Ride quality HORRIBLE after Ksport Coilover install!

[BigTyla]

Does anyone that has installed these have any tips for me? I have heard from many that installed these that ride quality was about the same or not much worse than stock. The car handles like a dream but going over bumpy roads or bridges is like riding in a rickity roller coaster.

I installed the coilovers three or four weeks ago and it was aligned immediately afterward. The camber is well within spec but the ride is so bumpy I have to grip the steering wheel tightly with both hands so it doesn't jerk out of my hands when going over a bridge on the highway. I have adjusted the shocks to minimum stiffness and there has been a minimal change in bumpiness. What was done wrong? Is it possible that something was tightened a little too tightly, like the two washers that go against the spring? Or was everyone lying when they said ride quality was close to stock?

Someone help!

[Wildarmz]

They aren't lying about it being close to stock (on sport mode that is). I've ridden in an N/A car with k-sports. Something is up, but i'm afraid I don't know why you would experience bumpiness like that. Is there some sort of break-in period?

[BigTyla]

There's no break-in period I know of. It's been almost a month since installation so any break-in should be complete by now since I've driven about 1000 miles.

I figured the top spring perches might have been overtightened but I didn't think that would make the ride this stiff. I didn't overtighten but it's possible the people that aligned my car did.

[andyvr4]

I don't know about everybody else, but what your describing sounds just like the sport setting on the stock suspension on my VR4 and from what I've read (like the person above me said) I've always heard that the Ksports are about the same stiffness as the sport setting on the stock suspension. That's the reason I didn't go with Ksports on my VR4, I really wanted to still have a comfortable ride when I wasn't running the car hard.

[venik]

theres an adjustment i believe, in another thread in this category, should be on the front page, but you can adjust the dampening so it wont be so stiff.

[EMT3000GT]

I have had mine for about 6 months now, all summer, and I think I am going to switch back to stock struts with lowering springs. The ride quality is just crap on any roads with even minor Frost heaves or bumps, they are meant for the tracks not for roads, especially New England roads (where I am from). I learned that the hard way.

Good luck...

Tom

[slage]

As far as I know you need to mess with the preload and dampening settings to get a smother ride. Have you touched them?

[MatthewC]

Originally Posted by BigTyla

Is it possible that something was tightened a little too tightly, like the two washers that go against the spring? Or was everyone lying when they said ride quality was close to stock?

Someone help!

I have had mine on for a little while now too and I equate the ride to being very close to an ECS car in sport mode. I always make the suggestion that before you buy coilovers drive your car in sports mode for a solid month and if you can't live with the ride look at other spring options. No matter what coilover company you go through there is no way that your car is going to be smooth over rough and uneven, rutted or pot holed roads, just won't happen.

Now if your ride is significantly worse than an ECS car in sports mode it could be because you preloaded the springs too much. The top two collars on the spring body set your preload the way I was told to set them is to tighten them up enough so that the spring is firmly against the top of the strut base and then give it two turns. Those collars are designed to keep the spring from rattling around during the spring compression and rebound cycles.

If your car is really low you may also be able to smooth the ride up by raising it a little bit. My car is currently lowered to 26" measured from the center of the inside lip of the fenders to the ground and i'm considering raising it another half inch to see if it makes the ride a little smoother.

Hope this helps a little. I for one am willing to give up a little seat comfort for the phenominal improvement in overall handling my car now has with my KSport coil overs.

Matt

[BigTyla]

Originally Posted by venik

theres an adjustment i believe, in another thread in this category, should be on the front page, but you can adjust the dampening so it wont be so stiff.

I did that. See first post.

I'm beginning to think it is indeed the preload that was compromised, but I'm not sure about the two turn thing described. When I tightened the two collars you could barely turn it IIRC. I'll look into it when I'm installing turbos.

My car is lower than any 3S I've seen in person (I can't fit my FLAT hand into my front fender without jamming my knuckles and can barely fit three fingers WIDE into the rear fender; I kept it higher in the rear because I'm FWD). However, I don't think this attributes much to the problem.

Unfortunately, I cannot compare this to my stock ride with ECS since I never had ECS. I have ridden in an ECS car before and I don't remember it being this bad.

The handling is definitely top notch, but it sucks that I have to slow down when taking an offramp just because the car is bouncing so much on the bridge I fear I may lose grip on the steering wheel.

Fortunately, this car will not be my DD for much longer, I just wish the suspension was a little more comfortable. I'll usually sacrifice comfort for performance, except when it comes to safety, and bouncing all over the road doesn't always feel so safe.

Thanks for the comments thusfar. Any other opinions or comments are welcome.

[wraith]

You need to release the pre-load on the spring at the collars. Basically, if you put weight on the car and turn the collars until its finger tight, you will have pre-loaded the spring way too much. The best way to set it up is to remove all the weight from the corner, like if you lifted the wheel off the ground. Loosen the two collars and keep lossening it until there is play between the spring and its encapsulation area. Finger tighten until all that play is gone, but only until the spring doesn't rattle up and down. Then, hold the top collar and lock the bottom one firmly to the top one without turning the top one. I used a couple dabs of thread locker on them to keep them from lossening up becuase they kept loosening on me at first.
The ride should be firm but not that bad. I drove my car into NYC 2x with them on there and it wasn't bad unless I hit some really bad road. My biggest complaint was that the car really follows the ruts and dips and makes you stay vigilant to keep the car straight. Otherwise the handiling is a huge improvement.

Sam