dealer.


Check this store wall out. freakin wet dream. "Yah we got Coilovers for that!"

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

Shock data's gonna be useless for me, since I don't understand it, nor do I have the info for the car's current setup to compare it too, even if I learned more about it.

No data is useless, dude. Shock dyno plots are really easy to understand, and even if you don't have a use for it now, you might want it a few months or years from now. Better to see if you can get it while you still have some leverage (i.e. haven't dropped the cash yet). I didn't have any data for my Mustang's OEM shocks either, but I sure do like having the info for the Bilstein's I have on it now - it's a baseline for everything you do from now on.

...However, for like $200 I can always revalve, and most 2.5" springs will fit on these struts so I'm not locked into the more expensive springs from JIC. The best that I can tell these will be damn good from the factory for what I'm looking for, and if they're not it won't be outragiously expensive to tweak them once I have a baseline idea of what I need for SM.

This is where *having* all the data you can get your hands on is a *big* benefit. Being able to tell the factory you want "more low-speed compression resistance & stiffer high-speed rebound" from the fronts, and being able to draw them a picture on a plot like the one above will actually get you what you want from the shock, unlike just telling them "umm, I think I want it stiffer" - cause then you don't know what you're going to get. At $200 a pop, it's better to get it right the first time. I'm thinking about having my rear shocks revalved stiffer in the coming months, and it's gonna be real easy to tell them exactly what I want cause you can see exactly what the current ones are doing as a baseline.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

No data is useless, dude. Shock dyno plots are really easy to understand, and even if you don't have a use for it now, you might want it a few months or years from now. Better to see if you can get it while you still have some leverage (i.e. haven't dropped the cash yet). I didn't have any data for my Mustang's OEM shocks either, but I sure do like having the info for the Bilstein's I have on it now - it's a baseline for everything you do from now on.

This is where *having* all the data you can get your hands on is a *big* benefit. Being able to tell the factory you want "more low-speed compression resistance & stiffer high-speed rebound" from the fronts, and being able to draw them a picture on a plot like the one above will actually get you what you want from the shock, unlike just telling them "umm, I think I want it stiffer" - cause then you don't know what you're going to get. At $200 a pop, it's better to get it right the first time. I'm thinking about having my rear shocks revalved stiffer in the coming months, and it's gonna be real easy to tell them exactly what I want cause you can see exactly what the current ones are doing as a baseline.

All good things to know, but it has zero effect on my purchase decision. I know these coilovers will be able to handle what I'm trying to do. Right now, I have no idea what I need in terms of valving and rates since I've never driven my car on coilovers. I can't make any sort of educated decision about changes to the struts, so I have to go with the experts at the factory who set them up they way they're setup, and with the reviews of our peers that have tried them and many other brands. How many different revisions did your suspension go through? I can think of 4 sets of springs and at least 1 revalve, and that's not including the changes you're planning on the rears. I can't get to the point you're at where shock dyno data is useful without trying 'em out for a bit.

Besides, if I wanted to go with anything custom, I'd have to pay more right off the bat, as they don't sell the FLT-A2s with custom settings unless you get the FLT-A2-RS's (same coilovers, but you're required to talk with JIC USA directly to specify valving and spring rates). So for now, I need to simply get they factory setup, drive a few races on them and see what the deal is before I start worrying about custom valving. In the end custom valving the non-RS coilovers will cost the same as buying a custom version to begin with.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

You're missing my point. I know it's not going to affect your purchase decision, and I know you're going to get the factory-specified settings with the C/O's you're going to buy - I'm saying try and get the data for what you're buying now, rather than later. See if you can get them to send along data with the parts. It can be hard to get the attention of big time suspension companies, especially when you haven't bought anything from them in a while. So, while you're in the process of buying ~$2000 worth of parts from a manufacturer, they're a lot more likely to pay attention and give you what you want than they will be 2 years from now.

That way you'll have baseline data to work with down the road.

[bogey]

stoked for you anyway bro it will be off da chain player