Tokico Illumina availability -- what gives?

Riot_Polizei

Comp Engineering Student
:
2002 Mazda Protege5
Racing Beat has one set of illuminas in stock, and to be expected, they're bloody expensive. Perhaps about 800+ bucks (+shipping) for a full set, and that's not including their springs, which would put your total above 1000 bucks, which could be better spent on coilovers.

So, I wondered if I could find a better deal elsewhere. I looked around on Amazon first, and found some disturbingly cheap prices directly from Tokico themselves. They're valued at 120 bucks per front strut, and the rear strut is valued at 87 bucks. And no, my phrasing for that last sentence wasn't a typo; there is no rear right strut available anywhere!

What gives? Any idea on why no rear right strut exists nor is up for sale?

Sources:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

Seriously...if that rear right strut was available, we're talking a full set of Illuminas for under 450 bucks, and the racing beat springs included for a sub-700 bucks handling package.
 
No longer in production... market for it diminishes. That must be the only ones Tokico has left in their inventory, along with every store that still has some left in their inventory. Once it's gone it's gone and we'd have to just buy used from other people.

Would it be weird to run tokico's only in the front? Haha
 
That's be one hell of a ride! Bouncy in the rear, stiff up front--you'd plow through every turn and the rear would be very twisty.

And I should've figured that they'd be all gone :^( Perhaps, if I really want, I could run illuminas up front, HPs in rear? Although, generally, you want adjustables opposite of your drivetrain wheels.
 
I guess we're limited to coilover setups for the adjustability :c wish they were a bit cheaper for our car
 
Thinkin I paid $450 or so tops for full set..........................over 10 yrs ago tho. Still clickin along just fine...............needs the NIB espelirs thrown on them and the old springs tossed! Laziness in control, wait, more like free time constraints..............either way, new springs need to happen.
 
Not sure if it's what you're after, but Illuminas will raise your car back up to stock P5 height.

Here's a set of Blues, which came stock on MSPs and, along with a set of RB springs, will lower a P5 or sedan to MSP height. Better call 1st if you decide to buy them though, because those shocks are insanely hard to find these days and chances are they don't actually have them in stock.

http://www.***************/Tokico_Blue_High_Performance_Gas_Shocks_Protege_p/hb222.htm

Hmmm. Linky no workie. I guess the admins around here don't like street unit. Look there for Blues. ;)
 
Last edited:
Not sure if it's what you're after, but Illuminas will raise your car back up to stock P5 height.

Here's a set of Blues, which came stock on MSPs and, along with a set of RB springs, will lower a P5 or sedan to MSP height. Better call 1st if you decide to buy them though, because those shocks are insanely hard to find these days and chances are they don't actually have them in stock.

http://www.***************/Tokico_Blue_High_Performance_Gas_Shocks_Protege_p/hb222.htm

Hmmm. Linky no workie. I guess the admins around here don't like street unit. Look there for Blues. ;)

I actually saw that listing quite a while ago, but was immediately skeptical of their availability. I tried to order foglight deletes from them at one point, but I was soon sent an email from a sales rep explaining that I was refunded. They told me I could order a new version of the foglight deletes that were better quality...for almost triple the price. Ouch!

Who knows...maybe they got one complete set with a mountain of dust on top of it somewhere. Definitely tempting.

UPDATE:

Emailed SU; they don't have any Tokicos in stock anymore
 
Last edited:
dang. Worth a shot I guess. No dice from racing beat either huh?

Good luck finding them and definitely let us know if you do!
 
dang. Worth a shot I guess. No dice from racing beat either huh?

Good luck finding them and definitely let us know if you do!
I got some neat info!

I hit up JP Parts INT'L, and he sells tested Tokico HPs for 50 bucks a piece. At this point, this is the best deal possible; just gotta find springs.

Also, I learned about Koni's strut inserts. Basically, if there are zero aftermarket struts for your car, you buy strut internals from them, drill out the gas/liquid from the old strut, cut out the old internals, and install the new one. Best part is that these inserts have 20-some(?) click-type adjustment settings to play with. They're dirt cheap too, and totally legal for SCCA Autocross.

So, in short, you can get relatively cheap yet used strut upgrades from JP, and buy koni inserts when your struts blow out. Not bad at all...
 
i think it's time we revisit retrofitting some koni inserts into stock struts.
 
Haha i was actually looking that up after i posted that link. Seems fairly easy and a fun project to do.
From what i've found, you basically drill a hole on the bottom of the strut (centered), use a pipe cutter or something to cut the top part down pending on the length after measuring.. put the koni insert in, pull it to the bottom with the bolt in the bottom hole, then repeat with the washer, and it's pretty set from there right? I don't have a vice though so dealing with the hydraulic fluid will be fun..
 
Haha i was actually looking that up after i posted that link. Seems fairly easy and a fun project to do.
From what i've found, you basically drill a hole on the bottom of the strut (centered), use a pipe cutter or something to cut the top part down pending on the length after measuring.. put the koni insert in, pull it to the bottom with the bolt in the bottom hole, then repeat with the washer, and it's pretty set from there right? I don't have a vice though so dealing with the hydraulic fluid will be fun..

yeah it does look pretty simple. there was a write up long ago with that done on an mx6 and it has similar struts to ours. the person had a hard time tracking down the inserts and had to grind down indentations in either the front or the rear struts to make the insert fit. all the pictures were hosted on photobucket tho and they're gone:

https://www.mx6.com/forums/1g-faq-suspension/144248-koni-insert-installation.html

plenty of pics still available on other platforms and forums.
 
Last edited:
Back