who makes the best coilovers

[cbr-dee]

Can anyone tell me, who makes the best coilovers for our cars and why? I would prefer quality and function, over cost savings so keep that in mind when making suggestions. Unfortunately i am not seeing a large selection to choose from. Thanks for the help

[deevergote]

"best" is relative to your needs. There are companies that make very expensive full-race setups that would only be useful on a track. They would be a poor choice for street use, even though the quality of components would be far superior to pretty much anything else on the market.

Many of the full coilover options for our cars are made in China or Taiwan, and are very poorly made. Low quality materials, no real R&D with the chassis, and little to no quality control result in inconsistent, unreliable, and potentially dangerous components.
Personally, I would avoid most of the inexpensive options. D2, Truhart, Omnipower, Blackworks, JSP, Megan Racing, Raceland... all crap in my opinion. I wouldn't install those on my car if they were given to me for free.

Function and Form Autolife is probably the only cheap brand I would consider, and only because they seem to have had a near spotless reputation in this community. Higher quality brands, such as BC, Tein, and H&R would be much higher on my list.

I prefer non-adjustable springs myself, as I do not have the need, knowledge, or tools to properly adjust my car's height. However, if I wanted to go adjustable, the top choice for me would be Ground Control sleeves with Koni Yellow shocks.

[Jarrett]

The other one that comes to mind is Fortune Auto's 500 series. I only know that a member on this forum uses them and seems to like them and they have a great following with some of the nicer vehicles on the road today.

[deevergote]

That's one that I still haven't taken the time to research. I'm curious to know where they're made. I've done some digging on a number of the other brands I mentioned, and the results are more than disappointing. Most are just generic Chinese companies that will sell you their junk painted whatever color your "company" desires.

[Jarrett]

Their site says "designed and assembled in the USA" so that would lead me to belive the parts are made in China. The information on their site makes it seem that they know what they're talking about.

[deevergote]

That's a little comforting, at least. KSport is that way, in a way. Their stuff is manufactured and assembled "overseas", but it's done in a facility owned and operated by KSport, which is an American company. I recently contacted Chris from KSport to ask about the origins of the products.
So they're still likely made in China or Taiwan, with low overhead regarding labor, land, facilities, and taxes I'm sure... but it's better that the company is directly involved, rather than just ordering a generic product bearing their logo (I'm VERY sure that D2/TruHart is like that.)

[cbr-dee]

Thanks for the responses guys ! I'm currently using Koni yellows with progress springs on a 2.25" drop. The only problem i'm having with them, is that the spring does not stay in its perch, if the car begins to 3 wheel on heavy turn in, or you hit a very large bump. when this happens, unfortunately your alignment goes out of wack until, or if it re seats itself properly. I was hoping a decent set of coilovers would prevent this...

[illinois_erik]

Thanks for the responses guys ! I'm currently using Koni yellows with progress springs on a 2.25" drop. The only problem i'm having with them, is that the spring does not stay in its perch, if the car begins to 3 wheel on heavy turn in, or you hit a very large bump. when this happens, unfortunately your alignment goes out of wack until, or if it re seats itself properly. I was hoping a decent set of coilovers would prevent this...

thats weird thats happening with you, I have about the same drop, koni's but with H&R springs and never have unloading problems like that. I did with the generic sleeves on stock struts that came with the car, those springs were probably 12" high though; and man I gnashed my teeth when I heard the rears pop back into place. (dangerous) You have great dampers and as far as I know decent springs, you might want to look into finding helper springs, they dont do much but basically keep things taught when a corner unloads..

[af_1132]

The Fortune Auto 500 series that I have on my car are excellent in terms of quality, design, and handling in performance applications. The 500 series (damping, spring preload, and ride height adjustable) is the only set they make for our chassis and the only series that they recommend for both street and track use. I upgraded mine with 12k front and 8k rear Swift springs, so the ride is on the bouncy side, but I don't street this car, with the exception of testing or driving to the strip.

One time, I had to leave the speedway where I sing the anthem and go back to work and get something before the alarms were set. I had to hurry as I was set to sing the national anthem in about 25 minutes! I really got to test the new suspension, and I can say that the car really came alive in the curves! I really need some racing seats and a five point harness now, because this thing rips around corners without any lift at all. I can take corners 15 to 20mph faster, even with with my old generic all terrain tires and no rear sway. Without these in the car, I would not have made it back in time to sing.

That being said, to be a comfortable daily driver, I would have to go with the base springs and would have to adjust damping quite a bit. But, that was not the goal, and dude, these transformed the ride and agility of this chassis. I would recommend them for serious drivers any day.

There is another company making coilovers comparable in price (~$1500) and one member on here got them in 2009 (90-JDMCB7). I would NOT recommend doing any business with this guy (Another Andy to stay away from). I got charged immediately without any attempt to call me for TWO MONTHS. I tried calling over 25 times during those two months, and only after I filed for a charge dispute and got my preliminary credits did he contact me. It was ugly and he conducted himself in a shady way.

[lucifer1]

Thanks for the responses guys ! I'm currently using Koni yellows with progress springs on a 2.25" drop. The only problem i'm having with them, is that the spring does not stay in its perch, if the car begins to 3 wheel on heavy turn in, or you hit a very large bump. when this happens, unfortunately your alignment goes out of wack until, or if it re seats itself properly. I was hoping a decent set of coilovers would prevent this...

You can do a couple things to help, the first is to drill a couple small holes in the spring perch then use some wire to hold the bottom of the spring in place. Hopefully it will stay lined up if the spring comes unloaded.

The second is to extend the top mounts. Extending those moves the shock shaft which reduces how much droop there is. You would need extend them enough so the spring touches the top hat. Depending on how short the springs are, this may or may nor be feasible.