☆326power★ Chakuriki GT +S Review!

[wolfpack]

I have recently purchased a set of 326power Chakuriki coilovers (14k/10k springs) for my S13 from Kunio at GTR-Garage. Since there is not much information available on the coilovers, Kunio asked me to do a write-up on them after I had gotten a chance to try them out. I have run MAX coilovers on my S13 since early 2012. I also have experience with BC Racing, Fortune Auto, Stance, Megan, Godspeed, and Tein coilovers for S-chassis (along with various other brands for other models). Lets start off with the basics of the 326power coilovers…

Taken from GTR-Garage.com…

‘Developed under the guidance of legendary D1 driver Mitsuru Haruguchi the 326 Power Chakuriki GT +S coilovers are intended to handle the rigours of drifting that occurs at professional levels. In addition the Chakuriki series has been developed specifically to allow drivers to extremely lower their vehicles without sacrificing damper performance. 326 Power specializes in “shakotan” vehicle styling.

Features include heavy-duty monotube dampers with 20mm piston rods, duraluminum pillow ball mounts, hard-anodized camber plates, spaced upper spring seats, rubber spring seat covers, 26-way damper adjustability, teflon coated casing, dust boots, unique hexagonal lock seats, a full-tap design (double adjustable), and hard-urethane mount bushings.’

Basically, the 326power Chakuriki coilover is designed to ride as low as possible while maintaining the performance of a high-end damper (such as D-Max D1 Spec). All in a totally bespoke package (customizable down to the shock boots). It all sounds very promising, but it will put a knot in your throat to drop that much money on something that you have found almost zero information about… Hopefully this review can change that! Lets get started…

Packaging



The first thing that you will notice upon opening your 326power Chakuriki coilovers, is the cool custom-designed box that they are sealed within. I know it may not be a huge deal to some… but having purchased a few coilovers myself, it’s cool to see that they have thought things out all the way down to the cardboard box that they pack them in.



Inside the box, the coilovers are packaged well. They even went as far to put little plastic caps over the studs on the upper mounts. You’ll find a some cool 326power catalogs and stickers hidden in there as well!

Let's take a closer look...

Upon removing the coilovers from the box, there were a few things that I noticed right away… I would like to break this section down to cover each of these...

Springs



You’ll immediately notice the difference in the springs that the 326power coilovers utilize. The coils of the spring are much less tightly-wound, and the springs are also much shorter. I am no expert, but I imagine having a thicker spring that is less tightly-wound will give the spring a much more linear rate while maintaining its stiffness.


This is the 326power S13 coilover next to a MAX S14 coilover…

Upper Mount



The 326power coilovers feature pillowball upper mounts on the front and rear. The dampening adjustment knobs also have some cool engravings on them. Another cool feature [that you won't notice from this picture] is that you can use all of the camber adjustment in the top plate. On my MAX coilovers, the ‘seat’ of the upper pillowball would contact the plate before I could reach the maximum allowed amount. The 326power will adjust until the allen bolt hits the shock tower.

Lower Mount

I completely forgot to take pictures of the front lower mounts, but it is fairly easy to explain/visualize. The 326power coilovers come with a pretty serious slot in the lower bracket for maximum camber. Unfortunately the issue with the slots, is that the bolt typically does not like to grab well and can slip under hard driving conditions. 326power has found a remedy to this, by using a square washer. The hole is drilled in the corner of the washer, and you can rotate it to move the bolt further towards the inside. The washer locks in place via tabs welded to the lower mount, for zero chance of slipping.

Dampers



One thing you will notice right off the bat, is the heavy-duty pistons used in the dampers. The 326power front pistons are slightly thicker than the MAX front, and the 326power rear are almost twice as thick. If you pull up the dust boot, you’ll notice that the dampers are branded 326power. On other coilovers, all you will find here is a sticker with some batch numbers and ‘Made in ______ (more than likely Taiwan)’.

Collars



I did not get a picture of the collars, but you should be able to get a good idea of what I am talking about from the photo posted above under ‘Dampers’. The collars were something I have never seen before. Rather than locking the two collars under the spring together, 326power has used a single collar. The collar locks by clamping down over the shock tube with an allen bolt. The collar is then adjusted by the circular holes, rather than fighting with the aggravating standard collars. By using the round hole and a ‘hooked’ spanner wrench, it makes it so much easier to grab the collar and spin it. I have smashed my hand many of times after the spanner slipped off of a standard collar.

