JIC Magic Coilover

[iwk2much]

Hopefully this leads to another coilover option for our platform.

I contacted JIC Magic to find out if they have coilovers available. It turns out, the US distributor (below) was interested in making a set available. They asked of if I can bring my car down for measurements. I said off course!
I road on an M45 with JIC's in the past, it was incredible, better ride quality than stock and seems to handle better for sure. I thought I'd share. I'm going this afternoon, I'll update when I know more.

JIC Magic USA / ZMS Suspension Project
Ziel Motorsports Inc
2007 W Mission Rd Alhambra CA 91803
626-576-0900 TEL
626-576-0160 FAX
http://www.jic-magic.com
http://www.facebook.com/jic.suspension

http://imgur.com/GlDiAD9

[DoN_BLaZe34]

Going to guess you have a RWD Y51, great news lol, not so much for us AWD guys.

[Ilya]

Going to guess you have a RWD Y51, great news lol, not so much for us AWD guys.

Yeah looks like he has a '13 S. Sucks for us for sure lol. I probably wouldn't buy them anyway...JIC's are expensive. I remember for the A32 Maxima I had they were like $3k lol. I love my car but not that much. BC's are more than fine for what I need.

[beachbum718]

I had jic tar vip model on my q45t. Hands down best i ever rode in.if i wasnt on air,id buy a set.

[iwk2much]

Yes, I have a RWD Y51.

An afternoon well spent, if nothing else for the education and perspective Jon shared with me. He is the designer of the JIC dampers and now moved to the US. He does not carry alot of pre-made inventory but carries all the parts needed to assemble the dampers for many applications and specifications, all kinds of springs, and builds the flanges and mounting points here in the US.

He asked I bring the stock "S" struts. He will measure the stock shock compression and rebound rate, as well as the springs load rating and other measurements - I wasn't taking details notes, just listening with intrigue. These measurements will be the baseline when choosing pistons and damping rate for the shocks and similarly for the springs. Top Flange and mounting points will also be
He then took measurements of the mounted BC coilovers, he said that shock travel is the key if a comfortable ride is more important to a customer than aggressive handling. He said the measurements he took will give the max drop that can be achieved (front and rear) before shock travel becomes compromised. He has a heavy Japanese accent so I may have heard some of the words wrong but I think I understood the concept he was communicating.

He said from this baseline, if a customer say they want better handling or an aggressive drop - he will outfit the dampers with certain pistons / oil, spring length and load, and recommend starting settings and so on.

He test drove my car and he praised ride on BC. He said they have come a long way but he said the compression rate and balance could be improved on quite a bit. He said that having 22 inch wheels is a disadvantage and that I will never achieve the ride quality and handling that can be attained with 20 inch, or even 19 inch wheels.

He quoted an MSRP of $2750 as the typical price point of our type f cars and quotes a ballpark figure for being a "local" customer. In a couple of wheels, after all the measurements and calculations are complete, he can give me a firm figure.

Well worth the 1.5 hours spent there.

[beachbum718]

^^^that's why I'd never buy 22s.it kills your ride quailty.

[wideopn11]

Sweet, nice to see some new options popping up.

[SwissCheeseHead]

Too bad we can't get ANY awd support (other than BC). Makes me so sad, as I really love my car, but i'm not crazy about BC.

[Ilya]

Too bad we can't get ANY awd support (other than BC). Makes me so sad, as I really love my car, but i'm not crazy about BC.

BC's are more than fine for the average joe who daily drives this car.

[SwissCheeseHead]

I'm sure they are, and I will probably end up getting them, but me delaying for a year, I was hoping something else would come up lol. I'll have to get over the BC/Megan relationship/identity/whateveryouwanttocallit.

[rsilva800]

This is great news. Keep us posted on the progress. May consider a set of these for mine.

[iwk2much]

I pulled the trigger today. Two weeks to get the mounting flanges / brackets CAD and CNC'd. He ask to keep the car three days when the shocks are ready so he can measure corner weights and test damping rates and single and helper spring options. He said he wanted to test helper springs combination with my 22 inch wheel. Fingers cross that it will be an improvement on an already good BC set-up

When this is done, I'll have a set of BC Coilovers with 12K Front and 8K rear swift springs with only 6,000 miles on it for sale; or a brand new JIC set-up,,

[Ilya]

I pulled the trigger today. Two weeks to get the mounting flanges / brackets CAD and CNC'd. He ask to keep the car three days when the shocks are ready so he can measure corner weights and test damping rates and single and helper spring options. He said he wanted to test helper springs combination with my 22 inch wheel. Fingers cross that it will be an improvement on an already good BC set-up

When this is done, I'll have a set of BC Coilovers with 12K Front and 8K rear swift springs with only 6,000 miles on it for sale; or a brand new JIC set-up,,

Sucks your RWD cause I'd probably buy that BC set from you.

[beachbum718]

Nothing will increase ride quailty driving on 22s.just my two cents.not even air ride.

[iwk2much]

Sucks your RWD cause I'd probably buy that BC set from you.

I've always wanted to drive the X. It must accelerate like a bat of of hell. If it is like my wife's AWD audi, the power goes straight to the ground and forward motion. The RWD is on the traction control for a few seconds before grip catches up to the torque of the motor.

[iwk2much]

I just got an update and a picture for the coilovers for our platform. JIC is just waiting for the supplier to ship the CNC'd lower brackets. I may have it on by next week!

