i got the JIC MAGIC FLT-2A coilovers back on oct the 10th and have been trying to figure out what to say about them ever since. the short answer is the car handles like a dream, better than i ever thought it could. for about 4 months i had the bilstein sport shocks with the stock springs and then i had the bilsteins with the eibach pro springs for maybe 2 months. at that point i wanted the car to handle even better so i got the daizen sways in sept and still felt the car could handle better so i picked up all of the toms braces. at each point the car got better but it still had a bit of rear end wobble on big curves at higher speeds. i kept hearing about coilovers but didn't want to spend $1500 or so. then i read dave gs4,s review of the bilstein coilovers and i was hooked, and they were only $900, so i ordered them in oct. only to be told they were backordered to new years. about that time i heard about the jic coilovers and they sounded like they were even better than the bilsteins, because they have something called an independent pre-load adjustment. plus i could actually get them without waiting thanks to steve ganz. so with some e-mail help from manaray who answered my countless questions i got them installed.

first ride quality: its alot stiffer and transmits noise more than stock or the sport shocks. i don't mind it and think its worth it

straight roads: all the float is gone but you feel every crack in the pavement. also on bridge bumps at high speed the car stays straight and no longer has any unpredictable shimmy. much safer knowing what the car is going to do.

curves: now this is where the coilovers shine. i started out with the dampening set at 8 front and 6 rear and felt handeling was awesome but a bit stiff. i've fooled around with the settings but keep coming back to that one. anyway going around curves the car stays flat and predictable with no rear end wobble. and we all know the rear end is where the gs400 needs the most help. i drove thru one neighborhood that has a bunch of uphill left & right hand 90 degree 10mph turns and turned the vsc off and was drifting around the turns with the tires smoking, god what fun and then some little old lady coming towards me as i was coming out of the last turn flipped me off. i don't want to upset anyone but it was sure fun. i'm staying away from there for a while. a couple of days later up went up interstate 90 to the cascades and got on some new highway that was about 6 lanes wide and no one around and got it up to 125mph before i decided to back off as i was coming up on some other cars. man this car handles great at that speed and was not scary at all. of course going 100mph after that seemed slow.

Driving around curves at slower speeds than that but still over the limit, i've found the car is capable of going faster than i'm willing to push it (my ***** aren't big enough to push it to the max) . I've got one stretch of road near here than is twisting and winding with left and right curves that i can go thru in 2nd and 3rd gear that really gets me pumped but its only 1/2 to 3/4 mile long. i used to have a 66 porsche 912 back in the late 60's and this car now reminds me of how much fun i had driving it but with about 200 more horsepower.

Overall i think the coilovers are a vast improvment over springs and shocks. plus you can adjust these babies to the exact height and firmness that you want. springs and shocks are obsolete in my opinion i wish i had gone straight to coilovers instead of wasting time and money fooling around with something that was inferior in every way.

i love getting in this car and going around corners and flooring it. next mod is the rmm torsen 3.76 lsd to be installed tuesday and once again i just can hardly wait. ivan

 

Nice writeup Ivan, thanks for sharing your experience!

 

sorry this came out as one big paragraph i had it in four parts when i wrote it. i guess i don't know the right way to post it can someone pm me & tell me how you post so it is in sections

 

Better? You must have pasted it in from word or something and it carried a bunch of unreadable characters.

 

Great write up!!
Did you do the install? Difficulties? I was looking at going with the tein flex but they were so expenxive, how much were the JIC's? Are they easily adjustable for height and dampening? Sorry for all the questions but I am trying to figure out what to do fro my suspension since I only have H&R springs.
Thanks,
Dean

 

i had a mechanic put them on and it took him all day. someone else could probably do it faster. my guy makes sure every thing is perfect and while it takes him longer than i like, he does it right.

it's a pain in the @ss to adjust the height. but it is the right way.
the height adjustment needs to be done on bottom at first. then can be fine tuned at the top 1/2 " or less. the dampening is easy to adjust. and has 15 settings.

about $1500 steve ganz at carson list is $1950..

i don't know how to put pictures on here or do links to other sites but look at the JIC-MAGIC.com website and you'll see how beautiful these shocks are and it also describes the quality of materials. these just became available this summer and not to many people have them yet. i had a problem with adjusting one for dampening and e-mailed them and got a very prompt answer with pictures that solved the problem.

i was hesitant at first to spend this much money but i could not be any happier with the quality of the product or how it has transformed the way this car handles. my car is a total blast to drive and i just love roaring around curves. i may just keep this car a long long time. today it is getting a rmm 3.76 torsen style limited slip diff. installed. i should be ripping off even faster in a couple more hours. ivan

 

Where in Wash. are you? I am in the Bremerton area (Poulsbo). Maybe I could have your shop so some of the work?
Dean

 

i'm in des moines and the shop is in downtown kent

 

the sf-1s