Tokiko HPS vs Illumina installation

[Zedyone_kenobi]

If I already have my struts sectioned and I am running Tokiko non adjustable inserts, can I just pull those out and put in Illumina's for a refresh?

I am curious as to if the sectioning portion is the same or if the illuminas requied a different length strut tube?

Thanks, I was digging through my old records and found out my struts were sectioned and Tokiko inserts were installed in 1991. I was graduating high school

[bacarl]

Your first problem will be the same one I'm currently experiencing, which is that Illuminas are (temporarily?) no longer distributed in the U.S. I know that Tokico was bought out or otherwise absorbed into Hitachi Automotive a while back, and I wonder if the current lack of a distribution network has something to do with this. I just started looking for Illuminas the other day and they can't be found anywhere.

Now, Hitachi is one of our suppliers at my job, so I've contacted them in the hopes that I can somehow source a set of Illuminas from Japan. If you're interested, I can try to get two sets and ship one to you, but no promises yet.

I'm very interested in hearing feedback on sectioning the struts. I hope that this is not necessary to install Illuminas since I would like to keep my struts stock. I hadn't read anything about needing to section them. Hopefully they can be installed in non-sectioned struts for my sake, and also in sectioned ones for your sake

I'm also curious about the correct spring to pair with Illuminas. Are you running stock springs?

Edited September 14, 2013 by bacarl

[Zed Head]

Just get the same part number for the Illuminas and they should drop right in. One starts with HZ, the other with BZ. They're the same dimension, the difference is the adjustability of the Illuminas.

The main consideration with sectioning is that you have to get a shorter insert to work right in the shorter strut tube. Illumina vs HP isn't relevant, it's the length of either that matters.

[John Coffey]

I know that Tokico was bought out or otherwise absorbed into Hitachi Automotive a while back, and I wonder if the current lack of a distribution network has something to do with this.

That was over 10 years ago. Tokico appears to moving away from their aftermarket shock business. They have not done any R&D on vehicles made after 2009 (check their catalogs) and really screwed up with the last distribution agreement with Belshore. I used to be a Tokico WD but cancelled that agreement in 2011 after they outsourced all their assembly, warehousing, and distribution to Belshore (who happened to be another Tokico WD) and I started receiving product with missing and wrong parts. I spent over $400 in FedEx overnight shipping costs to make things right for my customers and Tokico/Belshore told me "tough luck."

Things went downhill from their and Belshore declared chapter 11 in December 2012 to get out of their agreement with Tokico. Belshore's claim was that Tokico USA had vastly overstated product sales and Belshore was stuck with a warehouse full of Tokico product that wasn't moving. Tokico has been saying they have their distribution problems solved but vendors still can't get product.