Torque Developments (TDi-plc) is pleased to announce the second of HKS Europe’s winter promotions – this time for the FN2 model Honda Civic Type-R.

Strictly time limited, this promotion centres around the Hipermax III suspension kit for the FN2 Civic. The HKS Hipermax III suspension utilises a mono tube design for improved strength, durability and precise control of dampening. With 30 levels of dampening adjustment available at both front and rear, HKS Hipermax III suits a wide range of driving style and conditions.

1) HKS Civic Type-R Racing Suction Package Special Offer: This package combines the Hipermax III suspension kit with the popular Racing Suction Reloaded intake kit.

Hipermax III £1,566.95+VAT Racing Suction Reloaded £308.55+VAT

Normal retail price £1875.50+VAT SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £1566.95+VAT

Making a Saving of £308.55+VAT!!! In effect you get a FREE Racing Suction Reloaded kit when buying the HKS Hipermax III suspension!

Please contact Torque Developments now to take advantage of this time limited offer, quoting order code: KIT-AH001.

2) HKS Civic Type-R Premium Suction Service Package special offer: This package combines HKS Hipermax III suspension kit with a Premium Suction kit for those who want to gain performance and add some accenting to the engine bay but are not yet ready for the Racing Suction Reloaded kit with its more pronounced engine roar. Also included in this kit are a replacement Hybrid Sports Oil Filter and a set of 4 spark plugs. To finish things off an extra replacement Super Hybrid Filter is also included for your next service.

Hipermax III £1,566.95+VAT Premium Suction £199.65+VAT 4x Spark Plug (M35-I) £68.20+VAT Hybrid Sports Oil Filter £16.78+VAT Super Hybrid Filter £28.60+VAT

Normal retail price £1880.18+VAT SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £1566.95+VAT

Making a Saving of £313.23+VAT!!! For the price of the Hipermax III suspension, get all the other items FREE! Please contact Torque Developments now to take advantage of this time limited offer, quoting order code: KIT-AH002.

3) HKS Civic Type-R Performance Package special offer: This package combines the HKS Hipermax II suspension with a Racing Suction Reloaded intake kit and also adds the HKS Sports Muffler to create a complete and cohesive tuning package.

Hipermax III £1,566.95+VAT Racing Suction Reloaded £308.55+VAT Sports Muffler £785.00+VAT

Normal retail price £2660.50+VAT SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £2225.00+VAT

Making a Saving of £435.50+VAT!!!

Please contact Torque Developments now to take advantage of this time limited offer, quoting order code: KIT-AH003. Installation is available in TDi’s workshops, as is our FRS suspension geometry alignment service for Honda Civic Type R FN2 models – helping you make the most of your suspension.

Contact Torque Developments on freephone: 0800 107 3260 email: sales@tdi-plc.com

MUGEN principal stockist and leading Japanese tuning house Torque Developments International Plc announces a high performance adjustable suspension kit that greatly enhances the already renowned handling of the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports coupe, as used on the recent MUGEN CR-Z Supercharged concept.

Designed with high speed stability, ride comfort and enthusiast driver requirements in mind, the MUGEN Honda CR-Z suspension kit features five way adjustable damping designed to suit a wide variety of conditions, varying from daily street to trackday driving.

MUGEN’s suspension engineers have invested great care in the details of the CR-Z suspension package, which features specially designed dampers incorporating large diameter (32 mm front / 30 mm rear) pistons. These offer precise, stable damping control during high and low speed frequency damper movement, making the CR-Z more consistent and predictable during spirited driving. 

The MUGEN five way adjustable dampers work in combination with MUGEN developed fixed ride height springs, which lower the CR-Z between 15 and 20 mm to further improve the chassis dynamics of the car.

MUGEN’s unrivalled commitment to quality, performance and excellence with the brand means that the CR-Z five way adjustable suspension kit will be the Honda enthusiast’s choice for value, performance and desirability. Priced at £1892.80 excluding VAT, the MUGEN Honda CR-Z five way adjustable kit is available now from Torque Developments International plc.

TDi-plc also offers a wide range of additional Honda CR-Z dynamic upgrades, including fast road geometry set ups to optimise the performance of the MUGEN suspension package.

These are available to purchase at http://www.tdi-plc.com/catalog/mugen-adjustable-suspension-p-18316.html

Great looking and environmentally friendly, the Honda CR-Z hybrid coupe is proving to be much in demand. That said, it’s not perfect – a case in point being the standard chassis dynamics which are less than involving and lean towards numbing understeer on the limit. Generating solutions to handling issues like this are Torque Developments speciality, through our renowned ‘FRS’ geometry set-ups for fast road use, but could we improve the hybrid sports coupe Honda with some of our suspension wizardry?

In the case of the CR-Z this task was greatly simplified by the Honda’s rear suspension design – it’s a beam axle with fixed geometry.  ”There’s nothing you can adjust on it, you can’t even shim a stub axle, so whatever you’ve got, you’re stuck with,” says TDi’s Sam Borgman.