[iwk2much]

Its official, we have another coilover alternative available for the RWD model.

I hope these aren't too many install pictures. I am intrigued by how much longer the JIC rear springs are than the swift springs. I like the way the front brake lines mount on the JIC's. The bracket is on the fixed portion of the coilover, no need to loosen up the brackets when adjusting ride height. They are still working on the final settings of the unit. Based on their test drive, they've adjusted the front damper rebound and changed to a 14K front and 7K rear spring from the prototype baseline. I'll give my driving impressions when I get the vehicle back.

Soon I'll have a slightly used(6,000 miles) BC coilover with 12K front and 8K rear swift springs along with the stock BC spring(10K/8K) fro sale I will also be selling the SPC Adjustable upper chamber A Arm.With the ride height I am set at, at the most positive setting, these arms give a -1.5 degree chamber. The stock A-arm gave a -.5. Even though JIC mentioned the -1.5 chamber gives better handling, I opted for the better tire wear. The good news is that they don't recommend running with 0 degree chamber as the handling and the "wandering" improvement offsets the tire wear benefit. They recommend `-.75.

[Altered]

Wow, that was pretty fast. Great for the RWD guys, OP good on you for getting it done...another suspension option. It will be very interesting to read your driving impressions after it is adjusted and tweaked. And to see "after" pics, I know it was already low but your car is one of my favorite Ms.

[Ilya]

Beautiful pics and work sir, good job keepin on it. Sucks you're RWD though cause I'd buy your stuff for sure if you were AWD.

[SwissCheeseHead]

Wow. Those look awesome. Two things I wish right now, 1) they would make an AWD set, and 2) that your BC coils would fit my X lol. Looking forward to the review!

[iwk2much]

These are all JIC / ZMS pictures. I passed on the feedback. The experiencing working with them is making the extra coin well worth it.

Jon said if AWD owners want to send in their stock shocks, he can take the measurements and get them in the catalog.

Not getting the car yet. They are not happy with rear valving, they will make a change. Hopefully I get the vehicle tomorrow and a trip to the mountains on Saturday.

They also told me that the reason I was hearing a clunking noise with the BC is because the installers over torqued the front stabilizer link and stretched the bolt damaging the rubber bushing. They also over torqued the rear camber arm bolt and didn't tighten under load causing binding and a damaged bushing. None are BC coilover problems. I had this issue with the BC coil over on my m45 as well - surprise surprise - done by same ex-installer!! JIC insisted I replace the damaged parts.
Live and learn...

[SwissCheeseHead]

These are all JIC / ZMS pictures. I passed on the feedback. The experiencing working with them is making the extra coin well worth it.

Jon said if AWD owners want to send in their stock shocks, he can take the measurements and get them in the catalog.

Not getting the car yet. They are not happy with rear valving, they will make a change. Hopefully I get the vehicle tomorrow and a trip to the mountains on Saturday.

They also told me that the reason I was hearing a clunking noise with the BC is because the installers over torqued the front stabilizer link and stretched the bolt damaging the rubber bushing. They also over torqued the rear camber arm bolt and didn't tighten under load causing binding and a damaged bushing. None are BC coilover problems. I had this issue with the BC coil over on my m45 as well - surprise surprise - done by same ex-installer!! JIC insisted I replace the damaged parts.
Live and learn...

Someone that has their OEM suspension sitting around needs to send them off!

Good to know about the BC coilovers clunking sound. It seems to plague many makes/models though. They're infamous for it.

[iwk2much]

I got the car back and spent most of yesterday up n the mountains.

The car is transformed. The front and the rear of the car finally feels like it is working together. Prior, the car felt like it was on top of the road not connected to it. The balance is o much better. The weight transfer side to side when turning is gone, especially the weight transfer from rear to front when hard braking. I hated the way the car dived when applying brakes hard during spirited driving because you had to wait a split second for the car settle due to the severe weight transfer. This is GONE - i love it! It was a PITA because I always had to brake before I turned because if I was braking hard while turning into a corner, it was scary as you didn't know what the car was going to do. Now that the car is flatter and have less transfer of side to side and front to back, it inspires confidence. I'm on the traction control at corner exit almost every time.

The handling improvement is well with the investment. Despite the car firmer and more connected on the road, the ride was the same as the BC, actually on a road with dips, there was alot less bounce and jarring. JIC's are definitely the real deal. The damper settings are 5 for the front and 2 for the rear(30 click total, lowest are softest)

For the AWD folks, Jon showed me that he had the brackets for the AWD in house. He did say he wanted the first install done at the shop so he can tune. But I suggest anyone interested to contact him.

[wideopn11]

This is great! Glad the JIC worked out for you. I'd love to be the AWD test car but I'm on the east coast.

[Ilya]

This is great! Glad the JIC worked out for you. I'd love to be the AWD test car but I'm on the east coast.

Aren't you on BC's? Do you have your stock stuff? Send it over there! lol

[wideopn11]

I'm on Eibach springs only otherwise I would.

[Ilya]

Ahh, gotcha.

[SwissCheeseHead]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the set cost? I live in the Midwest so I can't be a guinea pig either.

[CRV_33]

iwk2much - great job on reaching out to JIC and working with them on getting a set made for the RWD chassis.

You guys can check out the thread that I started last year and see if we can locate an AWD car locally to JIC to see if they can bring their car out:

post6685809.html?hilit=roll%20call#p6685809

[DoN_BLaZe34]

we never did find an AWD guy for this huh