TEIN - Slide And Drive

2NR: How were the suspension setups constructed? Was it a monotube design?FY: They were some type of twin-tube design, but they were only available as a cartridge. So the capabilities were limited.

2NR: So what did you do after you realized these products weren't good enough for rally?FY: We talked to big companies, but they couldn't authorize the kind of quantities we wanted, so we decided to make our own shock absorbers. Mr. Ichino and I co-founded TEIN, and we began designing suspensions and performed minor assembly work.

2NR: What does TEIN stand for?FY: Technical Innovation.

2NR: What year did you start TEIN?FY: We began in 1985. This year is our 20th anniversary.

2NR: Undoubtedly, your rally experience influenced your suspension setups. How did you set yourselves apart from other suspension manufacturers?FY: We learned a lot from testing and analyzing other manufacturers' suspensions. Then we thought about which constructions were better for motorsports. So basically we designed our suspension for the rally cars we campaigned.

2NR: What was the first car to use your suspension?FY: We first used it in an Isuzu Gemini (JT150) in 1987. We drove it from 1987 to 1990, and it was one of the first 1.5-liter front-wheel-drive, turbocharged cars.

2NR: Did you experience any suspension problems?FY: Of course. We had blowouts and not enough damping force. We miscalculated the percentage of gas-to-oil ratio in the suspension cartridge.

2NR: What are the worst rally conditions you have ever seen in your 11 plus years?FY: Three come to mind. In 1992 we attended the New Zealand Rally in a Nissan Pulsar GTi-R. This specific stage was called the Roller Coaster because the road conditions were terrible. You couldn't see what lay ahead of you over the hilly terrain. A hundred miles from the finish the tires caught on an embankment and the car flipped six times. The car was a total loss. Indonesia and Kenya were the most difficult rally courses. Conditions were so severe during the Indonesia Rally that I used ultrathin tires just so I could make turns, but the car still refused to rotate because of the mud and rain. All of the drivers ended up driving at a walking pace for approximately 10 to 20 miles.

2NR: And Kenya?FY: Incredible. It was like trying to look out of the windshield while a showerhead was turned on full blast. You couldn't see anything. There was a condition called "black cotton mat" which is the slipperiest condition possible-imagine sliding on an oil-doused tarmac. So, we were driving on this slippery dirt surface, and 20 miles from the finish the roads are completely flooded with 5 to 10 inches of rain. I called a masai (local guy) and paid him to walk in front of the car and lead us to the end. I could have ended up in a ditch and ended my day. Flooding is the very reason why the Celica AllTrac is equipped with a snorkel for the Kenya race.