Ride Height

The 326power coilovers are world-renowned for their lowriding abilities. You can literally bring the subframe down to the concrete. I brought the front down all the way [with the lower collar still intact], and this is how it sat.


This is on a 17 inch wheel.

Unfortunately, the car was scraping on my flat shop floor ha ha! You could still remove the collar and go another 3/4″ lower, but you’d better be on some Shuichi Nakagawa shit with the raised frame rails if you want to roll that hard!



The rear has almost infinite adjustability, as I still have a full 35 turns from the bottom at this ride height!

Driving Impressions

First off, I would like to note that I have NOT drove the car in the street. The following review is based on track performance only.



I felt that this is the most important part of the review. The coilovers are very expensive, and leave you wondering if the ride quality is THAT good. To keep it short and simple… yes, it is! It will allow you ride as low as you want, without sacrificing the performance of the damper. In low-speed cruising you can really feel the difference in the way the springs/dampers operate. When cornering, you can feel the weight shift and the car ‘plant’. Whereas other coilovers tend to feel overly stiff and bouncy when extremely lowered. The smooth operation of the 326power was startling to me. I have been lowriding for a few years now, and become adjusted to the bouncy nature of the suspension. Keep in mind, the spring rates I am running [on the 326power] are the highest spring rates I have yet to ride on an S13. But they still feel smooth and comfortable! The weight transitions while drifting are very smooth, which translates directly into your driving style. Whether the weight is transitioning side-to-side or front-to-back, you can feel how smooth the car reacts. Other friends who have spent some time in my car were also able to notice the difference in the way the car would respond. After spending a full day at the track with the 326power Chakuriki coilovers, I can say that they made my car feel more smooth and predictable than ever. Despite the fact that I am riding lower [and on stiffer springs] than ever before.



















The coilovers carry a heavy price tag, but as far as I am concerned… you get what you pay for in this case! If you are about that lowriding lifestyle and do not want to sacrifice the performance of your dampers, than these are for you! Do it right or do it twice. Pair these up with some subframe risers, and front and rear drop knuckles (rear knuckles are still on my list)… and you’ll have a car that lays frame and drives exactly how it is supposed to! Before, I felt that lowrider’s just generally rode like crap and you would just need to man up and deal with it if you are about that life… These coilovers have given me a slightly brighter outlook on the way a car handles when you are trying to tuck rim. I plan to get a set of rear drop knuckles sometime to see how smooth I can really get this car to handle. People are amazed when they go for a ride. You hear a lot of noise under the car, but the ride feels so smooth and responsive. Definitely an upgrade over anything else I have experience with.

Any questions, comments, concerns, or if you just want a Wolfpack sticker... feel free to post here or PM me!

Wolfpack!

[s0fa king]

I didn't realize I was on pornhub.

[Tw1st3d]

Originally Posted by s0fa king

I didn't realize I was on pornhub.

this is great

[Forte EXE]

Man, I might consider a set for my JZZ. I def missed out this weekend seeing this car at Driftvalley. Great review.

[crzsteveo]

awesome review

lol you can def hear the bouncing throttle in the video lmao

326 is above all

[erict90]

Real nice review ive been thinking of buying some

[fliprayzin240sx]

Jeez, 14/10K...I'm curious to see who's gonna be DD'ing these and have kidney damage after hitting a few potholes.

[zooopreme]

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

Jeez, 14/10K...I'm curious to see who's gonna be DD'ing these and have kidney damage after hitting a few potholes.

It's actually quite common for younger folks that are my age running spring rates close to 14/10 on their cheap coilovers lol

[deolio]

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

Jeez, 14/10K...I'm curious to see who's gonna be DD'ing these and have kidney damage after hitting a few potholes.

the quality of the spring is key. i run 16/14k swifts and it's smooth as butter, but when i had 12/10k stance it was jarring as fuck.

[jookybanana]

damn those springs look hardcore!

[tricky_ab]

Originally Posted by wolfpack

The coilovers carry a heavy price tag, but as far as I am concerned… you get what you pay for in this case! If you are about that lowriding lifestyle and do not want to sacrifice the performance of your dampers, than these are for you! Do it right or do it twice. Pair these up with some subframe risers, and front and rear drop knuckles (rear knuckles are still on my list)… and you’ll have a car that lays frame and drives exactly how it is supposed to! Before, I felt that lowrider’s just generally rode like crap and you would just need to man up and deal with it if you are about that life… These coilovers have given me a slightly brighter outlook on the way a car handles when you are trying to tuck rim. I plan to get a set of rear drop knuckles sometime to see how smooth I can really get this car to handle. People are amazed when they go for a ride. You hear a lot of noise under the car, but the ride feels so smooth and responsive. Definitely an upgrade over anything else I have experience with.

