TEIN was born in rally. TEIN's technological advancements go hand in hand with motorsports activities. Motorsports is crucial for TEIN to elevate its engineering and to refine its ideal suspension.
TEIN embodies the famous 'Laboratory on Wheels'. Utmost technology comes from the competition fields where winning requires competing for every tenth of a second. All the valuable data obtained from competitions are refined and poured into all TEIN products built for the street.
Specifications, performance, and durability required for motorsports might be a bit excessive in a way. But, for those who are not satisfied with existing suspensions and are seeking the real quality products, no compromise can be made for any type of product whether it be circuit, gravel, or street use products.
The purpose of TEIN's support to various motorsports is NOT to generate name recognition. TEIN would rather spend money on R & D than publicity. TEIN is not sponsoring and supporting just any motorsports events, but it is limited to certain categories that are valuable for improvement of product quality and performance.
Everything TEIN does is to deliver the ultimate products to all customers.
TEIN returned to the WRC scene in 2005, after a 7 year absence. TEIN choose to support vehicles in the P-WRC (Production Car World Rally Championship) class for a reason. Engine modification is not allowed in this class, thus the performance of shock absorber has a direct effect on race results. In other words, the performance of suspension can be exhibited to the fullest extent.
But, a 7 year absence meant more than expected. The performance and durability that drivers and teams currently require are far greater than expectations for products 7 years ago. Ichino and Fujimoto were not weary of this reality and stated, "we are going to complete shock absorbers that can win the world title!"
The brand-new "Type Gr.N Damper" was finally completed and is equipped with the new feature; 'M.S.V.' (Micro Speed Valve). This innovative system enables fine control of damping force with the newly added valve.
In its debut at P-WRC races, the Gr.N Damper placed 8th. Fujimoto and engineers were not satisfied at all. There still was a gap between TEIN and the rest of the world. That was only a place to start for them. From that point on, engineers put all their efforts, without resting, to develop and improve the Gr.N Damper in astonishing time.
About six months later, the evolved Gr.N Damper enjoyed a moment of glory in WRC Finland Rally. An Impreza, sponsored by TEIN and driven by Aki Teiskonen, closed in quickly and clinched the class victory.
On his [Teiskonen] at-home win, he told TEIN engineers with a big smile on his face.
"TEIN shock absorber was really great!"
Nothing could stop the success of TEIN shock absorbers equipped with 'M.S.V.' technology. Vehicles with this new system have won the Super Taikyu series for 2 consecutive years. Its capability is not limited to battles being waged on the circuit but instead its advantages can be felt on the streets as well. TEIN decided to include 'M.S.V.' into mass-producution dampers for street use starting with the 'MONO FLEX' and 'COMFORT SPORT' in 2006. For street use, it is useful when changing lanes on highways. Softer damping force settings tend to worsen steering response thus losing the ability to make quick turns. With 'M.S.V.', damping force is more precisely controlled, thus enabling both comfortable ride and acute steering response. All the cultivated technology is fed back into TEIN products. For that purpose, TEIN remains on the 'competition field'.
TEIN keeps competing well into the future.