Therefore with efforts switched to the front of the car, Torque Development’s used it’s suspension expertise and state of the art John Bean optical chassis rig to pinpoint the cause of the problems and implement a solution. “We decided to add some geometric pre-load to the front tyres by adding some negative camber, plus a hint of ‘toe-in’ which sharpens the steering response.”

The results are a Honda CR-Z with greatly improved handling – “the turn in is more crisp, there’s more steering feel and feedback. The car feels much tighter and the front geometry alterations have greatly reduced the understeer,” Borgman explains.

So what does the Honda CR-Z think of Torque Development’s work? “He’s very pleased,” says Borgman. “He commented that the CR-Z now ‘feels alive through the palms of his hands’ and he’s delighted with it.” So, if you would like to sharpen the handling on your Honda CR-Z, the Torque Development’s FRS geometry set up is available now, priced at just £150.00 plus VAT – please contact us using sales@tdi-plc.com for more information.

Here at Torque developments we speak to many Aston Martin DB9 owners and whilst most are very happy with the way their car looks and sounds, allied to its strong straight line performance, many are dissatisfied with the way that the car actually feels to drive. Common complaints about the standard DB9’s handling abilities range from the front of the car feeling “fidgety,” to the rear of the Aston Martin feeling unpredictable with a limited amount of grip when exiting corners.

Over recent years the Torque developments chassis dynamics team have tackled and comprehensively defeated the handling gremlins of large variety of Aston Martin cars including the Vanquish S, the Vantage V8 and Vantage V8 Volante, and now we can add the DB9 to that list. From the very first test drive our technicians were able to diagnose multiple layers of issues that corresponded to the owner’s list of complaints and from there we were then able to drill down into the DB9’s chassis detail to isolate the various causes of the problems.

After a period of extensive testing, including workshop and live driving measurements, Torque Developments now has a detailed understanding of the DB9 chassis and has arrived at a set-up for the chassis geometry that we can offer to other Aston Martin DB9 owners who are in search of a nicer, more user-friendly chassis performance. For more information please call Torque Developments Plc on 0800 107 3250.

Torque Developments International Plc is delighted to announce the an Hipermax III suspension kit, aimed at comfortable yet fun driving. HKS has designed the Hipermax III system to enable it to be versatile enough to be used even with high grip radial tyres on street or circuit.

Fitting the HKS Hipermax III enhances road holding thanks to the careful choice of spring rate and dampening settings whilst also paying attention to keep the car from feeling “heavy”. HKS has designed special anti roll bar links to allow the roll bars to remain in the correct position even when the vehicle height is lowered, increasing the adjustment range.

Priced at £1611.50 excluding VAT, the HKS Hipermax III coilover suspension kit is available now. To purchase this product now, please click on:- http://www.tdi-plc.com/catalog/hipermax-suspension-p-18732.html

MUGEN Euro is developing a highly-tuned version of Honda’s CR-Z, which will deliver “Type R-like” performance from the hybrid’s petrol-electric powertrain – and may offer even better fuel economy.

This faster, more powerful car will make its world debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

The CR-Z MUGEN will feature enhancements to both the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine and the Honda IMA system to boost power and torque, while bespoke brakes and suspension will be fitted to improve the chassis dynamics.

The major engine changes, and those made to exhaust and induction, may even result in greater mpg and lower CO2 emissions during some conditions. However, at this early development stage, final power, torque and fuel economy figures are not yet known.

Lightweight components, including a carbon fibre bonnet, will be employed to lower the overall weight, and the car will use MUGEN alloy wheels to reduce unsprung mass.

To improve aerodynamics and give the car an even more sporting look, MUGEN body parts will be added, including front and rear bumpers, and a spoiler.

 ”We wanted to extend the performance of the CR-Z,” says Hiro Toyoda of MUGEN Euro. “It is already a fun car to drive, with an excellent chassis, but we thought that with more power and enhanced torque delivery it could be even more exciting. However, as with all MUGEN projects, we have stayed true to the Honda design and philosophy, and the electric motor is still a vital ingredient to boost performance and economy.”

The CR-Z MUGEN is a joint project between Honda (UK) and MUGEN Euro – the Northampton-based subsidiary of Honda’s long standing tuning partner MUGEN. In 2009, MUGEN Euro produced the Civic Type R MUGEN, an extreme, 240PS version of Honda popular hot hatch.

“This will be one quick hybrid,” says Martin Moll, Head of Marketing for Honda (UK). “With more torque, more power and MUGEN’s experience of working with Honda cars, we’re expecting great things. It promises to show how hybrid cars can be even more exciting to drive.”

At this stage, the CR-Z MUGEN is being developed purely as a one-off prototype, with no plans for a production version.

MUGEN’s range of performance, dynamic and styling upgrades for the Honda CR-Z are available now from Torque Developments International Plc, click on http://www.tdi-plc.com/catalog/parts-c-107_108_3069_3070.html