Wolfpack!

Somebody call Kenny Loggins, 'cause you're in the Danger Zone.

[BossHogg]

Are they $1690? That is not steep at all for suspension. Actually a bit on the low end. Keep in mind i don't count the worthless junk brands.

[pfregeolle]

Originally Posted by s0fa king

I didn't realize I was on pornhub.

THIS.



THOROUGH review dude! Get those other photos added!

[tricky_ab]

Originally Posted by BossHogg

Are they $1690? That is not steep at all for suspension. Actually a bit on the low end. Keep in mind i don't count the worthless junk brands.

You've got to remember that this is the land of a million threads, comparing coilovers that are less then $1000...

[Mr.Doback]

Very interesting. They look top notch. I see some design similarities between Fortunes' newest coilover and 326's design.

I wonder if 326 is making their own spring or having their logo and colors put on swift springs.

My fortunes with Swift for comparison.

[I<3BEWBZ]

That video is sexual.

I had 12/10k in a car a few years ago. It was horrible. One positive I should note, it was so bouncy that my girl's boob popped out of her shirt/bra. good times.

[GTR-Garage]

The car is looking good and the coilovers seem to be a hit!

[iStayBroke]

Thanks for the write up.

I have 8/6 and have been fine on the street(full soft).
Here's a pic for comparison on the springs.


Like I said in your build thread, looking forward to meeting you at an event soon.
Hoping to finish my car during summer.

[korito727]

Cars rad and I'm glad to see someone posting about these coils. Can't wait to see more pop up.

[SmokeCircle]

I can attest to the fact that these ride better than his PSM coils, which I also used to have. They feel surprisingly smooth considering the spring rates, and seemed to handle well. The fact that they can go low enough to tuck 17s all around is impressive. I had to purchase 1" shorter springs for my new set. All in all, for a coilover near the $1500 price range, they seem like a good buy.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1397050454.324333.jpg


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[GTR-Garage]

I think Drift Tengoku put these dampers and a few other brands on a shock dyno. I'll see if I can dig up the issue and scan it.

[zooopreme]

Originally Posted by SmokeCircle

I can attest to the fact that these ride better than his PSM coils, which I also used to have.

But the problem is PSM coilovers aren't all that great for "performance" but rather I see it as they can withstand the short burst of beating, I've owned a set of their most recent gen and tried their first gen stuff and they're okay for what they are. A tool to go lower is about the only benefit I could think of. I'll always regret the day I sold my Fortunes to purchase PSM.

With all of this said, I would hope and assume that going from PSM to a more expensive coilover system would bring better performance lol

[SmokeCircle]

It doesn't matter how good PSM coils are. When half the damn forum has them you get a great sample product to compare to. Are there better coilovers on the market? yeah. Do they take into account one's desire to ride really low? Not always, and that's what will separate these coils from others in the same price range


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[AMIGOSTYLE]

I rode in many s chassis with every type of suspension setup pbm ,tien,stance,fortune,feal,hks,homemade etc and I never felt so comfortable sideways in my life thanks for the ride my g

[BossHogg]

When he said they came at a steep price I was like "wtf". The reason they are "steep" is because of all the "personalization". All that costs money yet they are only 1600 dollars? I was going to use the term "polishing a turd". Not trying to take away from the product. That is just what went through my head as I looked.

[dorkidori_s13]

$1600 for coilovers? thats it?

i remember spending $2400 + shipping on my JICs and thinking that was a little steep...

but yeah, really, please keep the trolling out of this thread. if you wanna act like a 5 year old, thats fine... ill treat you like a 5 year old

thank you to the OP for writing up a great thread with lots of great and detailed pics! i wish more would do this!

[GTR-Garage]

We're more than willing to send a 326 damper somewhere to get it on a shock dyno. Does anyone have suggestions? We'll probably send a D-Max D1 Spec as well to see how it does.

[Luis@LateNightAuto]

Fuck, whoever shot that video should seriously work on their camera handling skills.

[BossHogg]

I wonder how they compare to the yashio factory great spec 2 since they are similar priced. Obviously they don't go as low. I'm tempted to get some and see how they are. But I really want kw v3 or some zeal. I want something for street and light track use. Decisions.

[InsTanCeZ]

What length were your 14k/10k springs?