Tokico Illumina Struts
 

I don't know if this has already been posted, but we just received the release from Tokico for Illumina Struts for the Protege/Protege5. It's nice to finally have an alternative to the Mazdaspeed Struts! (although they may be similar as Tokico makes some of the Mazdaspeeds - either front or rear - and KYB makes the others). The struts will begin shipping October 1st and have either 5 or 15 stiffness settings (not sure which yet) to fine-tune your suspension. They're designed for lowered cars, and should be a great match with Eibach and H&R springs. I'll post again when we receive them. I'm getting a set ASAP as my stock shocks are just about done (after 1 year on Eibachs).

Cool, now all I need to do is save some money. I hope they are comparable in price to the MS tokicos, I dont necessarily want adjustable struts and dont want to pay extra for them.

Do you think they would work best with Eibach pro-kit, Eibach sportline, or some other spring (name which spring)? I understand they are adjustable but I'm sure they would work better with some springs than others.

Pricetag?...

cool! i wanna stiffen up the ride a bit especially on the rear
so maybe i can go back to my factory sway bar and trash the
damn AWR crap.

I've heard that Tokicos work best with Eibach Pro-Kits. As far as the cost, we have them listed at Jobber, which is $143.99 for the fronts and $136.99 for the rears. They're 5 way adjustable and we're shipping them for free for a limited time (although they won't ship until October 1st). You can check them out here:

Tokicos

We also carry Tokico Blues (HP series) that go for $93.99 in the front and $88.99 in the rear. The blues are better for stock height cars, but would be fine with Eibachs also. I just wouldn't recommend them for cars lowered more than that. I know a guy who ran them with ground control coil overs and they blew out in a couple of months with a 3.5" drop on a civic.

tokico HP or Illumina availability
 

I've been waiting ages for the Tokico HP/Illumina shocks to come out ... Scarmiglio mentioned that they are shipping on October 1st. A couple of questions for the suspension savvy:

(1) Has anyone found any places that have them in stock yet, and if so for what price? Or have they not been released yet? (The prices Scarmiglio mentioned seem reasonable, thanks for that info ... but any other stores?)

(2) What is the difference between the aftermarket Tokico HP and the OE Tokicos from an MP3 or MSP?

I called Tokico on the 1st of October, and they told me to call back in 2 weeks. ARGHH! All companies work that way, but it's stupid to anounce that they'll be available when they're not! I'll keep you posted. I don't think that anyone will have them in stock before Tokico does. :D

As far as the difference, I wouldn't buy HPs unless if you're really on a budget. Definitely spend the extra $$ to get the Illuminas. I'm not sure what the actual difference is between the Mazdaspeeds and the Illuminas, but I know that the stock MSP struts aren't adjustable and the Illuminas are. Also, I think that either the front or the rear MSPs are KYB shocks and the other set is made by Tokico (or something like that). Also, the MSP struts are designed to be used with the MSP springs. I've heard that even the MSP struts blow out after a year if you use Eibachs or H&Rs. That shouldn't be an issue with the Illuminas. I hope that this helps!

A possible discount?
 

Hey scarmiglio, I'm planning on buying ALL new rotors, struts, and springs for my P5 off the planetperformance site within the next 2 weeks. I just bought some 17" Enkei 5+'s in athracite (I likes) with yokohama AVS tires, but there is too much gap between tire and wheel well so it's time to lower my shit. Anyhow, is there anyway I can get a discount or anything? I figure I'd ask since you have a spot for a discount input on the cart page :D

hahahhahah i just have to laugh..ive been calling about these things forever! since the spring.. they change the release date like every day!!! good luck guys...once i see someone has them...THEN ill buy them!

I got tired of waiting for them and placed an order for the JIC FLTA2 coilovers. Tokico lost my business by delaying the release too many times.

But Rishie was doing a groupbuy at www.msprotege.com and he said he was expecting them to be in stock by the end of November and that they would sell out immediately (at least the Illuminas). Not my info but just passing along what I heard.

So are the Illuminas out yet?

I was thinking of getting them to run with my stock MP3. Just to help out a little more than the stock struts.

Nice price too...

nope, no one has them in stock yet because Tokico hasn't released them yet. scroll up to the other posts to see when we expect them to be out.

Damn, I can't believe I missed the "November" part of that. Oh well.

I'm retarded sometimes...

Re: A possible discount?
 

Sorry for the delay - I havn't been on the board for a while. First off, I called Tokico and heard the Illuminas were delayed until "the end of the year". I'll talk to them at SEMA next week and see if they're ever going to release them. They actually had a Protege5 at the show last year, so I figured they would have the illuminas available well before now.

As far as getting a deal, give us a call and let the sales guy know what you're looking to buy. They'll definitely hook you up if you're buying a bunch of stuff.